About us

Here at H-H Ranches, LLC we have a long history of goat ranching in Texas. The history of the ranch goes back to 1895, when our grandfather, Mr. Mitchell, bought a herd of sheep and began herding them west of Ozona, TX. In 1902, he came to Terrell county, where he purchased the land that Tommy and Lellee live on and where part of H-H Ranches, LLC is located today.  Grandpa Mitchell's ranching history was one of good and bad times, and while we’ve faced with many of the same highs and lows, we have remained committed to our family legacy. 

Co-owners, Tommy and Lellee Hayre, began their ranching journey in 1971 when they were married. Starting with a herd of ewes that Lellee had received from her father, Grandpa Mitchell’s Son, and soon expanded to Angora goats and meat goats. They ranched from 1975 until 1995 with sheep and goats, with Angora goats being the primary focus. However, in 1995 our operation faced challenges when The Wool Act of 1954 was terminated and threw the wool and mohair markets into turmoil. It was time for us to make some changes.

In 1999, Tommy and Lellee's daughter, Luci, married Terry Harter, and the beginning of a great partnership started. The following year the Harters and Hayres formed H-H Ranches, LLC and our partnership extending our ranching legacy to the next generation and beyond.

Fortunately, around this time, a market for the Boer goat was developing after being imported from South Africa. The Boer goat was well adapted to desert regions, like the Angora and meat goats we had raised for years. So we made the decision to capitalize on the best traits of our goats and start a crossbreeding program. We incorporate the Boer goats to utilize the best traits of the different breeds on a commercial basis. The Boer goats are an excellent goat and with our cross we created a superior commercial goat we call the "Money Maker."  

 The "Money  Maker" started with a Boer Billy goat crossed with a meat type Spanish goats. The expression "meat goats" is used since we have avoided the wild, poorly conformed original Spanish goat. Quickly, we closed the herd to outside bloodlines and concentrated on evaluating the kids from this cross. Then, since we had many females to breed and many kids to choose from, we selected both male and female kids to perpetuate and grow the herd. While some people have shown concern with this line breeding program, the statistics show that there are potentially 1600 mating options before a group can exhaust all crosses and a sibling could be bred to sibling. While this might be a concern in a smaller herd, it is doubtful that it would ever happen in a herd of our size.

We found our best females weighed from 105lbs-115lbs in pasture condition, with pastures ranging from 750 acres to 2000 acres in size. We have selected goats to breed, gestate, birth, and raise the kids with no human interference except for predator control and feed during the winter months. Females must bring a good kid crop to the pens, or the female will be culled. No second chances are given, regardless of the environmental conditions. Even in this harsh environment, this goat cross has averaged 150%+ kid crop for years. 

Initially, our nanny kids were first bred at seven months and 55lb+ to give birth at one year of age. Although this was effective, it was impractical due to the desert heat and lack of rain during our summer months. This caused kids to be weaned and put on feed, and the mother put on feed to be capable of re-breeding for the 2nd kid. We have since elected to allow more time for growth and hold her open to breed at 1.5 years old and kid as a 2-year-old. 

 Additionally,  we  insist that the female have a moderate udder and nice-sized teats. The  110lbs mother will weigh 125lbs during the fall breeding or after the  kid is weaned. They have a 45-day breeding window and hence a 45-day  kidding period. Nannies must kid from March 15 until May 1. Conformation in our nannies is imperative with large capacity and  length to let the kids have room while in utero. Teats are critical to  the success of the herd. Big ones are more easily scratched in the cacti  and get infected and are ruined,  causing the mother to lose kids, and be culled for non-production.  Behaviorally speaking, our cross is not wild and flighty. They get  surprised, but stay bunched and are easily handled.  

The kids from our crossbreed are excellent, with a solid birth weight that is not so large as to lose many mothers to birthing problems. One of the main drawbacks to our large operation is we cannot weigh litters, as some suggest, because there are usually 300 mothers and 450 kids in a 2000-acre pasture. There must be some sacrifices, and this is one we must make. However, our buyer feedback says these goats gain and yield equal to or better than most they see in the slaughterhouse. 

Our  biggest surprise and joy so far, has been the longevity we  have developed by simply seeing how long the old girls would last. Our  hybrid vigor easily gets the producer 3-4 more years of production for a  total production time of 10+ years.  This cross we call the "Money  Maker" has done everything we want and more! 

In  2021 we tested billy kids from our Money Maker,  50% Savanna, Spanish bloodlines on weight gains. The average daily gain  (ADG) on most kids on feed is .22-.30. We had some gains that low, but  what was surprising is how high up the scale it went. Our Money Maker  had 20% of the kids growing up to 1lb a day,  and our 50 % Savanna kept up with the Money Makers, along with 2 or 3  Spanish kids doing the same. This year in 2022, the roles were reversed,  with the 50% Savanna having more gain 1lb per day than the Money Maker,  and the Spanish having none. We bought some  more Savannah billy goats in the fall of 2021. One thing we like most  about these Savanna Goats is the pigmentation of the skin, which is dark  or black.  

At H-H Ranches, LLC we continue to take pride in our selective breeding programs that maximize conformity, productive value, and sustainability of our commercial meat goats that include our Money Maker, Savanna, Texas Red, Spanish, and Golondrinas breeds.