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Stand Firm Despite Unhappy Goats (or Children)
We normally milk our goats twice a day, but around breeding season, we often drop them down to once a day milking. We usually don’t need the extra milk and since the holiday season is the busiest time...
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From Goats to Soap
Ever wonder how we go from baby goats to goat milk soap? First, you start with a female baby goat. Then you feed that baby goat (and her friends) lots of milk. And lots of hay. And lots of trees....
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How To Manage Goat Breeding Season
Many people think that breeding goats is super easy – let the buck live with the does and five months later you will have baby goats! While that is the most important piece, actually managing...
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How To Care for Pregnant Goats
Emery has become an amazing barn manager. In this short video, he talks about how he cares for the goats between breeding and kidding seasons. Because each goat is an individual, he has to watch...
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Naming the Goats
Each of our goats has their own name and their own personality. They are registered, so having a name to put on their papers is important. But their names are more than just the title for their...
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Goat Management
It’s that time of year already! After months of caring for the pregnant goats, Kidding Season will be here before we know it. And once again, we’ll be buried in baby goats, paperwork, and lots of milk....
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Feeding Baby Goats
When baby goats are first born, it is very important that they get their colostrum. The colostrum is the first part of their mother’s milk that is rich in antibodies. If they do not get enough (or...
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Saturn and Secret
Hewitt came into the soaproom on Friday and announced, “Payton has goo!” That of course are the magic words which sends everyone scurrying to the barn to check on Payton. By the time I got there,...
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Rampart and Reluctant
Emery and I were working in the barn and keeping an eye on the goats. Emery told me, “Red Bird looks… different.” So I told him to bring her into the kidding stall. When he called for help moving...
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Quality and Quest
I was having my first bowl of cereal for the year (we finally had enough milk to bring some to the house!) when Greyden burst through the door. “Zaphire’s kidding!” he yelled before bolting back out. I...
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Idina and Iliana
Ivy is one of Colter’s favorite goats. He has been wanting a doeling out of her since we got her. The first year we had her – a single buck. The second year – a single buck. Last year, she had a...
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Red Bird
I want to start this post by thanking everyone who prayed for Red Bird during and after her delivery of Rampart and Reluctant (Lucky). Red Bird is the first doe we’ve ever had to put down and your...
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Elvis and Esther
Sometimes goats give you a lot of warning that they are going to be kidding soon. And sometimes they don’t! We were all hanging out at the barn waiting for the Vet to arrive to check on Red Bird. I...
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Factor and Ferocious
Kidding time is a lot of work and not a lot of sleep. As y’all know, for the entire time (~6 weeks) we take shifts in the barn all night long so we are present if any of the goats need us. I put...
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Java and Jericho
Thursday night, Fashion disappointed me by giving me twin bucklings. She is our goat with the highest butterfat content, and I really wanted to keep a doeling out of her. Imagine my joy when her...
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Tapioca and Tempest
We were cleaning up dinner and Colter went to the barn to check on the goats. My phone rang and soon the yell of, “Babies!” echoed through the house. Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran...
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Lampy
Friday, after three days of no action in the barn, a friend who had been staying with us in the hopes of seeing a goat birth had to leave. We had just watched the family pull out of the driveway, when...
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Yahoo and Yesterday
Saturdays at Goat Milk Stuff mean farm tours, and farm tours during kidding season are a lot like March Madness; you never really know what’s going to happen! Hewitt was giving a tour on Saturday and...
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Happy and Hera
Monday morning was yet another hectic day in the barn. Greyden was finishing up feeding the babies when he looked in at the pregnant does and saw Hummingbird licking off a kid! The alarm was sounded...
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Patriot
We have been wanting to get a great video of a baby goat being born. Tuesday morning it became obvious that Persephone was in labor, but our videographer wasn’t due to arrive for another hour. We...
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