Two years ago I told myself that I was done. I never wanted to go back. I tried to remember the bad memories, I tried to talk myself out of it, but time heals the wounds and I am nutty enough to try again.
Try what again?
Goats.
Yep. Goats.
Dairy goats.
Goats that will give me milk twice a day to sell to friends.
This whole crazy scheme (I admit it, I am the queen of crazy schemes and plots) started when we found out that baby Connor was not doing well at all on cow's milk, and it was getting very tiresome and expensive to keep on buying goat milk (at $6 per half gallon!). So we prayed about getting dairy goats again and began the search.
The Lord was good and provided two milking does that were in our price range. One was a 3/4 Nubian, 1/4 Oberhasli, 4 yo. doe named 'Capri', and the second was a purebred, registered Nubian named 'Ivy'. Both are giving 1/2 to 3/4 a gallon each, putting us at roughly a gallon a day, which is better than last time we had goats.
Dare I say that I am enjoying being a goatherd again? ;)
Below is a pic of Capri. I am tempted to hang a sign on our barn that says :"Beware of Goat." If you're not careful, this girlie will lick you to death! She's like a dog and is veeery nosey. You can almost hear her say, as you try and do chores,: "Watcha doin'? Is it fun? Can I do it? Would I think it's fun? Are you gonna' do it tomorrow? Can I do it tomorrow? Do the alpacas like it? Etc...
My Ivy girl. She's not much to look at, but she is an excellent milker. Giving 1/2 a gallon a day on her second freshening!! (Translate: Her second time to give birth) She too is very sweet tempered.
My alpacas have decided that goats are ghastly creatures that should glared at from afar. It's pretty funny watching them run away if a goat comes near them. ;)
Gone nuts.... But at least I'm enjoying myself... :)
Now to try and get an Emu, right? ;D
~Caitlyn
7 comments:
We used to have a little nubian dairy goat herd! :-) I thought it was a blast! I loved looking at these photos of your goats! :-)
I'm glad you liked the pictures! :D Goats definitely give you a sense of humor! :)
~Caitlyn
Oh yes I would have to agree! ;-)
What are you doing with TWO goats in milk?!!! I thought you were getting Capri and a mini-nubian that hadn't freshened yet!
How many gallons are you selling per week? How do you like the taste of the milk from these particular goats? How is the molasses/grain mix working out?
Isn't it fun to be a milk maid? I actually miss milking a lot.
I'll just have to invite myself over for a visit ;)
Haven't you checked your e-mail Emily!! I sent pics and all the details as soon as I came home with Ivy!! :-/
Change of plans on the mini Nubian... ;) Actually, we decided against her because stud fee would have been $200 per visit, and the closest place was over three hours away! Ouch. I could have bred her to a Nigerian, but I didn't really want to.
We are still ironing out how many gallons we will be selling, one family wants 1 1/2 gallons a week, and we are thinking around 2 gallons each for two other families, but again, we're not positive.
The milk is absolutely wonderful! Very nice and creamy... Dad and I are going to make a hard cheese on Monday. :D
And both goats are enjoying the homemade grain ration!! Capri is increasing in her milk supply now that she's on grain, before we got her, the owners just gave her alfala hay and grass; but she still gave 1/2 a gallon a day on that. Dad and I had a lot of fun mixing 100+ lbs. of grain. ;D
It is a lot of fun to have these goofy aniamls around again. And so far we haven't had any mishaps.... yet.
Maybe I'll give you a pint of milk to sample on Sunday.
~Caity
GOOOOAAAATTTSSS!! :D :D :D Yaay! Fun! ;) I love nubians and oberhaslis. They are so cute!
Hmmmm, so now I know who to go to when I have baby Nubians for sale.... ;D LOL.
~Caity
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