THE GOAT PAGE
"Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. A kid'll eat ivy, too. Wouldn't you?"" ~ a song my mother used to sing-~
We've owned many goats over the years. On our farm we have four at the moment. Because of a barn fire in the spring of 2005 we lost all of our goats. Some of our 4-H friends gave us a 3/4 boer doe and buck, a nubian and an alpine cross. We were glad to have goats again! Then we were able to purchase a purebred Alpine doe, and two Toggenburg doelings. The Alpine doe has since had two doelings. We also had a saanen doe for awhile which a neighbor no longer wanted. With a little training she became a very good milker.
My daughter showed our Alpine doe last summer (2005) and went to the state fair with her. She had a great time.
Some of our goats have since been culled out. We now (Nov. 2007) have two black and white Alpines, one white and tan Alpine and a Toggenberg. We've borrowed a Boer buck who just joined the herd this morning. He will stay with us until just after Thanksgiving. The last couple of years we've bred to Boers so our daughter has a Boer cross to show for 4-H and the rest go to market. We should have lots of April babies!
I've tried my hand at making cheese and have mostly managed to make something inedible. I may try cottage cheese and yogurt since they should be more foolproof than hard cheeses, but that will have to wait for next spring.
Mostly we keep them around because the milk is good for us and they are interesting and unique creatures.
Below are links to some helpful websites concerning goats.
The Caprine Supply website has helpful articles (Click on the word "articles" at the top of the page. It's sort of small and hard to find.) They also sell all sorts of goat and cheesemaking supplies.
www.caprinesupply.com
The American Dairy Goat Association has a website which also contains informative articles and more.
www.adga.org
Another favorite site of mine is Fiasco Farm. Once again lots of articles on all aspects of keeping goats and instructions on making cheese, etc.
www.fiascofarm.com
