Boer Goats in my Future?

I am considering raising meat goats in addition to dairy goats. I am mulling over: Can I raise goats myself from kids fully knowing that they will be led to slaughter one day and then be able to just hand them over? I am really on the fence about that. I'd like to be able to have an income from this goat venture, and that could be one way to do it.

This is a picture of a Boer goat. They are raised for meat. As you may be able to tell, they are much chunkier than a dairy goat.

Only thinking about it right now.

Brushing Up

I am really getting excited, because I know that it won't be much longer before my first goaties will be here.



I've been taking the time to sit and read through some of my goat books again. I've read all of them over and over many times. But each time I read them, I seem to learn something new. As things are beginning to change over from abstract concepts, many points actually mean something to me, and I am able to get some really great information that I can use.

I have gone from thinking that I absolutely had to have a pasture for the goats to being okay with feeding them hay and grain rations. I still will work to have a decent pasture - but I am going to stop stressing out over getting the pasture up and running immediately. I look at it as being a nice addition to the hay and grain rations. For now, I can work to improve my skills at pasture management and use our tiny pasture (a bit over an acre) as we are able.

This is one of the books that I am reading right now. It is a very informative and interesting book. I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about dairy goats.

Pasture Grass

Apparently there's more to a pasture than simply a fenced-in open parcel of land. I went to the Small Farm Expo this summer in the Poconos. There, I sat in on a lecture about maintaining a pasture. What I learned blew my mind. I just simply did not realize the extent to which folks go to have a quality pasture for their animals to feed from. I know that I have been naive - but I didn't know just how much so. I am ashamed! But, better find this out now than after I have goats to feed. I walked into the lecture with a hundred questions, and I walked out with ten thousand questions. Now I am trying to learn more about growing quality grasses, the best time to grow, and how to best maintain the pasture.
I don't have to pasture them, but I would like to if I am able. True, I only have about an acre and a half on which to put them - so it would be limited. But, better some than none, I think. I think that it would be quite an accomplishment for me to grow a nice pasture that I can use to sustain my goats on - if only in part.

Wheeeee!

I'm still a bit unsure about this machine, but am determined to master it.

Figuring out the Garden Tractor

I am taking a spin on the tractor to try to get comfy with it. I've never ridden on one of these things. First I drive around without using the blades. Driving in the different gears; going forward and in reverse. It was fun, but I still need some more practice. I cut some of the pasture and some of our yard. I want to get a cart to attach to the rear so we can haul things around the grounds. Like plants or branches, or garbage or gardening equipment. Fun!

John takes Asa for a spin on the new garden tractor.

Tractor Troubles

John unloads the garden tractor from the truck. This is our latest e-Bay purchase. As soon as he gets it off of the truck it stops working. Josh is there to lend his support. Eventually they find the problem. A belt falls off when you change gears. John finds that the belt is not the correct size, so he buys one that's the right size, and then the tractor runs great!

Stan is the Man

John and Stan look at what has been cleared and discuss the next move. Asa likes what he sees.

Backhoe Bliss

This weekend we finally got one side of the pasture cleared out with a backhoe and a bushhog. Thanks to "Stan the Man". We feel like we have more land to work with and it it so much easier to get down to the creek. It feels really great to have that done, and Stan plans to clear our land on the other side of the creek soon.

John sends sparks flying while sharpening our tools 

Survey

We had a survey done of the property since we plan to put up fencing soon. We figured that it would be a good idea to know exactly where the property lines were. When we were looking at the land before we bought it, the seller said that he wasn't exactly sure where the lines were, but showed us the general perameters. Good thing that we had a survey done, because we would have put a fence on our neighbor's land! Sadly, we lost a lot of what was thought of as ours. So it's closer to two acres of land instead of three. I won't be able to do as much pasturing of the goats as I had thought. I am hoping that eventually we could rent some land from a neighbor next to us. I haven't met these people yet, but right behind us they have acres and acres that they do nothing with. They keep it mowed and the fences trimmed. It would be really convenient to use after putting up a temporary fence. The current fencing wouldn't keep in goats!

We are waiting for our backhoeing neighbor to come and clear half of the pasture. That is tentative for this Saturday. Then we will be ready to fence that in. Progress!!

Learning to Make Cheese

I made a small batch of lemon cheese for the first time in a very long time. Asa was my assistant. I followed the directions. I'm sure of it. But, for some reason, it didn't coagulate. And it had a coarse texture instead of a smooth and creamy one. Then I put too much salt on it. Asa insisted on sampling some on a cracker. He announced that it was delicious. I had a different opinion. We went and bought two more quarts of goat's milk, and I plan to make more lemon cheese today. I am going to make it until I perfect it, then I'm going to make it a few more times. I have about a year and a half to work on my cheesemaking skills. I would love to be able to go and "intern" at a farm that makes cheeses. Learn from folks that know what they're doing. That would be really wonderful.
Our family went to the York Fair in September. Asa and I went together on a weekday - and we met a man who was there with his family showing their Alpine goats. They were winning ribbons left and right. The man, who I later found out to be Rick Musselman of Rainbow Colors farm, was milking one of his goats. I've never actually seen a goat (or a cow, for that matter) being milked. I was fascinated by this - so Asa and I stopped to watch. This man's hands moved so quickly. He was able to empty that udder in about 2-3 minutes - and I couldn't believe how much foamy warm milk emptied into the pail! I had so many questions for Rick, and he was happy to answer all of them. He was very friendly, warm, and full of goat information. He let Asa bottle-feel one of the kids that was just two months old. This thrilled Asa - he'd always wanted to do this. It was really nice to meet someone who has been doing for years what I hope to be doing very soon.

Movement

We have made a decision regarding the "pasture". We have contacted a neighbor who has his own backhoe. Another neighbor recommended him - saying he did good work at a good price. This man will clear out the whole area on one side of the stream. So he will get rid of the huge brush and near-trees and use a brushhog in areas that are not so savage. Just having made this decision feels really great, like we are making progress.
No movement on the barn. There is lots to be done there. There is exposed fiberglass insulation on one wall that must be removed or enclosed, and just seeing the piles of lumber that need to be moved to another room makes me get the vapors. I don't mind the work; I just have a bum wrist (intersection syndrome) that can only handle brief periods of heavy lifting. I can see it taking weeks to complete. Now we just have to decide where to move the wood to.

Baby Steps

A lawn tractor was included in the sale of our house and mill. I was happy to learn this, since a riding mower was on our growing list of the expensive things we needed to buy for our new farm. The mower looks to be at least 15 years old - the previous owner said that it worked fine and only needed a tune-up. John gave it a homemade tune up; new battery, he used a wrench here, poured a bottle of something in some hole over there. He worked up a sweat, got a little dirty, and then - it was ready to see if it would start. It didn't. Our neighbor found us to be so pitiful, that he insisted that he run his new lawn tractor through our whole yard. It was embarrassing, but after he was done, about 8 minutes later, I was glad that he did it. Man, it was done fast! And it looked good. I usually mow it myself with the standard push mower. I do enjoy mowing the lawn myself the old-fashioned way. It makes me feel like I'm pulling my weight around the house. But, even still, I welcome trading in a couple hours of hard labor that leaves me soaking in sweat for the luxury having more time for other fun things like weeding, spraying weed killer on poison ivy or using my "chainsaw-on-a-stick".
John is going to see if the starter is the problem on the tractor. It looks rusty enough to be the problem.

Crawdaddy

Jake, Asa and John were at the stream. Playing on the water's edge. Jake realized that something was in his boot. A tiny 2.5 inch crayfish had gotten in his boot. He wasn't too thrilled about that. The boys decided to keep it in a tin tub. I hope the poor thing lives. Asa likes to poke at it with a stick and watch it hop out of reach.
The current thinking with clearing the pasture is to rent a bush hog - if that's even possible. Maybe we could call a "landscaping" company to see if they offer some service like that. I found out that I need to check with the local EPA to see if there are regulations about having goats have direct access to the stream water. And to see if I need to be concerned about the goats drinking water out of that stream (with possible field run-off).
I haven't done any more clearing out of the goat barn. It's been difficult doing much of anything around the mill with both boys home all summer. They are very different boys with different opinions and ideas on what they like doing - and how to go about doing it. Jake started school today - and now I kind of have to feel my way into how Asa and I will spend our days together, just me and him. He usually seems to enjoy gardening and weeding with me, and going out the the mill. He loves exploring the outdoors just being outside - and so maybe I can get some work done out there with him as my "helper."
Here are my boys trying to feed the gigantic carp that are swimming in our stream. The fish seem completely uninterested in sliced turkey. But the guys keep trying.

Savage Pastures

Today I went out to the pasture to assess things. We are considering having a backhoe come and clear it all out. When we decided to buy the property, we had a nice pasture out there. By the time we moved in, it was practically a forest. Now it's just completely out of control. I can barely walk through to the stream. Treacherous.

Working on a Plan

This is a photo of directly outside of the barn. There is a lot of mill junk and debris that was left by the previous owner. That is all really heavy stuff. I'm not sure what I can do with it other than try to load it on a truck and drive it to a dump. Now all I have to do is buy a truck. And find a dump. I was able to do a bit more clearing out of the goat barn today. The mound of lumber is really overwhelming when I look at it.
It seems that after ten minutes of working in the mill, one of the boys is screaming for me. Asa always comes out with me, and then wanders back to the house after a short while. Then shouts for me soon thereafter. Then I have to go to the house, and usually am not able to get back out again the same day.
I came across some scraps of really old lumber that I can maybe make signs or other artwork out of. Same with lots of the mill parts. Found objects art. I am making a pile out of things that I can make art from on those days when I have some time.
I went to some good yard sales on Saturday. Found a wicker loveseat and matching table for a good price. John and I exchanged some furniture between the mill and the house. We are making progress with the living room. It is about three quarters of the way done. Once the house is done, I can put more focus on the barn and the pasture.

Goat Barn

This is one picture of the inside of the "goat barn". As you can see, there are lots of cinder blocks, and there's also tons of wood. I was able to work on it for about 20 minutes this morning with Asa. Then Asa touched this orangeish-red slug, and it stained his finger a bright orange, so we had to end our clean-up to go rinse off his finger (in case the slug had some toxic defense mechanism that he got on Asa). Then he told me that he didn't want to do clean-up anymore. So he went inside the house with Jake, and I began weeding the yard where ivy is growing on the house. I was able to work on that for about ten minutes before I heard the boys screaming at each other. I had to go break it up - which was relatively easy. We ate a bit of breakfast - canteloupe and waffles. We cleaned up the kitchen, played with Sadie the cat, and now the boys are watching some t.v. while I get a bit of blog time. Today I hope to make it by the spring to refill our water bottles. I'd also like to take the boys to the library, then to the pool. It's supposed to get to 90 degrees today - and it's already crazy-hot here in the house.

The Beginning

This blog is intended to chronicle the progress of the Smith Dairy Goat Farm and cheesemaking business. One day I may laugh at this bold statement. Hopefully not, though. Time will tell.
We have taken the first step in realizing my goat dreams. We, being my husband John, and me. Last winter we decided that we would move ahead and look for property that we could raise dairy goats on. We were living in Catonsville, MD at the time, which is a suburb of Baltimore.
We originally looked in the upstate New York area for farms. Our friends, Josh and Cherie live in Schoharie, NY and we thought that area was really beautiful. The land there was fairly inexpensive. We decided to instead set our sights on Pennsylvania so we could be close to Grammy & Granddad and John's sisters and other family.
We found this great house in York county that has a lot less acreage that we were expecting to buy, but we loved the house - the property includes a grain mill (no longer working) - and we told ourselves that the three acres will be enough for our small number of goats. We will be using a portion of the mill for a "barn", and there is decent pasture land, however that has a stream running through it, which seems to be posing a problem as far as pasturing the goats.
So. Now we have the land that is zoned to have farm animals on it. We have lots and lots of work to do to get ready to bring home the kids. We want to start with two or three. Break ourselves in. Learn how to live with and care for goats. Then work into the milking process. Then on to cheesemaking. Possibly expanding the herd. Selling cheeses. Making soap? We'll see what happens. Where the winds take us.
I think that the first goat-related project will be to clear out the "barn". The barn is located on the ground floor in the rear of the mill. The mill was originally built in 1866. It was a flour mill, now defunct. There was an addition made to the mill in the 1930's made of concrete blocks. Right now, it is full of wood scraps, old mill parts and tons of other miscellaneous junk. Lots of heavy junk that will be difficult to move. There isn't much natural light in that area either. I will need to come up with a solution to that problem as well. My goats will need more light!