The goats have been doing amazing! The Oberhasli breed is very quiet, almost making no noise, which is a huge plus. We are really happy we decided to go with goats for dairy than with a cow on this farm. After walking in the woods today we realized how much browse the goats could eat from the woods instead of a cow. Since the farm doesn’t have that much pasture and the current clear cut we are working on restoring this year goats seem like a perfect fit. We are really hoping the clearings near the farmhouse will be enough to satisfy their greenery needs for the year. We have a lot to learn within this aspect of our business plan, but for now the goats are enjoying the beautiful hay we got for them in early March. There are little tufts of greenery popping up from the frost laden ground today, which makes the goats very happy that spring is now showing her colors!
Taday we purchased a new Saanan doe that is in milk. This is very exciting because we can start experimenting with goat’s yogurt and different kinds of cheese since we will be milking two times a day. Saanan’s are very heavy producers, often called the holstein of the goat’s. Milking is going to add a lot to our daily chores now, we’re excited to see and learn how to balance our time with the animal part of the farm and the vegetable production. To see how manageable it all is since we are just starting the vegetable production part of the farm and how there’s a lot more inputs and time that need to go towards making the garden since there hasn’t been an established garden here for a long time.
