Why goats?
Goat brunch. Short on utensils and good manners, long on levity.
The most frequently asked question we get is, “Goats? why goats?” The first time they escaped, I asked myself that same question. Yes, they’ve gotten out more than once. Goats are escape artists. But they are also so.dang.cute.
Cinnamon is our friendliest doe. She will follow us around and gently nudge whoever has food. She likes to be petted.
Five things to know about raising goats
These could be summed up in one sentence: Read The Pet Goat and then do the opposite.
1. They are herd animals. This comes in handy when they run away, because they stay to
gether.One pet goat is miserable. Two are happy because they have a friend.
2. They are picky eaters. Contrary to The Pet Goat, goats don’t eat just anything. If you drop their food on the ground, they may not eat it. It there is straw in their water, they may not drink it. Seriously. Recycle the tin (well, aluminum) cans, because your goat is not at all interested.
Our dairy goat, being milked by our nephew. Visiting the goats – and milking Flip – has become one of our guests’ favorite pastimes.
3. They are smart. Wicked smart. Smarter than a fifth grader. On occasion, they tax the ingenuity of my resident engineer. They will watch how you get in and out of the fence, and then give it a try themselves. That is why we use an electric fence, because, after one encounter, they are also intelligent enough to leave it alone.
I’m pasteurizing this milk prior to making goat cheese. In this case, I made chevre, which is really easy. This year, we are branching out into cheddars, bleus and other more challenging cheeses. Sign up for our blog updates to find out how we do and get recipes.
4. Goat milk is delicious. There are rules and regulations about selling raw goats’ milk to people, so we won’t advocate that. However, we do drink it ourselves. We milk the goat; immediately strain the milk three times using stainless steel containers to minimize the bacteria; put the strained milk in a glass container in the freezer; and leave it until it reaches 40 degrees Farenheit. It takes about thirty minutes in our freezer.
Our angora boys, meeting the does for the first time. “Hello, ladies.”
5. They are hilarious. Because they’re so smart; because they have a pecking order that some of the lower tier goats are forever trying to change; because they’re sociable; and because they have such expressive faces, they are a hoot to watch. There is such a thing as goat therapy. When you spend time with goats, it restores your faith in, well, everything. They make you laugh. They’re playful. They’re interested in people and not that shy. They’re magical. Really.