 |
|
|  |
|
|
|
About Us
As a wife, mother and now grandmother  I've worn many hats in my life time - inside the home and outside as well. I've worked as a staff account and bookkeeper for accounting firms and filled various volunteer positions over the years but nothing has made me as happy as listing "Goat Herder" as my occupation. I love living my dreams - homesteading and country living - and being a goat herder is just one more dream come true.
We began raising goats in 1998 and decided we would raise our goats as naturally as possible, using medicine only when absolutely necessary. We rotate pastures for parasite control along with using DE and have fecals done throughout the year to verify success of this method. Our goats have non-medicated, no hormone feed and a high protein hay that is as close to organic as we can find - no herbicides are used on the hay. Free choice hay, goat minerals and baking soda are available to the goats at all times. We test for CAE, brucellosis and TB. We keep a closed herd and any goats that are here for breeding must have current negative results. We belong to the Voluntary Scrapie eradication program (ID # TX10118).
It's hard to say "we own goats" - we feel our goats are part of our family and deserve the best care and all the love we can give them. In return they give back to us so much - love, laughter and the sweetest and best tasting milk ever! We drink it, use it in cooking and baking, make cheese and soap with it. Any extra (what extra!?), is fed to the dogs or chickens in true homesteading fashion. We use the California Mastitis Test on lactating does regularly.
We've chosen not to show our goats for several reasons. We did show the first year or two but found showing involved more time and commitment to travel than we wanted to invest. It's hard to milk 2 times a day year round and be present at shows regularly. We keep milk records on the goats I've milked to verify their capacity and productivity.
A special Thank you to the "goat people" who God has brought into our lives -
Cynde Franks (Whispering Willows, TX.) was the first Nigerian Dwarf Milk Goat owner we'd ever met. Cynde came out to Beulah Land many, many times to help us with the goats when we first started. She disbudded our first offspring and calmed my fears about kidding. She shared Raleigh and Stormy from her own herd with us.
Beverly Chambers (HighPoint Farms, TX) is the only other goat breeder we've acquired goats from. If you've ever met her, you know why. Bev is very knowledgeable and caring about her goats and very patient with new owners like me who call her and want to know why Glaze's (my first doe) nose is twitching. Bev is a special friend who is stuck with me now!
Cindy St. Pierre, (5 Acre Farm in Mass.), best friend and goat person extraordinare who shares our love of goats. I'd be lost without Cindy - we "talk" daily via email.
Wanda Wilkerson (Tallowberry Creek Farms in Dibold, TX.) who drives all the way up here to visit while her goat visits our buck.
Cindy, Wanda and I must have been triplets that were separated at birth - we have so much in common!!
|
|
|
