Why Goats?
Not long after we bought our property, we started thinking about IF we wanted any animals. I was adamant that I did not want chickens! That ended up being our first farm animals and now we have 18 feathered friends free-ranging every day. I digress…
We have always said we want cows and goats. Cows to raise for meat, and goats to eat the brambles in the wooded areas of our property. This land is loaded with forage for goats! I have been reading about goats for two years, just waiting for the day when we could finally go pick up some kids. With no fencing on any of our property, getting the water/electric infrastructure to our land was the top priority. Next came the Tiny Home Office (see this post https://sanctuary-ridge.com/2021/06/11/sanctuary-ridge-adventures-in-farming-a-tiny-home-office/) and then our personal home (see this post https://sanctuary-ridge.com/2021/08/23/sanctuary-ridge-adventures-in-farming-home-sweet-home/) The fencing was always on our mind, but so many other things had to come first.
Fencing in Winter
Winter is the perfect time to cut trees on the fence line and install fence posts! Jamey and Madison worked every weekend preparing two of our property lines for fencing. By April, we were so close to finishing the fenced area for our goats. I admit, I jumped the gun and bought two goats before we were completely finished. Again, I blame Facebook. Those livestock pages get me every time ya’ll!
Nubian Goats
I decided to try Nubian goats. They are supposed to be docile, great milk, and their size makes them a little easier to keep contained in a fence. (More on that experience later!)
Our First Goats
Rain and Kudzu are siblings so we had Kudzu banded to avoid any future birth defects. We picked them up on Madison’s birthday. The surprise was perfect! She’s just as excited about the goats as I am so I loved getting to plan it on her birthday. Here are Rain and Kudzu when they were born:
They were 8 weeks old when they came to live with us:
Kudzu is a little goofy and Rain is just so sweet, we fell in love with these two kids! Madison and I enjoy spending time with them each day. We are trying to insure that the kids are friendly with us since we have lots of visitors on our farm. We hope to share the joy of these farm babies with everyone who comes to visit!
Kudzu and Rain on the Farm
