baby goats!

Now that we've had success with our chickens (all our hens are laying eggs!) we are planning to add a new animal to the mix here at Aspen Springs: a goat. Well, 2 goats, actually.
Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats!

When most people hear this they ask one of 3 questions:

"Have you ever kept goats before?"

"Do you like goat's milk?"

"Who will milk them?"

No, we've never kept goats before. Apparently some people have had bad experiences with goats. And we've even been lead to believe that not everyone is a fan of goats in general.  Well, we're trying to stay positive.  The goats are going to be another fun family adventure.  And, honestly, look how cute they are...

One of our "to be named" goats!  The breeder sent this photo a few days after this one was born.

On to the 2nd question... Nope - we've never tried goat's milk. Now that we've paid for our goats (we don't have them yet - they're hanging out with mom a big longer), we figure we'll just wait until the goats are giving milk and get used to it then.  If a love of goat's milk doesn't come naturally, we'll make it an act of the will :)
We really want to have fresh milk for drinking, maybe cheese and/or yogurt making, etc. and the thought of taking on a dairy cow seemed a bit much. The Nigerian dwarf goats are WAY smaller animals than dairy cows, and the amount of milk will be more in line with our needs as a 5 person family.

goat #2.  We really only wanted 1 - or so we thought - but they are happier with a friend, so 2 goats it is.

And, finally: Who will milk the goats?  The children, of course.  We're smart home schooling parents; this is all part of their education.

So, do we know anything about goats? Not a lot yet. We've done a fair bit of reading, of course, but we won't gain any hands-on knowledge until the goats are here with us.

the goat shed
(full disclosure - this photo was taken in October.  It's a lot more snowy and generally less green out there now)

A few months ago we found a breeder fairly close to us and reserved 2 goats. They were born last week and will stay where they are for another 7 weeks or so.  In the meantime, we have some more reading to do, a list of possible names to make (daughter #1 is already lobbying for "Florecita"), and a few sturdy fences to build.  Our property came with a structure that we've been referring to as "the goat shed" since we moved here in September.  It is a great place for them, so a lot of the work is already done.

Stay tuned for more goat news in the Spring!