Dairy Goats on the Homestead
Here at Rocky Hedge Farm, we are excited to finally be adding dairy goats to our homestead. We are starting with Alpines for the purpose of having milking dairy goats.
Homestead Dairy Goats
We purchased our small piece of land back in 2017. With a vision and a dream to clear the land, move our home, and turn this space into a small homestead. We started with beekeeping and now we are excited to add dairy goats.
Growing up, my grandfather kept dairy goats. They were notorious for escaping, getting into grandmothers flower garden and causing havoc. However, grandfather also taught me how to milk a goat and a bit about their usefulness around the homestead.
Dairy Goats on the Homestead | Video
Our Alpine Goats
Lydia, our youngest daughter, and I recently had the opportunity to visit a local farm, Signet Dairy Goats. Over the past few years, our family had been talking about adding dairy goats to our homestead. We knew that we wanted to add dairy goats who would not only provide dairy for our family, but also provide an income as we grow the herd and sell goats.
Our visit to Signet Dairy Goats left us amazed at the gentleness of the goats. The goats were all friendly, well trained, and we knew that we had found a farm that greatly cared about the well being of their herd. The ladies, Elizabeth and Abigail, who care for the goats, have spent years raising a herd that have won awards at shows. While we have no plans to show goats, we hope to carry on a beautiful line of Alpine goats.
At the end of our visit we left knowing that we would be bringing Tanzinique Mystique (Tanzy) and Diaphenous to live here at Rocky Hedge Farm.
Tanzy was born in March of 2019 and her first kid this year. She comes from a line known for their lactating ability, even into the winter months. Tanzy is currently producing about 60 ounces of milk a day.
Diaphanous was born in early April of this year. She is currently being bottle fed with the milk that we get from Tanzy. She will continue to be bottle fed until she is three months old.
Both, Tanzy and Diaphanous, have great personalities. They are very sweet, have great easy going dispositions, making them a joy to be around.
Caring for our Dairy Goats
Since bringing Tanzy and Diaphenous to live here at the farm, we have had to make several changes to provide great care for them. Including, putting up a woven wire fence to allow them plenty of space to roam and graze. Both goats have proven to be very effective in cleaning up several vines and shrubs that were growing around trees.
Goats need shelter from the rain and we are in the process of building a goat shelter. Currently, the goats spend their day in their fenced area and a night they are put in a dry, safe shed. Our barn had stanchions built in it many, many years ago, we are know able to once again use this space in the barn to milk Tanzy. As our herd grows, we will have plenty of space for milking more goats.
It has been such a blessing to add goats to our small, yet growing homestead. I will be sharing a lot more information in the future regarding their care, how to milk a goat, what we are feeding our goats and breeding as the time comes.
Do you have goats on your homestead? If so, what kind do you have and what is their purpose?
