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| My first time bottle feeding Shelby |
I thought some of you might like to know about
why I started raising dairy goats. My first passions in life are cooking and
food. There is nothing better in the world to me than to have my house filled
with my family and a comforting meal that I spent all day cooking in my
kitchen. When my girls were younger I spent a lot of time in my kitchen
preparing meals from scratch in an effort to save money and feed my family
healthy foods. I made everything from my own breads to homemade tortilla chips.
I decided one day that I needed to learn how to make cheese. In
2007 I took a cheese making class offered by Brianna from Terra Firma Farm in
Connecticut. I came home after taking the class and said to my family "I
think that I need a cow". Looking at me like I had lost my mind, they all
said in unison “You cannot have a cow!” And my story begins.
Being the determined and (for the most part)
rational person that I am, I agreed in that raising a cow on our small piece of
land would not be very feasible, but how about a goat? I spent the following
year learning as much as I could about goats from various books and the
internet.
In 2008 I met my now close friend Melinda, who
raised Nubian dairy goats. I was able to visit her farm one morning in
February. I showed up with a pad, a pencil and about one hundred questions.
What I remember most about that day is the distinct feeling I had. I felt so
peaceful there, and I didn't want to leave. Mel spent the next hour and a half
with me answering every question I had from what veterinarian to use to
where to buy a milk stand. She was so patient with me, and before I left
that day I had given her a deposit for two kids to be born in the Spring.
I decided I would start with a doe and a wether (a fixed male).
April 2008 I brought home Shelby and Rusty, two
Nubian kids. Shelby was rejected
by her mother, so I was able to take her when she was only two weeks old. I
bottle-fed both Shelby and Rusty, and drove thirty minutes away to purchase raw
goat milk for them. From the day I picked up my new kids Mel mentored me
in goat husbandry; she was always only a phone call away. Mel taught me
everything from disbudding my kids to having to assist in deliveries. I would
not be where I am today with my goats without her. I am very grateful to her
for her guidance and friendship.
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| Rusty |
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| Shelby |
Raising goats and farming became my way of life.
I found it very grounding and rewarding. I was also very drawn to the people
you meet and the connections that you make. In my experience, farmers are some
of the best people I have ever had the opportunity to meet. They are
hardworking, loyal, and generous people. I just fell in love with everything
about farm life. I knew with everything in my heart that this is what I was supposed
to do with my life. My journey raising goats and becoming self-sustaining
began.
About three years later I went through some life
changes and I found myself needing to work full-time outside of the house. By
then I had acquired a Mini-Nubian buck, Cooper, and I’d kept one of Shelby's
does, Bailey, who was now two. Shelby had kidded three times and continued to
reject her kids every kidding. She was a wonderful milker, but I became very
concerned that I could not care for her and her kids properly while working
full-time. I was fearful of missing her kidding and losing her kids because she
didn't know how to care for them herself. I had additionally lost the
flexibility to bottle feed four-to-six times a day. I sold Shelby that year to
a wonderful family in Foster, R.I., and I also found good homes for Rusty,
Cooper, and Bailey. By this time Mel had started raising Nigerian Dwarf
goats. She suggested I switch to this breed because they were a lot smaller,
great mothers, and easier to handle. I was hesitant to do so, because I felt
that because they produce about 1/2 the amount of milk that the full-size
Nubian breed does you would have work twice as hard to collect enough milk.
2012, she convinced me and I started my herd
of Nigerian Dwarf goats. I fell in love with them and their milk instantly. By
the end of 2012 I had purchased four does and one buck. Soon after, I met Tom
and we started farming together. About one year ago I left my job to pursue
farming full time. I purchased four more does, a buck, and retained three of
the kids born here on Silk Tree Farm. In the coming weeks I will be featuring
one goat from my herd every week so you can meet them and hear their stories.
