So more about the goats. 

So why don’t I have goats yet? Well to be honest, I am being either a little picky or selective. My husband says wait for the goats you really want. After lots of reading, watching vlogs and etc, I decided Nigerian Dwarf goats would be the best fit for our little homestead. Our little homestead is just over an acre and we don’t have a lot of space to spare. Nigerian Dwarf goats require less space and of course take up less space. Nigerian Dwarf goats are also known to be friendly and make good pets. Since the goats will almost be in my backyard I would like them to be friendly and cute. Previously I thought that I would need to start with two does (young female goats). I started searching locally for two does, quickly discovering that the goat market locally for Nigerian Dwarf was a tight market. Apparently, I am not the only homesteader dreaming of cute tiny goats. When I did find available goats, in a couple of questions, I would find out they were not the goats for me. I want the goats to be young, healthy, debudded (no horns), caught up on vaccinations, and reasonably priced. After much looking, I discovered that I will probably be paying about 500 $ for the goat I want. After putting my name on a goat waiting list, yes that exists, I was planning on a set of cute Christmas goats,that is when they would have been available to join our little homestead, but sometimes life happens. My cute little mamma goat (that I was on reserve with), did not give birth. Right around that time period my car broke down and I had to dip into my goat account to cover the cost. It just wasn’t the right time.

What do I plan to do with my goats? Of course there will be added work, any time you add an animal to a homestead there is added work. Goats however can make several helpful contributions to your homestead. I would of course want to milk my goats. Goat’s milk contains a lot of protein and healthy fats along with calcium, potassium, Vitamin A, and Iron, a combination we strive to consume on our little homestead. Nigerian Dwarf goats are known for being great dairy goats. Even though they are small in size they produce lots of cream rich milk. About five years ago I realized that my body was not responding well to cow’s milk and several dairy products. I have tried goat cheese and have enjoyed learning how to substitute it in several recipes. In order to continue to milk my goats I will need to make sure they are bred yearly. I found a farm that will provide me an unrelated buck for breeding my goats at a low cost. I should be able to regain my investment by selling young baby goats. Once I have a goat that I am milking regularly I will of course experiment with butter, icecream, and several other goat milk possibilities.

     Goats are also used for country weed eaters. One of my homestead friends who owned goats in the past told me, she had no idea what her goats were eating until they were gone.  She soon found out her weed population increased without her goats.  We have plenty of weeds here on the homestead and during the summer have a large weed pile that grows quickly.  The thought of being able to decrease our weed pile was the selling point for my husband.  Of course I know I will have to watch them closely and try to keep our cute tiny goats fenced in so that they don’t devour all my flowers, garden, and landscaping. In future blogs I will cover the affordable shelter we built, the fence challenge, and more about waiting on my tiny goats. 

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