Our Herd
Having milk goats was never something we saw ourselves doing. In fact I am pretty sure at some point in my life I swore I would never own a dairy animal due to the work. With the birth of our first kiddo and finding out his inability to process cow milk we had to find another option. Goat milk worked wonderfully, but paying $30 a month for 2 gallons of milk was not a long term solution. Getting our own goats to milk was an obvious step.
We started with just 2 mini goats and have since progressed up to 6 full size dairy goats. We currently have Registered American and French Alpines and 2 French Alpine Lamancha crosses. Having the larger goats means more milk. Though we use the milk in place of cow milk in everything from cheese to chocolate milk we still have plenty left over. With the extra milk and a need to find a natural skincare product that didn't irritate our kiddos sensitive skin our goat milk soap was born. We now use our goat milk in not only our soap but many of our other bath and body products.
Our Buck
This summer we finally made the decision to buy our own buck. In years past we have always taken our does to a breeder, but have never had great luck with that (ending up with accidental breeding) not to mention the huge hassle and expense. Bucks need to be kept separate from does unless you are trying to breed. They also need to be kept a fair distance away as their pheromones can cause the milk to take on a different flavor. Having a buck meant having different pens and shelters as well as extra work keeping him separated. It wasn't a decision we made lightly and was 4 years in the making. Just this month we brought home a beautiful French Alpine buck named Tomas. He is fitting in very nicely and we are very excited to see his offspring Spring of 2020.
Our Milking Does
We currently have 6 milk does in our herd. At one time we had several more and at others we have had less. This seems to be a pretty manageable number for us and we are pretty happy with our current herd size. Most of our does are either American or French Alpine, but we do have 2 doelings that are half French Alpine and Half Lamancha. They are 2 young to breed yet, but we are excited to try out their milk next year. All of our goats are registered with the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) under our own herd Natural Days Farm.
The Kids
Each season we have anywhere from 4-12 kids. This is a relatively low number compared to most farms, but being a smaller operation we do not need as many milking does and can easily keep a smaller herd that still fills our needs. We usually keep 1-2 doelings and sell all the bucklings. Kids are housed with their dams and are only separated during breeding season when the buck is in the pen and they are too young to breed.
We encourage visitors to the farm to meet our goats as well as our cows, chickens, ducks, and see our bees. We love to give tours and introduce you to everyone as well as share information on how to raise and care for the animals from birth all the way through to the milking process.
We often have classes here at the farm that teach you how to make your own natural products at home and teach you why you should be switching to a natural lifestyle and how to do it. We encourage questions and are always more than happy to share our knowledge on homesteading and living naturally.
How We Care for Them
Our Milking Routine
At Natural Days Farm we only milk once a day. Most farms milk twice a day, but as you can imagine this is very time consuming and produces way too much milk for us. Sabrina is the main caregiver for the goats and the primary milker, though the boys help with preparing the feed and machine. Sabrina hand milked for about 3 years before receiving a milking machine for a Mother's Day present last year. This was a game changer and has made the process so much faster and easier. On the rare occasion Sabrina is out of town or sick her husband Justin steps in and cares for the goats, with help from the boys.
In the fall just before breeding we dry the does off and allow their bodies time to rest. This also allows us time to rest and keeps us from having to milk in the winter, which can be pretty brutal here in Colorado.
Their Feed
Our goats are fed a very high quality orchard grass hay sourced from various ranches in Colorado year round. From Spring to Fall we like to let them out on our pastures to free range, where they enjoy a variety of grass, pine needles, and wildflowers. We also give each milking doe a ration of grain , alfalfa pellets, and black oil sunflower seeds when they are milked. This grain combo helps with their production and overall health.
Health Care Needs
Just like people need vitamins and supplements so do animals. Our animals are given a free choice loose mineral that makes up all the minerals and vitamins they need. Since this is given free choice they can eat when and how much they want to fit their specific needs. We also choose to give them free choice baking soda as we have found this helps to keep the rumen in their stomach happy especially when grazing on green pastures. Ensuring they have the proper balance of nutrients helps produce healthy offspring and great tasting milk.
Our goats are never vaccinated or immunized, which means you will never get any of those ingredients in the milk used in our products. Goats are extremely hardy animals and with proper nutrition and clean facilities vaccinations are not necessary. They are prone to worms in their stomachs though. Fortunately worms are not an issue in the area we live, but to ensure there are no problems we give pine needles and black oil sunflower seeds. The goats love both of these and gobble them up like treats.
Monthly Maintenance
Just like humans have fingernails that need trimmed regularly, goats have hooves that need trimming about once a month. Without proper trimming the hooves will get overgrown and cause problems for the goat. In nature the hooves are worn down by walking on rocks and boulders, but on our farm we are not able to offer that as an option. The goats are put on the milking stand and given a small ration of grain while I use a special pair of hoof trimmers (scissors), a rasp, and a hoof pick to give them a quick pedicure.
Breeding
We start breeding our does once they reach 2 years of age and are roughly 70-80% of their full size. We breed our milking does once a year (roughly in the late fall to early winter) to our French Alpine Buck. Does are pregnant for 5 months and can reproduce immediately after. For the health of our animals we only allow breeding once a year. Being a mamma myself I feel a strong pull to allow our kids (baby goats) to be dam raised same as they would be in the wild. I Keep my kids on the dams for a solid 2 weeks before I start milking then I only milk once a day and allow the babies to be with the moms the rest of the time.
Kidding
Kidding season is from about April to June at our farm. This is always one of our favorite times of year, because who doesn't love to hang out with baby goats. Though I enjoy being present for each kidding to ensure there are no complications, it doesn't often happen that way. Our goats often kid without me around and have done just fine. Both of our boys have been present and helped with many kiddings. Occasionally we have a complication forcing us to bottle feed a kid. This is a ton of extra work, but the boy's favorite part.
We most often have twins with our Alpines, but when we had Nigerians triplets and quads were not uncommon. We also occasionally get the rare single. Doeling (girls) are ideal because we can raise them up to be future milk goats. We usually end up with a pretty even number of boys and girls at the end of each season. All boys are sold once they reach 8-12 weeks of age. We are a smaller operation and it is not financially feasible to keep and feed a bunch of extra boys. We do ensure they all go to amazing homes and many end up becoming herd sires.
Disbudding
This is the process of removing or preventing horns from growing. This is something we have always practiced not only for the goats safety, but also ours. By removing the horns when they are very young we ensure they never get hung up on fences or harm one another. It also ensures none of us are hurt as well. We have 2 young boys as well as many other young children interacting with the goats on a constant basis. Though unintentional and unlikely we do not want anyone getting punctured or hurt by a horn. In the wild horns are necessary to help protect themselves, but not here on the farm.
Happy & Healthy Goats Produce The Best Milk
At Natural Days Farm we believe that happy & healthy goats produce the best milk. In order to achieve this we make sure to go the extra mile in raising our animals naturally. The quality of care we provide for our goats is evident in the quality of their milk, which then shines through in the products we produce. We encourage you to try our soap and other products for yourself to see and feel the difference.
We would love for you to schedule a free Farm Tour where we can show you around, introduce you to the animals, and at the end you will be able to take home a free travel size bar of our amazing soap.