A blog dedicated to cheesemaking, cheese tasting and appreciation and all things cheese and dairy related, from a VIAC-certified urban cheesemaker.
SFGate: Should You Get a Goat?
Over at SFGate.com, Jennie P. Grant, author of the recently published “City Goats: The Goat Justice League’s Guide to Backyard Goat Keeping” (Skipstone, $17.95) and founder of the Goat Justice League (yes, you read that right), shares some tips and considerations for those thinking about getting a goat or two (she recommends two at least) of their own:
— Do your homework: If you are serious about keeping goats, study up. First, check to find out whether your municipality allows them.
— Two-goat minimum: Goats are herd animals. You must get at least two or they will become stressed and act out in ways only a goat could dream up.
— Keep your mower: Everyone will tell you that goats will mow your lawn. Wrong. Cows and sheep are grazers, eating vegetation below knee level. Goats are primarily browsers, eating things above knee level. This can include, if you’re not careful, your prize roses and rare maples.
— Basic needs: Your two goats will need a yard of at least 400 square feet surrounded by a solid fence, and a sturdy shed (sound roof, dry floor) at least 6 by 8 feet so they can get out of the rain.
Feed and supplies run about $75 per month. A pair of goats will eat a 50-pound bag of alfalfa pellets and half a bale of hay every month.
— Kidding around: Five months from the date of a female’s breeding, you will need to help her deliver kids (she probably won’t need much).
At 8 weeks, they will be ready to leave home. Females can find homes as dairy goats. Most males are neutered. Some get jobs with brush-clearing outfits, some find homes as pets, some, yes, end up as goat stew.
check out the full article.
Airborne cuteness at sproutcreekfarm:
The kids were excited to play outside today!
Track:
Episode 91 - Goats!
Artist:
Anne Saxelby
Download 20 plays
On the latest episode of her podcast Cutting The Curd, Anne Saxelby talks Goats!
Cutting the Curd - Episode 91 - Goats!
Today’s episode of Cutting the Curd is all about goats! Tune in as Anne Saxelby and Sophie Slessinger chat with Louisa Conrad of Big Picture Farm in Vermont about all things goat. Learn how she fell in love with goat cheese and what makes kidding season such a crazy time of year. Find out about how the seasons affect the milk and cheese and what makes goats such unique creatures! Later on, they catch up with Gregory Bernhardt and Hannah Sessions of Blue Ledge Farm who are also in full-blown goat mode.
Learn more, listen, or subscribe to the podcast at the episode page on Heritage Radio Network. And Louisa is also on Tumblr at icelandicbutterflies.tumblr.com.
Study: Goats Can Have "Accents"?
via lukecaseinpoint:
Oi! Oy’m a goat frum Angland!
Seeing as I’ve been feeding goats every day for the past week I wonder if they’d respond differently if I speak to them in a German accent during tomorrow morning’s breakfast feed. Sam, the billy has a completely different baaa to his harem of 14 ladies. Much lower and surprisingly quieter. ”Researchers found that as goats grew older and moved with different herds, their voices changed to adopt the specific call of their new herd”….
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/weird/Goats-Have-Accents—139439808.html#ixzz1mkwFDkCR
