New Additions to a New Venture

Not many know, but we don't keep the "normal" kind of pets. We have had goats since our oldest (child) was a baby (~6 years). We started with 2 and had 6 (until last week as our herdsire Phillip passed). Below is our original herd. Chelsea is the momma. Stephen & Briar Rose were born March 2008 and Edward & Lilly were born in October 2008. Chelsea is expecting anytime now. They are Pygmy/Nubian crosses.

As we are approaching the day that I will be home full-time ~ my husband is working to find ways to provide (as he has just started his own construction business after he was laid off last fall). So what does this have to do with goats you are asking??? We are going into the Goat Business. Surprisingly there is quite a market for it. This is where our new additions come in. Our Pygmy babies are just not suited for making big babies or good for milking. So here is the start to our "business" herd.

Lilly Pie, originally Lilly, but we had a Lilly and didn't want to give her a new name. She really isn't for the "business" herd. She is like a puppy dog. She follows you around in the yard when we let her out. She wasn't part of the original sale, but when picking up the other two, she came home too. She is a Norwegian Dwarf.

Dottie is a Nubian/Saanen. She is our first Doe. The people we got her from think she might be expecting - she looks like it but I guess we will find out in about a month or so. She is a bit timid so we are working with her and taking our time with her so she will learn to trust us.

Teeny is Dottie's first baby. She is solid black which I have never seen. Her daddy was a full blooded Nubian. She also is timid, a bit more than Dottie. So again we will be working with her. Feed is a great tool to work with to get them to trust us.

As you can see, we are in the very beginning stages of this new endeavour. Not sure how I feel about it yet. My husband is confident and I am choosing to trust his judgement. I am excited and but a little nervous at the same time. The girls and I will be the ones taking care of their daily needs. Which I don't mind at all ~ I love our goats! I'm nervous about the whole "milking" thing. I am sure that once we get it all figured out it will become routine and be okay. I've never milked anything before though. I also am not sure how settled I will be with selling them knowing that they are going to be "meat" and not "pets". So this is our new adventure that we will be taking on as a family and with much prayer.