We've raised goats off and on since 2007.
Our latest herd started when we needed a milk goat to raise a bottle calf. Stormfly was the lone goat, but did her job well and raised 2 bottle calves for us in 2020! Once we weaned the last calf, we decided to dry her up and added a Spanish buck and doe Fall of 2020.
I've always loved goats and was able to talk my husband into trying something new. I enjoyed having a milk goat, but knew I didn't want a herd of large milk goats. I did lots of research and decided to try our luck with Nigerian Dwarfs. Along the journey of finding my Nigerian buck and does, I picked up 2 additional bucks, a LaMancha and a Nubian. By the end of Spring 2021, we went from 3 head to 18. I would like to add one more LaMancha doe and a couple of Nubian does by the end of this year.
Our current plans are to raise a crop of full-blooded kids for Spring of 2022 and then try mini LaManchas and Nubians for Spring of 2023. I plan to milk everything next summer and expand our uses beyond raising bottle calves. I hope to master making cheese, soap and lotion. I should have plenty of milk to experiment with by next summer!