Why goat woman?
Ask my favorite Irish cheerleader – Reggie. Once, when given our handmade goat milk soap to take home with him after a visit to the states – he critiqued the soap and called it very queer. Of course, I was stunned – until his son translated. Queer is the absolute best testimonial word that could be used. He loved that the bar was hard & had all the qualities that he loved in soap . . . Reggie does NOT like liquid soaps. Now, when he talks to his son, he almost always asks how the Goat Woman is . . . and Reggie, I’m loving my new name and all that it encompasses – THANK YOU!!!
Why goats?
I wanted a cow . . . a Jersey cow to be precise. Only I knew nothing about them. I also wanted to be able to transport whatever I bought in a Suburban . . . enter 4H & my teenage daughter. We started in Reno with several Toggenburgs that were already bred. My daughter got a crash course in showing goats and her 1st year milker took first place at the NV State Fair. Our goats got a 3 sided shelter in a very large fenced-in field and a separate, small fenced in area for a birthing pen. They ate all the sagebrush they could find . . . 11 acres of it. We bought pure alfalfa hay – never have seen any hay since like the hay from Northern California. We tried to drink the milk – but sage-flavored milk was not our favorite . . . but we did find a recipe for goat milk soap. . .
Our natural, homemade goat milk soap came from this very simple first recipe. I still have bars left from those days – still wonderful, moisturizing, gentle cleansing, soap -
Then, the transfer came . . . I had to sell my goats. A goat-herder woman came and got all my goats . . . sad day – but they went to a good home at a fraction of what I’d paid for them. When you want milk and healthy animals, and don’t show them – you don’t need all the fancy paperwork . . .
Enter Kentucky and 5 years later – we buy a small piece of property and set out to find milking does. Ooops – no Toggs here . . . Alpines? Nubians? Well, after much searching we found a farm in Indiana with some beautiful Alpines and a herd was started.
We’ve added and now have Alpines – because we LOVE them and Nubians because of the goat milk cheeses we make, yogurt and amount of higher-fat milk they put out. We cannot sell raw milk because of Kentucky law, but we’re working on teaching about goat care, cheese making classes, making goat milk lotion and goat milk soaps – for the health conscious. We also sell great quality stock to get you started.
We use organic principles in raising all of our animals as far as we can. We believe that by giving them the best care, food and shelter available that they will be the most healthy. If an animal needs treatment by medical intervention to save it’s life – it will get it. With good care and hygiene an animal usually will not need intervention.
Watch for more day to day activities around the farm – it’s time to make sure the ladies get bred so we have plenty of milk and products for next Spring . . .
Off to do the best job anyone could have, feed, water & milk the outside family
Have a blessed day,
the Goat Woman