Our Goats - Pippi & Gretel

Pippi & Gretel, Mother and Daughter.

Goats are extremely smart and mischievous. It seems that whenever we left the property Pippi and Gretel would be securely behind their fences, smiling, almost winking to us; upon our return we would find both happily eating our fruit trees or enjoying the "greens" of the day from our vegetable gardens.

Our original thought was that our two new homestead members would with great gusto dine upon the poison ivy that grows about the back part of our property. Actually, they loved it! We recommend goats for poison ivy control.

My wife is not partial to goats milk, while I do not mind the taste, my hope is to learn about making goat milk products such as soap, goat cheese, and goat milk yogurt.

Choosing to add goats to your homestead will add additional work. Goats are very strong and can be hard to handle so be prepared for at least one or two wrestling matches with them at some time. Remember too that no matter how cold in winter, hot in summer, or rainy in spring livestock becomes a responsibility that can not be overlooked or ignored. Think about all possible pro's and con's before adding any living creatures to your home.

Brett