I think that getting and raising some goats is a real possibility for this year. Our good friends at the Possibility Alliance have three pregnant Alpine goats which are due to birth this April. They’ll have up to nine kids to deal with, one of which they want to keep, and it seems likely there will be at least two other females in the mix, and they are open to giving them to us. So that takes care of the first step: finding the goats.
I finished reading Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way, which has been pretty much my only exposure to goat-raising thus far. It’s a pretty comprehensive book and written for homesteader types, so the perspective is in line with my values. But in another couple of weeks, I’m hoping to trek down to the Possibility Alliance to spend some time with the goats, to feel them out and get a handle of what this venture is going to require. (The does are not producing milk right now, since they are pregnant, but I’ll at least get a sense of their temperment, and help to clip their hooves.)
I’m definitely excited about the prospect. I’ve been talking mostly with Thomas about raising them, and I imagine we’d do most of the work together to get them set up here. But eventually I can foresee something of a co-op getting established. Time will tell.
I hope the goat project works out. Cortney and I are looking forward to having a few milk goats years down the road, and it’d be wonderful to see them in action at DR.
Hoping you post again after you meet the preggo moms,
Joan
Go for it! The only downside we found is that they are too inquisitive for their own good sometimes. They get their heads stuck in the fence and they are great escape artists (and they head off to the veggie patch, etc.).