I have a confession to make. I am an addict. No, no. Not what you’re thinking. I am addicted to goats. I love them. I would buy every single one I see if I could (and my husband is probably thankful that I can’t).
There is just something so irresistible about that sweet face. And the babies! Oh my goodness. Nothing can promote the feeling of pure joy like watching a baby goat bounce around. I have a video of Flash, my Nigerian Dwarf buck, when he was just a few days old. Priceless.
Well today was a big day for me because my awesome hubby took me to get 2 more goats. A Nigerian doe and buck named Angelina and Billy Bob. I think I will call them Angel and Billy because I am not thrilled with the original names.
They are gorgeous. I was hoping Angel would have blue eyes like Flash so we could have blue-eyed babies, but I am very happy with them. I tried to get some better pictures, but they are currently hiding in the back of the stall. Once they are used to their new home, I will get pictures to show you how pretty they are.
About Nigerians
Nigerians are a miniature dairy breed. These new goats are about 13 months old, so they are old enough to breed. This also gives me an unrelated buck to breed with my original Nigerian doe, Ma. Yes, that’s a weird name. We bought her already bred and her name was Nichole, but my daughter’s middle name is Nichole, so that wasn’t gong to work. I started calling her Mama (since she was pregnant) which got shortened to Ma.
Anyhow, the plan is to get a few more females and milk them. I am hoping to make soap and other products to sell, but we will also enjoy drinking the milk ourselves. One awesome thing about Nigerians is they have a sweet, tasty milk. And it is higher in butterfat than most other dairy goats. So I can make butter and yogurt and cheese (I hope). A healthy doe can produce up to 2 quarts of milk a day. Sometimes more. So they are a nice addition to the homestead and our quest toward self-reliance.
Speaking of self-reliance, I am so jealous of the people who gave us the goats. They bought a different farm and they will now have no mortgage. They raise various animals for income and once they move, they will be able to live off of their farm income. They will be self-reliant homesteaders and I am hopeful that we will be able to build a friendship because I love meeting people with the same goals and dreams that I have.
I will learn a lot from them I think. Check out their website, HomesteadingWays.com. I bet you’ll learn some interesting things as well.
Hi there. This is Sandra Vail, Paul’s wife. The doe that you picked up from us this weekend is Clarabell, not Angelina. Angelina was my favorite and she was killed. Idk if you like the name Clarabell or not, but I thought if you knew her name it would be helpful. She does respond to it.
Hi, Sandra! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know. She is still a bit shy and won’t let me touch her, but she is happy to eat sweet feed out of our hands. They are getting along great with the other goats. I am so happy to have them here.
Thanks for tthis blog post