Times are changing.

 

I'm paring down. and going to focus on the milk supply and making kefir for anyone that wants it. I used to make all kinds of things. panir, feta, mozarella, sell butter and cream, Ice cream and even art.  I will still have eggs available. More in the coming months. But the focus is MILK. 

5 girls have kidded. :) 3 of those are producing amazing quality milk. The other two i'm holding on to or using for home use only. 

I have a few openings for regular milk customers, If interested send me an email. And as always i will ask you to put down in writing you understand the laws of Florida regarding the sale of raw milk. 

- not for human consumption - 

There are kids for sale. Mostly males. They will be disbudded and vaccinated. 

on being a dairy goat farmer

Kidding season is in full swing here. Not something you can breeze thru easily. I kept thinking today, why? do i do this?  lol.. I love it. The passion for all this work is there. Sitting in the kid pen after they've all eaten and are getting to that stage where they are bouncing around like beach balls. That's just fun. But the hard work is never ending. And i don't think people realize how much work goes into all this. 

It seems it is a never ending cycle of washing bottles, milk bottles, milk jars, buckets and so on. Just when i think i washed them all i realize there are few more in the fridge i need to toss and wash. When you are getting a lot of milk a day waste does happen. Make cheese? of course, between when and when? :) 

The constant cleaning. The milk room, the stand, the goats, the stalls, the kids. Everything is in a cycle of disarray. Clean the stalls. Clean the hay room. Clean water buckets. and so on. that is everyday work on top of now goats giving birth. and now twice daily milkings. 

Today was a particularly hectic day when a goat kids. You really can't plan for it. While you might know that goat is going to kid today or tomorrow you just don't know exactly when. 

Serendipity kidded out right at 4 pm. This is the normal time i bring the girls in to milk. And then after bring the kids bottles. Yikes. I had to sit down and plan out my attack - it was all happening at once. Who do you take care of first? Existing goats ? newborns? momma that just kidded ? or babies that need their bottles. I literally came in the house after grabbing the two newborns (put them in the stall) and sat down. what comes first? It sort of puts you into this daze of so much to do you do nothing...

Serendipity seemed fine. but needs to pass that placenta. I don't want that on my stand or in my milk room. We let her be... The newborns they weren't standing yet. but content. No crying or adverse signs of distress. I let them be for a bit as well. I know some say you MUST feed colostrum within first hour. I say not really - you have hours before that window closes. What next ? 

Existing milkers were SCREAMING to be milked. That in itself is enough to put everything else on hold and get them settled. Luckily, they're in a good place and stand at the door to be milked. I bring Jasmine in first. She is a bit of a bully. Ok, let's face it she is an ass. .. so in she comes. Gallon easy today after i've milked her twice today. i Realized i'm out of metal containers for new milk. Crap. Now i'm moving milk to jars for customers, moving milk to plastic for me. Made room for the new milk and we continue....

Then comes psycho and abbey my two first fresheners and they're slowly getting the drill... I don't have to chase them across two paddocks to catch them. They know now yummy food awaits beyond that door. A blessing it's not a rodeo the first two weeks i was milking them. Wait? what? i check calendar. Wow. It's almost a month i've been milking those two. Where did that time go? 

They're all milked. Lets check on new mom.. she is now ready for her first milking. Because she is an old hat at this, i didn't even need to coerce in to the milk room or even on the stand. So happy for that. 

First thing is clean that udder. Its a mess. You've got all kinds of bloody mess on there and it all needs to be pristine to milk. I would say this is a 10 minute ordeal. She milks out but not good. Tastes a bit salty still -- I've been treating her for that since her last milking months ago. So glad i milked her last. This way the milk gets tossed. and bucket is ready to be cleaned. She is still eating. I treat again. and i give a bit of meds since she isn't uber bouncy. Granted she just gave birth but you just know when they are a bit off. She seemed just a tad worn out more so then normal. The younger ones heck they might drop their kids, and then run to the hay bin not ten minutes later. It's one of those things you learned to discern when its help time. Or when it leave them be. 

What did i forget? Oh the newborns. I need to make some colostrum from a bag. Meanwhile, friend shows up to help me feed the bigger kids. So happy for this help. By the time i've made the bottles for the newborns she is almost done feeding the piranhas. yes, at this point they are just that. Just point a bottle at them and they'll suck it down in nothing flat. 

I feed the newborns. But not without some trouble. Neither want to latch on. And you have to sort of trick them into this. With patience doable. Who has patience at this point. :) 

So you sit. and wait. And try again. And sit and wait and try again. Sooner or later they figure it out. They each get 8 oz and wow. we're done... 

Not so fast. The bottles need to be cleaned. I need coffee. and food. I eat a few slabs of cheese and keep going. I go into milk room and remove the feed. (must hide from chickens). Clean the stand. Hose the floor. Realize i need to make room in fridge. Again. I sit and pause. What else? Spray down the table. Come in house. Pour coffee. Sit down to write this. Till i hear babies cry. OH NO! not another one kidding ... are you kidding me? 

So from start of the moment i saw the newborns today and documenting all this, it's been about 5 hours. Granted, because i'm a bit older i don't rush thru things. I will sit and stop and take a breath. And guess what? It's time to feed the newborns again.  

Like i mentioned above ... this isn't for the faint of heart. and the passion needs to be there.  And like i told a friend of mine, what else should i be doing ? sitting on the computer and scrolling thru Facebook? 

Today was definitely a long day. So glad tomorrow is Saturday. With nothing planned. I think. 

Happy 2025 update

 

THE GOATS

Things are starting to look up on the farm front. Keeps my mind off the rest of the country problems. 

2020 i was sick. and it lasted years, and still remnants of it today. It doesn't help that *gasp* i'm turning 60 this year.  So, I honestly, have no idea what is age related vs. covid relate. 60 ...  How did that happen?  And true to that - things are a bit slower and not as much gets done in the time frame it used to. 

Two goats just kidded. and they were a handful. They were both born in 2021-2022 time frame and dam raised. (raised by their moms). During that time frame i was barely keeping myself alive - not enough time and energy to have consistent hands on with the goat kids that were born that year. And wow. Never again will I dam raise. These two are slowly coming around but, not before they try to kill me. 

Both of them have collars and long leads on right now -- to catch. And even one has a broken leg and still a fighter. Once on the stand they are champs. They tuck in and let me milk them effortlessly ... but getting them on that stand....nightmare. I suspect it will become easier the more we do it. 

They used to run when i got too close. Now with some TLC i can pet and massage with out a rodeo ensuing. One of them even came up to me today for a pet. nice!

Winston my little Nigerian Dwarf bred them. So the babies are tiny. So cute. So not what i want to continue the herd genetics. I hope he didn't get the others still bred. 

5 of them. 5 more to kid soon. Not too soon. Next week would be good. This gives me time to settle these two. Get the milk supply up and running. and get everything organized again. The others have no issues. all wonderful milkers. Old hats. 

It is taking about 2 hours in the morning. and 2 in the evening for the milking and feeding of babies. Everything has to be just right. Feed in the bucket stand. Milk pails clean and sanitized. the milk room clean and while the actual milking part only takes minutes. The prep always takes longer.  I'm down two fridges. I got rid of them during the pandemic. I see now i might need them again. We'll see. 

The babies. How sweet. I've never kidded out such small kids before. But already turning into mini piranhas only after 4 days. 

THE CHICKENS

The best part of this life is the ability to have all these farm animals. And the chickens need so little care  and they're thriving. I took in 12 a couple years ago and they're laying great. But, it is time for a new delivery of some chicks and will be ordering from McMurray soon. 

Right now as the stores are limiting egg quantity purchases, i foresee it not getting better any time soon. Getting an order in now will have laying hens in about 4-5 months. And will be in full swing with milking the girls and having eggs as well. 

As Always, I write to remind myself what i'm doing. and the ability to look back on all this.. 

Gotta #lovefarmlife

20 years... Things are a changing. Not for the better.

 

The girls lounging in the sunlight in grass/weed/mint that they can't eat.
It blew in from neighboring yards that use landscape services that
don't realize that what is on their blades from

another location is bringing these weed seeds in. 

I thought i better update on all things farming. 

I have been living here in S. FLorida in Loxahatchee for over 20 years now. I remember when i started this blog over 15 years ago and never thought i would still be here... doing what i love. But here I am. 

But things change. The more I stay the same, the more everything around me doesn't. And there is no amount of trying to keep it - as it was. I've tried... on the environment. On the land. On the rural nature of us. On the customer and client. On the livestock. Things just change. And for someone that doesn't like change much, it does add a layer of frustration in every day life. 

I don't know if I don't like change or is it the learning curve to keep adjusting. And that is with everything. Farming yes, but even daily life and design things. Keeping up is timely. And it seems like things change faster then in past. Just as i'm learning more about some software and a new update comes in- with more changes to learn about. 

I'm still here. Still a staple in the community for all things rural. It just gets more and more difficult. 

Friends i've known for 15-20 years are moving out. Leaving any equity they've created in the area. It's too expensive. Too crowded. Too.... urban. and those moving in are nothing like what is leaving. Expectations of urban life they left, keep slipping in... They don't even realize the damage they do. 

The area is becoming more urban/ suburban... People moving out here haven't a clue what this area is meant to be. What is should be. What is only a very few areas left in Florida like this... 

The road is now paved (milled). All the empty lots are now homes. Many of which are filled with urban dwellers that don't care how to keep us rural. They want their services. And this area is not meant for them. They complain about taxes vs. services. but forget they are paying for premium of an acre of land. 

We are AR /RSA- Rural service area. and i loved that. But that meant dirt roads. 10 miles to the nearest shopping plaza. 5 miles to the nearest gas station. Dirt roads and goats and pigs as neighbors. And crowing roosters. lots of them. Street lights are going up at every turn. Roads widening. Even the night sky is changing. Light pollution. These types don't like the dark! Why is that? How rare to be able to see the stars at night. That's now changing as well. 

The cost of living has increased so much that the Property appraiser, it seems doesn't even want to give (and seem to be pulling) AG classifications on less then 2-4 acres. why? I'm not quite sure. The math doesn't add up? more hobbyist then commercial?  For me, living here so long, does make it worthwhile, because i'm locked into that 3% cap every year. But the minute i want to improve on the property? that will change. The AG classification also helps. That could change. Improving the property here is not going to happen because it will increase taxes. And right now, mine are looking pretty good comparatively to newly purchased homes. Ridiculous in differences. 

The cost of feed and hay is becoming burdensome. The cost is 4 times even 5 times when i first started. $9-10 for a bag of layer feed 20 years back. Cheapest i find now is $22-29 and that isn't even the designer feeds. Hay was around $12-20 for a 50-100# bale. Now its $25-$50 so thats $25 per 50# of hay. and the prices keep  going up. Peanut hay is around $20 bale for 40lbs of it. small flakes. so, i still need to feed double i used to. 

Bonzai out in the middle of the day to do his patrolling. They both are
in the house now more then ever because of the lack of knowledge
of neighbors and what an LGD is supposed to do. 

Anything delivered South of Lake Okeechobee and we get slammed with increased fuel costs. Time it takes to travel to S. Florida.

What prompted me to write this today.. Some lady on FB was complaining on the cost of raw dairy - goat or cow -  This isn't a state where land isn't a premium. Where the footprint of the state isn't like traveling 3-4 states. Where the economy is not high. home values might have skyrocketed around the country. But is it $250,000 for an acre of land ? as that is the going price in my county for ONE undisturbed acre out here. Of course price increases closer to the Ocean.

Staying put... essentially has saved me in some ways. Thinking of starting over in another part of the state? or in another state is daunting. I'll be turning 60 this year. Things are supposed to get easier. Not where i am always (it seems) chasing my tail to keep up. 

Essentially, we lost this fight. The fight to keep the area RURAL. The last 5 years we've been fighting to keep us unincorporated. There is unending traffic out here. Arden/ Westlake/ Avenir... They are all filling up with homes. Urban stack'em and pack'em homes. HOA's and the people that love to live in them. Sometimes that population is trickling into our area... why? well when you see a home for $700k even if it is new, and then you see something cheaper with an acre of land surrounding... what would you do ? 

Even the statutes are starting to block us in. If this area ever incorporated? There is a new Statute that essentially blocks incorporated areas from the ability to use the 'Right to Farm' act. and a few other statutes become null after incorporating. 

Back to that lady complaining. Yikes. Cost of milk - the real cost of milk isn't just in the bag of feed you feed. or hay you feed. Its EVERYTHING> the cost of gas. The taxes we pay. Vet bills. Increases in utility bills. Cost and value of services we need. I remember an entire acre of fencing was no more then $1-2k... People are getting quotes minimum $10k for an acre of fenced land. Last year someone estimated 90ft for $1500 and that didn't include the posts. i already have them. of course, he was trying to add ft to the estimate as well. Not honest. Not having it. 

so am I - In it for the long haul? Until I can't haul any more. Or i get pushed out. Which it seems is beneficial for the county. Why have an acre or more of land paying only 1/10 of what they can get in today's home value. 

It's been awhile since i posted something on this blog, because it seemed i had said everything useful.. I guess i have a new topic. 

I'm still here... For now... 

Sweet Pea meandering around the yard. 

My dog is special....

"My Dog is Special. My dog would never hurt them. My dog is so sweet. My dogs are too small to do any damage."

Comments I hear constantly. Things that are said by owners-new to goats, and even some not so new to goats.

Comments that make me consider not selling to people that have not done their due diligence. And/ or, only have read a few posts on some random goat group, 90% of which themselves are new to goats, but parrot things they hear from others. They take these comments as expert advice. Every goat group I'm in has that 'expert' when digging a bit further hasn't been in goats very long.

Yes, of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. 

Yes, possibly, your dog might be 'special'. 

But, when its mentioned you need to create separate living spaces for your goats, and where your dogs can not get into, this isn't just random chatter. This is based on fact. 

Dogs are PREDATORS.

Goats are PREY. 

Do you really want to take that chance - one day - in 'play' your dog gets your goat, and then a vet visit is needed. Or worse, dead goat.

Goats run. and jump, and are skittish. They make a dog's natural instincts come out. To chase. A chase that might look like play, that turns into 'catch', and bites happen. And, if you have more then one dog, pack mentality comes into play. I have had my 'pack' (in the past before LGD's) ignore any training they might have had. Ignore me. Ignore a shovel. Ignore a hose on them. Literally, their brain is ancestral, they pack and can kill your goats. 

Dog bites are nasty. Inevitably, a puncture wound is always missed. and a festering wound is deadly to a goat. Stitches. Antibiotics. Followup Vet care. All these things cost money. Time. Pain.  The fact that these are all a given, on top of possibly a dead goat, do you really want to take that chance?  

I see this scenario all the time. I saw my share of goats dieing, or seriously injured at the vet office (when i worked at a vet office).  And guess what the owners still insist? i don't know what happened, MY DOG is so sweet.

Goats that are on hind legs, head butting your dog (or you), is NOT playing. This is not play behavior - its dominance behavior. When you see your goats doing this? this isn't cute. It's not play. and it will incite the dog. If you have a smaller breed dog and full size goat, then the opposite can also happen. One good pummel by your goat and they can break your rib, or a dogs rib. I remember a friend broke her knee, her cute little buck was 'play' ramming and she got in the way.

But in the end it's your decision. It's your decision to not listen to sound advice, or to err on the side of caution. To never let your dogs in with the goats, and if you do, only supervised, on leash.