Applegarth Farm: The Goat Herd

Friday, February 28, 2014

The Goat Herd

The grass is beginning to grow again, the robins are singing, and Spring kids are just around the corner! Jersey our Nubian, Zolena our Lamancha, and Snowdrop our little white Nigerian Dwarf are all pregnant and due to kid in 2-3 weeks. I milked up until the first of January and since then the goats and I have taken a nice break. We sure do miss the fresh milk though, and will be happy to start milking again in several weeks. We have an all girl herd now since we sold our buck Cowboy back in January. He went to be a herdsire at another farm with some nice Nigerian Dwarf does. We also sold Joon last Summer to a nice family who were just getting into goats for their family milk supply. The two young cute little Nigerian Dwarf does are from Snowdrop and Cowboy last year, their names are Destiny on the front right and Dahlia behind her.

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Our goal here at Applegarth Farm is to raise children that play in the woods and gardens, and know where their food comes from. To feed the animals and care for their young, to gather eggs, and milk goats, to eat fruit off of trees, and berries from the bushes that we grow, and to eat from the gardens. We are working towards, and teaching them to be as self sufficient as best we can.

With the economy in the state it is, our plan has become even more important. Being able to live on less is one of our goals. Working from home, or close to home is another goal, and growing and harvesting most of our food is a big goal we've been working towards.

We live in a handbuilt home, our heat comes from the firewood we cut, and cooking is often done right on our woodstove. We grow a lot of our own food, and are building our home slowly with cash for materials, and the time to work on it. All of the buildings have been built over the years by my husband from trees grown and milled right on our farm, or from salvaged lumber.

The beginning years started here with no electricity or running water, and were lived in a small cabin, slowy building and clearing land. We are still trying to live as self sufficiently as we can. I am a homemaker and work part time in the nursery (plants and trees) business. We are raising children, tending animals, gardening and cooking from scratch.

Some of the topics you will hear about are; gardening, cooking, beekeeping, chickens, rabbits, building and timberframing. Along with some of my adventures in soapmaking, candlemaking, animal husbandry, plus the everyday of what's going on around the farm. Future building projects include a goat barn, a root cellar, and a pizza/bread wood fired oven. Come learn along with us, and share homesteading skills you are learning. I'm looking forward to meeting others that share a similar path that we're on, or simply others who dream of homesteading.