A few year ago I had a goat milk and goat cheese business. At that time I had over 40 goats but with this economy being as bad as it is people stopped buying the milk and cheese. I continued making soap from some of the milk but found myself throwing away a few gallons a day.  I sold off most of them but keep a few.  These are my newest kids born 7/25/2012.  When born they are up and drinking colostrum, a very thick and  nutrient rich first milk full of antibodies. Within a day they are out and playing.  Kids are usually born in January and Febuary and on the coldest night of the year.  The father to these kids was born here when the temp was bellow zero. I found him in the morning barely breathing and just about frozen to death. I thought he was dead but suddenly saw his hoof move.  He was rushed into the house where I put him in a sink of warm water and put in a feeding tube to put warm colostrum into him.  After about an hour of working with him he was doing better so I continued to tube feed him for a few days then onto a bottle. Now he's over 200 pounds and his name is Frosty. In the one picture you can see an old tractor tire and in the back is a PlaySkool slide.  When the kids are bigger they'll start playing on the slide.  It is so much fun watching them play.  I had another goat named Spot.  He was also a sick little guy that the vet told us he wouldn't live the night. She was wrong.  I took him everywhere with me. He loved to ride in the truck until he got too bid. He was over 250 pounds and stood well over 6 feet on his hind legs.  He was house trained and would sit and shake hands.

I would take him to fairs and walk around with him on his leash. People with dogs would ask, how did you train him to walk so well on a leash. Goats are such loving animals they want to fit in as part of their herd instinct.

OK now you got me going. I guess you can tell I love my farm animals.

My buck is a nubian and the others are a mix of dairy breeds, toggenburg, lamancha, saanen, and alpine. The Saanen are my favorite breed.

An update on the kids. They are all doing well this morning thanks to Ralph, a lamancha wether, a great goat.  There must have been a cyote around last night and Ralph, being the protector that he was, fought them off with the last of his energy. We found him dead this morning.  So many times people wanted to buy him. I was offered 250 but told the buyer he's my buddy and I can't sell him.  I will miss him dearly.