Mondays Adventure to the Goat Farm

 

On Monday we got up early and a trip to the goat farm was planned.    The farm in on a meandering old two lane country road.   It is located in a small valley between two mountains. 

The first stop was the milking parlor.

Each goat needs to be milked two times a day.   A box with their food is placed between the bars and the head is held in place.   Then the udder is cleaned with an antiseptic wipe and the teats are cleaned with Betadine.  A quick squeeze to clear the ducts and then the suction apparatus is attached.

 

The suctioning is very quick an the udder is emptied in a matter of a few minutes.   The goat is then released to do their goaty business.   The goat herd is about twenty nine females and a few billy goats. The billy goats are separated from the  and look longingly at the females with a lusty interest. There are also the kids that were born in the spring and are now adolescents.   The females will be old enough to be bred in the fall.  The males are neutered at about five weeks of age and sold for meat this will happen when they weigh about seventy five pounds.

Records are kept about who had mated with whom to prevent any in breeding and prevent genetic mishap.

 Faulkner the goat admiring the ladies.  Goats do not have upper teeth and their pupils are rectangular which will give them a panoramic vision as opposed to our central vision.  They will be able to see an enemy coming.

The goats are well treated and the farm is very clean.   The milk is then collected and put in a pasteurizer and then collected in cloth bags to drain the liquid.  After it is then made into cheese.   The cheese is feta, and a type camembert to brea, and cheve which is a creamy cheese with the consistency to cream cheese.   The ones I purchased were dill and basil with sun dried tomatoes.  

The farm is Ripshin Goat Dairy.   Unfortunately they do not have internet sales but the farm is spotless and the cheese is excellent.

This is Fritz the farm dog, he is a Great Pyrenees and his job is protector of the goats.   He guards the herd and is on alert for predators such as coyotes.  He goes into the pasture with them and sleeps in the barn with the goats.