Getting Goat-Ready

If you had asked me a year ago if I wanted goats, I would have laughed and said, “no way!”  But you see, something happened when my family went to visit my brother.  He had goats and of course, the kids loved them.  The funny thing is…I loved them too!  They were friendly, softer than our dogs, and quite amusing animals.  So we began talking about our future with goats.  What if we got goats?  Where would we put them?  How many would we get?  What kind would we get? 

(Originally, we wanted fainting goats but found out they didn’t necessarily “faint” when they got spooked.  That’s too bad!  I was really looking forward to some good laughs when they fell over.  They also happen to be meat goats and we were leaning more toward milk goats for future milking opportunities.) 

Who would we get them from?  What do goats eat in the winter?  How much care do they really need?  So many questions!  So many things to think about!  But, if there’s one thing we do well, it’s plan for our future. 

Fast forward a few months and we now have a yard sectioned off for them.  We didn’t really use that part of the yard anyways and now we won’t have to mow it.  YAY!  We installed field fence with telephone poles and t-posts, strung barbed wire across the top, and hung an old metal gate my parents had in their barn from years ago when they had livestock.  The gate really gives us the true homestead feel.  We even added an old iron bell to give the place some character. 

Another thing we decided was that the goats would need a small shelter from the wind and rain, so we spent a cold Saturday building one from repurposed wood and metal sheeting.  I think we only spent money on some screws.  It just took some time and effort and an amazing husband that is very handy!  This was a day that had a couple of cancelled soccer games due to the flood rains the day before.  It was not a pretty day at all…cloudy with a strong north wind.  That didn’t stop us though…nor did it stop our kids from playing outside and taking time every now and then to come see what we were doing.  They watched as they were swinging and teeter tottering and climbing in their fort.  We took some time to help them fly their new kites seeing how the wind was so strong and Granny even came over and played with them and allowed us to have a mini-date to go to the hardware store.  At the end of the day, we were very pleased with the goat shed AND the memories we had made.

We spent another afternoon making sure all the gates had good latches and strung t-posts and barbed wire around a tree to make the pen escape proof…we hope.  We researched and knew we needed to try our best to keep the goats in their pen.  They can be quite the little escapees and the last thing we need to do is chase down goats!  Only time will tell if we have done a good job.  Again, the kids were right there with us, throwing the football to us when we happened to be hands free and sometimes when we weren’t looking. 

 

My Take-Aways:

1. Working on the homestead is good for the whole family.  Getting goat-ready has created many opportunities for our family to get outside and complete projects together.  The kids are young and may not be able to give hands-on help, but they are there to watch and learn and it develops a good work ethic when they see their parents working together for a common goal. 
2. Always be willing to learn new things.  We didn’t know hardly anything about goats (and probably still have a lot to learn), but we don't let that stop us.  The amazing thing about technology is that we can search the internet and find out pretty much anything we need or want to know.  In turn, we are teaching our kids, not only the new-found knowledge, but also that they can be life learners as well.  Learning doesn’t stop when you get done with formal education.  Keep learning!
3. You can achieve your goals.  It takes time and effort, but whatever you are dreaming about can be done.  Even if it is as silly as getting goat-ready.