Here at The Cluckin' Egghole we raise more than poultry, we are also goat farmers and we have one Jersey bull. We are just starting out, it's been two years since we purchased our farm and our little farm family has grown exponentially.
Never would we have thought that we'd be farmers. In fact, when we purchased our property our only intent was to buy a little piece of country to enjoy being away from populated areas. We just wanted a quiet and serene place to call home. We definitely achieved that and much more!
Our home came with some fences, which we regrettably asked to be removed. It had never crossed our minds that we would become farmers, in fact, we had decidedly chosen not to raise livestock...
We were introduced to the local sale barn where we watched as animals were pushed through and sold to the highest bidder. This is when the idea sparked within us that we could join this crowd of farmers, but we would do it differently. You see, we have had some pretty bad luck at "the barn" as I call it. It seems that every animal that goes through there has something wrong with it or is very ill but you can't tell in the brief moment they are shown to the crowd.
We decided to venture into the world of private sales in order to build our herd. However, I will credit the sale barn for the spark of goat love that started within me. I grew up in a somewhat large town in Iowa. I was a "city" girl, and while I have always loved animals, the thought of scooping poo and caring for ill animals did not appeal to me in the least...and then, I laid my eyes on a baby goat which was being held in a box left under a table at the sale barn. I sat on the bench next to the goat wondering where the owner had run off to. The goat escaped the box several times and each time I place him or her (I wasn't sure at the time) back into the box. When the goat continued to escape I decided to hold it in my arms and wait for the owner's return. I spent a good twenty minutes cuddling this goat before an Amish man approached me and asked where I got the goat. I told him it was just in the box and pointed under the table. The man explained that it was his goat, so I handed it over. I told him that I was only trying to help keep the goat safe, as it kept escaping from the box. The man simply walked away, I am fairly certain I was not supposed to hold the goat...but I have no regrets because it was that day that I fell in love with goats and the desire burned within me to have my own.
I searched the marketplaces for a baby goat of my own and found out that you can't just buy one goat, they are social creatures and get too lonely if they are on their own. That was fine with me, two baby goats sounded just right to satisfy the need within me. I explained my case to my husband and managed to locate a private seller who was looking to re-home two baby Nigerian Dwarfs. (They are the cutest, by the way!)
We brought Willow (female with white head) and Charlie (male, all black) home, filling my heart with joy. However, they refused to take the bottle and spent the entire night crying so I contacted the previous owner and asked if there was any way I could buy their mother. If you've never heard a goat cry, it is a heart wrenching sound. I couldn't stand to seem them so sad and was worried that they would die from not eating. The previous owner agreed to sell me their mother if I would also purchase their brother.
So, Daphne (the mother) and Carl (male, white on the nose) joined our farm family. My husband grew very attached to them as well and decided he'd like to expand this goat family so I reached out to the previous owner and asked if she had any other goats she would like to part with. She informed me that she and her husband were actually trying to downsize their farm and explained that she did have a Boer with two doelings she would be willing to part with. We agreed and...
We were right to be cautious, the new goat kids were all coughing, some had diarrhea, and they were all underweight. These are all things you can't see when the animals are pushed through the viewing platform momentarily at the auction. So, we contacted our vet and had a fecal performed...only to find out that the entire herd had coccidia and other parasites...our hearts sank but our determination to get our new goats well and keep our others from getting sick grew. We purchased the medications from the vet, administered them all which was a very long process...especially since we also trimmed hooves (which had never been done on the new goats) while cutting out ear tags and then administering the medications (Panacur).
Crackers is the goat with her tongue sticking out, she's a turd :)
We managed to help 22 of the goats overcome the parasite infestation, but we still have one kid, Little Lady, who is struggling. She was our smallest kid purchased with this group. We continue to work with her daily, we've finished the second round of medication which greatly reduced her strength and energy...but she hasn't given up and neither have we!
We have learned so much over the past five months since bringing our first goat home. It seems much longer than five months. One hard lesson was that not all vets are equal, it's important to shop around and find a vet who actually loves their job and cares about the animals they treat. We also learned that when you are de-worming a herd it is extremely important to provide vitamin supplements because the worms and treatment deplete the goats of their vitamins and nutrition. We are still learning and are extremely far from being experts... we've been told numerous times that in order to be a farmer you can't get attached to your animals, you have to look at them as a paycheck...that isn't how we function. We care for these animals as if they were our own children. We make sure to treat them the best way we know how. I've also read from other farmers that when an animal is in pain you should put it down... I can see how this would be true in severe cases, but there are pain medications and methods of helping an animal get well that should be tried first, in my opinion.
All this to say, we are more than just chicken farmers...and we continue to grow. Stay tuned to follow Little Lady on her journey of recovery. If you pray, please pray for her...she is having a rough time of it, but is very loved. Her needs are being met to the best of our ability. If you have any advice, we are always willing to listen. We are still learning after all. If you are a vet, please remember that not every farmer is just in the game to make a buck, many of us actually love our animals and bedside manner is important!
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