Impulse Purchase: A Herd of Goats

I met Beth at work, who was hired to direct the children’s program at a weekend-long event back in September. We got to talking over lunch, and soon enough, we had shared most everything about ourselves, but most importantly, the fact that my husband and I lived on a farm, and that her boyfriend (who also lived on a farm) was relocating and was looking to re-home his herd of goats. Before I was finished eating, I wanted these goats, and couldn’t wait to tell Tyler all about them.

The minute we finished lunch I grabbed my phone and called Tyler to tell him about Beth and these goats. I was convinced the goats would make a good addition to the farm. Practically, we could use them for clearing away weeds in hard to reach areas, and having goats would get us one step closer to sustainable living by providing milk to consume, or make cheese, butter, and yogurt.

To my surprise, Tyler agreed, and we once again found ourselves needing to build a permanent structure for this new addition to our farm (looking back we should have utilized the barn space we already had, but you live and you learn). This time, we found some simple run in shed plans online, gathered our materials, and got to work. We also had to build an adequate pasture space for for the goats so they could graze. And, since we were buying four does and one buck, we needed to make two sheds and two pastures to keep them separate. Needless to say we had a lot of preparation work to do before the goats arrived.

As “pickup day” drew nearer, we were filled both with excitement and stress. Adding goats to the farm involved more responsibility than adding chickens to the farm. They were, of course, larger animals and had more value (and risk) to them than the chickens. Frankly speaking, if a goat became ill and died, we would lose more than if the same happened to a chicken. Goats also needed more space, and we were taking a risk by sacrificing some of our precious hay fields for their pasture space. We also knew that the only way we could get milk, and potentially make money off the goats, was to breed them (which we knew nothing about). Everything about the goats was unfamiliar territory, but that was part of the excitement.

We still had a few loose ends to tie up with the goats’ accommodations, but “pickup day” had arrived. We made arrangements to borrow a horse trailer from a friend, and took the 1.5 hour journey to Poplar Farms in New Jersey to pick up the goats. Prior to this, we had only seen the goats in pictures. It was only then, when we pulled up next to the farm, that I realized how large these goats actually were.

We talked with the owner for a bit, and then the inevitable came - it was time to move the herd. We all got into place. My job was to sit in the trailer, Beth was the trailer door keeper, and Al (the owner) and Tyler were responsible for physically moving the goats. Al wanted first to move the feistiest one. He corralled all the does into their shed and closed the door. We heard some banging at first as he tried to maneuver around the small space (it was simultaneously humorous and frightening), the door opened, and then out came Al with Cappuccino in his arms. Cappuccino was thrashing about in Al’s arms, obviously distressed by the situation, and Tyler had to step in. Together, Tyler and Al carried her towards the trailer, one holding the front half of her body, the other holding the back half.. After some time, they were able to get her into the trailer, and the door was shut. I found myself face to face with Cappuccino. She clearly was not comfortable with me, and the fact that she could sense my discomfort probably did not help either.

With the most difficult doe in the trailer, Al and Tyler went back to the shed to move the rest of the does. One by one they came - MJ, Greta, and Penny. Next was Zeus, the buck. Without imagination here you won’t be able to properly visualize, and therefore appreciate, what a feat it was for Al and Tyler to get the buck onto the trailer. Zeus is easily a 175+ pound full grown Nubian male goat, who easily came up to my chin (I’m a shorty at 5’0 but nevertheless, this is a big goat). First of all, you cannot push, pull or move Zeus unless he wants to be moved. Food is a great motivator, but this guy is also very food aggressive, meaning he will knock you down if you are standing in the way between him and his food. Second, when goats, especially bucks, become agitated they rear up on their hind legs as a sign of aggression and as a show of dominance. Zeus did this on several occasions during the move, and towered over both Al and Tyler. If Zeus had wanted to, he could have easily knocked down or head butted either Al or Tyler. Thankfully, it was all show. After what seemed like an endless struggle, Al and Tyler finally managed to get Zeus into the trailer. We were all quite relieved once Zeus was on board and the door to the trailer was shut.

The four of us chatted for a bit, then Al and Beth said their goodbyes to the goats and to us, and we were on our way. Driving down winding and semi-mountainous roads towing a horse trailer with 5 goats was a bit nerve racking. Neither of us had expected me to drive, and I happily played the supportive role as co-pilot. We returned home in good time and with ample daylight, but wasted no time in unloading the goats. We backed the trailer to the gate of the does’ pasture area, and opened the door of the trailer. The goats were quite hesitant to move, but with some reassurance (and, of course, grain), they followed us into their new home. Surprisingly, moving Zeus took less effort than we anticipated, which we were extremely happy about.

As we cleaned out the borrowed horse trailer, Tyler and I reminisced about the events of the day. All the work and preparation for the goats had paid off. We were now the proud owners of a herd of goats and Colden Springs Farm felt more like a real farm than ever! We didn’t know what sorts of new projects the goats would bring, but we sure were excited to find out!