Real questions from people over the years
Do you really drink goats milk??
Yes
What does it taste like??
It tastes like cow’s milk but not the kind you buy in the store
Do you butcher goats??
Occasionally
Are the goats mean and eat everything??
Goats are like big dogs, very friendly and enjoy having their heads rubbed. Goats eat grass, brush and most grains (no they do not eat tin cans).
Have you ever been head butted by one of your goats??
Male goats may try to push from time to time. I broke a feeding pan over the head of an old goat several years back when he decided to try and push me around. After that, we decided to remove the horns from all our young goat kids just in case.
Do you really eat your chicken eggs??
Yes
Do you worry about Salmonella??
Yes, but only from eggs bought from the store
Are the brown eggs the fertile eggs and the white ones the “kind” you eat??
No there are two kinds of egg layers brown and white… (Had to laugh with this one) Occasionally we give away a dozen or two eggs to friends. I was once asked if they needed to Candle the eggs prior to eating them (No just fix as normal). One friends wife refused to eat the eggs because they were not from the supermarket ( most supermarket eggs are a week or two old). My mother once told me about a place where she got ” Fresh” eggs where she lived, so once when she was visiting for Christmas I brought her in a truly fresh egg, it was still warm from the chicken.
Have you ever broke open an egg and found a baby chick??
No chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch after a hen begins to sit. Our hens are not allowed to go broody by removing the eggs several times daily. We do hatch our own chicken eggs occasionally but in incubators for replacement layers or for stocking the freezer. ( More laughter)
Do you have an Organic Farm??
No, an Organic farm requires special permitting and inspection by the government. Everything we do is simply homegrown and as free of chemicals as possible. We never use hormones or keep our chickens in small “battery” cages. Our goats free range any of three pastures with a small smattering of guineas, chickens, ducks and geese running about.
Do you name your animals??
Most of the goats have names, everything else doesn’t really have names.
Over the years several people have told me that they wanted to move to the country and grow their own food. I have always wondered if they could work from dawn to dusk 7 days a week, 365 days a year, rain or shine for little or no money?? Many of the same people have been raised on TV, never used a firearm, don’t really understand getting dirty and have never spent a full day in their life working outside in the 100 degree temperatures. In the sanitized life of the general public I think there is a naiveté about growing food, where it comes from and how it’s done. One time I had a co-worker ask me why anyone would live like that when you can buy food at the supermarket?? About a year ago in a personal introduction to a group I was laughed at then they found out my degree is in an agriculture related field, and then asked why anyone would get a such degree??
All I can say is, that just like the Military (I am a former US Marine) for those that never have, will never completely understand. Or at the very least if they ever do it will probably be too late