est. 2002
Tailor
Vern
Jewel
Whinnie
Kot'n Top
07 Baby X
08 Lolla
08 Lulu
08 Kids
Turkeys
Goat Info - for all goats
breeds, not just Nigerians
The goat is Capra hircus with intact males being called bucks, castrated males called wethers and females called does or nannys. The young are called kids.
Goats are hollow-horned, cloven-hoofed ruminants. Ruminants require fiber or roughage to ensure proper function of the rumen, a modified part of the stomach wherein bacteria digest cellulose from plants into usable nutrients. Rumination is a process which permits an herbivore to forage and ingest food rapidly, then complete the chewing at a later time. They need peace and quiet to ruminate. Healthy goats spend a third of their life, ruminating, which is belching up a ball of grass from the stomach, chewing it and then swallowing it again (commonly called, "chewing their cud").
Goats are browsers and may strip the bark and leaves of bushes and trees.
Goats
are more selective about what they will eat (despite the old
wive's tales) and will often refuse soiled or dusty food. Goats
are extremely curious and willing to spend hours to manipulate
with their mobile lips a wide variety of locks and latches. They
love to "escape".
| BOOKS TO READ ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION |
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Holy Cows & Hog Heaven by Joel Salatin
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid, ND
Why Grassfed is Best by Jo Robinson
| WEBSITES ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION |
The Campaign for
Real Milk
The Weston A.
Price Foundation out of Washington DC is working on an education
project called A Campaign for Real Milk. If you want info about
why fresh raw whole milk from old-fashioned breeds of cows &
goats that
eat green grass, silage, hay and root vegetables and not
commercial feeds is better for you than check out their website.
http://www.realmilk.com
Local Harvest: website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area. www.localharvest.org
Slow Food: an organization for the interest in food, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. www.slowfood.com
Eatwild: a source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles. www.eatwild.com
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy: working to conserve historic breeds and genetic diversity in livestock. www.albc-usa.org
| INFORMATION THAT PERTAINS TO GOATS |
Michigan State University - lots
of Goat links
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/iac/animgoat.html
Fiasco Farm - Good "Hands On" approach to Goats and Cheese
Making
http://fiascofarm.com
A 'MUST READ' webpage for all
goat owners
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html
Cornell University List of
Poisonous Plants
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html
University of MD National Goat
Handbook
http://extension.umd.edu/local/WMREC/SheepGoats.cfm
Different medications that are
useful in treating problems with your goats
http://www.jackmauldin.com/health/medication.htm
PBS Animal Health
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com
United Caprine News
http://www.unitedcaprinenews.com
Weights - Measurements & Conversions
http://ww.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=0&Cat=1305
Goat Supplies:
Wormers for Goats
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/wormers.htm
Medications for Goats
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/medications.htm
Caprine Supply
www.caprinesupply.com
Hoegger Goat Supply
www.hoeggergoatsupply.com
| THEN THERE IS OTHER STUFF THAT'S IMPORTANT |
Milkmen Across America!
If you can't get
raw whole milk but yearn for the days when the milkman came to
your home and are lucky enough to live in a state where that
still happens here is a
website that lists, by state, dairies that offer home
delivery - though not necessarily in glass milk bottles.
http://www.winderfarms.com/homedelivery/milkmenacrossamerica/
Found in the
Oct/Nov 2007 issue of National Geographic's Green Guide
"Best Buy: Picking
the Right Milk Container. Where refillable, glass is the best
choice for the energy expended and overall life-cycle costs. But
skip those non-refillable glass bottles - they're energy hogs."
See the whole article along with a chart of energy used
at their website.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/122/milk
Dairies Using Glass Milk Bottles for Milk in US
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Dairies-Glass-Bottles-Milk.htm
Household
Cleaners - The dangers of using/having them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ryddt25afM (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqu_wZMCitA (part 2)
ATTRA: National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
http://www.attra.org/
SARE: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
http://www.sare.org/
The New Farm
http://www.newfarm.org
Women, Food & Agriculture
http://www.wfan.org
Backyard Chickens
http://www.backyardchickens.com
Home Canning Step by Step
http://www.homecanning.com/usa/ALStepbyStep.asp?ST=5
Home Food
Preservation
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.htm
What Kind of Flower Are You?
http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/flower-quiz.htm