Updates

Since my last post, so much life has happened!

I brought a beautiful baby girl into the world in March 2012, the goats were bred in January 2013, Lola moved to a new home down the street, and we had two sets of triplets early this summer. Whew!

Life has calmed down a bit and we have found a little routine. We sold four of the six kids and we have two little bucklings left. Both girls are producing a good amount of milk and we have dusted off the yogurt maker and cheese cloth.

Making Chevre

This is the process of making the delicious bright white goodness known as "chevre."

Happy Autumn!

It is a fantastically lovely Sunday morning out here in the Southern California desert. Our friends and family on the East Coast are suffering from an unseasonably cold October...like snow storm cold.  However, we're enjoying 80 degree weather and sunshine.

I woke up at 6:50 am with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I dressed quickly in yoga pants and a sweatshirt and headed to the ranch.  Milking had already started but I arrived in time for the second goat.  I brought pineapple, watermelon and strawberry scraps and tried to entertain the milking goat while she patiently  stood on the stand.  Turns out my goats have actually neglected to learn that they are, in fact, goats.  My fresh fruit treats were totally ignored.

Our milk production has dropped dramatically since the weather has changed and estrous has begun again.  Turns out goats in heat are focusing on other things than milking.  Here's hoping that production picks up a bit in January when the mating season is officially over. Nonetheless, we're still getting between 1 qt and 1/2 gallon per day.

Chevre

We have finally enjoyed a couple of days of sub 100 degree weather. Not only does this mean my attitude has greatly improved, it also means we can recommence making chevre! My first batch of the season came out yesterday and it looks beautiful. 2.5 lbs of wonderful soft white goodness.

I'm still playing around with seasonings but I think this batch is pretty damn tasty.  For 1 gallon I used 1.75 teaspoons of salt and 1 heaping tablespoon of herbs de provence. In  total I used 2 gallons of milk and made 2.5 lbs of cheese :) 2 lbs are traveling to Boston and Maine this weekend to be shared with friends and family on the other side of the States.

Updates

I've been quite remiss lately with my blogging.  However, we've been quite busy chez Lawyer Cheesemaker.

The goats were vaccinated...thanks Dr. Mom.
Basil was banded.
Daisy and Sage were sold and will be leaving the farm next week.
All goats still have very healthy and strong horns growing...boo!
I attempted to re-burn Lola's horns with disbudding paste.  (Do not do this. Ever. The stuff is horribly strong and the little girl cried continuously for nearly 2 hours).

I've made roughly 20 lbs of cheese including: chevre, feta, ricotta, queso blanco, mozzarella and one unsuccessful attempt at cheddar.

One of Sage's horns is growing while the other appears to have been successfully disbudding with the iron. Therefore, I correctly disbudded 1 of 6 horns.  Not good.

Milking Goats

We started a diligent milking schedule last Sunday.  We're currently getting about 2.5 quarts/day between the two goats. Rosie is my superstar and I think will prove to be a fantastic milker in the near future. She runs to the parlor, hops onto the stand and waits for the grain. 

The once a day milking is working out fabulously.  We don't have to bottle feed, and we only have to worry about milking/cleaning in the morning.  Fias Co Farm offers a fabulous account on their milking schedule and it has proven to be quite helpful for the full-time lawyer.

We're using the Henry Milker for all the milking.  Rosie's teats are big but she's not terribly comfortable letting the milk down so hand milking is difficult. Clover's teats are tiny and she's incredibly fidgety.  Also, the closed system of the Henry Milker is great and we haven't have a single incident of contaminated milk.

Tough Day for a Goat Farmer

Goat farming is usually quite fun, peaceful and exciting.  However, disbudding day is not any of those things.  It's horrific, nerve-wracking and slightly unsettling. Yesterday, the littlest members of the herd were ready for this painful procedure.  They had little buds the size of peas and at 13 days old they were ready. Although I watched the experience closely last week when the vet disbudded the older kids, I was still filled with dread and nervousness. However, I also learned from that first experience that if you do not do the deed correctly the first time the re-burn is even more horrific and stressful for the goat (and handler).  The vet didn't leave the iron on long enough so Daisy and Basil were still growing little (though not quite little ) horns. 

I plugged the iron in and then got the first goat ready to be shaved.  Sage is incredibly sweet and didn't protest the handling or the sound of the trimmer.  She happily sat in my husband's arms.  Then we moved on to the iron.  As my husband held her and I attempted the first burn she squirmed and screamed and protested violently.  Husband decided that he wasn't cut out for this type of work so instead he handed the goat over, took the dogs for a walk and left my mother and I to finish up. 

We disbudding Sage then Lola and finally I re-burned Daisy. 

The day was rather stressful but nonetheless necessary.  My technique was simple. Apply the iron for 2 second intervals until you see the copper ring. I sure hope everything is successful because I do NOT want horned goats and I do NOT want to do this again this year.