With our attention focused mainly on little goat kids, kidding does, and yucky barn
stalls, March snuck right on by. April 1st
was suddenly upon us and Diana decided to start saving the mother does’ milk
for our first cheese make. On Wednesday April 3rd we brought
190 pounds of goat’s milk from the bulk tank cooler in the milk house to the pasteurizer
in the cheeserie. As the season
progresses the pounds of milk will increase, as well as the different flavor
profiles. The goats have been on a diet
of grain and hay which compliments the cheese flavor differently. As soon as the spring weather allows their diet
will consist more of fresh greens.
Unlike a cow or a sheep, goats are browsers. This means they prefer leaves, bark, and
stems from plants over vegetation near to the ground. So, in other words, goats like to “work hard”
for their food. Stretching their necks to
reach that one tasty leaf. 
Yesterday Diana and Alicia moved a group of goat kids, 10
bucks (boys) and 10 does (girls), to outside pens. They are loving the wide open space to run,
skip and jump. We are still feeding them
milk from the nipple bucket but they are starting to enjoy a bit of grain and
hay. Soon Diana will decide which kids
she will keep for next year’s production and which she will sell to other
producers. We have 43 kids altogether
and 7 does yet to kid!
In addition to April being the start of Dreamfarm cheese
making, our various markets will also begin.
Willy Street East and West will start carrying our cheese again starting
next week, the West Side Community market opens on April 20th, and
the first CSA delivery for the spring share is April 25th.
We will move the chickens into their summer housing soon. The melting snow will allow the pastures to
grow and make for great chicken scratching.
Until then they have reveled in their freedom of the farm. We open the coop doors every morning and one
by one they emerge, eager for the day’s finds. Sometimes we’ll even get
visitors on the porch. The pullet eggs
are slowly growing and the outside pastures will make for nutrient-rich, deep
yellow yolks and delicious eggs! We’ll
be selling them at the market again and Trillium Natural Foods in Mt. Horeb has
already started to stock them.
The season has officially begun! Let us revel in it!
Cheers!
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