To Pre-order Holistic Goat Care (out early June 2017) visit the book's listing at Chelsea Green Publishing or Amazon The Assisted Delivery Over the years I have become quite good at sorting out kids tangled up inside the womb and successfully delivering them. There’s no way to develop competence at assisting during difficult deliveries, though, without having … Continue reading Goat Midwifery – an Excerpt from “Holistic Goat Care”
Livestock & Farming
Disbudding – Using Sedation
In the archives you'll find my article on the Dehorning Dilemma . Because I seem to like inspiring a bit of controversy, here is a video and instruction on how producers can sedate their kids (or calves) and disbud while the animal is semi-conscious. This drug also provides pain control (analgesia). While some of you may … Continue reading Disbudding – Using Sedation
Once a Day Milking – a Viable Option for Quality of Life
Think about it, 75-80% of the milk for about half the labor, half the chemicals, half the grain, AND evenings (or mornings) with a few extra hours of "free" time. Once a day milking (OAD), as opposed to the more conventional twice a day (TAD), is a popular option in several other countries as a … Continue reading Once a Day Milking – a Viable Option for Quality of Life
Do Aged Cheeses Contain Probiotics?
Probiotics. The new darling of health and advertising. Do cheeses really contain any of these amazing, essential microbes? While I have no letters after my name (unless I capriciously add them), it doesn't require a university degree to understand that bacteria, both beneficial and hurtful, can only live under certain contidions. I am a cheesemaker … Continue reading Do Aged Cheeses Contain Probiotics?
Chasing Coliform Counts
I was recently visiting England to attend “The Science of Artisan Cheesemaking” conference and had the great additional luck to visit an amazing farmstead creamery- Hill Dairy in Somerset. Not only was the facility quite possibly one of the most well thought out and constructed small creameries that I have ever visited, but owners Will and Caroline … Continue reading Chasing Coliform Counts
The Importance of Monitoring Somatic Cell Counts
Awhile back the FDA raised the maximum number of somatic cells that Grade A goat milk can contain from the former limit of 1,000,000 to 1,500,000. Our state (Oregon) followed suit just this year and adopted the new limit for goat milk and also lowered the cow level from the FDA level of 750,000 to … Continue reading The Importance of Monitoring Somatic Cell Counts
Using 3M Quick Swabs to Build a Food Safety Program for the Farmstead Creamery
Environmental testing of food contact surfaces and other surfaces that workers might easily touch and then cross contaminate a product can help you quickly find gaps in your food safety program. If you read an earlier post I did on the subject, then you may remember that here at our tiny farmstead creamery, we do … Continue reading Using 3M Quick Swabs to Build a Food Safety Program for the Farmstead Creamery
Making Yogurt to Feed Kids and Calves
Yogurt not only provides valuable probiotic bacteria to the young ruminant, but it is easy to digest and can remain at room temperature in free choice bucket feeders without fear of growing unwanted pathogens. Making yogurt for kids and calves is a simple and inexpensive process. At Pholia Farm, we feed pasteurized goat milk and … Continue reading Making Yogurt to Feed Kids and Calves
Feeding Kids with the Free-Choice, Cool Milk Method- Peace in the Barn!
A few years ago we attempted to raise our Nigerian Dwarf kids on the "cool milk, free-choice" method. This way of feeding kids involves providing full time access to a bucket feeder, or other mechanical nursing unit, stocked with cold or cool milk. The idea behind the method is twofold. First-that kids will not overeat … Continue reading Feeding Kids with the Free-Choice, Cool Milk Method- Peace in the Barn!
The De-Horning Dilemma
The De-Horning Dilemma A few weeks ago I was bumming around on Amazon.com, reading a few of the reviews that readers can post after reading (hopefully thoroughly) someone’s book. The particular author in whose reviews I was snooping around is a favorite of mine. His book on life with goats is particularly poetic and at … Continue reading The De-Horning Dilemma