ABOUT THE MINI FARM

Three's Company! Nigerian Dwarf kids are simply adorable. With love and care, they grow up to be good pets and/or good milkers.

Our adventure in goat-keeping started with a problem: a pasture with lots of honeysuckle vines, briars, etc. that our pony wouldn't eat. Our solution: get a goat! We decided to try Nigerian Dwarves, as they were small. We originally intended to buy only get ONE goat. We came home from the breeders with FOUR goats: Mama Sugar and her two adorable babies (Hershey and Loki) and a mature buck named Pan. We enjoyed them so much that we purchased some registered stock. Our Nigerians have been a source of enjoyment for our whole family. We are especially impressed with their (mostly) gentle and affectionate temperament. We can allow our daughter to play in the goat field without any fear of her being harmed. Our goal is to produce loving, healthy Nigerian Dwarf goats for the backyard dairy and as pets. We believe that these little goats have a real place in providing milk for the family, and hope that more 4-H programs will come to recognize their value as project animals. Over time, we will continue to refine our herd to include the most human-friendly and milk-producing animals. If God is willing, we would like to eventually participate in milking trials and CAE testing. Our goats have been great stress-relievers!  Good luck with your goats!

Shanna grew up on a 400 acre beef farm in North Louisiana. She has a master's degree in Museum Science from Texas Tech. Now she's a full-time Mom and animal care-giver.

Stephen is a native of Marshall, Texas and was graduated from East Texas Baptist University. He is a CPA specializing in non-profit and healthcare accounting with the firm of Singer and Associates in Longview, Tx.

Sarah is a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia. She's full of energy and is our official "baby goat-tamer!"

HOW OUR GOATS & ANIMALS ARE TREATED

Goats sometimes DO get sick. Lilly is an older Nigerian doe who became ill and would not eat. She had to be rubbed, moved, put into a sling-swing and her bed-sores dressed several times a day. At night, we kept her under a shed or wrapped in a coverlet, and we had to bring her food, supplements, water and treats several times a day.  She was treated by 2 vets.  We did this because we loved her. She wasn't in great pain or distress and she was trying to get up again, so there was no reason to put her to sleep. Her recuperation just took time.

All of our animals are fed twice a day. In addition, pregnant does have access to a high-protein lick (tub) and usually are allowed to browse (goats love leaves and vines more than grass) outside of their pen for an hour or two every day. Then they come in and take a nap. During the winter months, animals have hay available and all animals have access to salt licks and/or mineral licks.

We try to be present when our does deliver to be sure everything goes well and to bond with the babies. This usually means that we're up all hours of the night during kidding season. In cold weather, or if the babies are tiny, the doe and her kids can come into our enclosed, heated  garage "sun-room" area for a few days. We can always scrub the floor afterwards. During the coldest weather, a heat-lamp helps to keep the baby goats warm in the goat-shelter.

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