So we have a bunch of baby goats, and we also have a bunch of moms in milk. We like that milk for us, but the babies think it ALL belongs to them. For the first few weeks we don’t milk and let the babies drink all they want; we really want them to be strong and healthy babies and they get a lot of nutrition and antibodies from their moms milk. But as the babies get older they don’t really need all that milk to grow, they are now eating more hay, grazing/browsing so we separate the babies from the mommas at night. This gives us 12 hours of milk production to keep because we milk the mommas out in the morning, and then return the babies to their mommas for the day.
This reuniting of the babies to their mommas has become an annual activity we call the “Running of the Baby Goats”. We have providing a little video of it for your enjoyment.
Joshua, as shown here in the video, has become a very proficient baby goat herder. He uses a water squirt bottle to keep the goats from sneaking out.
Here is another view, from the moms side
You can tell some of the moms aren’t quite ready to be mobbed and try to find some “safe space”. The babies are persistent and it doesn’t take more than a few seconds for everyone to be matched back up, quietly nursing.
Once the babies are all sold, all the milk will be for us and our customers. Until then, we share the milk with the babies, milk once/day, and enact the “Running of the Baby Goats” every morning.
Have a great day!
Michael
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