For the Love of Goats

Have you ever wanted to produce 100% of your food? Well, that's exactly what Alexia Allen and her husband Daniel Kirchhof did in 2017. In this episode, she talks about how goats played a central role in their year of hand-harvested food. They ate nothing — not even salt — that was not harvested by them or their friends. How did they get the idea to go a whole year without purchased food? What did they do to prepare? How did goats fit into the picture? Alexia talks about her experience making cheese without purchased cultures or rennet, as well as how she as a former vegan was able to butcher some of their baby goats to make rennet from the stomaches. This episode includes my favorite laugh-out-loud moment when Alexia tells us about a 6-year-old's assessment of the cheese she made with her homemade rennet. I also share our experience from many years ago trying to make cheese without store-bought cultures, and we talk about how much tolerance we have for learning things by trial and error. And ultimately, how important is it that we strive for total self-sufficiency?Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-in-a-hand-harvested-food-year/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Although everyone pretty much agrees that goats do a good job of consuming just the right amount of loose minerals when they are available free choice, there are still a lot of people who don't think goats (or other animals) can selectively choose to consume plants that they need when they need them.The concept of "nutritional wisdom" is something that Dr. Fred Provenza wound up studying throughout his career at Utah State University. I've heard about Dr. Provenza's research for about as long as I've raised goats, so it was really interesting to be able to talk to him in this episode.While most people would look at goats eating urine-soaked rat houses or a cow eating a rabbit and assume that it had no clue what it was doing, Dr. Provenza asked why.Full show notes here ---  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/nutritional-wisdom-of-goats/ To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comFor more informationRead about Dr. Provenza's research and other researchers studying "Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation, and Ecosystem Management" at Behave.net.Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

After writing about our experience when one of our does had squamous cell carcinoma, I've been contacted by quite a few other goat owners who have had a goat that also had that form of skin cancer.But Mary Brennan really got my attention when she emailed and told me she has had six goats with confirmed squamous cell carcinoma! She noticed that some of the goats were related, which caused her to dive deep into the history of the Nigerian dwarf breed, as well as skin cancer in other species. Ultimately that led her to a researcher at the University of California at Davis, who is now collecting data to study the potential role that genetics might play in this deadly disease.Full show notes here ---  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/squamous-cell-carcinoma-in-nigerian-dwarf-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comYou can visit Herron Hill Dairy online at...WebsiteFacebookFor more informationCancer in Goats: Squamous cell carcinomaWhat’s So Great About Nigerian Dwarf Goats?Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jar Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Someone emailed me after her first experience tattooing goats and said, "There has to be a better way to identify goats. What can you tell me about microchips?" Luckily I had already scheduled an interview with Allysse Sorenson, Chief Executive Herder of The Munch Bunch and webmaster at HireGoats.com.Allysse has microchipped all of her caprine "employees" to not only identify them but also to keep track of them. In this episode, we are talking about why she decided to microchip her goats, how a microchip works, and some common misconceptions about microchips.We also talk about Scrapie program requirements for identifying each goat, the different brands available, and where to place the microchip on the goat, as well as who might not want to microchip their goats.Allysse goes on to talk about apps and technologies related to microchips and how they can make your record keeping easier.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/microchipping-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Zinc deficiency is often suspected when a goat is losing hair, but there are other reasons for hair loss, and that is not the only symptom of zinc deficiency. In this episode, we are talking about zinc with Dr. Robert VanSaun from the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. First, he talks about how zinc affects 200 different functions in the body, and it is unfortunately deficient in all forage in the U.S. Goats need at least 40 ppm zinc in their diet, but most forage is closer to 25 ppm. Then we discuss interactions with other minerals and how too much of some minerals can cause a zinc deficiency. Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/zinc-for-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Some people talk about sheep and goats as if they are practically the same species, but nothing could be further from the truth. I've been breeding and milking Nigerian dwarf goats since 2002 and LaMancha goats for about 10 years. It may come as a surprise that I also bred Shetland sheep for 12 years and have had Katahdin hair sheep for six years now.In this episode, I am talking about how the two species are similar and different and why you might prefer one species over the other.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-vs-sheep/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

When my daughters were teenagers, they loved showing our goats. It was a great way for us to learn about goat conformation and to see how our goats compared to others. It also provided an opportunity for us to meet other goat owners.In this episode, we are talking to Ellen Dorsey of Dill's-A Little Goat Farm in Oklahoma, who has been raising goats for two decades and showing for almost as many years. She talks about why she started showing goats and provides tips for anyone who wants to get started showing goats or improve their herd with an eye towards showing.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/showing-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comYou can visit Dills-A-Little Goat Farm online at …WebsiteFacebookWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jar Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Because barber pole worm (haemonchus contortus) causes so many deaths among goats, we don't talk about other worms much. Barber pole is the worm that sucks blood and causes goats to become anemic, which can cause a goat to go downhill rapidly and even die.Goats can be walking around with a host of other worms in their body, however, and ironically most of those worms are unimportant and don't cause disease. So, why are we talking about them? Because most people think that all worms must be killed, and ultimately, the attempt to kill all the worms can result in the barber pole worm killing your goats.Since barber pole worm can become resistant to dewormers, we should only use dewormers when the health of the goat is being negatively affected by worms. The more we use a dewormer, the sooner barber pole is going to become resistant to that dewormer — and then barber pole can kill your goats.In this episode, I am talking about these common but unimportant worms with Dr. Ann Zajac, Professor Emeritus of Parasitology at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. We're discussing tapeworms, threadworms (strongyloides), pinworms, whipworms, and lungworms, and why we don't usually need to be worried about their existence inside our goats.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/common-but-unimportant-worms-in-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comFor more information:American Association of Small Ruminant Parasite Control Copper Oxide as a DewormerDeer Worms in GoatsNatural Parasite Control with LespedezaRoundworms and GoatsUsing Dewormers CorrectlyWorms During Kidding SeasonWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

If you have goats for very long, you may realize that some never need deworming while others need it frequently. There is definitely a genetic component involved in a goat's natural resistance or resilience to worms.In this episode I'm talking to Andrew Weaver, Ph.D., Small Ruminants Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University about genetic resistance to worms in goats and sheep. Although there has been a lot more research done on genetic resistance in sheep, goat owners can learn from their playbook and use some of the same selection tools for improving the worm resistance of their herds.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/genetic-resistance-to-worms-in-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comFor more information:American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite ControlWorms During Kidding SeasonRoundworms and GoatsDeer Worms in GoatsUsing Dewormers CorrectlyWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

If you look online for a list of plants that are poisonous to goats, you might think you need to chop down trees and pull up dozens of weeds to keep your goats safe. Those lists can include things like oak and maple leaves, which my goats eat regularly because my farm is covered with them. The fact is that goats actually have a much higher tolerance for poisonous plants than horses and some other animals. So, what's a conscientious goat owner to do? In this episode, I'm talking to Kim Cassida from Michigan State University as we talk about the fact that many weeds can actually very nutritious for goats while the number of plants poisonous to goats is actually pretty low. Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/healthy-weeds-and-poisonous-plants/To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐