It has been decided. We are getting PIGS AND GOATS! I'm SOOO excited! The more I learn about factory farming and big business agriculture, the less I can handle eating the stuff that they produce. We already rarely eat produce from the grocery store. We never buy hamburger or beef from the grocery store, although we do still splurge occasionally on hamburgers from a fast food place. We also never buy pork, chicken, or eggs. Our downfall has been wheat products, ground turkey, milk, and cheese. My soon-to-be father-in-law raises grass fed cows and I am hoping that he is going to have a cow put into the freezer soon. That will end our ground turkey purchases. He is also looking into growing wheat. Milk and cheese are the only real things holding us back at that point. That is why we are getting a dairy goat!
From what I have read, goats are more efficient on the feed/grass to milk conversion ratio. I LOVE goat cheese anyway. It is the creamiest cheese I know of. I have never tried goat milk, but I have also read that it is easier for human stomachs to handle than cow's milk. At least processed cow's milk. Raw milk is supposed to be much easier to digest. Goat's milk is supposed to be even easier to digest than raw cow's milk and has saved the lives of babies who are lactose intolerant. I, personally, don't like milk. I am a cheesoholic. Brad and Keegan both drink milk like its going out of style. I don't think they could drink enough milk to warrant having a cow, though. I also want to start making goat milk soap and lotion. My mom brought me some goat milk soap a couple of years ago and got me addicted. Keeping dairy goats is going to be a lot of work. They need to be milked twice a day. The evening milking won't be an issue, but I already have a difficult time getting everything around here done in the morning, get ready myself, and getting all of us to school on time. I'm not a morning person. Perhaps I will get a momma goat with a kid and let it have the morning milk? Hmmm... still some things to think about.
We don't eat a lot of pork products as it is. It will be nice, however, to add variety to our diet during the less productive parts of the year. Being on a local diet means that when things are not growing, or in season, you can't have them! It won't help us this winter, but the sooner we start, the sooner we won't have to worry about it. A big reason that I want pigs is to till up and fertilize the new 75' x 25' area where I am planning on adding my new garden next spring. I also hope that they will help clear an area, along with the goats, that is covered in brush and I want to use for other projects. They will also eat all of the scraps from our meals and produce preserving prep, like tomato guts and skin from canning or bell pepper guts and tops from freezing or dehydrating (along with the chickens and turkeys who LOVE them) , as well as any milk or whey that we do not use from the goats. They will be on pasture and have plenty of grassy space to live on and forage from. My next project is to figure out cost efficient fencing to keep them in. Pigs and goats are both notorious for escaping, and fencing in EXPENSIVE! I have to figure out how to do this on a budget.
It is going to be a lot to keep up with, along with graduate school, my research assistant-ship, working part time cleaning, and being a mom. Luckily, Keegan is a HUGE help most of the time. I refuse to pay big business agriculture for the atrocities that they are responsible for and feed my family sub-par and potentially dangerous food because I am too lazy to produce it myself. We will see how it goes!
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