We have been raising registered American Saanens for 20 years. Our babies are hand raised from birth. Some have asked why we would be so unnatural in our husbandry practices by taking the babies from their moms instead of letting the moms raise them. Some people have even said they consider this cruel.

     There are a number of reasons why we raise our babies this way, and I assure you the way we do it is far from cruel. When dams are allowed to raise their kids, the kids must be weaned at some point. This is very stressful to both mom and baby. Our goats are monitored, via barn cameras, 24 hours a day. Due dates are always known because we do not pasture breed our does. When a doe is in labor, at least one member of the family is always present with others standing by. As the kids are born, I catch them, clear their noses and mouths so they can take their first breaths, then they are wrapped in a towel and handed off to the family member responsible for the babies (my daughter Tori) while I stay in the stall with mom waiting for more kids or just letting her bond to me as she would bond to her kid soon after birth. The doe never sees her kid, she only sees me. They bond quite strongly to just about anything that they are around right after labor. One year, one of our very friendly barn cats insisted on being right there while a doe kidded, and for months afterward that doe would holler for that cat as if she was her long lost baby! Going so far as to lick and clean the cat every time the cat ventured into the does pen! I am MUCH more careful now of who and what is around our does during labor and kidding! Our does never go through the stress of losing their kids at weaning time either, as they are bonded to us instead of their kids. This makes milking time, even for first time moms, much smoother, since they see me as their baby.

     The kids, subsequently, bond to my daughter. We never have to stress our kids by having to remove them from their dams because they never knew their dams as their dams. They are bonded to us. This method also makes the kids very easy to handle/train since they are very friendly and people oriented. This also makes their eventual transition into the milking herd much easier.

     Another reason for this method of raising our kids is that they do not have clean mouths. They put everything in their mouth, just as human children do. That is why they are called "kids." They chew on everything from walls and floors to dirt, and, yes, even POOP. Then they go back to mom’s udder multiple times during the day and night. I cannot risk this type of contamination. I run a commercial dairy. The cleanliness and wholesomeness of my milk is paramount. This requires clean, disease free udders on my milking does. From the possible bacterial contamination, to the bruising caused by kids as they grow and get more rough with their dams, quality control dictates that they remain separated.

     You are always welcome to inspect our animals, barns, pastures, and parlor at any time to asses for yourself the quality of care my animals receive, and the type of environment they are housed in.

$5.00 per half gallon on the farm (See Home page for delivery pricing updates)

Young Kids

Young kids are available occasionally in Spring and Summer. Deposits of $50.00 min is required to hold a kid for a pre-arranged amount of time. Adult animals are seldom available. All animals sold are GUARANTEED to be disease free at time of purchase. Full purchase price made by Cash or Money Order is required before pick up of said animal. All milk production records, Linear Appraisal, Top Ten Production awards, and Show records can be verified through ADGA