La Mancha Ears

 

 

A lot of people call La Mancha goats as the goat without any ears, but they do have ears. They are just very tiny. I took some pictures of Peppermint Patty so you can see. I admit I love look of the long, full ears of the Nubians. However, Peppermint Patty's ears do not get as scratched up when browsing like the Nubians do. The La Mancha gives a lot of milk and is a great dairy breed to have when you desire all of the health benefits of milk. Goat's milk is even very healthy for the heart and is recommended for people who have heart disease! 

Hannah's Buddy Axle

Hannah loves her new friend Axle. 

He enjoys sitting in her lap while she does her lessons.

Trampoline Frame Goat Tractor

Metal pipe can be used for a number of things on a hobby farm, so I stored our old trampoline frame under a shed a few years ago. We pulled it out earlier this month to make a goat tractor. Hannah is using a pair of dikes to cut wire for Clint to attach the cattle panels to the frame. Emily and I helped him move, bend, and hold the panels in place. We already had the wire, panels, and the trampoline frame, so the cost was about 30 minutes time. I love repurposing and recycling!

We use this in our fields. Two strong people can move it to a new spot when needed. I pull ours with our lawn mower. We can clip (heavy duty carabiner) a couple of goats to the outside and have some inside. All of them have lightweight houses that get moved separate from but along with the tractor. We also attached buckets to the inside and outside of the frame for water. The grass gets "cut," our soil quality is improved by the scattered fertilizer, and we get what's basically free organic raw milk.

For those interested, there are pictures of our hoop houses and a rabbit tractor we made. The search bar in the top left corner should bring them up.

Gardening, Poultry, Rabbits

With the uncertain times, many people are asking us how to do things we've been doing for quite a while... like planting fruit trees, raising rabbits, raising poultry, gardening, pressure canning, homeschooling, hydroponics, dehydrating food, wild edibles, etc. 

All of a sudden, our lifestyle is very, very popular! We feel like God has had us live this way for such a time as now..to educate and assist others. We are certainly getting many requests for information.

There is a lot on those kinds of activities in the blog already. Please use the search bar in the top left of your screen. If you can't find it, lmk. There are also tags at the bottom of the post you can click. I'm not the best at tagging the posts, but again, there is the search bar.

I will try to answer specific questions. For example, it would take a long while to answer "How do I raise chickens?" but a question like "Can chickens be kept with ducks?"* can be answered in a few sentences.

Spring is always a very busy time for us, and we have two big projects going. Clint is also working OT due to a higher demand because of coronavirus. Please don't be offended or think I am shortchanging you. The list you see pictured is my list from yesterday. That is the "extra" in my day right now. Homeschool, laundry, housework, meals, farm chores, and much aren't listed. I work as hard as I can to knock the list down, but I still have many miles to go before I sleep. 

*Opinions vary. Some people do with no issues. Others have, and it was not a good experience. Clint and I do not keep them together in the same pen. Ducks foul the water, and keep everything wet which breeds bacteria not good for chickens. Then, young chickens are often on medicated feed to prevent coccidiosis. That medicated feed can kill a duckling/duck because they eat so much they overdose. If you can manage the different needs, it can be done. We have plenty of space and resources, so we choose not.

Homemade Yogurt is EASY

Much to her delight, my 10 year old made a gallon and a half of yogurt on her own. If she can, you can too!

I am not a fan of having lots of small kitchen appliances. I do a lot of work in my kitchen preserving and preparing our food. Even though my beloved old farm house has a nicely sized kitchen with nearly 27 feet of counter space, space can still become an issue when canning or freezer meal prepping. 

I like to invest in items that can do double duty instead of something that has only one function. I also prefer tried and true and simple over the latest high tech gadget. I've been using a tried and true "instapot" that has been going strong for 32 years now. It's a small "old school" pressure cooker that was well worth the investment and has outlasted many friends' Instapots. My method for making yogurt is even more simple and low tech. I use my cooler which also keeps our food cold and...cooks our corn on the cob!!

I've been using the cooler method for a couple of decades now.  I usually make at least a gallon and a half of yogurt at a time to keep up with my family's needs. I prefer making it with fresh goat's milk, but we make it with store bought cow's milk too.

I wash and dry jars, lids, and rings, and prepare our cooler. I fill our cooler halfway with 115F water and close the lid. (If I heat it to 115-120F, it is perfect when I go to put the jars inside.) I heat the milk to 185F and then cool it down to 110F. I put it in the jars and "seed" the jars with 1-2 Tbsp of plain nonfat yogurt. I will stir or shake the jars to mix it. Then, I seal the jars and place them in the warm water for 8-12 hours. 

I've never had this fail. In a time crunch, I've also skipped the heating the store bought cow's milk to 185 part (I always heat the raw milk.), and the yogurt still came out great. If I want thicker yogurt, I add a little over 1/2 cup of dry milk to the regular milk in each quart.

This is quick, simple, inexpensive, and uses up a lot of milk at one time. Yogurt is so versatile it does not last long in our home. If you use the yogurt you have made to start the next batch, the cost diminishes further. My family gets to flavor it to their individual preferences which makes them happy. For homeschooling, you can teach the fermentation process and expand upon it by making yogurt cheese. 

He shall eat curds and honey 

when he knows how to refuse the evil 

and choose the good. 

Isaiah 7:15

Recipe: Whey Biscuits

Originally published 4/28/2007: 

Here's the recipe I have used for years to use up the goat's milk whey leftover from cheese making. I like to use wheat flour. I usually mix wheat with a little white for texture.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 c Whey
1 tsp Salt
4 tsb Shortening

Instructions: Sift flour measure and sift with baking powder baking soda and salt. Work in shortening with the finger tips or cut in with 2 spatulas. Add sufficient whey to form a soft roll dough. Turn onto lightly floured board. Knead lightly. Pat into sheet 3/4 inch thick. Cut with floured cutter. Place on slightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in hot oven (450 F) about 10 minutes. 10 servings.

Benefits of whey and how to make it if you don't have your own goat or cow.

Maggidan's Milker

A couple of weeks ago, we bought a Maggidan's Milker to speed up the farm chores. It's not perfect, but we like it. We still have to fully milk out each teat...about a dozen squeezes on each side. It does speed up the process and the milk handling is cleaner. There is no risk of the doe putting her hoof in the milk, knocking it over or hair and dirt falling in because the container is set further away. It does lose suction from time to time and you can fix that by pumping hot water through it. Hot water is also used to clean it. The does kick at the hose and that can pull it off the teat so we have to pay attention to their movements. I can't say it will be faster for an experience hand milker, but would speed up things for a newbie. It does keep your hands from becoming tired because you only use one and can switch it back and forth. For our $52 investment, we are pleased. You can order and see a movie showing how it works here.

update 4/30: I've been sick and Clint has had an opportunity to use it. He says it is definitely faster for newbies!

How to Make Yogurt

This is how I do it from goat's milk. If you follow my procedure, you are doing so at your own risk. You can use any animal milk or store bought cow's milk.

I do use unpasteurized milk but I am extremely careful when milking and handling the milk to ensure cleanliness to prevent illness. We do not pasteurize because it kills off so many good things that we need. We only drink and make yogurt from very fresh milk.

Every single thing the milk comes in contact with much be very CLEAN. You must "milk clean" meaning no hairs or dirt falling into the milk. We have never been ill from any of our goat's milk products.

Contrary to speculation, goat's milk does NOT have a goaty flavor or taste. If it has an off taste or smell, it has been handled improperly and is breeding bacteria. An internet search will reveal much information on why properly handled goat's milk is so very good for you.

I put the milk in quart canning jars and add 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of unflavored live cultured yogurt and 1/3 cup dry milk. The dry milk makes it thicker. You can also add 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin to increase thickness. "Real" yogurt is thinner than what we are accustomed.

I put the jars in a cooler and add 140F water. I close the jars and wait 10-12 hours...sometimes a little longer. I usually do this overnight and make 1 1/2 gallons at a time because that is what fits in the cooler I like to use. Then, you can do so many things with the yogurt.

Proverbs 27:27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.