Report from:A Small Farm in Vermont
Here's a report from a twelve year old on a homestead in Vermont. A Report From Them That's Doin'
Last year in July we bought a doe goat to breed in the
fall. She is a purebred Toggenburg (but not registered) and
was only one year old but good-sized. Later on, in
December, she came into heat and was bred to a registered
Saanen buck. In April she had two kids, a buck and a doe.
The kids were very healthy and started to run around soon
after birth. We first fed them all goat's milk, then half
calf starter and half goat's milk after they were about a
week old. Then we gradually changed them to all calf
starter, and finally to goat grain.
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The doe has to be milked twice a day on a milking stand (a
wooden platform for the goat to stand on while she's being
milked). The stand should have a grain trough attached to
it so the goat may eat. This saves time and calms down the
does while they're being milked. Before milking a goat you
should always brush her down and wash her udder. For a pail
you should have a seamless one (this helps prevent
bacteria) and it should be covered to help keep dirt and
hair out.
We have three sheep: a mother with two lambs. We bought the
mother already bred and ready to lamb for $50.00. We
brought her home and the first night she had two twin ewe
lambs. They grew fast but didn't eat much grain. They are
now out to pasture with some of our goats.
Out of all the chickens we have, only a fraction are
laying. In the spring I started hatching some chicken eggs.
Since I only got about 14 eggs a day I had to save some. I
did this by putting them in an egg box, small end down, in
a room with a temperature of about 55 degrees. An egg will
stay fertile at this temperature for about a week. When I
hatched the eggs I had to turn them three times a day and
make sure the temperature stayed at 102° and that the
water dish stayed full. A chicken takes 21 days to incubate
and hatch. They will usually start hatching on the 20th
day.
We also have six geese, which we bought day-old in the
spring. The geese grew fast and were able to go out when
they were very young. They eat little grain and live mostly
on grass in the summer.
We also have six turkeys which we bought day-old from a
hatchery. We have started to butcher them, and they are
very good eating but hard to raise.
