Elizabeth Raven

Thanks Phil, I'm sorry to hear you've lost some to predators as well. It's never a good feeling.  

I had to share with some people who might understand how sad I am right now. We have had Sebastapol geese for 2 years now and have not gotten any babies. Last year I sent 37 eggs to be incubated and not one hatched. The geese hatched out one gosling last year them selves, and a raccoon got it. This year one of our females was attacked by a raccoon and scared off her nest, all eggs were lost to ravens. Then a few weeks later in the middle of the day she was killed by a raccoon. I was heart broken. So we manged to save 8 eggs from the other female, the rest the ravens got if we weren't quick enough to get them before they did. So those 8 eggs spend the last 35 days in the incubator, and 2 pipped on Thursday. One died today, stuck in its shell and the other is still alive and kicking but not making much progress. I so want to intervene, but know it's 99% of the time not helpful.  I feel so helpless right now, I just needed like minded folk to commiserate with.

tell me more about your multi species hedge if you would please? Is there significance in the species from a permaculture and /or Druidic perspective? I have planned a multi species grove planting for my forever farm as well and still have a few spots left for the right trees. Perhaps you'll inspire some ideas.

What do you find the quality of the milk to be as you milk for extended periods? In my experience and research the butterfat content of the milk declines the longer you milk. New borns need more calorie dense food then yearlings or older. I imagine if the goats you are milking through are becoming obese it would be because they are putting fewer calories into the milk (less BF) and there for have more to store on themselves. I imagine commercial operations would want the higher butterfat content milk and so would be inclined to freshen yearly with a 3 month break in pregnancy. We milk 305 days as that is the minimum for qualifying the goats for classification.

Thankyou all! I appreciate the links and sharing of info.

We are looking at moving to a larger more remote property that has nothing on it atm. I am thinking a couple yurts to get us out there and using the piece and have been considering options for heating. I am in coastal southern BC so not super cold in the winter. I am leaning towards an external wood burning furnace type installation which can be adapted to in floor heating. I wondered if a rocket stove installation has been adapted to in floor heating applications? References, thoughts, or ideas? TIA

For my application I have found that 47" high field fencing on 10'-12' spaced pressure treated posts has been the most efficient form of fencing for my goats. I don't know that a fully natural fence could hold them in. All the fences shared in the video, while beautiful and intriguing for other applications, would not slow my goats down for a second. I also don't know how "resource efficient" they are since they require far more wood (which I do not have on site) then the post and wire variety.

I am hoping to make an efficient osage orange fence in the future, using the trench method and staking and interweaving the saplings at least 5 or 6 times to get a solid weave of stem as they develop. I imagine it will take about 6 years for the fence to be animal tight and even then, I have doubts as to its ability to contain a determined goat. Fingers crossed lol

Thank you chad Christopher that is a wonderful resource I had not yet seen. Much appreciated.

I am expanding my goat paddocks into a small wooded area full of indigenous browse plants (like oregon grape, salal, huckleberry etc) and would like to plant some fast growing forage crops for them to add to their diets and fill in the spaces created when they eat the indigenous plants. It is a N/S oriented wooded area about 1/2 an acre in size with mature deciduous trees (alder/maple) and coniferous (fir, balsam, cedar) on Vancouver Island.

Can anyone suggest some planting options that would compliment this plan? thanks

E

There is no set answer to how many goats you can keep on .25 of an acre. Each site offers different forage and vegetation density. I don't think you could keep goats on .25 acres and not supplement their feed, unless perhaps you had a small paddock rotation throughout the area and moved them constantly. While at the same time improving the vegetation with additional forage crop plantings and removing hazardous species. Even then I think you'll max out at 2 goats.

If on the other hand you plan to feed imported forage daily and clean regularly you could have a dozen goats in that area no problem.