February 2010
The Joy of Raising Goats
by Phaedra Greenwood
The lives of goats and humans have intertwined since they both became domesticated about 10,000 years ago. DNA studies show all goats are descended from a few small groups that originated in a handful of places in the Near East such as Syria, Israel and Jordan, and along the Euphrates River in Turkey, in the Zagos Mountains of Iran, the Indus Basin in Pakistan and Anatolia in the southern Levant. Archeological evidence shows that Neolithic farmers kept small herds for milk and meat. They used goat dung for fuel, and skins, hair and sinew for clothing.
Today we have over 300 goat breeds worldwide that thrive in a variety of climates from mountain to desert. There are at least 15 commercial goat farms in New Mexico alone. New Mexicans who raise goats are proud and fond of their animals. Beyond meat and milk, goats are valued for a variety of products and services. Some people use them to control invasive weeds such as the noxious leafy spurge or to clear sagebrush from their land, and replant with native grasses. Others employ them as pack animals and hiking guides, and other people produce high-end byproducts such as mohair and goat soap.
Valian and Ania Roske live in Mora on La Sierra Farm. They are members of Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative headquartered in Mora. They have 30 acres, five horses and, right now, eight to 10 Nubian goats. They designed and built their house, and home school two sons, Teo, age 10 and Keane, age seven. Theirs is a permaculture, homestead-style farm where they grow vegetables; some to eat fresh, some to store for winter and some for sale at the farmer’s market in Mora, which Ania Roske co-manages.
“We decided to raise goats because they fit with the lifestyle,” she says. “We want to have healthy food that’s hormone and antibiotic-free from animals that we know have been well-treated. We also believe it’s important for the children to know where their food comes from, to have a chance to interact with animals, and be out in nature.”
Roske says they follow the cycles of life from earth to goats, and back to earth; the goats provide fertilizer for the garden and eat fresh-grown greens. They shelter in a communally built barn with chickens and rabbits, and a guardian dog named Ivory that lives full-time with the herd. Using movable electric fences, the Roskes practice rotational grazing so they don’t stress the land. The goats’ sharp hooves loosen the soil and their manure enriches it so the land gradually becomes more fertile.
“It’s lots and lots of work,” Roske says. “It’s a commitment. We bottle-feed the kids for a week to two months. We milk twice a day for six months and once a day for three months until the does are pregnant again.”
In the past, they have bred their Nubians with a Boer meat goat. The two adult females are milkers and the rest are their offspring. There are no bucks on the farm; males they keep are gelded. They rent a male Nubian or borrow a Boer buck from a neighbor for breeding.
The Nubians are lively and affectionate with shining coats in a variety of earth colors, usually chestnut brown with spots. Some grow horns, others don’t; they don’t have beards. The Roskes chose these colorful Nubians because of their docile temperament, “but they can still get pretty rambunctious,” Roske says. The kids nibble at you, playfully butt heads and climb on anything within reach.
Roske says, “We drink the milk, make yogurt and five different kinds of cheeses. Now that we have space in our new home to create the right environment, we’re excited to try our hands at hard cheeses that will store into the winter.”
She produces a tasty feta, a delicious farmer’s cheese similar to Ricotta, and a queso blanco that tastes like a fresh Spanish cheese. She also makes a fine mozzarella and a delightful chévre like a French cream cheese.
Raising goats is a rewarding experience for the whole family. Roske says, “Watching the does give birth is a miraculous experience. It’s also very sweet when they’re bottle-feeding. But most of all, I love having fresh milk for the family. We’re healthier for it.”
The Roskes sell fresh produce from their garden at the Mora Farmer’s Market. Roske says, “If you want to make a difference in the world, one of the best things you can do is shop local, support your farmer’s market and get your children involved.”
Teo and Keane are in a 4-H Club and have raised and trained goats to take to the county fair in Las Vegas. Keane has two goats; a Nubian, and a Boer goat called Kryptonite. Every day he trains them to walk and take a show stance. “Goats aren’t as trainable as horses,” he says, but what he likes about the project is, “I get to do most of it by myself.”
Ania Roske says, “Last year they placed in the county fair and auctioned off their animals. The sale helps recover the cost of feeding and other expenses. It’s also a chance to hang out with other children involved with agriculture.”
Teo also fed and trained two goats last year. “It’s very easy to bond with a goat,” he says. “Once you have all that stuff down, it’s fun to work with them. But at first, it’s the worst experience of your life! They don’t want to walk. You have to drag them and they stick their tongues out. Once you’ve taught them and they’re good at it, you can run with them and pet them. It’s very fun once they’ve learned how.”
The Kniffin's
Dan and Lora Kniffin are also into goats. They live on Prairie Wood Ranch, 25 acres of high desert prairie 30 miles east of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque. They are members of Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative headquartered in Mountainair. Since 1987 they have raised registered African Pygmy and Nigerian Dwarf goats and sell them to fit buyer’s needs. Lora Kniffin is from Seattle, but has lived in New Mexico since she was 17. Her mother, Judy Tucker, a spinner, dyer and weaver, lives next door. Tucker keeps an Angora goat that supplies platinum-colored mohair fiber to blend with her wool.
Kniffin says she became interested in miniature goats in her twenties when she saw them at a zoo in Oregon. “At that time they weren’t available to the public.” Later she found she could purchase miniature goats out of state. “I brought in a bunch of stock, started breeding and selling, and got clubs going,” she says.
She has served as director of the American Goat Society and president of the New Mexico Pygmy Goat Club; she is now president of the Southwest Nigerian Dwarf Goat Club. The latter has about 35 member families, mostly in New Mexico, but also some in Colorado, Arizona and Texas. Members show their goats at least every three months, mostly in Albuquerque shows that are sanctioned by the registry of American Dairy Goat Association.
Kniffin started with African Pygmy goats, but buyers wanted colorful animals and Pygmy goats don’t come in many colors, she explains. Then she discovered Nigerian Dwarfs that are actually miniature dairy goats that originated in Africa. They come in a wide range of colors and some are born with blue eyes. They produce two quarts of milk a day that is creamy and high in butterfat. “Normal-sized dairy goats produce about a gallon a day, which is too much for most families,” Kniffin says.
The Kniffin goats are housed in a large, main barn with kidding stalls and small outside houses for mamas and babies, and breeding. They also have a buck pen. The goats are fed alfalfa and grass hay; the nursing goats get grain. “They would prefer to browse and eat weeds, but in the high mountain prairie we don’t have much natural forage,” she says. “My husband’s brother grows hay in California. We ship it here in semis and sell alfalfa and premium grass hay.”
Her goats are fenced in and protected by a Great Pyrenees that lives with the herd. A mountain lion once took a couple of kids on two separate occasions before they figured out what was going on, but the number one enemy of goats, she says, are neighborhood dogs. All their goats are dehorned when they’re two-weeks-old, which makes them less aggressive toward each other when they feed. “Children like to play with the goats and they could accidentally spike you. Miniature animals tend to be docile, but with horns they can get stuck in fences and feeders.”
Raising and selling registered miniature goats has turned into a profitable business for the Kniffins. Right now they have about 150 adults. That number can double or triple when the babies are born. They sell wethers—castrated males—for pets, and breeding stock. They also offer breeding services. “We’re very well-known nationally,” Kniffin says. “We sell 80 percent of our stock over our Web site and have 50 to 80 hits a day. People will put a deposit on a kid before it’s a week old.”
If 150 goats aren’t enough, they also raise registered paint horses and registered American Kennel Club Pembroke Welsh Corgi herding dogs. “If the goats get out, the Corgis will herd them back to the pen,” Kniffin says. “We have three Corgis and one litter a year available for sale. All of our Corgis are ranch raised in the barn with the livestock, and are handled with love. We don’t sell to pet shops or wholesale dog breeding facilities. We make sure that all our pups go to loving homes.”
Kniffin says, “It’s a good life if you’re a country person. Even if it’s snowing outside, I don’t mind going out to feed. I can’t imagine living without my animals. They’ve been my whole life. It’s just a joy being able to live like I do. I thank God every day.” For more information, see www.prairiewoodranch.com.
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