We often help people with questions regarding to birds or friends on the hoof. We share what we know, in order to help others know the joy and reward from producing what one needs, as well as being ready, self sufficient as possible. We have been working with a lovely family, focused on self sufficient, God focused life. They have been a true blessing to get to know, to help, and they shared with us the following email that was to their friends and family, and it was very touching. Names have been altered/withheld, but we wanted to share their story of success to inspire others who may be thinking, wondering, if they can make something like this work.



...Some of you knew that we recently got dairy goats. For those of you who are interested in seeing our setup, here are a few photos. We have one doe who is currently in milk (Snowball), one who we will breed in the next couple months (Vanilla), and one young buck (Rocky). Rocky was bottle fed so he is VERY sweet and loving! He is also small enough for even the younger children to lead around without too much trouble. The does are very sweet, too and Snowball is very well mannered on the milking stand, considering she is dealing with a rookie milker (me)!

is my official "milking buddy" and is a very good assistant - he keeps grain in the feeder to keep Snowball occupied during milking, manages the gates (the other goats want to follow Snowball out at milking time) and restrains Snowball when she tries to slip out of the milking stand (we still have some adjustments to make to the stand - goats are amazing at maneuvering their horns through tight places!). An extra pair of hands is great to have when one is holding a jar of milk and the other is trying to fill that jar (my aim isn't great, yet)!

I am milking Snowball every 12 hours and she is so kindly giving us 3-4 quarts a day! I am very pleased as we consume right about that exact amount. I hope we can keep her production up this high until Vanilla kids again to keep a constant supply of milk coming. The milking was slow going at first as I learned the proper technique. I am still trying to master it, but getting more efficient at each milking. It is very rewarding to see those jars of fresh milk!

I know you all must be wondering how goat's milk tastes! The children say it is sweeter than cow's milk. I think it tastes exactly the same. All of us agree, it is VERY good! Good diet and proper handling of the milk makes a big difference in the quality, so we are paying special attention to these things.

Also, our 15 hens are giving us about a dozen +/- eggs a day now.....