Summer is Officially Here!

Olive enjoys a summer visit from Nikki and family who bought the first wethers born on our farm!

A huge part of having dairy goats is also being parent to the doe's kids each year. As the dairy herd grows so does the number of kids each spring. Nothing is more fun than goat kids! They make getting out of bed each morning a joy and I have spent more time in the barn than anywhere else since they were born 5-6 weeks ago. With this fun also comes the responsibility of finding great homes for each of the goaties who before long we grow very attached to. People faced with the swarm of kids often ask how we know all their names. This question seems funny since we spend hours with them and know each of their personalities well. We love them individually, as much as the dogs who live in our house, and want to make sure that wherever they go, they will be treated like family. We have been so lucky in finding the best homes for our kids. All 9 wethers are now sold to people who care about their animals as much as we do. I can't explain what a relief this is! 

And because of all these sweet babies now we also have milk and cheese! Today the quest for the perfect Chevre continues. It is a tasty adventure! I am working to make the cheese even more creamy and smooth and this morning varied the amount of rennet a bit since my curds were setting very quickly in the first few batches. The vegetable rennet is double strength and so I am experimenting with the perfect amount to set up my Nigerian Dwarf Goat super creamy milk! Today I mixed two drops of rennet in 1/2 cup cool water and then added 1/2 of the rennet water mixture (1/4 cup) to the gallon of milk. We'll see how this goes. So far, it is not setting up as quickly, so as long as the curds still form, I think this will be an improvement.

12 hours later...looks great. It is now hanging to drain in cheesecloth. Unfortunately I did not time this well. It should be good to go in the fridge at 3:00 a.m. Boooo. Oh well. If only those 5 does could milk themselves just one morning. By the looks of the very creamy lovely curds, it will be worth a sleepy day tomorrow!

Yum, yum, yum. Will this ever get old?
I spoke today with a woman who raises Nigerians and Mini Nubians. She loves to add orange peel to her chevre and put it in English Muffins for breakfast. I will have to try that delicious idea!    Breakfast is the next frontier...a yogurt maker is in the mail!