For the Love of Goats

Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis, usually referred to as CAE, is a disease unique the goats and sheep, which has no cure. It spreads easily because goats in the early stages of the disease have no symptoms, and some may remain symptomatic forever. In the 1970s, it was discovered that most goat herds in the United States and many other countries had multiple goats that were infected. Since the disease is spread by bodily fluids, including blood, milk, and mucus, it is easy to control the disease when you know a goat is infected. After decades of taking kids away from their dams at birth, the number of goats with CAE has decreased dramatically. However, with the increase in the popularity of goats, I am hearing of more and more cases of CAE in the US. In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Sandra Baxendell, a goat vet in Australia, who talks about how her country has started to bring the disease under control, as well as how other countries have eradicated it completely.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/working-to-eradicate-cae/ To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jar Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Have you thought about renting out a room or a small cottage or cabin on your farm through Airbnb? Meet Tammy Gallagher of Texas who has done just that! In this episode, she talks about why they opened up their farm to guests and exactly how that works with her goats and other livestock. Shady Paddock Farm - Willow HouseFull show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/airbnb-with-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarStandlee Premium Western ForageWe've been using and loving hay pellets from Standlee Premium Western Forage for more than 10 years!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

It might sounds like it's too good to be true -- take your goats to someone else's land and have them eat the brush and weeds while you are being paid. Goat landscaping is now more popular than ever, but it is not quite as simple as loading up your goats and having someone pay you while also providing free food for your goats. Today I'm talking to Aaron Steele of Goats on the Go about what it's really like to run a goat landscaping business. He is talking about how he got started, pitfalls to avoid, and how he helps other entrepreneurs start their own goat grazing businesses.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goat-landscaping/ To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.com  Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own goat milk soap business? That's exactly what Jill Spruance and her family did almost a decade ago, and they are still going strong. They make about 20,000 bars of soap annually and sell them on their farm and online, as well as wholesale through 35 retailers across the country. In this podcast, Jill talks about why she started making soap, why they started selling soap, and how their business has evolved. She also talks about how they pivoted when COVID changed everything, as well as the wildfires near their farm in California. Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goat-milk-soap-business/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

There is probably no other goat-related subject that confuses goat owners more than deworming. If you check five different online sources, you could wind up with five different recommendations about how to use dewormers. The problem is that there was not much research done on worms until the last 15 years or so, which means there are a lot of outdated recommendations still floating around online. And it's also challenging to get the new info to veterinarians, so some of them are even working with outdated information.In this episode I'm talking to Susan Schoenian, a sheep and goat specialist with the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center, where she has been since 1988. That means she has seen a lot of changes in what is considered best practices for using dewormers. In addition to talking about the different dewormers and when to use them, she also gives us a little history on what used to be done and why the recommendations have changed. Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/using-dewormers-correctly/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Rather than waiting for spring and wondering why your goats didn't get pregnant, now is the time to get your ducks in a row -- er, um, goats! In this solo episode I'm talking about all of the things you need to consider during breeding season.If you breed your goats now, will they give birth at a time when you are not traveling or overly busy with work? Will it be freezing outside?How old or how big should your does be before the first breeding?How old do bucks need to be to successfully service does?Should you "flush" your does before breeding? (What does that even mean?)What are the pros and cons of pen breeding vs hand breeding?What are the sign that a doe is in heat?What does normal buck behavior look like (and sound like) during breeding season?What does a successful breeding look like?Should you try artificial insemination?Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/breeding-season/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.comFor more information on breeding your goats:My free course on Goat Breeding includes videos to help you recognize signs of heat, as well as successful and unsuccessful breeding attempts -- and more!Goats need proper nutrition for successful breeding, pregnancies, and birthing. That means they need a good, loose goat mineral, NOT a "sheep and goat" mineral and not a block or poured tub.To learn more about copper deficiency, check out my free course on that topic here. Today's episode was sponsored by Standlee Premium Western Forage, which makes my favorite alfalfa pellets and timothy hay pellets!Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarStandlee Premium Western ForageWe've been using and loving hay pellets from Standlee Premium Western Forage for more than 10 years!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Dan Laney, a goat breeder and a judge with the American Dairy Goat Association, has been helping people in Nepal raise goats since 2014. In this episode, he talks about how being in a coma for a month and then losing his mother to cancer ultimately led him to finding more meaning in his life by helping others. In this episode he talks about how he got started, as well as how he has continued to help the people of Nepal with their goats in recent years, and what he plans to do when he we can all travel again. He also talks about how you can help.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-in-nepal/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Today we are talking about two separate problems that a lot of goat owners encounter -- milk that tastes "goaty" and does holding back their milk.First I'm talking to Katherine Boehle, Ph.D., about how bacteria in milk causes a bad taste -- and it doesn't matter whether that bacteria is alive or dead, so pasteurization is not the answer. Dead bacteria tastes just as bad as live bacteria. Then we are talking about one of the greatest frustrations of anyone who has ever milked a goat (or cow or sheep or whatever) -- knowing that there is still milk in the udder but being unable to get it to come out. If you're an experienced milker, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't experienced this yet, you will at some point if you are milking a goat that is raising her own kids. Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/2-goat-milking-challenges/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.comHomeschooling with Goats -- another episode with Katherine talking about how growing up on a farm turned her into a science nerd.2:30 Fixing Gross Milk in Kenya5:00 How Bacteria Affects Taste13:30 Milking Devons 14:30 Getting Optimal Milk-FatWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Katherine Boehle is taking us on a trip down memory lane to discuss her upbringing on the farm, learning alongside nature, and using goats and other livestock as an educational tool. 5:35 Exploring ecosystems and collecting bones10:00 Rotational grazing12:46 First field necropsyGoats 365 Membership19:09 Necropsy advice 21:30 Goats as parenting training22:45 Potty training goats24:30 Writing about science  Science on the Farm30:30 Homeschooling adviceFull show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/homeschooling-with-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.com Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Are your goats or goat expenses tax deductible? It depends! Learn the many ways goats can affect your taxes (or not) with Harley Raptor CPA and "Accountant Warrior" as she describes the different ways to treat goats on your taxes and what differentiates a business from a hobby.Full show notes here --- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/accounting-with-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit FortheLoveofGoats.com2:00 What's the difference between a hobby and a business.   9 factors from IRS5:39 Do marketing expenses help create a legitimate business?6:28 Contractors vs Employees9:58 Additional accounting expenses to think about12:00 What are quarterly taxes and why do people have to pay them?14:35 What if you file as a sole proprietor, LLC, or S-corp?  Goat Law Episode 20:50 How do we keep good records for accounting purposes?26:00 What criteria must you meet to write something off as a business expense. How to find Harley Raptor:https://www.facebook.com/HarleyRaptorCPAhttp://www.harleyraptor.com/Want to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐