Products
My line of vegetable based True Goat Milk Soaps is ever expanding. I make the soaps the old-fashioned way using the cold process method.
I use essential oils in my soaps for fragrance, not perfume, because Noelle is allergic to perfume oils.
Liability release
WARNING RAW MILK IS DANGEROUS!! According to the FDA AND USDA AND MISSOURI STATE MILK BOARD raw milk contains live bacteria and may host zoonotic diseases and viruses such as brucellosis, E-coli, leptospirosus, ect. No matter how safely handled, it can be bad for you to drink. They strongly suggest drinking pastuerized milk. Consume raw milk at your own risk.
How Happy Goat Creamery got started (the 1st year)
I got into milk goats because I was drinking powdered milk and just couldn't take it anymore! I wanted the real deal. Without the acreage (or funds) for a cow, I ended up with two Lamancha does in milk.
Much to my surprise, the milk really is much like cow milk in flavor! A lot of the milk's flavor is determined through proper handling (see management page), but there is always a certain amount decided by breed. That is one of many things that I never expected to agree with the Internet on.
Now I never was big on goat milk (I have had really bad goat milk as a teenager), but hey it's gotta be better than powdered right? So I did lots of research and picked Lamanchas because they are known for sweet tasting milk, more like cow's milk than any of the Swiss breeds that were apparently bred for making (in my opinion) really bad tasting cheese.
Shortly after buying my first two does, my neighbor asked if she could get some goat milk. She said that she loves the stuff and hasn't had any for years. So I gave her a quart, and she loved it! And wanted more. Now I needed more goats because there was not enough milk left for me!
After that I ended up selling more and more milk, as well as trading milk for grazing permission for the girls on the different neighbors' lots. Soon I began getting requests for farm fresh brown eggs as well as milk, and I thought to myself, 'sure I'd like eggs.' In came the chickens!
Now I am living a very busy yet extremely relaxed life. I milk goats after breakfast, then go out shepherding the goats, then bring them back in for lunch and midday milking. Then I do the sheep & soap packing chores, and back out we go! Last I come in for dinner and night milking and start all over again the next day.
Most times I find myself watching the traffic going by while I'm out with the goats and remember the rat race I was in before and find myself humming that Megan Trayner song "If I was you, I'd wanna be me to!"
The goats in the field.