Introduction

We started our goat-raising adventure before the invention of the Internet and well before cell phones, back in the days of long-distance telephone charges and monthly periodicals with breeder lists. Imagine trying to do that today! Our first goats were located in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Two angoras gave us our start. One was a doeling and the other a bred doe. We very quickly became hooked. Just like potato chips “you can’t have just one.” It didn’t take long to have a herd of forty pampered, mohair-producing goats. We enjoyed our angoras because we could have the love of our goats and produce a non-destructive product (the mohair).

In 2000, we began to put together a wonderful herd of Boer goats. Even though Boers are a meat goat, our plan was to raise top-quality breeding stock (which we did) so that others could be assured of utilizing locally grown animals for their breeding programs. Maine has a very cold climate, so hearty, locally grown stock is important to ensure a thriving goat population.

As the demand for good-quality Boer goats waned, we recognized a pattern from the past and had already purchased some dairy goats. We now enjoy the fruits of their labor, fresh milk and cheese. This also brings us back to our original goal of raising animals, to harvest a product, in a nondestructive way.

From the very first days of our goat-raising experience we were struck by the lack of information available to beginning breeders. It was apparent that no one wanted to share much information. It became a trial-and-error experience. This has gone on even to the present time. The remark most often heard by us from our “students” always has to do with their surprise in our willingness to share information. Maybe it comes from our own frustration in having to learn the hard way. This to us was always unacceptable. Goats are wonderful, loving, giving creatures and deserve the absolute best care that we can provide. The financial bottom line has never been the focus at Stony Knolls Farm. Our bottom line was, is, and will continue to be the health and well-being of the goats.

It is from that place that we developed Goat School™, where students can come to Saint Albans to learn everything we can teach them in one weekend about goat ownership. It has been so successful that we decided to publish this book as a primer for anyone thinking about getting goats. The following pages are a combination of our original manual for our Goat School™ students and a compilation of a hundred of my ever-popular Goat School™ buffet recipes, plus some of the recipes used to produce what we sell at farmers’ markets all summer long.

We hope this book will be the first stop in the wonderful journey that is living with goats.

-Janice