Farm Crew, farm life, goats, kidding season, Nigerian Dwarf, Uncategorized

Awake at Night

I was recently inspired to share these thoughts by fellow female farmers who live a similar life and who tell it like it is. Despite what anyone says, whether it’s a politician or your neighbor, farming is hard. In fact, it’s one of the most difficult but rewarding jobs I’ve ever had. And being a female farmer comes with its own unique set of challenges.

Many of us are mothers to human children first and foremost, as well as partners to our spouses. But as much as we all try to practice the “family comes first motto,” occasionally family takes a back seat to critical farming matters. Luckily I have a supportive family who understands the urgency of temporary emergencies that pop up on a farm.

Female farmers in particular wear many hats. We’re taxi cab drivers, housekeepers, gardeners and farmers. We wake before our children to get chores started and do end of day chores after our children are tucked in their beds to maximize family time.

What has recently resonated with me is the unmistakeable impact of my children’s experiences on the farm. There is not doubt they are living the dream. But they are also knee deep in the muck of some important life lessons.

We’ve seen 35 goat kids born so far this kidding season with a few losses along the way. The mom laid on one kid suffocating it while delivering the others. Another kid was born with some serious neurological deficiencies making it obvious he would not have a chance at the quality of life we want for our animals. Based on my experience, I knew euthanasia was the best option for him, but by that time my human kids were all over him trying to help. There was no escaping his cries that kept us awake that night knowing we would have to make a humane decision the next day.

We took him to our vet the next morning who didn’t want to give up, which I understood, because that’s his job – to save animals. We love and respect our vet and so we agreed to give him more time. Unfortunately, we lost the kid 24 hours later after around the clock tube feeding and care. As sad as it was, my girls learned to tube feed, they learned about euthanasia, and most of all they learned that life is fragile.

My kids may grow up and decide to take a totally different path. But they will always have a respect for farm life, because not everyone is cut out to be a farmer.

farm life, goats, kidding season, Nigerian Dwarf, Uncategorized

Spring Break – Farm Style

Human kids are on Spring Break during the first week in April here in North Georgia. Most of our friends use this time to head to the beach or are involved in various camps, but things happen a little differently on our small family farm. Instead of enjoying the waves at the beach, we are birthing goats. Because things can and do go wrong, it’s important we are present for each birth, if possible. So our human kids have to miss trips this time of year while we essentially live at the barn as slaves to our goats.

Our oldest, Adelyn, is 6. We got our first goats over 5 years ago when she was just 6 months old. She has seen many births, but this year she was ready to take a more hands-on role. Although she isn’t playing in the sand, she is learning about life, motherhood, compassion and sometimes death.

Most of our does have experienced kidding before, but we are always prepared to intervene or call our vet if needed. This year our girls seem to be having large litters. So far we have had quintuplets, quadruplets, and triplets! Although that seems like a lot, it happens quite often with Nigerian Dwarfs.

Because we sell raw goat milk, we breed our does once a year. It keeps the milk flowing, and the baby goats are a bonus.

Most of our “kids” have homes/farms lined up before they are born, which we are thankful for. Our goats are family, so we always want to make sure their kids go to great homes.

I have always loved animals and wished for a farm. I begged my parents for every animal under the sun as a child. Once I became a parent, I knew exactly the type of life I wanted for my kids. For now I am confident my girls are living the dream. I hope their experience and the knowledge they acquire leads them to great things. But if they hate all this at 13 I understand that as well. For now, we will just continue to play on the farm.

Farm Crew, goats, Uncategorized

Feels like Spring

The first sign of Spring at the Tucker Farm is KIDS!

We kicked off the season with a bang today when two of our ladies gave birth just minutes apart. Barbie had three kids and Norma, one. Kidding season is amazing as well as an exhausting time for us. While we love this time of the year, we can’t wait for our first batch of goat cheese! We’re also excited to make goat milk soap for the first time.

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In addition to delicious goat cheese, baby goat cuteness, and soap… goats provide many benefits on the farm. They are excellent weed-whackers – they particularly love poison ivy! We raise Nigerian Dwarfs, which are the smallest dairy breed, often kept on hobby farms like ours. The kids move to new farms each Spring and this year some of our baby goats are going to work at an outdoor yoga studio! Until then, our little farm girls love taking care of their kids.
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Farm Crew, goats, LGD, Uncategorized

It’s not all butterflies and kittens

I get it. From the outside our farm may look like a petting zoo. I post pictures of goat kids, puppies, kittens, bunnies… If it’s cute and furry, we probably have it. But it’s not all butterflies and kittens here.

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A year ago today I was out farm hunting and stumbled across this place. It met almost all of our criteria and came with a farm-load of work. To be honest, I really had no idea how much work really goes into a farm – but I do now!

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We have been here almost a year and we’re already officially legal to sell our goat milk and eggs! But with that comes long hours, never a day off, and no naps! Most days I wake before my children after being up most of the night nursing our youngest. I try to at least get the animals let out before my husband leaves for work, and start milking once my girls are awake. I work a “real job” 3 days a week to pay for animal feed and other farm essentials. And on those days, I am often doing chores after the girls are in bed.

untitled-31Today while mending fences (a never ending task), rotating shifts with my other half, a huge white puppy escaped. I had to slide down 10 feet into a creek to get near him and beg for him to come back to me. Luckily I found the hole from which he escaped and patched it. Although things ended well, containment is a constant worry here.

untitled-30I work through illness and nasty weather because the animals can’t wait, and I’m in bed before 10 every night for a reason. So when I have no idea what is on television at night, that is why. I am beyond grateful for the farm friends I’ve met over the last few years. They inspire and support me on a daily, and sometimes even an hourly basis. There are days when I want to call it quits, when wine will never take the edge off, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

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I dream of making this farm my full time job. Working outside everyday with my girls and actually making some money from it. But on difficult days I have to remind myself why I am doing this, because it is not for the faint of heart.

Thank goodness I take photographs of everything. They renew my passion and remind me of my ultimate goals – a sustainable life and an unforgettable childhood for my girls!

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The Many Faces of Motherhood

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As most of you know I recently had a baby. I was instantly connected to Jane even though I had never met her. Just like my first daughter, I simply love her unconditionally.  

We celebrate life on the farm often. We’ve had puppies, kittens, bunnies, and most recently, goat kids born! But motherhood is hard business and a job not to be taken lightly. I’ve seen the many faces of motherhood and they are interchangeable between species.


FullSizeRender_1The most recent addition to The Tucker Farm is a little goat kid! She was born a few weeks early in the middle of the pasture and sadly, we missed the whole thing. When I found the kid and her mom, Pepper, they were beneath a tree at the back of the pasture. They were surrounded by the other animals who were interested in the new kid. Pepper is a first time Mom, but her instincts are top notch. She was head-butting any creature that got too close to her kid, whether it was a tiny kitten or a much larger donkey.

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Over the past 24 hours, I’ve watched her emotions range from anger, to frustration, to joy … all stemming from the instant love for her kid. Her facial expressions say it all.

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Pepper never takes her eyes off of her kid, which is how I am with with both of my girls.  I hope that they too will someday experience the joy of motherhood.

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Twins!

If you had your money on Ruth going into labor before me, you are a winner! Ruth gave birth to twins on Saturday, June 13th, a doeling & buckling.

DSC_8795This was our first kidding at The Tucker Farm! I have been reading about goat labor non-stop and getting advice from fellow goat owners for weeks now, trying to prep myself for any possible issues that could arise. I’m lucky enough to have a lot of experienced friends close by that were on call to be goat doulas. I had been watching Ruth for the typical signs of impending labor, such as, her udder getting really full and her ligaments disappearing. But these things were never obvious to me, even on the day of labor.

On Saturday morning I let all the animals out into the pasture as usual. Ruth came out of her stall but didn’t follow us up to the pasture. Since it’s been 90 degrees here and she waddled as much as I do, I was not going to force her out. So I led her back to her stall and gave her fresh water and made sure she had plenty of hay for the day. My husband, toddler and I then went off to run errands.

We returned around lunchtime and I wandered down to the barn to check on things. Much to my surprise, I found this!

Unfortunately, I missed her actual labor. The kids were very wet when I found them and Ruth had just started passing the afterbirth, so it must have been quick. Mama Ruth is an experienced Mama and an excellent one at that. I’m thankful that in our journey to be more sustainable she made things a bit easier.

What’s amazing about kids to me is that they are already “kidding” around at only 24 hours old! Quite different from puppies & kittens. Nothing is better than watching kids play!

We look forward to watching Mama Ruth raise her kids and can’t wait to finally have our own goat milk! Believe it or not, we didn’t just get goats to be pets and weed whackers, but we got them for milk! Both my daughter and I are unable to drink cow milk, so we’ve been buying goat milk from a local dairy for a few years. Of course in order to have milk, you must also have kids.  We have another doe, Pepper, due in August . . . so more kids to come!

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Farm

Our next human family member is due in a few months so we had to dive right into getting the farm ready.  The only way I can manage a farm and family is by having a streamlined routine everyday.  This means proper fencing, safe housing, and an efficient barn/feeding routine.  We had none of these things when we moved in.

When we moved in, our barn roof leaked, the fencing was ancient, there was no dog yard, and of course no routine.  Fortunately, our “village” of friends offered to lend a hand.  We are lucky enough to have friends and family that have trucks, ladders, tractors, experience, and most importantly, the willingness to help us!

Next up . . . little barn of horrors

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We bought a Farm . . . a real one!

Some of you may not realize where our name, The Tucker Farm, came from. For the last 8 years we lived on 3/4 of an acre in a suburban town called Tucker. I crammed as many animals as I could onto that tiny lot!

After becoming pregnant with our second child we knew it was time to move to a REAL farm! I imagine you are picturing a pristine pasture full of flowers wrapped in a perfect fence. That’s not quite what we bought, but I know we will get there!

Moving Day!

Settling in . . .

Next up . . . the work begins!