A tale of goats who know they're being naughty

Partnerships with pasture-raised animals

Here at BOTL Farm, we are often reminded that we can't make a pasture-raised animal to do anything she doesn't want to do. If a sow decides she doesn't want to move to a new paddock because she's got a really important landscaping project going on, we can't push her or prod her into it. Not only is she probably more than 600 lbs, we don't want it to be a fight. We'll ask nicely, give her some space and time, and if she says no, we'll try again later that day or the next day. But since a new paddock provides fresh grass, new rooting areas, and unknown things to explore, pigs are almost always happy to walk or run as soon as we open the gate. It certainly helps that pigs are naturally curious animals. The pigs that we've had for years will even follow us long distances, as long as we carry a feed bucket, singing a pig song and sniffing grass on the way [editor notes that the pigs sing the pig song and sniff grass, not us]. 

Goats are also known for being curious animals, but their personalities go beyond simple curiosity. They can be cunning and devious. Since a healthy, full-grown goat can easily jump over 4' high fences (the saying goes, if the fence can't hold water it can't hold a goat), we've had to establish a partnership with the herd to keep them 'respecting' our fences and our grazing plans. Our partnership (with the goats, not each other) has developed over the years: they trust us to keep them fed and give them adequate space to roam, do their goat stuff, and climb stuff; we trust them to trust us and stay put until it's time to move.

But wow, goats can be naughty. We suspected they know, on some level, that it's naughty to jump fences, but this was confirmed this month. It was early morning and while making breakfast we saw half the herd jump a fence into the next paddock. Nick faithfully put on his farm boots, headed out to get the herd back together and open up the fence, leaving breakfast behind. As soon as those naughty goats heard the noise of the farm gate opening, they all dashed into an orderly line and one-by-one jumped back into the paddock where they belonged. By the time Nick got to them, they all had very innocent expressions and pretended they'd been there the whole time. Naughty goats. 

Working dog's workers comp?

We can't imagine farming without a dog. We got our OG farm dog, Pup, before we officially started our farm in CT. She grew up watching us build fences, put up a hay barn, and get all our livestock bit by bit. She's a pet (not a livestock guardian, she lives and sleeps with us in the house), but she does plenty of farm work. Pup catches rodents in the barn, patrols for hawks bothering the chickens, and does a small amount of herding when the goats are out of their paddock (see above, darn goats). 

Now that she's been a serious farm dog for almost 10 years, we got her a puppy to train as her eventual replacement (Ruff, full name Ruffles McFluffer Pants). Earlier this month Pup was demonstrating the seriousness of chasing hawks away from the farm. Ruff wasn't paying attention (oops) and Pup was looking up at the sky as she was running, so as she dashed around the barn she knocked her side into a piece of metal that was sticking out. Disastrously, it caught in her skin and pulled a three inch gash into her left side. Pup kept chasing the hawk for a bit, but quickly petered out and required emergency medical attention.

We're happy to report that after 21 staples, 10 days of antibiotics, and two weeks of wearing a bodysuit, Pup is healing well and back on the job. We tried to convince her to take more time off, but she said the farm waits for no one.

A farmer's 40th celebration: farm crawl

Back when we were in college, we would occasionally participate in a certain type of event known as a 'bar crawl.' Now that we're older and one of us is turning 40, we decided to organize a 'farm crawl' to celebrate. One of our neighboring towns, Woodstock CT, has a surprisingly large number of farm stands, farm stores, breweries, and food trucks. We've been to a few, but we don't get out much. With help from our farm friends and Woodstock locals, we put together an itinerary of 20 different stops and put a date on our calendar to try and visit them all.

Our farm friends and us piled into a few cars and started checking places off the itinerary. It was rainy, fun, and exhausting. We didn't make it to all 20 (we did have to get back and do evening farm chores), but we had a great time and saw a lot of new-to-us places. It was a nice reminder that even in the town next door, there might be a lot of fun to be had if you can set aside time and make it happen.  

Back in stock for hemp bedding and it's a new supplier

We've always used and recommended hemp bedding as coop bedding for chicks and chickens. Hemp bedding is made from a waste product from the hemp industry and although it costs more per bale than wood shavings, we find it so much more effective and long-lasting that it still feels thrifty. 

Because we resell premium animal feed, we also sell bedding and grit to make it more of a one-stop shop. We've had trouble keeping hemp in stock over the years because we want it to be North American grown. We just got a bunch of hemp delivered from a company we haven't carried in a few years, Old Dominion. It's US-grown hemp in 30 lb bales, ready for your coop. 

Find us

On farm store: Every Wednesday noon - 2pm, every Saturday 1 - 3pm. Pre-order

On farm self pickup: Every day 8am - 8pm. Pre-order only

Wooster Square Market, New Haven CT: This market runs every Saturday from 9am - 1pm until the end of November. We will be there every other week. Dates we’ll be there in June: June 06 and June 20. Pre-order

Assawaga Farm Store, Putnam CT: This market runs every Saturday from 9am - noon from now until Thanksgiving. We will be there every other week. Dates we'll be there in June: June 13 and June 27. Pre-order

Sturbridge Farmers Market, Sturbridge MA: This market runs every Sunday from 9am - 1pm from June until October. We will be there every week. Dates we'll be there in June: June 07, June 14, June 21, June 28. Pre-order

Ask a Farmer Anything, virtual ​question sessions: second Monday of every month from 7:30 - 8:30pm and fourth Thursday of every month from 8 - 9am. Dates in June: June 08 and June 25. Registration free but required

It's too many dates! Save me!