NJ -> WA: Curds n Whey

Much smoother day today. No rebellious animals (or no more so than expected) and none where they shouldn't have been. Morning milking again, definitely liking it more and more. I'm even getting to recognize the goats. Though oddly sometimes it's by their udder... They're surprisingly different in that way. The milkers (and all goats for that matter) have a hierarchy. Mary, a first freshener (first time mom) was just introduced into the milker herd. She had been with the teens and other new moms, but she was being overly aggressive with them. Now she's at the bottom of the herd. The other goats have been harassing her and putting her in her place. She was having so much trouble that she was put back with the other first freshers but she soon was bullying them again. Back to the milker herd for her. She's been pretty sad and isolated, but I guess they're supposed to incorporate her into the hierarchy soon

Mary's having a hard time

More chores this afternoon. Cleaned lots of water bowls and pens. Goats are really clean animals. They need super clean water or they won't drink it and they love clean stalls. When I let the preteens back into their house they were so excited by all the clean things and dove right into the water and minerals.

Very happy with their clean house


This little one has trouble competing with the other preteens for food, so we have to throw alfalfa into the yard

The new chicks hanging out in the baby pen

This afternoon marked my first adventure in cheese making - goat Queso Fresco. It's easy to make but it does take some different ingredients like rennet, which I think is a culture. It was basically 4 steps - heating the milk, adding the other ingredients, cutting the curds, and then putting it in the press. So far it's gone smoothly. Now it's sitting in the press for six hours. Time will tell if the curds (minus the whey) will turn into actual cheese. If this goes well (or I guess even if it doesn't) I'll have to try some more types.