Month: June 2022

Visit our YouTube Channel

James and I thought it would be good to share what we’ve been doing via the video platforms that are available to us. We have had somethings hosted on Odysee but YouTube tends to be where more folks are accustomed to going and is more reliable with framerates.

Here is the link to the channel. I hope you enjoy!

Autumn Dawn Endeavors – YouTube

Goats (Zone 1 – 4)

At the new farm, we want to get Nigerian Dwarf goats. We’ve had a pair of goats in the past and we were not at all ready with infrastructure, but they did the job we asked of them (clearing briars) and they moved on to another home.

This time, we want them for milk. We like the ND for its small size, milkfat ratio, and the fact that they’re adorable is icing on the cake. We don’t yet feel ready for a dairy cow and the sheer volume of milk they produce.

We are planning for their fresh water needs, minerals, forage, and browse. Does will need alfalfa and grain in the last month of pregnancy and while in milk, bucks or wethers will need grass hay, but not alfalfa (too rich), and kids may need some grain for the first 6 months while growing. I think the bucks may live with the rams in the ram base as their diet is similar. Bucks will need some loose copper mineral and the rams won’t be attracted to it.

I’d like to rotate the does with the ewes during the day and bring them in at night to be milked in the morning. Maybe even milk the sheep. The handling system for the sheep should also work well for the goats.

Property Progress: May/June 2022

We had a property visit from Nick Ferguson and he helped us locate the best spot for our driveway based on our desired homesite. He also helped us site some other important infrastructure on the property once other things are in place, but his visit led us to the place where we could engage someone to break ground for us.

We have scheduled a highly recommended excavation expert to start removing trees and cut out our driveway and homesite. He breaks ground for us in August. From there, we can start moving things down to the property and begin making it livable.

Now that we have at least the beginning to a timeline and concrete knowledge on the terrain, we can begin updating our Transition posts with more details.

Stay tuned!