How much do you know about goat kids?

At Redwood Hill Farm we’ve been raising dairy goat kids since the mid 1960’s, and over the years have learned much about these intelligent, cute and cuddly young animals. Here’s our ‘top ten’ of fun facts about goat kids.

Humans and goats have enjoyed a close relationship for thousands of years. Nicole Bice, pictured left, and her brother Colton, below, are the next generation of human kids growing up with goat kids on our Certified Humane® farm—kids playing with kids, living and learning together on the farm.

#1  For centuries, the young of a goat have been called kids. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that the word kid was extended to children.

#2  Kids most commonly arrive as twins. Sometimes just a single, but often triplets are born. Quadruplets, like the four Alpine cuties above, occur occasionally, and a few times we’ve had quintuplets!

#3  Goat kids learn to stand within minutes of being born.

#4  Kids begin climbing and jumping off tree stumps and bales of hay when they’re just a week old. At two weeks old, kids are fearlessly agile, running and leaping for fun.

#5  Like human kids, goat kids like to snuggle. The “kid pile” is a common sight in the barn nursery, as they curl up with with each other for companionship and warmth.

#6  When bottle-raised, kids will bond with their caregivers. Our employees at Redwood Hill Farm, like Mike above, cherish that bonding time.

#7  The vocal sound a goat makes is called a bleat. Mother and kid goats recognize each other’s calls soon after the mothers give birth. Goat kids also bleat when they’re excited to see their caregivers at feeding time.

#8  Some goat kids are born with “wattles”, the fleshy, dangly things on their neck. Wattles are sometimes called “bells” or “skin tags”.  They serve no purpose and are believed to be a genetic trait left over from evolution.

#9  Kids use their lips to learn about the world around them. Intelligent and curious, they love nibbling (not eating!) just about anything around them.

#10  Siblings know each other. At Redwood Hill Farm a twin who returned to the farm after being gone for nearly two years, quickly found her twin sister, and the two are best friends in the barn— browsing and resting together every day. Pictured here are LaMancha triplet kids—who naturally have distinctive and very short ears.

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Not all goat milk is the same – there are variations in volume, components, water content and butterfat depending on the time of year and on the type of goat breed. Of all breeds, Alpine and Saanen dairy goats are the top producers by volume. Milk from the Nubian dairy goat breed on the other hand, tends to be a bit higher in butterfat. To make our yogurt, kefir and cheeses consistent and delicious in flavor, we combine goat milk from Redwood Hill Farm and seven other family farms, sourcing milk from La Mancha, Nubian, Alpine, Oberhasli, and Saanen goats.

Since the first of the year, we have a newfound and great connection to Switzerland, as Jennifer Bice decided to sell Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery to the Swiss dairy company Emmi. We therefore thought this would be an excellent time to take a closer look into the Swiss Saanen dairy goat breed (Saa·nen): from its origin in the Saanen Valley of Switzerland to its widespread popularity around the world. In the process, we found the story coming full circle: The heritage of one beautiful Saanen doe named Jaizy, dating back to the time when Redwood Hill Farm Grade A Goat Dairy was first founded in the 1970s, still lives on in its descendants in the “J” line at the farm today. Enjoy this read on the history of the Saanen dairy goat.

The Saanen Goat

Switzerland is widely considered the cradle of modern goat breeding. Especially the Saanen and Toggenburger goats (in our country called Toggenburg) are world-renowned. Since the beginning of the 20th century, more than 50,000 dairy goats have been exported from Switzerland to countries all over the world.
Of the different breeds, the Saanen dairy goat is the most widely distributed dairy goat in the world and is valued for its abundant milk production, hardiness, and calm, sweet nature. Pure white in color, Saanens are also one of the largest breeds of dairy goats. Due to their high milk production they are often dubbed the “Holsteins” of the dairy goat world.

Saanens Come To America

The history of Saanen goats begins in the Saanen Valley, located in the Canton of Bern in the southwest of Switzerland, where the breed was developed. Saanens first came to North America in 1904 when approximately 160 goats arrived by way of Canada over a period of about 18 years.

Only a small percentage of those first arrivals were of a quality that would go on to benefit the breed as we know it today. This included strong feet and pasterns and well-supported udders. Descendants of the few exceptional individuals formed the nucleus of our present-day Saanens in the U.S., some of which made their way to California and the East Coast.

The Saanen Story at Redwood Hill

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Redwood Hill Farm first began to breed Saanens in 1970. Much of the early success of Redwood Hill Farm’s young breeding program was credited to a small handful of Saanens, including a pretty Saanen doe named GCH Redwood Hills Jaizy 3*M. The genetics of that special Saanen doe Jaizy produced outstanding kids.

Over the next four decades at Redwood Hill Farm, Jaizy’s offspring would go on, year after year, to be great examples of the breed in areas of butterfat components, milk quality and general appearance or “type”—including many permanent champions and two American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) Reserve National Champions.

The “J” Line

With a naming system that includes matching the first letter in the name of a kid with their mother, Jaizy’s line of offspring became known at Redwood Hill Farm as the “J” line. Exceptional individuals included champions Reason Jezebel, Jaison Jasmine, Katsuo Jordan, Clinton Jewel and Foxy Jem.

At Redwood Hill Farm, Saanens hold a very special place in our hearts. These gentle giants have contributed to our farm and creamery’s history and success in so many ways, not the least of which is the joy of working daily with such sweet and lovely dairy goats.
For anyone interested in seeing the full names, pedigree and production information for Jaizy and her “J” line of offspring, click here (http://adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=S001706828) .

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At Redwood Hill Farm, we’ve been farming gardens and orchards just as long as dairy farming—nearly 50 years.

It is typical in Sonoma County to experience an extended dry period, or drought, each summer without rainfall for many months. We are therefore accustomed to using water wisely and have implemented different water conservation systems which include composting, drip irrigation, reclaiming and reusing water, and dry farming. The severe drought conditions of the last four years have challenged us to perfect these techniques as we make the most of the water we have, now more than ever.

One of the most effective water conservation programs we have in place at our Sonoma County farm near Sebastopol is composting. Composting enables us to use less water while enhancing the cultivation of some of our goat feed, growing our own food, and enriching our farmland overall.  Composting is a natural process that turns vegetable matter or manure into a dark rich substance compost or humus.

We lovingly call our compost “black gold”: Straw and goat manure are gleaned from our loafing barns and are composted over time in large piles and then spread throughout our gardens, apple and olive orchards. Composting conserves water as it decreases evaporation of moisture from the soil and enables the soil to hold more water in. In addition, it reduces water runoff and topsoil erosion during the rainy season.

As rainwater is caught and filtered through the straw down into the soil, orchards and gardens are fed with the nutrients from the rotting compost. Over the winter and into the next spring, the straw and manure compost continues to break down. The bottom layers, with the help of worms and other composting insects, turn the compost slowly into rich, loamy topsoil.

In addition to mulching our food and flower garden boxes at the farm, we use drip irrigation systems throughout the farm for our young, olive orchard as well as for the raised garden beds, blueberry shrubs and other berries that we grow for food each year. Drip irrigation, also known as “trickle irrigation” is a simple, but very effective system that consists of a network of tubes and emitters to focus the water close to the plants and young trees. This allows the water to drip slowly in those areas. Compared to traditional, overhead watering this method is very efficient in reducing evaporation and delivering only the necessary amount of water directly to the base of the plant, just where it is needed.

In the dairy milking parlor we continue our water conservation efforts by reclaiming and reusing water from our equipment’s automatic wash cycle. After the wash cycle, the water is directed to a holding tank where any sediment settles. The grey water from that tank is siphoned, pumped and then used to wash the floors of the dairy barn each day.

Sonoma County has long been known for the delicious Gravenstein apple’s commercial production and growing apples has been a tradition from Redwood Hill Farm’s very beginning, almost five decades ago. We have over 15 different apple varieties in our abundant orchard, which is entirely dry farmed. Dry farming is a system of growing crops in low water or arid regions and means that no water or artificial irrigation are used on the trees except for the water they receive with the winter and spring rains. While the fruit size is typically smaller than an irrigated orchard, the yields are very good.

Healthy topsoil is critical to sustainable dry farming, and preserving the soil is considered an important long-term goal of our orchard’s dry farmed operation. We use no- or reduced tilling, and straw compost spreading throughout to protect and replenish the orchard’s valuable topsoil. Our free-range chickens as well as the rabbits, deer, turkeys and other wildlife that live in and around the farm appreciate our efforts as they enjoy the abundance of the land.
As we continue to harvest our apples and notice the leaves that begin to turn to their bright fall colors, we’re hopefully optimistic for more rainfall this winter. Meteorologists are predicting with a high certainty that an “El Niño” weather pattern is developing. This means winter and spring rainfall for the West Coast – and hopefully lots of it to soak the fields and gardens on our farm once again.

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