Spring has officially sprung here at Elderberry Hollow! And with the warmer weather comes one of my absolute favorite seasons on the farm: baby goat season! 🌿✨
Fun fact: you can’t get goat milk unless a doe (that’s a female goat) has been bred and given birth. That’s right — no babies, no milk! This is why springtime is such an exciting and essential part of the year for any dairy goat farm.
At Elderberry Hollow, we raise Nigerian Dwarf goats. We chose this breed mainly because of their excellent-tasting milk, which has a high butterfat content — perfect for cheese, soap, and rich, creamy milk!
Just a couple of weeks ago, all three of our adult does had their babies, and Elderberry Hollow is now home to six brand-new, springy little bundles of energy! Watching the moms with their newborns is nothing short of magical. After giving birth, you can see an immediate and profound shift in their behavior. Their voices change when they “talk” to their kids, becoming softer and more nurturing. Every bit of their attention is laser-focused on keeping their babies safe, warm, and fed.
One especially sweet story from this season involves Silver Maple, the very first doeling born here at Elderberry Hollow, and this year, she became a mother for the first time — what we call a “first freshener” in the goat world. (“Freshening” is the term we use for the onset of milk production after a doe gives birth.)
Honestly, I had my doubts about Maple. She’s known around here for being a little… high-strung. Think “quirky and slightly neurotic” — not exactly the textbook personality for a calm, attentive mom. But she surprised us all by stepping into her new role beautifully. From the moment her babies were born, she was totally dedicated. She constantly checked on them, nuzzling them awake if she thought they had gone too long without eating. I don’t think she slept a wink that first night!
She also made sure to keep her little ones warm by piling them in a cozy corner and laying down in front of them, acting like a furnace to counter against the chilly early spring nights we sometimes get here in Kentucky. It was incredibly heartwarming to watch.
Another thing we’ve noticed is how protective she’s become. Whenever visitors come by — and who could resist a peek at the adorable new babies? — Maple positions herself between her kids and the strangers, giving warning bleats as if to say, “Hey, back off! They’re mine!”
Watching these maternal instincts kick in has been one of the highlights of our spring. Stay tuned for our next post, where I’ll dive into how we manage early socialization, weaning, and transitioning into milking season!