Our Farm
Our
Ranch
Our goats live at our home property in the Valley of the Moon foothills just east of Santa Rosa. We have four Great Pyrenees that provide guardian duties to keep the mountain lions and coyotes away. Prior to the guardians arrival in the summer of 2009 we had lost 10 to mountain lion kills and 12 to coyotes. Fred, Nancy, Harley and Vida have a perfect record since their arrival allowing for no predator kills. The hillsides also provide our goats plenty of room to roam. Exercise is important for meat animals and our goats are in great shape romping up and down the slopes. People have commented that our goats taste great because they have a happy environment. Who knows on the cause and effect but we do believe we treat them more than humanely.
Our Goats
Our goats eat a combination of what nature provides on our hillsides supplemented with alfalfa and orchard grass. During the fall they get an abundance of acorns and leaves, and during the spring our hillside meadows produce grasses for them. Other than providing some mineral supplements via goat blocks we don’t add a thing. No antibiotics, no grain, no pellets. Just happy goats eating primarily what nature provides. We raise primarily purebred Boer goats. They originate from South Africa and are considered the premier meat goat due to their stocky structure, weight gain and beautiful meat/fat blend. Goat fat doesn’t marble, unlike beef, but our goats always produce an extremely delicate layer of fat that makes the local chefs super happy.
Typically our goats are about 6-8 months old at the time we move them on to processing. Usually resulting in carcass weights of 30-35 pounds. The meat is nice and pink, easy to prepare and stays moist throughout the cooking process.