Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

PAGE ONE
OF THREE

For Milk, Meat and Fun - the Joys of Goats

by Tammy Lipke

Think about goats. Got it? What did you picture? When I first heard that a new friend, Monica Muller and her daughters, Christine and Sylvia, had goats, I thought about short, squat white animals with short necks and bells around their necks. Maybe one or two of them because, I thought, who would want more goats than that?

Alpine gosts on the left
white Saanen goats on the right

Then we went out to the barn. There were about 8 stalls, and in each one, a goat. Not the kind I'd pictured in my mind. These goats were of several colors, black, gray, brown, tan, white, or a combination. They had large, soft eyes, slender bodies, and long, graceful necks. I could see right away that my preconceived notions about goats were going to go right "out the window."

The Alpine breed is milked twice daily,
unless a goat kid takes it all.

The goats in question are Alpine goats and, as Monica's daughter, Sylvia said, "Think 'Heidi'."

Alpine goats are especially good as milkers, and they also make good pets.






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