Come Meet the Newest Members of Bowers Farm

Have you seen the farm’s newest addition?!

They’re sooooo stinkin’ cute! 

We now have 5 sweet Nigerian Dwarf Goats that call Bowers Farm home.

And of course—like everything on the farm—there’s a story behind it, and I would love to share!

From the beginning, Bowers Farm has always had a few goats (well… until about a year ago). The goats we raised in the past were meat breeds—larger framed, raised mostly to browse and clean up the weedier parts of our pastures. We also sold goats to individuals, primarily in Latino and Middle Eastern communities, where goat meat is a traditional favorite.

Over time, as we sold them or they passed away, we simply didn’t replace them. Brandon wasn’t exactly sad about that either. His theory has always been:

“When a sheep gets out of the pasture, all it wants is to get back in with its friends. When a goat gets out, it goes and finds its friends and says, ‘Hey y’all, come see how I got out—let’s go!’”

So, the day the last goat left our farm was a happy day for Farmer Brandon, hahaha!

At this point, you might be wondering: If Brandon was so happy without goats, why bring them back? Surely this must have been Sarah’s idea… and you wouldn’t be 100% wrong. But here’s the good part of the story!

This summer, after we finished the picnic shelter, I was sooooo excited about the possibility of hosting children’s birthday parties at the farm. I told Brandon, “Bella (our bottle lamb) is great, but we really need some friendly, bottle-fed goats for birthday parties.”

Brandon’s response? A firm, “No, we do not need any goats.”

A few weeks later, I teased him: “You know how sometimes I have a great idea, and you act like I’m being silly, but really your brain is already working on how to make it happen? Is that what you’re doing with the goats?”

“No,” he said. “I haven’t done anything with finding goats.”

Turns out, he wasn’t lying… but soon after that conversation, he started looking.

Fast forward to last week. I’d been sick over the weekend, and by Wednesday I was finally starting to feel a little better. That’s when I noticed something new on our family Google calendar for Saturday evening: “Surprise.”

Naturally, I text Brandon.“What's on the calendar for Saturday evening?”

“What? What does it say?"

"Suprise!"

"Oh well I guess it's a surprise then!!!!"

Brandon is holding Dorothy, I am holding Blanche, and RA is holding Rose.

Eventually he told me it was for Romney Ann and me, gave us a time to be ready, and refused to share another detail. By Saturday afternoon, I was still completely clueless. As we sat on the couch, I finally said, “My guess is it’s goats, but only because I can’t think of anything else.”

After more rounds of questions (and a slightly annoyed Brandon), he finally showed RA a picture of three goats.

We were headed to pick up three Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Oh. My. Gosh. We were sooooo excited!

On the way, Brandon filled us in. These goats had been raised very hands-on, so they were extremely friendly. They were also registered, which means RA could show them if she wanted to. And since Nigerian Dwarfs are also dairy goats, one day—after they have kids—I could even try milking them.

When we arrived, our hearts melted. These goats came right up to us just like a dog would!

Snickerdoodle and Oreo

Wait… didn’t you say 5? Yep! You’re right. On Sunday around lunchtime, Brandon mentioned that he’d also been talking to another farmer who had two registered Nigerian Dwarf does for sale. They were a little older than the first three, had each already had babies, and were ready to breed again.

See what I mean?! Plant a seed and watch it grow, hahaha! He may make me feel silly in the beginning, but he comes around, hahaha!

So now we officially have 5 sweet Nigerian Dwarf goats.

• The three sisters: Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose

• The second set of sisters: Oreo and Snickerdoodle

We are already enjoying them so much as a family and are excited for the educational opportunities they will make possible. We cannot wait for you to come out to the farm and meet them! Also just another great reason to have Bowers Farm host your kiddos next Birthday party, haha!