Changes on the farm

We've had some changes here on our little farm. It all started with the results from our allergy testing. Hailey and I got tested for food allergens since we were the ones suffering from symptoms and also have a lower immune system.



If you know about what we've been up to, you'll know that we have been looking for the right goat to have and breed, with the ultimate intention of having a milk goat. One of the main reasons besides being more self sufficient was the fact that my daughter and I didn't do well with cows milk, and goat milk to purchase is so expensive. We've also been working on growing our small chicken and duck flock. In fact right now we have a chicken incubating 2 fertile eggs and then the cousins are using an incubator to hatch the remaining 10 eggs. Our goal, more eggs, more affordable and healthy protein for the family.



Ok, so what's the change? Well, lo and behold, guess what Hailey's allergy test showed. A high reaction to chicken eggs, soy beans, chicken, and turkey, along with the ones we already figured out, cow's milk, cheeses and gluten. And here's the kicker, she's also allergic to goats milk! As for myself, I also have an allergy to milk, gluten (although not as severe as Hailey's), peanuts, beef and chicken eggs. Yikes!



So we had to sit down and really think if it was still worth it to continue on our path of owning a milk goat for just two people. Right now we do rice milk, and probably only spend at the most $10 a month on a case of rice milk. So, it looks like we'll be turning our goat pasture into a large garden next year to expand what we already have and be able to sell and can more produce. It will also save us a lot of time and money on goat feed, housing, etc.



As for the chickens, we won't be getting rid of them. We'll be able to sell more eggs and we also really like how they do a great job eating our food scraps and the chickens also provide a lot of entertainment and companionship.



Now to figure out if the family will be eating two separate meals or if we'll all convert to vegans. I'm all for the conversion to a mostly vegan RAW diet. But's it's easier for me to do it, since I have health issue, which makes for motivation. It will be interesting to see how the meals all work out. The boys sure like their meat!