Although most people know Consider Bardwell Farm for our herd of Oberhasli goats, there are, in fact, a few other breeds and cross-breeds that mingle conspicuously with the others. Perhaps most notable among the herd are the Nubians. With rounded, “Roman” noses, big floppy ears, and multi-colored coats, the Nubians tend to stick out from the black and brown Oberhaslis. We’re pretty certain they can tell they’re different too – the few Nubians we have can usually be found hanging around with each other. We’ve donned them the “Nube Pod”.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Cold, Consider Bardwell Farm, Feeding, Goats, Hay, Interns, Internship, Kidding, Oberhasli, Pasture
Our pregnant does on a very cold, wintery morning.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Barn, Consider Bardwell Farm, Feeding, Goats, Interns, Internship, Kidding, Milk, Oberhasli, Sucker Bucket
Once the kids were comfortable on their wobbly legs, we moved those first doelings up to the kidding barn where they’ll be spending the rest of their adolescent days. The next hurdle: learning to feed from their “sucker bucket.” Our girls did an awesome job- with just a bit of coaching, they were latched-on to the bucket and gulping away after a mere few seconds.
We’re also excited to welcome Syrup’s heathy twins (a doe and a buck) into the herd! They were born today around 2:00 PM and will be joining the rest of kids in the kidding barn tonight.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Consider Bardwell Farm, Goats, Interns, Internship, Kidding, nubian, Oberhasli
Our first two baby goats were born yesterday morning from Margot, the second goat due. The doeling kids are both very healthy and have been gulping lots of colostrum from their mother. We are anticipating a few more births this afternoon, Syrup is still in the running.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Consider Bardwell Farm, Goats, Interns, Internship, Kidding, maple syrup, Oberhasli, West Pawlet
This is Stephanie and Noah taking over the Consider Bardwell Farm blog! We are awaiting our inaugural kid: our first doe is Syrup. She was due on Friday (two days late!). We’ve been keeping a close eye on her for the past few days, but she hasn’t shown all the signs of a ready mama just yet. Coincidentally, we spent much of yesterday afternoon collecting sap from sugar maples around West Pawlet that Crooked Stack Sugarhouse is going to turn into delicious maple syrup.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Barn, Consider Bardwell Farm, Goats, Hay, Milking Parlor, Oberhasli, Snow, Vermont, West Pawlet
Our supply of first cutting hay was running short in the main barn (where kidding and milking take place), so taking advantage of the complete lack of snow, we pulled the hay elevator out of storage and moved a few hundred bales from the back barn.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Consider Bardwell Farm, Goats, Internship, Kidding, Oberhasli, Vermont, West Pawlet
KIDDING INTERNSHIP
Contact: Margot Brooks and Alex Eaton
Internship Starts: February 20, 2012
Internship Ends: April 20, 2012
Farm Description: Consider Bardwell Farm is a goat dairy and cheesemaking operation located in Southern Vermont’s Indian River Valley and easternmost Washington County, New York. The milk from our herd of 100 Oberhaslis is used to make several varieties of award-winning, aged raw milk cheeses. We are an Animal Welfare Approved, grass-based dairy, following an intensive rotational grazing program. In addition to the goats we also have a flock of laying hens in a mobile chicken coop and a small group of whey-fed pigs.
At Consider Bardwell we are committed to sustainable farming methods that minimize waste and emphasize quality. Always aware of our ability to drastically affect the local ecosystem, we strive to be responsible environmental stewards, considering the humane and ethical treatment of our animals above all else.
Internship Details: We are looking for an enthusiastic and hardworking individual to assist with our annual kidding event. Our herd of 92 Oberhasli goats are bred to begin kidding towards the end of February, kicking off the milking season. Every doe will give birth to 1-3 kids within this two-month time period, and it is the job of the farm staff to ensure the health and productivity of all the goats on the farm (including the +/- 180 new kids). The intern will assist with all aspects of farm management including: delivery of kids, goat health, milking, feeding, and cleaning chores.
Skills Desired:
-Ability to do hard physical labor
-Ability to work independently
-Where there’s livestock, there’s deadstock. Intern must be prepared to deal with the life and death reality of farming.
-Where there’s milk, there’s meat. We raise all non-replacement kids born at CBF for meat. Intern must be onboard with this important component of our dairy
-A willingness to work long hours in often less-than-ideal climatic conditions
-A good work ethic
-A desire to learn and ask questions
-Ability to maintain a good sense of humor
Educational Opportunities: The Consider Bardwell Farm intern will be joining us for a season when an assortment of goat farm management practices are in use. An interested and self-motivated individual can expect to learn a wide array about goat husbandry, and the management challenges facing a goat dairy coupled with a farmstead creamery.
Stipend/Housing: A $100 weekly stipend is provided for food, in addition to our farmstead products (cheese, eggs, meat). Housing is provided in the form of a studio-style apartment located in a historic building in downtown West Pawlet, VT (1 mile from the farm). The housing situation is charming, but rustic! Twice weekly meals with the farmers will be provided.
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Consider Bardwell Farm, Farmall, Feeding, Goats, Grazing, Hay, Milk, Oberhasli, Pasture, Pigs, Vermont, West Pawlet
On the whiteboard in our milking parlor I have a list of things I want to blog about. The idea is that I will take some photos, go home after evening milking, and do a blog post. I am, however, very ineffective at achieving this! Enjoy some photos from blog posts never-to-be!
Filed under: Farm | Tags: Consider Bardwell Farm, Goats, Grazing, Hay, Milk, Oberhasli, Pasture, Sunset
A very wet winter and spring washed out our goat bridge, the only means of getting the milkers down to pasture, so as we watched the grass grow and the hay supply diminish we planned a new bridge. After an order for twenty foot beams fell through, we decided to do it the old fashioned way, we cut down two hemlocks from the back of our farm, stripped the bark, and laid them across the creek. After feeding increasingly poor quality hay, on Thursday night we were finally able to run the goats across the bridge and onto nutritious, milk making grass! It was a beautiful evening indeed! Enjoy some pictures and a very short clip of some munching!
