July and August at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on September 1, 2020
Apparently posting about every two months has become my new normal. My only excuse is that third trimester of a twin pregnancy is challenging. I find just getting my chores around the farm done takes everything I have. I did sell several goats to lighten my load but I am still milking 8 does and there are still 30 goats to care for in addition to the horses, cattle, dogs and other chores. A twin pregnancy on the farm is definitely a new kind of adventure for me.
We do have some pretty exciting news to share. Our Nubian doe, SG Camelot Cattle Co Mischief 2*M Ex90 (a.k.a. Missy), not only earned her superior genetics and elite status for her 2019 lactation but also earned her place among the nation's top ten breed leaders. The official 2019 list came out at the end of August and Missy is #3 in milk production, #3 in butterfat production and #9 in protein production. We are so blessed and looking forward to seeing what her genetics can do for the Nubian breed in the future!
We do have a full brother to Missy available for sale so if any of our fellow Nubian breeders are interested in bringing in some fantastic genetics to their herd, just let us know.
We have had a few more Jersey babies born in the last couple of months which means we have a few more Jersey girls milking so if you want extra milk or know of anyone who may be interested in getting some milk, we have plenty to go around.
We have had a few more Jersey babies born in the last couple of months which means we have a few more Jersey girls milking so if you want extra milk or know of anyone who may be interested in getting some milk, we have plenty to go around.
With our twins due in less than 6 weeks, this may be the last blog post until after they arrive so until then, hope you all stay well!
In closing, here is a picture of our elite doe, SG Camelot Cattle Co Mischief 2*M Ex90, who made the nation's breed leader top ten list.
May and June at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on June 21, 2020
Sorry for the delayed blog post yet again. Unfortunately it may become a habit with our becoming parents in addition to our regular farm duties but I still want to try to stay in touch with everyone. We will just have to find a good balance as we move forward! :)
The cows all got their bi-annual pedicures last week. Having to bend over this baby bump to trim feet on the goats makes me wish I had a professional able to come do them all at once like we do the cows. I am only able to do so much right now and by the time I get through trimming the final goat, the first ones I trimmed are needing done again!
In the last post I shared a recipe for a fudge made with goat milk and one of our followers tried it out and was kind enough to not only share photos but also brought samples for Marc and me to try - and boy, it was delicious! If you haven't tried it out, it is definitely worth it! Thanks to Laura and her kids for sharing their experience and delicious fudge with us!
Pictures courtesy of Laura at Beaming Hollow Farm
Marc and I have been discussing the possibility that we may dry the goats off earlier than usual this year because of the high risk nature of twin pregnancies and the uncertainty of when our sweet babies might make an appearance along with not knowing how long I may be out of commission. So, if you are wanting to try goat milk fudge or need to stock up on goat milk for the dry season, now is the time to get it. I am going to try to keep milking through the summer at least but then we may be looking at drying them up and possibly even selling a handful of does to lighten my load until we find our balance as new parents.
In addition to selling a few does, we also have a few bucks and wethers available for sale as well so let us know if you are interested. As always, all goats are from our tested clean herd and very people oriented and friendly.
We will be milking the cows year round as always regardless so it will remain business as usual other than availability of goat milk this fall/winter. We want you all to know, we appreciate each and every one of you - God bless!
April-ish at Camelot Cattle Co - plus recipe!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on May 12, 2020
Busy time of year plus being pregnant has really put a damper on time to keep up on things such as this blog. I apologize for that! As for the end of March, all of April, and the first half of May (goodness I am so embarrassed it has been that long!) - we have still been here plugging away on the farm. I sold a few milking does to lighten my load a bit but I am still milking 9 does every 12 hours and bottle feeding 12 kids three times a day. We are milking 10 cows as well and trying to get them prepared for their classification this week. Our linear appraisal for the goats was canceled this year due to Covid-19 but really with everything going on I think that is definitely for the best. I already feel like I have enough on my plate for the year. We are still participating in DHIR so at least their production records will not be interrupted.
We did have our wonderful professional photographer out again this year and she got some pictures of some of our lovely ladies. The cow, Hot Topic, was extremely easy and gave our newest helpers a false sense of how livestock photography goes. A couple of the goats then educated them on having a more realistic expectation on the subject. Hopefully we can convince them to assist on picture day again. Haha For those who don't know, it takes a crew of at least 6 people to take a professional picture of a cow or doe and much more time and patience than anyone who hasn't done it before realizes. We do so appreciate our photographer's patience and talents!
In closing, I am going to share a recipe I recently came across for Chocolate Goat Milk Fudge. It is said to be the richest, smoothest, most melt-in-your-mouth fudge you'll ever taste!
2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate (or substitute 1/3 cup cocoa and 3 TB butter)
3/4 cup fresh goat milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp light corn syrup
2 TB butter
1 tsp vanilla
Melt chocolate in milk. Add sugar and corn syrup; cook slowly, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Cook gently to softball stage (234°), stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add butter and cool at room temperature until lukewarm (110°) without stirring. Add vanilla; beat vigorously until fudge becomes very thick and loses its gloss. Quickly spread in buttered pan. When firm, cut into squares. Makes about 2 dozen pieces.
We do have fresh goat milk available if you want to give the recipe a try!
February (and most of March!) at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on March 22, 2020
I apologize for being MIA at the beginning of the month when I usually post! Not only are we still dealing with seemingly unending rain and mud but February and March has brought craziness around here...some expected seasonal craziness (kidding season) and some craziness that is completely novel to us! If you don't already know what I'm talking about, take a look:
Marc and I were so excited to find out in February that we were expecting...then we found out this month it is to be twins! I am so thankful to God for this miracle and also that my first trimester has been relatively uneventful and I was able to be there for all my does kidding without incident. All of this has kept me pretty busy though so some things have taken a back burner - such as my regular blog post! I will also be taking a hiatus from soap making per my doctor's recommendation. We do still have some soap stocked up for the store so if you need soap, feel free to stop by. I am hoping there is enough stocked up to get everyone through until I am able to make it again.
In other news, we have been asked by several people recently if we are still open and still have milk available with the current events going on in the world. YES, we are open and YES we have milk available. We are considered an essential business being both agricultural and a food provider so we will continue to provide milk for our customers every day as usual. We have always been a clean workplace, but we have ramped up our efforts by increasing the frequency of wiping down every surface with CDC-approved solutions. Our routine lives are basically socially distancing already (seriously) but we are taking every effort to best serve the needs of our customers in a manner that promotes health and safety for all.
On a different note, I turned a year older in February but that seemed to pass in a blur of readying maternity pens for goats and checking barn cameras through the nights. Very glad I did have them ready early because our first two goat babies were born very premature in the middle of the night. I was present at the birth and able to set them up a temporary NICU in the house until they were stronger and eventually they grew strong enough to go back out to the barn with the other kids that had been born in the meantime. We still aren't finished kidding but we've already had 27 kids born this year, all being bottle fed three times a day. Their mommas are being milked twice a day and soon I will be watching maternity cameras again. These goats keep me hopping!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on February 9, 2020
January was, in a word, muddy...at least when the mud wasn't frozen solid. Marc and I have basically just been slogging and slipping through trying to keep everyone happy and healthy and prepare for March when we are expecting an explosion of goat babies and a number of Jersey babies as well.
You know what gets me through some of these days when I'm either breaking ice or fighting to keep the mud from sucking the boots right off my feet? Food. Yes, some days just thinking about getting back inside out of the weather with some comfort food is what keeps me going. I don't know about you but I love yogurt and I go through a LOT of it! It is easier than you would think to make your own yogurt at home so here is a recipe if you want to give it a try:
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole farm fresh milk
- 3-4 T unsweetened yogurt with active live cultures
- cheese cloth
- thermometer
Instructions
- Turn oven on lowest setting for 10 minutes and then turn it off but leave the light on.
- Heat milk gently in a pot on the stove to 180 F.
- Add 3-4 T of yogurt. (Do not add more than 2 T yogurt per quart of milk or your end product will be sour and watery.) Cover and wrap in a towel and then place in the oven - the oven light will act as an incubator.
- Other options for incubating your yogurt are a heating pad on low or an incubator made for yogurt or a crock pot on warm. The goal is to keep the yogurt at a steady 100-110 F for about 8 hours.
- After 8 hours strain with a cheese cloth and once it is the desired consistency store in an air tight container in the fridge. When it is cold, it is ready to eat.
I strain to a Greek style consistency and eat it plain but it can be sweetened or flavored any way you like. It is delicious with all kinds of fruit as a dip, in smoothies, on cookies, and even as a dressing for salads, baked potatoes, etc. It is truly a versatile food that I, personally, can not do without!
In closing, here is a frosty morning photo of me and my sweet Olaf. God bless!
December at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on January 7, 2020
Wow, 2020?! Pretty crazy how fast time flies! I hope everyone had a wonderfully blessed Christmas and New Year! Marc and I managed to spend some time with our families between chores and milking which is, as always, a wonderful and fun time. God blessed us with beautiful, warm weather on Christmas which helps us tremendously in getting to spend time with our families since we don't have extra cold weather chores such as breaking ice or hauling extra bedding to all the critters.
We had a couple of baby calves join us in December including this cutie pie, Fiona, who will one day join our milking herd. Her mother's name is Festive so her being extra festive on Christmas day seemed not only appropriate but necessary! :)
Two of our goats received special awards in December. The Superior Genetics awards take into account production and type and are tangible proof that our breeding and management program is working. Not only did Mischief and Raven earn their SG designation by being within the top 15% of their breed nationally but they were also both in the top 5% of their breed nationally which makes them *ELITE* does on top of that. We are just so blessed and proud of our girls!
On a completely different note, as some of you know, I offer horse boarding to a few folks. The horse pasture is about 1.5 miles from the house. Some of the boarders were very pleased when Marc surprised me with a very special Christmas gift this year...a Porta Potty for the horse pasture! I have never seen him so excited to gift me with something haha! I also gifted the boarders with a brand new hitching rail to tie their horses to so we have some very happy boarders this Christmas season. :)
I always drive Marc batty listening to (and singing along with) Christmas music as much as I can squeeze in without him knocking me over the head every year but even so, it always makes me a little sad to put away the Christmas decorations each year. I put them away today but I am stubbornly listening to Christmas music as I type this - sorry Marc!
In closing, we want to say thank you to all of our customers for your business and also for thinking of us this Christmas - your beautiful cards and heartfelt gifts were so appreciated! God bless you all and here's to a phenomenal 2020!!
November at Camelot Cattle Co - plus free recipe!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on December 7, 2019
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Crazy that it is already December and only a couple of weeks from Christmas! It has pretty much been business as usual around here the past month - milking every 12 hours, working on fence, feeding, bedding, cleaning, watering and occasionally breaking ice out of waterers (thankful that is only occasional!).
One thing of note, however, is that two of our home-bred Nubian does not only earned their Superior Genetics awards but also earned *ELITE* status which means they are within the top 5% of their breed nationwide for production and type. Pretty exciting stuff for our goat herd!
Some news specific to our goat milk customers: our goats are drying off in preparation for kidding in March so goat milk customers plan on perhaps switching to our Jersey milk in a few weeks. January and February is time-off for the goats so they can rest and eat and grow their babies. We will have goat milk available again in March/April.
I also want to remind ALL of our customers that we milk the cows every 12 hours year round. They don't take holidays so neither do we. The store is always open and stocked with fresh milk...even around and ON holidays, so please feel free to come to the store when you need to, even if it is on a holiday. :)
Now, free recipe time! I have shared this one before but we have SO many more subscribers now that I wanted to share it again. It is such a delicious treat, especially this time of year, and you can get most of the ingredients right here in our store - raw and local!
Nutritious (and delicious) Hot Cocoa!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of natural, unsweetened cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons raw, local honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups raw, grass-fed whole milk
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine cacao powder, honey and vanilla. Stir until it makes a paste. This helps break up any lumps. You can gently warm the honey to make mixing easier if needed. Gently warm the milk to desired temperature. Add the cacao mixture to the warm milk; stir until cacao mixture has completely dissolved. This makes enough hot cocoa for two jumbo mugs or four regular mugs but the recipe is easily doubled if you want to make more!
Optional Add-Ins:
Cinnamon: About ¼ teaspoon adds just a little extra spice to your hot cocoa.
Sea Salt: Just a pinch will add a bit of a savory note to the sweet and adds extra nutrients and minerals. We like pink Himalayan sea salt.
Whipped Cream: Pour some cream off the top of your fresh Jersey milk and whip it up for the perfect hot cocoa garnish.
Butter: Pour some cream off the top of your fresh Jersey milk, let it warm to about 60 degrees and then shake/churn it into butter. Add about 1 tablespoon and then blend for extra creamy rich hot cocoa.
Everyone have a safe and blessed Christmas!
October at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on November 8, 2019
Here I am, yet again, posting later than planned. I can't say much except I just never seem to have enough day to get everything accomplished that I want to accomplish. I had hoped to get caught up on the blog yesterday but ended up taking my pet steer, Olaf, to the vet and that actually took up most of the day! If you don't know about Olaf, he has his own page on this site as well as his own Facebook page and you might want to check him out. He's kind of a BIG deal around here...here's a picture of me with Olaf yesterday to give you an idea of just how BIG. ;)
Olaf is fine, if you are wondering. He had a sore foot but he is already feeling better. He had a wellness exam while he was at the clinic and he has a clean bill of health as well as being a huge hit with his vets.
Anyway, back to October. We started off the month with no heat in the house. Unfortunately we had not tested the furnace until it got VERY cold out. Also unfortunately, the necessary part had to be ordered in so we went over a week sleeping in a VERY cold house. Bright side, I learned that sleeping while wearing polar fleece layers and a sock hat is actually quite cozy. Marc mentioned laying bed rolls out in front of the fireplace in the store but I thought that might frighten some of our late arriving customers so we decided to tough it out in the house. You're welcome. ;)
With October over, all 13 does have now been bred and I have started drying a few of the milkers up which will free up some of my time. I had enough time in mid-October to host my first painting party here at the farm. All 5 of my nephews, my sister, sister-in-law, mother and grandmother all had a blast learning the art of acrylic pouring. I really enjoyed sharing that passion of mine with all of them! I also hope to devote some of this newly-discovered free time to making more soap and also doing some work around the farm that has taken a back burner during the busy "goat season" which is basically most of the year. Ha! I love my goats but I am looking forward to having some time to spend on other things while they take a short break from milking to incubate this spring's kids to perfection!
Speaking of kids, all the new first time milking Jerseys are settling into the routine well, although we do still get some antics from the youngsters...such as these goofy girls (Qi and Hot Topic) making us milk them while they eat on their knees.
Thankfully, the girls seem to grow out of these shenanigans as they mature because it makes milking them just a little more acrobatically challenging than we would prefer.
In closing, I would love to know if anyone has tried the cottage cheese recipe I posted last month so please email me at camelotgirl26@gmail.com and let me know if you tried it and how it turned out! Or if you have tried any of the recipes I have posted on the blog or have any recipe requests or ideas, let me know!
I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! God bless!
September at Camelot Cattle Co - FREE RECIPE!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on October 7, 2019
Sorry this post is coming a little bit later than usual but it has been crazy busy here the last week or so. Goat breeding season started the first of October with 8 does coming in heat and getting bred in the first few days. For those who don't already know, this entails hiking a quarter mile down to the buck pens and leading the chosen buck all the way back up to the does. Our mature bucks weigh anywhere from 200-300 lbs and are very enthusiastic about their job so you might be able to imagine this is a bit of a workout! I let the buck breed one or two chosen does and then hike him back to his pen. If he has more than that to breed, I bring him back up after a few hours. We have 6 bucks so many times this means I am hiking back and forth with those big, enthusiastic beasts from the time morning chores end until evening chores begin.
Before breeding season began, I actually found some time to ride my horses. It was wonderful to spend some time with my beloved horses and I hope to be able to do that more once breeding season is over. We had several more Jersey babies born in September and new young cows to train to be milked which can be an adventure in and of itself! We also found out that Marc's knee surgery can wait and he is getting around better, praise the Lord!
Mirage - one of my favorite horses (p.s. they're all my favorites) ;)
Cultured Raw Milk Cottage Cheese - full of good bacteria and enzymes!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 gallon of raw Jersey milk
- sea salt to taste
Instructions:
- Skim the cream from the raw milk and refrigerate.
- Bring the raw milk to room temperature in a wide mouth glass jar or bowl. Cover jar/bowl with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
- Allow the milk to clabber for 24-48 hours until pleasantly sour and the consistency of yogurt throughout. *note: cooler temps may take more time to clabber.
- Pour the clabbered milk into a heavy-bottomed pot and place it over low heat.
- Warm the milk slowly, stirring frequently with a slotted spoon, until it reaches between 100 and 110°F. Be careful not to heat the milk to a higher temperature because the beneficial enzymes and bacteria begin to die.
- As the milk warms, curds will begin to separate from the whey and form cottage cheese. Stir gently so as not to disturb the curd too much.
- Once the curds are separated, or the 110°F is reached immediately remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the curds with a slotted spoon or pour the curds and whey through a cheesecloth-lined colander.
- Transfer the curds to a bowl and salt them to taste.
- Stir in the reserved cream for a creamier cottage cheese.
*Note: The curds tend to sweeten after separating from the whey and straining so don't worry if
the sourness is a little strong in the beginning.
August at Camelot Cattle Co - FREE RECIPE!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on September 5, 2019
August at Camelot Cattle Company brought several new Jersey babies and first time momma Jerseys being trained to be milk cows. As these new young milkers are added, we let some of our more mature cows go to other herds. Our 3 year old, Ronde Tequila Qapuchin Ex90, went to Courtney Farms in Oklahoma this month where we hope to see her do great things for their herd. Ronde Image Savannah Ex90 went to be a family milk cow in northern Missouri where she is being unbelievably pampered and loved. Here is a picture of her in her new home.
Some of you may have noticed Marc is hobbling around more than usual. A recent MRI found he has a torn meniscus that will most likely require surgery and lengthy healing process. I am thankful there is a solution to that as well as his recently diagnosed sleep apnea. Hopefully his doctors will have him somewhat put back together in working order soon!
Now for the free recipe! I've had several people ask about cheese so I am going to share a cheese recipe that I have used many times. Panir cheese is an Indian cheese similar to farmer cheese and is one of the simplest types of unripened cheeses to make. It is rather mild and readily absorbs the flavors of the herbs and spices used with it in cooking. You will need 1 gallon of whole milk, 8 tablespoons of lemon juice or 2 teaspoons of citric acid dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water; 1-2 cups of hot water is optional to make the finished cheese softer.
1. In a large pot, directly heat the milk to a gentle boil, stirring often to prevent scorching.
2. Reduce the heat to low and, before the foam subsides, drizzle in the lemon juice. Cook for 10-15 seconds.
3. Remove from the heat and continue to stir gently until large curds form. (If the whey is still milky
instead of clear, return it to the heat and increase the temperature a bit or add more coagulant.)
4. Once you obtain a clear separation of curds and whey, remove from the heat and let set for 10
minutes. For a very soft cheese, add the hot water.
5. When the curds have settled below the whey, they are ready to drain. Ladle the curds in to a
colander lined with butter muslin. Tie the corners of the muslin into a knot and hold the bag under
a gentle stream of lukewarm water for 5-10 seconds to rinse off the coagulating agent. Gently
twist the top of the muslin to squeeze out extra whey.
6. At this point, either hang the bag of curds to drain for 2-3 hours or return the muslin-covered curd
mass to the colander and place a bowl of water, a brick, or some other form of 5-pound weight on
top and press for 2 hours.
7. Unwrap the cheese. Eat it right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
If you want to try something a little bit different, Chenna cheese is essentially the same as Panir but it is kneaded while still warm into a light, velvety smooth, whipped cream consistency. It is an essential ingredient in many Bengali sweets.
1. Follow the recipe for Panir through step 5.
2. Return the wrapped cheese to the colander, place a 5-pound weight on top, and press for 45
minutes.
3. Unwrap the still-warm cheese and place on a smooth, clean work surface. Break it apart and press
with a clean cloth to remove any remaining whey.
4. Knead the cheese by pressing out with the heel of your palm and the flat of your hand. Gather up
the cheese with a spatula and continue kneading for up to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is light
and velvety smooth, without any grainy texture.
5. Add salt, minced green chiles, herbs, and/or pepper, if desired.
6. Shape the cheese into flat patties and shallow-fry them, if desired. If you are not going to eat them
right away, fry them just before serving.
7. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. It will keep for 1-2 weeks.
I hope you all enjoy these simple cheese recipes! I have had fun trying all different kinds of seasonings with these cheeses, from savory to sweet!
July at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on August 1, 2019
July went by so fast! I haven't had the chance to make new soaps yet like I had hoped due to trying to keep up with the goat herd's hoof trimming which with all the wet weather and good feed has been difficult to keep up with. We are also working to try to get the Jerseys all clipped off again before their appraisal in less than a week. On top of all that, we are still trying to catch up on getting hay put up for winter. Thankfully we had another nice dry stretch last week for that. It is funny how it always seems that the season we're in currently is the busiest but a break is right around the corner...just not sure when we'll ever turn that corner! Ha!
We had two new Jersey babies born this month out of two of our older cows. The new little girls are named Quality and Quintessence and should be wonderful additions to our dairy herd. Quintessence is pictured here with her Ex94 dam within minutes of birth.
I did manage to get a few new paintings put up in our store recently so be sure to check them out next time you visit. I have also finally gotten set up with a good quality print shop so I will soon be offering quality prints of some of my artwork in limited quantities.
Also, the local raw honey in our store has been restocked and they've added new products - adorable baby honey bears and boxes of honeycomb so be sure to check that out too!
I hope you all had a wonderful July and I am looking forward to see what August brings. Maybe we'll find that corner soon.... ;)
June at Camelot Cattle Co - FREE RECIPE!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on July 2, 2019
Many of you have seen the dainty little elderly dog out around the barns on nice days. June brought one of the hardest decisions of my life when Kibbles' body and mind were failing her to the point that her quality of life was suffering. At 18 years old there was just no hope for an improvement. Kibbles has been my companion for more than half my life so it was a difficult decision - it was the right decision for her but that doesn't keep me from looking around for her on occasion before the realization hits me again that she will not lay her head in my lap ever again. A portrait of her in her prime now graces the store in her memory.
I finally feel like things are calming down around here just enough that I might be able to get back to work in my soap room and my art studio a bit more. Both have been neglected since kidding season! I am hoping to add some new soaps very soon so stay tuned!
In closing, I would like to share with you one of our favorite recipes for this time of year. Be sure to grab an extra bottle or two of milk because you will definitely want to try this easy recipe for the best ever Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream! It is ridiculously easy and this base recipe can be built on with all kinds of variations by adding fruit or your favorite extracts, etc. Are you ready? Here it is: 1 half gallon bottle of our Jersey cow milk, stir in 2 cups of sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Churn in an ice cream maker and voila! Best vanilla ice cream ever in less than 30 minutes! Enjoy! :)
Have a safe and happy 4th!
May at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on June 5, 2019
May has brought lots and lots of rain to Camelot Cattle Company. Fortunately the super destructive weather has missed us thus far although we are woefully behind on getting hay cut and baled. Our hearts and minds are with the Lin-Crest Dairy in Kansas who weren't as fortunate and lost some really nice cows along with their entire farm to a direct hit from an F5 tornado last week. We can't even imagine the emotions they are dealing with but we are thankful the family all made it through safely. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
Our goat herd's annual linear appraisal took place in the middle of May. For those who aren't familiar with this, linear appraisal is a program provided by the American Dairy Goat Association. A sanctioned appraiser comes to assess each individual goat on the farm and evaluate individual type traits that affect structural and functional durability. Basically they are compared to the perfect Nubian and awarded a score; 100 would be that perfect Nubian (doesn't exist). 90 and above is considered Excellent (E), 85-89 is considered Very Good (V). The scoring system goes on down through Good Plus, Acceptable, Fair and Poor. Goats are not allowed to be awarded an Excellent score until they have freshened (had kids) at least twice so first fresheners can only score up to V89. Having a herd of Excellent mature animals (excellent examples of their breed) is something we reach for. That said, we appraised 7 does, 4 of which are first fresheners. All of our mature does went Excellent and our first fresheners all went Very Good including first freshener Veela who maxed out at V89 and several other V88 first fresheners.
The week following appraisal, we hosted the annual State Jersey Picnic here at Camelot Cattle Company. We had a great turn out and raised a lot of money for the Jersey Club to use towards scholarships, cow camps, judging team trips, show awards, etc. We love seeing folks get (and stay) involved in this wonderful breed!
Now, with May behind us, we are grateful for the life-giving rain we have gotten; it is definitely better than the drought of last year because we can graze the livestock right now on all this lush green grass. However, if we are unable to get hay cut and baled, our winter hay supply is going to be hurting just as badly as it was last year. We are praying for some dry weather that will allow us to get hay cut, baled and stored for winter.
Yes, we do indeed need some dry weather for haying but can't deny we get some pretty scenery in the storm aftermath....
April at Camelot Cattle Co and our drawing winner!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on May 4, 2019
April was slightly less crazy than March, ha! I am still bottle feeding more than a dozen baby goats which is almost a full time job in itself and even though there are less kids now than last month, they are going through 9 gallons of milk a day now! There are still 4 kids to sell and 1 kid that is sold but hasn't been picked up yet...8 are staying here.
I have been trying to get all the momma goats' hair clipped off before linear appraisal which is a week from today. The cows are getting clipped off as well for the warmer weather so they will be more comfortable.
April brought us three new Jersey babies--gotta love those sweet baby Jersey faces! Pictured is second time momma Qapuchin with her brand new heifer; ol' Quickie is keeping an eye on them in the background.
Marc and I had our 8th anniversary on April 30th. We celebrated as we usually do--working on the farm--but had the added excitement of tornadic storms blowing in during evening chores and milk time so we ended up milking in between the most serious threats. Fortunately, we did not get storm damage other than some flooding. Probably a good thing...our mud was getting dehydrated. ;)
I want to thank those who participated in our most recent drawing. The recipes and stories are great and chatting with you all was fun! Everyone who participated was entered into an online random drawing tool and this time, Lori McCormack won. She will be claiming a week's worth of free milk for her family on her next visit. Congratulations Lori!
Our next drawing will likely be an interactive one as well because I liked hearing from everyone so stay tuned for details on that and, as always, God bless! :)
March at Camelot Cattle Co -- we have goat milk!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on April 5, 2019
March was a crazy busy month but we made it through kidding season with 11 does having 29 kids and all of them happy and healthy. There was much lost sleep and missed meals so I apologize to anyone who may have seen the stumbling zombie possibly covered in afterbirth that was me for most of March.
Now that we have survived kidding season, we once again have goat milk available to our customers. If you want some goat milk, take a look on the left side of the refrigerator in the store - it will be in the green-capped bottles. It is $4 per half gallon.
We are glad to finally have some spring weather, and, although the mud has been a bit excessive, we are happy to not be in a drought and to see some green grass poking up. There has been a lot of spring cleaning around the farm and hoof trimming and, of course, lots of bottle feeding! About half of the kids have gone to their new homes already but the kids still here are drinking about 8 gallons of milk a day!
Here is a small hint of what it is like around here right now....
A note for our goat friends, we do have a few Nubian kids still available - check out our For Sale page for details. Also, we are starting to make some hard decisions about what mature goats to sell this year to make room for the youngsters we've kept so stay tuned for those sale announcements if you're interested.
Also, now that things are calming down around here a little, we hope to have another drawing for free stuff but this time instead of drawing from everyone on the mailing list, we may just draw from those on the mailing list who choose to participate and interact so be watching for details on that!
God bless you all! :)
February at Camelot Cattle Co--plus my new favorite hot drink!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on March 6, 2019
February was a busy month preparing for our busiest season--spring! March brings kidding season for our goats. As of today, we've had two does kid, each with a set of triplets. We have six more does due this weekend and three more due later in the month. We will be in full swing milking goats again very soon; not to mention feeding all the new bundles of joy bouncing around! This uncommonly cold March weather has complicated kidding season a bit but fortunately we were able to make some room in the Jersey barn for maternity/kidding pens since the cows' body heat keeps the barn above freezing so the new babies are staying dry, warm and happy.
We also had a new Jersey heifer born in February. Baby Sequoia will make a wonderful addition to our milking herd in a couple of years. Right now, she just looks adorable running around in her bright green coat! :)
With all the time I've been spending outside in this cold weather as well as all the sleep lost due to being on constant baby watch, there is one hot drink I've been fixing daily to warm up and wake up!
Café Mocha
2-4 ounces of coffee (any kind, brewed strong)
6-8 ounces of whole, raw milk
1/4 cup hot chocolate mix (store bought or homemade)
Brew the coffee and heat the milk (steaming but don't boil). Stir hot chocolate mix into brewed coffee and then add hot milk. Enjoy!
And in closing, here is a small sampling of the baby explosion we are in the middle of....
Posted by Michelle DeLong on February 11, 2019
January brought cold weather here at Camelot Cattle Company. Around here that means deep straw bedding, warm mashes, and plenty of free choice hay for all the hard working critters. We had some first time Jersey heifers pregnancy checked and we are looking forward to seeing healthy babies out of all of them this summer/fall. Our first Nubians are due in just a couple of weeks and they are getting big enough now that during their daily and nightly checks, they can be found groaning, shifting around and snoring in their sleep. Hopefully it will warm up before the kids decide to make their appearance!
January also brought linear appraisal for some of our Jerseys. Our sweet, almost 12 yr old QT was reworked to EX94. Our newest heifer, Festive, went VG86 on her first lactation. Our other first freshener, Hadassah, went VG88. Our 5 year old, Qadira, raised from EX90 to EX92. Even with the cold, yucky weather our girls didn't let us down!
I don't know about you all, but the cold weather has me craving comfort food and one healthy and versatile comfort food for me is homemade butter! I am going to share with you how to make fresh, homemade butter and also a couple of flavored varieties that we enjoy.
Homemade Butter
Separate cream off your whole, raw milk and then gently warm the cream to about 60 degrees (warm cream will churn into butter much quicker than cold cream--62 degrees seems to be the magic temp for butter-making). You can use a butter churn, mixer, or even just shake a jar to churn the cream. The cream will whip into whipped cream first and then look like scrambled eggs and then you will see the buttermilk separate from the butter. Once buttermilk forms, pour it off (buttermilk can be saved for future use; we use real buttermilk for baking or cooking) and squeeze the butter together with your hands to form a ball. Knead the butter under cold, running water until the water runs clear. You want to rinse all the buttermilk out so your butter will stay fresh longer. Once the water runs clear, you can wrap in parchment paper or put it in a mold and chill in refrigerator, or just slather it on a fresh biscuit!
Honey Butter
1 pound homemade butter
1/4 cup raw, local honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cut butter into chunks and place in mixer. Beat on low speed with whisk attachment until softened. Increase speed to medium and add honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
Cinnamon Butter
1 pound homemade butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup raw, local honey
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Cut butter into chunks and place in mixer. Beat on low speed with whisk attachment until softened. Increase speed to medium and add powdered sugar, honey, and cinnamon and beat until well combined.
*NEW* Be sure to check out our new soap when you come to our store! Rustic Woods and Rum has the same conditioning benefits as our other beer soap, Oatmeal Stout, but has a unique warm, smokey, deep scent with notes of Hay, Sandalwood and Cinnamon, brightened with White Citrus and Ginger and layered by Rum, Birch and Tobacco.
December and Technical Difficulties
Posted by Michelle DeLong on January 7, 2019
We have been having technical difficulties with our blog and have been unable to post new blog posts. After weeks of trying to get assistance from our website provider, this doesn't appear to be something that will get resolved, unfortunately. I was looking forward to having the blog format to make it easier to categorize and find individual posts but unless I figure something else out, I may just have to post as regular text on this page and readers will have to scroll down to find individual posts. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes!
Other than technical difficulties, December brought some good things as well, such as some wonderful, heartfelt gifts from our customers. Thank you so much for thinking of us during the holidays!! We also had our mailing list drawing in December using a random online drawing tool and again want to say congratulations to Cheryl Hipp who won a week's worth of free milk for her family! We will be doing regular drawings like this from among our subscribers so if you want a chance to win some cool prizes make sure you are subscribed and receiving our emails. If you want to be sure you are subscribed to our mailing list, email us at camelotgirl26@gmail.com.
We also had an adorable Jersey calf born during December and enjoyed a little family time for Christmas. Right after Christmas I got down in my back but fortunately, if that is going to happen it happened at exactly the best time because the goats are all dried or drying off and haven't kidded yet so my work load is at it's lowest until the end of February. Doctor says it will take 6-8 weeks to heal which should give me enough time to heal before I am buried in little, bouncy bottle kids and more goats milking than I've ever milked before. Isn't it neat when you can see God's hand at work?!
We added a couple new soaps in December as well so be sure to check those out! Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year!
November at Camelot Cattle Co - plus FREE recipe!
Posted by Michelle DeLong on Sunday, December 2, 2018,
In :
Monthly Post
The last month went by so fast; I can’t believe December is here already! November certainly went out with a bang, finding us in our tornado shelter for the middle part of the night. We are definitely keeping those who lost their lives and/or property last night in our prayers but we thank God that we escaped any damages here on the farm!
In other November news, we recently added some new Christmas themed goat’s milk soaps to the store’s shelves.
Winter Splendor is evocative of morn...
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October at Camelot Cattle Co
Posted by Michelle DeLong on Thursday, November 1, 2018,
In :
Monthly Post
October was a busy month for us! We started the month with a mess in the store as I’m sure many of you have noticed. However, now we will have a reliable source of heat for the store as our new fireplace is fully installed and ready for colder weather (although that can still wait a while; we are in no hurry to be breaking ice for all the livestock)!
We also have gotten all of the 11 does we needed bred this year bred for new bundles of joy in the spring. We will have kids sired by 4 diffe...
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