We dam raise on our farm. I enjoy watching our goats be mothers and witnessing the relationship that they have with their kids. Our experience has proven that kids grow well and have fewer health problems when they are raised and fed by their dams. We have not experienced any teat or udder damage to our does due to dam raising, and they have performed well in the show ring–even while nursing kids. We are also a very busy family, and this works best with our schedule and my current milking routine. Kids are weaned at 8 weeks of age.

There may be instances in which we offer a supplemental bottle to multiples or a struggling kid, but generally our animals receive all milk from their dam. We do not routinely offer bottle kids for sale, but there may be instances where this could happen.

Yes! All of our kids are handled at birth, as well as several times a day–every single day–after that. We have many human kids who love spending time with our caprine kids! While each kid has its own personality (with some more innately friendly and others with more standoffish personalities), our kids are very well socialized and generally love people. We regularly have past buyers comment on how friendly our kids are.

We wean at 8 weeks when they are eating hay and grain well. They will be ready to leave the farm at that time. About two weeks before they are ready to leave, we will set up a pickup time with the buyer. Please see the sales policy page for more important pick up information.

Yes! We test either yearly or biyearly for CAE. We have never had a positive test on our farm. For a copy of our latest test results, please email me at hopehillfarm1@gmail.com. 

We have not routinely tested for CL or Johne’s due to our low risk factor and the questionable accuracy of these blood tests.

We currently vaccinate all of our kids for CDT at 4 and 8 weeks. Our adult does are vaccinated for CDT 1 month before kidding.

All kids are disbudded between the ages of 7-14 days. I am diligent and appropriately aggressive in my disbudding method, but I make no guarantees about animals being free from scurs as an adult. If you want a horned animal, you must tell me within the first week after birth, and the animal must be paid for in full before it is a week old. 

I do not deworm on a schedule. Due to the resistance of parasites to current dewormers on the market, I feel very strongly about not giving dewormers that may be unnecessary.  

Being an RVT (registered veterinary technologist), I have been trained to interpret fecal exams. I run fecal tests routinely on my herd and only treat for parasites as needed and on an individual basis. My goal is to breed animals for parasite resistance.

Yes. I will provide an accurate record of all medications and procedures that have been done for each kid. Unless other arrangements or requests have been made, all kids will be disbudded, up to date on CDT, and on coccidia prevention when they leave Hope Hill Farm.

Absolutely! Although I don’t claim to be an expert, I have several years of experience with these animals, as well as a veterinary background. We want everyone to have success with animals we sell. I am happy to answer questions and will try to point you to trusted resources for further information.

We drink our goat’s milk raw. It is delicious and healthy in its raw state. I also freeze dozens of gallons of raw milk for my soap business. 

We sell extra milk on a first come, first served basis. Our milking season is approximately April through October or November. Availability of milk will be more likely in the earlier months. Please email me at hopehillfarm1@gmail.com for availability and current price per gallon. Buyer must provide their own clean containers and pick up at the farm.

To stay in accordance with Indiana state law, all milk sold is labeled as pet food.

Yes! We are a 4-H family and appreciate what 4-H promotes in our youth. We are proud to support families in 4-H. If you provide proof that you are registered for goats in 4-H, we will happily give you a $50 discount for every kid you purchase from Hope Hill Farm.