goats | Backyard Roots

Last week I visited Full Harvest urban farm in Oakland. Region Lewis showed me around and the potential is amazing. It’s a giant space for an urban farm –close to 1/2 an acre and includes two backyard lots in the Laurel district of Oakland. And it’s not only a farm, it’s a retreat with yurts, a meeting space, solar panels, not to mention 23 chickens, 8 ducks, 3 goats, and a pig. The pig is a pot bellied rescue that is there for educational purposes. The animals all have free range, some of the chickens even prefer to roost in the trees at night. Visit Full Harvest farm June 7th on the Institute of Urban Homesteading Tour this year. Many thanks to Yolanda at Pollinate for the connection.

The pot-bellied pig is kept for educational purposes. He’s known to eat anything and everything and is highly intelligent. Region says having the pig is a good argument for vegetarianism.

Region’s tip for feeding ducks (when you also have chickens) is to throw the duck feed in the water. Ducks like their food wet and it will be safe from the chickens.

Full Harvest Farm has just set up solar panels. Region said they got help from the Green Panthers and he said the entire system was very simple and cost around $2k. The panels are connected to a marine battery system that fits into an expandable tool box.

Tom and Didi with their backyard La Mancha goats in Seattle.

Sometimes there’s no grand plan to having an urban farm, it just happens. That’s the way it went with Tom and Didi’s Seattle backyard. Didi had always been a big gardener and wanted chickens, so growing vegetables and getting chickens was easy. Next a friend needed someone to take over her bee hive, so they adopted the hive and got bees. And then they met Jennie Grant, a neighbor whose son went to school with the Burpee kids. When Jennie needed help getting backyard goats legalized they naturally gathered signatures for the petition. (Jennie Grant’s story is in Backyard Roots.) Tom even made a hilarious music video about the process called Justice League Blues. Check it out, the entertainment value is high! After tasting how good fresh goat milk was, the Burpee family became interested in the idea of getting goats. The deal was sealed when Jennie’s baby goat needed a new home. Tom says at that point the backyard became “the land of milk and honey.” Now the animals and garden is just part of the daily routine.

Tom cautions others to not “jump into goat-keeping lightly.” The amount of work that goats require is a lot more than chickens. He and Didi milk the goats twice a day for up to 18 months after they give birth. He says a big part of being successful requires having patient neighbors. “Bribe them regularly with cheese, eggs and honey,” he advises. It’s also crucial to have friends and neighbors trained to help you milk the goats when you need a break. The Burpees have La Mancha goats that tend to be quieter, calmer and better milk producers than other small breeds.

Tom and Didi haven’t pushed their kids with lots of farm chores but the two girls help collect eggs, harvest honey and like to cook and eat whatever is in season. Ada is the expert in making goat milk ice cream in exotic flavors like candied ginger and they both love having the animals, especially the baby goats.

Ada (left) and Mette on the back steps with chickens.

Ada looks for eggs (left) and walks Phyllis, the goat. Since these photos were taken, Phyllis has gone on a diet and lost close to 50 lbs. They found controlling her food portions of everything except hay and walking her regularly helped her get down to a healthy size.