FORWARD BY BRENDA LEE:  We've covered a numerous blogs on everything from: Why De-Dudding?; Horns or Not on your goat by Eric Lee Dickerson; De-Budding Do's & Don'ts; De-Budding Re-Do.....Again?; all the way to Tips on Tips & Dehorning Irons; but what we haven't been able to do is provide more information on using non-electric irons.  We want you to have all the information you need to make the best choices for you and your herd.  What better way than letting someone who uses a non-electric iron?  So without further ado, we would like to graciously thank Debby Riddle for her time, experience, and generosity............Read On Everyone!

The factors; hazards and benefits, of keeping and of removing horns on  goats.      by ERIC LEE DICKERSON

Overview:
Everything in life is a risk /  benefit  analysis and we all have to do our own analysis. However, I have never found a  full discussion about horns in any of  my reading on goats. I hope to  present  here the facts and experiences on the subject of keeping or removing horns on  goats from my research (online, in books and from other goat owners) and the experience of myself and other goat keepers. I compiled a different version of  this analysis covering both sides of the issue. I am decidedly pro-horns, and  was asked by Kalispell Kinders and More to present the "pro-horn" side of this  issue for their blog. Briefly, about me, so you  know that kind of guy you are  talking to… I love animals of all shapes and  sizes, domesticated and wild. I  have been described as "having a way with animals", "being a whisperer", etc.  While those are nice compliments, I don't  see it that way  exactly, I do not  consider myself to be a whisperer, or to have some special supernatural  connection to them. I just try to see it from  the animals perspective, interact  with them in a predictable manner that they understand. I try to bring calm  confidence to the interaction whenever possible. The fact that I am an animal  lover  should not lead you to believe that I am a vegetarian, or that I do  not  cull, harvest or kill my animals. I do. For meat for my family,  to "put them  down", etc. I am not much of a hunter, though I am a fisherman. I am not a vet,  nor do I have any formal training in animal husbandry, though I have worked on  ranches and/or owned livestock  in one form or another for most of my adult life.  I am (at the time of writing this) 35 years old and living on a 5 acre homestead  in Northern California.

 What is soap? 

Hard & Liquid Fats 
           + Salt     
        +  Water  
       =   SOAP


Is Real Soap dangerous? No!  Think of it like Jell-O. You take Jell-O crystals, add water and it creates  Jell-O, a completely different substance. 

Real Soap is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. Soap making is chemistry in action!          

Kinder goat milk is approximately 9% butterfat and perfect for
making  butter!  Goat milk is naturally homogenized.  That means the fat globules stick  together.  You do not need a cream separator to make butter!