What is it about goat herd behaviour that makes me think of cats?
The photo above was taken around sunset. This article describes some of their activities during the day.
Goats are creatures of ritual. They chart their days by the sunโs position, always seeking warmth and shelter from the wind. Their grazing follows a circular pattern, returning to familiar routes and favourite spots with clockwork regularity.
Their day unfolds in gentle chapters. They rise early, venturing out to graze before returning to their sleeping camp to bask in the morning warmth.
Feline good in the sun.
Midโmorning finds them in a different zoneโone reserved for that hourโbefore they settle into stillness through the heat of the day.
Like cats, they drift from one warm pocket to the next, following a private map only they seem to understand.
Perhaps itโs this sunโchasing rhythm, this quiet loyalty to place and time, that makes goat herd behaviour seem similar to felines.
Paddock Prattle. Some other goats in the herd have plenty to say about the new arrival kids.
As shadows lengthen, they begin their final browsing session, weaving their way back through the golden grass before sunset. It’s after this homeward journey that we collect them for milking.
A January 2026 Milking Session
What better way to end the day than a dip into the treats in the trough? This is the life that creates Milk Relief Soap.
21st of August 2020. 5 1/2 years ago at the time of posting.
Our Doe Completely Relaxed In Gentle Hands
You can see it, can’t you? That trusting gaze, the way she’s completely relaxed in gentle hands. This beautiful girl was born here on our Southland farm in August 2020. She is one of the 2020 Triplets. They grew into everything we love about our herd.
Calm.
Affectionate.
The type who’ll walk right up to you in the paddock, not because she wants food, but simply because she enjoys the company.
Those distinctive markingsโthe soft browns and creams, the dark “stockings” on her legsโis a now a theme among most of our herd.
Respect. This Is Why We Farm the Way We Do.
When you raise goats with patience and respect, when they know gentle handling from their first day, it shows. In their behaviour. In their health. And yes, in the quality of their milk.
Our goat milk soap starts with does like her. Goats who spend their days on clean pasture, who receive proper nutrition, and who trust the people caring for them. That milkโrich, nourishing, full of natural goodnessโis what adds to our soap its signature creamy lather and skin-loving properties.
The Real Story Behind Every Bar
We could tell you about the vitamins and fatty acids in goat milk. We could list all the reasons it’s gentler than commercial soap. But honestly? It comes down to this: soap made from happy, healthy goats raised with care simply works better. Your skin knows the difference.
When you wash with our soap, you’re connected to mornings spent checking on new kids, to quiet moments like the one in this photo, to the daily work of farming with compassion. That’s not marketingโthat’s just the truth of what we do here.
These goats aren’t just livestock to us. They’re individuals with personalities, preferences, and those incredible eyes that seem to look right into you. We’re honoured to care for them, and grateful we can share what they provide with you.
Salty. That’s the only way to describe the side-eye look I received while I took a video of my beautiful goat. Take a look.
I can’t look at that face in the Thumbnail of this video without laughing!
Goats are so unpredictable and usually delightful to talk to. The following videos shows our males at bedtime. No salty looks, no drama. Just simple bedtime routines, shared with the chickens.
I was so taken by this short video today, I thought I need to make a post here on the website so people can click through to YouTube and enjoy it.
Summer 2023 has been punctuated by the arrival of goat babies.
In September 2022 we posted a video of a goat with a swollen belly. Well, she had twins.
Then we posted a video on the YouTube of Grandma Goat. Let’s take a look at the first goat mentioned.
Goat’s first birth results in twin boys.
Here is another look at the same goats in the shed at night, again in the summer of 2023. The coloured goat pictured below is just photo bombing….
So that is the news from the white goat with the bulging belly.
I see that there have been no updates from the blog about Goat Milk Soap so far in the summer of 2023. We have been busy. I know that there is no excuse. But it is a fact.
“I have purchased your soap several times now, but I am wondering is it soap free?” See below the video for our response. This question arrived in September 2022, on the 30th, to be precise.
What’s in there? (Look on the left).
Shampoo bars vs The old-fashioned way
Thanks for getting in touch. To answer your question, no, Milk Relief Soap is not a soap-free cleaning bar. Milk Relief Soap is pure soap, made the old-fashioned way.
Some people consider all soap to be bad, so below we’ll paste a response we wrote in the past to one of our enquiries from someone who thought soap was bad because it contains lye.
If you hear of any real soap being made without lye, it’s an outright lie. It is most probably a “cleansing bar” which is a concoction of synthetic ingredients.
It’s impossible to make real soap without lye, but absolutely no lye is left in soap once the oils are turned into soap. There is absolutely no alternative around. For a solid bar of soap, you need sodium hydroxide. For liquid soap, you need potassium hydroxide. Both are considered lye.
We agree that mass-produced soap can be very harsh and drying for your skin, but properly-saponified handmade soap is the most gentle and natural cleanser around. Soap has been around for thousands of years.
“Soap free” cleansers have all sorts of trash in them which we avoid at all costs for our family. You should do some research into how good pure soap can be.
This testimonial was taken from a real email we received from our customer in the US. She gave us permission to use it, and even supplied a photo of herself with her son. You can see it on this page:
“The soap is great ! I am very impressed with how it doesn’t irritate mine, or my sons skin. While waiting for your soap to arrive I purchased another goats milk soap in the states which came in 3 days. Although, it had very pure ingredients ( olive oil, goat milk) it caused little circular eczema patches on my son, and my left arm.
I was ready to give up on finding a natural soap as Aleppo, marseille, castile, and another goats milk soap all caused me to itch with a rash from head to toe.
Your soap is so gentle I can use it on my face, and and as shampoo on my son. It was the first time he didn’t scream that soap was in his eyes. With every other shampoo or soap (even after its been rinsed ) it still gets in his eyes when the water streams down his face even though I thought I had rinsed him clean? It’s a constant battle washing his hair, and look forward to tearless shampooing.”
Some of our customers who have switched from “soap free” facial & body wash to Milk Relief Soapโข tell us that they never realised how their “soap free” wash wasn’t actually cleaning their skin very well, although it was gentle enough. A bar of good true bar of soap will have a powerful cleansing ability and be really gentle at the same time.
September 2022 Farm Update
This goat is alive. But her baby born was stillborn. It’s sad. It’s farming. We move on.September 2022 was a tough month for us. The first kid born for two years was not born alive.Thanks for sitting still. It’s time for a nibble.
Thanks for reading. If you wish to know more about the soap, a great place to start is the ingredients page because we have a selection of 6 ingredients. 4 of them are common in every household, and one disappears.
Goat, by Celebrated Artist Lorraine Jacobs of Broadview Gallery.
Lorraine Jacobs Art. It’s this a lovely gift to the farm? We really appreciate it. When you mentioned a goat painting was for sale my ears pricked up, so to speak. I’m so grateful it has come into our possession.
These boys are around 2 years old. They are not brothers, and one is a lot skinnier than the other, just like their mothers. The third buck in this clip from August 2022 is not related to our herd.
His mother won the supreme milker award for the whole of New Zealand, from NZDGBA.
87.50 % of the viewers clicked the “Like Button” according to YouTube, on 25th of August, 2022.We are very grateful to the gentleman in red (For Canterbury) in allowing us to own a son of the Supreme Milker, Gold Award, from the NZDGBA. The white buck in the video is the son of the Gold Award winner.
Rising Two Year Olds August 2022 | What’s Happening? (Oh, I don’t know, I’d better nibble that itch anyway).
This site is a place where you can get goat milk soap for New Zealand orders. PalmOilFreeSoap.com is a place where you can get goat milk soap for delivery to other locations.
One of the triplets knows where to get Goat Milk from Mama in August 2020!
Goats sunning themselves at the gate, August 2022.
July 2020 is cold in New Zealand. There is snow in Canterbury, and down here it was 4 degrees above zero until mid-afternoon one day.
One of the 2020 triplets seems to think she is in trouble.
But we are still warmly welcoming new customers!
We are also still receiving really good feedback from existing customers. We appreciate that. See below what one of the customers has said.
Hello Prudence!
Thank you for your beautiful milk, and I hope you give your human parents a little head butt for their help in turning it into the most gorgeous soap. It has helped my skin problems so much and I love using it. I even wash my face with it and love how my skin doesnโt tingle afterwards. I am so happy to have found you and send you happy blessings.
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