Category: Farm Updates

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Privacy. Would you take your daughter to milking time?

Privacy. Would you take your daughter to milking time?
Goats don’t care as much about privacy as family ties. Goat MIlk Soap mother goes to milking time with her daughter.

Taking your daughter to milking time is not what most cows or goats do on a commercial dairy farm. Most farms separate their young stock from the adults at birth, or as soon as possible. We do not.

In the past, we did not let a goat bring a young daughter to milking time because it would cause disruption to the process of getting the milk. But with the changing of staff, and different operators’ preferences, sometimes these things are allowed.

Another mother takes her daughter to milking time, and we miss out!

In the YouTube.com video, we captured a mother and a young one. The sight has heartened many viewers. To be precise, as of May 18th, 2021, 70,000 views have clocked up on this one video alone! We also have another one, where the goat kid was allowed to drink from one side of the udder, but not the other. In this second video, it is worth noting, the young goat is even drinking from her own mother! You may wish to view this one too.

You may notice these two videos are from the Smith Family Soapmaker’s channel, Goat Milk Soap NZ, which is a #GoatWatch channel. We post videos of goats, their kids, and related scenery. We are currently posting every week. Some of the content is rather short, and over time we will produce longer content as well especially of mothers who want to take their daughter to milking time.

Learn more about the Goat Milk Soap NZ YouTube channel in this video.

A YouTube channel introduction video.

We have an email list you may wish to join it, and receive updates from us.

Goat Milk Soap or even the skincare stick is something that not everyone thinks of buying online. Sometimes the best approach to letting people know we exist and may be able to help them is to introduce them to our videos and other farm updates. That is why we are now posting some of our many videos on the email list.

Please feel free to join our email list, and share the emails with friends when they arrive.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Secret Life of a Goat Whisperer Dec 23 2020

Sometimes we just have to whisper to the goats. We can’t help ourselves.

Insights from the secret life of a goat whisperer

Goat whisperer? Perhaps the genesis of this goat whisperer behaviour started all started when I found a sheep skull in the paddock at Pudding Hill camp, at Mt Somers. I’m not sure. But I do remember being on camp with some friends and we went for a walk in the farm area.

While on that walk I found a skull and kept it. I didn’t talk to it, but I did get attached to it. I loved it.

One of my friends, who, for now, shall remain nameless, thought other thoughts and said it was a very unusual choice, and I was not quite thinking right, etc, etc.

At that time we had no farm animals in my family

I wasn’t a goat whisperer until quite recently. I was living in Christchurch, and so there was no chance to whisper to any goats. But I did like to ride my bike over what was at the time, a cow and sheep grazing area, on the south side of Eastmans Wetland.

That was the stretch of Cashmere Road between Hoon Hay Valley Road, and Kennedy’s Bush Road. I used to enjoy calling out to the dairy cows along the roadside.

Well, I think they were milking cows, I didn’t know much about the difference between milking and dry stock back then.

We had no goats until after the year 2000!

It would be unusual to seek out the company of goats and whisper to them if you had no goats of your own, and didn’t work near, or visit them, I think.

Well, one day I went to Hanmer Springs with some people at work. My wife and I both went together and there was a goat there.

I thought it would be nice to say hello to this male goat.

He was behind a fence, what could go wrong…

Did I become a goat whisperer then?

Actually, he bit me!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Goat Watch | Milking Time Chat Videos

Here are the 2020 Triplets in mid December 2020. In this video we go and talk to some goats after the milking session. Unlike cows in a milking shed, they don’t automatically file out to pasture.

There is another post here on this new website which relates to the same triplets. If you haven’t already seen it, it is worth a peep. The link is here. https://goatmilksoap.co.nz/curious-kids-episode-13th-october-2020-were-2020-triplets/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Old Website Is Trashed We’re Disappointed To Announce

The old website banner: there’s no room in the shed

Goat_Milk_Soap_NZ
We’ve yet to find the best place for the old website banner, even.

I went to “fix” the old website, and lo and behold, it disappeared. As a result we had to start afresh, and everyone’s user logins disappeared, over night.

Not only that, all the blog posts, and attached videos. I won’t go on and on, crying over spilt milk. But it was rather hard on us.

However, we will work it out, and figure out some improvements in the coming weeks. Right now the old website at Goat Milk Soap NZ is gone. It isn’t coming back. So let’s make the most of what we have, and together with you, we’ll build up new words, messages, reviews, and improvements. Let’s keep moving. In facts, let’s fix this whole thing.

MilkRelief.com website has been folded into the PalmOilFreeSoap.com site.

The old website is not the only casualty of our operations realignment. We had to remove the website MilkRelief.com as well a while ago.

I am just pleased we can continue to serve our customers with orders here in New Zealand. Our soap and skincare sticks have become a big part of so many lives here in New Zealand.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Goat Milk Soap New Zealand Video Channel

The Goat Milk Soap channel highlights life on the farm at GoatMilkSoapNZ, and is published by the Smith Family Soapmakers. Any of our videos you like or comment on helps us get found by others who may go on to purchase products from our site.

All about this YouTube channel
A recent video on why we placed hay here. The goat storms the camera, of course.
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Episode 22 November 2020 Curious Kids Go Off Limits Again

Episode 22 November 2020
Does that goat on the right look like he regrets his decision to enter the forbidden area by walking through the fence?

What is special about Episode 22 November 2020?

The kids are getting bigger, and it looks like there are goats everywhere. The goats are also in the pond enclosure, which is a pretty interesting place to casually kill a willow tree by stripping its bark. That is just one of the things you’ll discover at around the 2-minute mark. So watch to the end. Every view is appreciated by the Smith Family Soapmakers.

This video was taken yesterday afternoon, (at the time of writing) in late November 2020. If they need to go to the forbidden territory to achieve their goat for the afternoon, they will, unless there are some painful consequences which make it not worthwhile. Watch this interesting Youtube exploration of the Curious Kids in their forbidden territory.

Find out more about this YouTube channel

YouTube.com channel introduction.
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Curious Kids Episode 13th October 2020 | We’re 2020 Triplets

Episode 13th October 2020
“Hi. Mum’s busy eating hay, can’t you see? We’re the 2020 triplets! Find us on YouTube, we’re as cute as goat kids can be!”

What is special about Episode 13th October 2020?

Episode 13th October 2020 features the triplets which were the first kids born in 2020. Their mother gives us an enormous amount of milk, in addition to feeding them. We only milk our goats once a day. They do all the rest. We also don’t separate the goats from their babies at any time during the day, unless they are at milking, and some of them have their babies in the milking parlour too!

Find out more about this YouTube channel

Find out more about what our channel is about by watching this video.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

GoatMilkSoapNZ 18 October 2020 Goats resting video

Goats Resting episode 18 October 2020

18 October 2020 | Do these goats look like their resting?

Some do, and three don’t. Is that because life is just too interesting? Or are they guard goats?

The latest video from the GoatMilkSoapNZ playlist is Goat Resting episode 18 October 2020. It was taken on a calm sunny day in Spring at the GoatMilkSoapNZ farm. Goats are resting, chewing their cud, and some are making milk. #GoatWatch the video now.

The Smith Family Soapmaker’s channel, Neil Smith is a #GoatWatch channel. We post videos of goats, their kids, and related scenery. We are currently posting often.

Find out more about this YouTube channel

Find out more about what our channel is about by watching this video.