The second in-person Living on the Land class took place on June 8th. Small Ruminant Care on the Farm was held at Sage & Willow Farm in Poulsbo, WA. The farm raises goats and sheep, as well as a variety of poultry. Farm owner Roni Ryan hosted and was joined by local sheep farmer Katie Crawley.
Roni has been raising goats and sheep for over 14 years and she runs a multifaceted farm business based on her livestock, raising them for breeding, meat, and agritourism. Local residents may be familiar with her popular goat yoga, where baby goats are let loose during yoga class, giving them free reign to climb and cuddle customers, fusing body movement and quality animal connection.
After a tour of the grounds, where Roni was able to explain various infrastructure and systems on her farm, the class convened in the cool shade of the barn. Roni, who has a background in nursing, went over various routine ruminant care and showed the contents of her medical kits, with which she administers first aid, vaccines, and other medical care.
Roni then led the class through a series of hands-on demonstrations. First she walked participants through disbudding, which is the act of removing the baby goat’s horns when they begin to develop. She explained the purpose of disbudding: it’s not only for the goat’s safety, such as preventing them from getting stuck in fencing, but also for the other herd members and herself. It was difficult for participants to watch, as it is painful for the goat, but it was an important reminder of what’s involved in raising livestock. For this reason, Roni emphasized being calm, quick, thorough, and putting the kid back in with their mama immediately after so they can draw comfort from her.
The rest of the class was spent learning how to trim the goats’ hooves. Participants were able to try their hand at hoof trimming and learn Roni’s methods for doing it properly and efficiently. Hoof trimming is an important part of ruminant care, especially in the mild, damp weather of the Pacific Northwest. Ruminants need to be trimmed more often here because in the soft, wet pastures their hooves don’t wear down as quickly as in drier climates with rocky terrain.
Participants were a combination of highly experienced farmers, residents who raise a few ruminants, and people with aspirations to one day have a small herd of their own. The variety of experiences fostered knowledge sharing and questions were answered not just by the farm owner but a mix of farmers who collectively have decades of experience. While online classes create lasting, recorded resources to be accessed for years to come, in-person classes highlight the importance of community gathering and connection.
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