Pygmy Goats our first animals on the homestead!

This week we get our first farm animals Pygmy Goats! We learn how to care for them as they settle in and I'm over the moon to see they eat rushes!
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We are- a family of four,
Mum- Annie,
Dad-Bruce
Two children Elsie and Betsy
One dog - Doug
2 Cats - McTat and Ash
2 Pygmy Goats - Treasure and Bell
and we decided to trade our busy life as home and business owners to chase the dream we’ve harboured for 10years.
How did we get here
After years of saying one day, we finally realised that these opportunities don’t just land in your lap and if we seriously wanted to make a difference to the Earth then we were going to have to stop talking about it and do it!
We sold all our stuff, got rid of the mortgage, sold our camper conversion business and landed in a dream come true. After traveling in our van we settled here in the west of Ireland. A place that has always been special to us. Annie is half Irish and since we met 12 years ago and she took me to meet her family i fell in love with Ireland too.
Now we’ve made this dream a reality there is no stopping us! our plan is to work hard, meet new people and learn new skills that will guide us on our journey of permaculture and creating a way of life that sings to us. One where we aren’t bound to the banks, working every hour and outsourcing all of our needs. A simple way of life, with connection to ourselves, each other, the earth and our community.
Vlogging with
iPhone 11
Insta360
Olympus OM-D 5 mk ii
Lens Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14 mm F2.8 PRO Lens
Lens Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40 mm F2.8 PRO Lens
Mic Rode VideoMicro Compact On Camera Microphone
Final Cut Pro
DJI Mavic Air

[@OffGridBruce]

Any funny goat story’s let me know in the comments! These little guys have me in tears 😂

[@MsDoobly]

Definitely a jack of all trades fair play to you👍

[@OffGridBruce]

I’d have to be ok at that. Mechanics was my original trade :)

[@aprilriordan8202]

The Goats are adorable, they are so tiny bet the kids are loving watching them play.

[@OffGridBruce]

Ah they are. We are taming them slowly

[@aprilriordan8202]

@@OffGridBruce they’ll be like extra playful puppies lol

[@dubhavenue9999]

Class!

[@magcurran100]

They are gorgeous... lovely for the kids. It's hard to keep them in as I remember as a child.

[@OffGridBruce]

Time will tell I guess. We got of to a hilarious start with the first escape. I was very panicked I was going to loose them. They are settling in well now

[@3158David]

2 post Bradbury car lifts, ...I used to fit them in garages all over Ireland with my father as a contractor for Castrol oil company, I believe that was my third career change back in the early 1990s. The best place to pick one up is Done deal.

[@OffGridBruce]

I Have had a look on done deal but haven’t had any joy. Although a new lift is a lot cheaper now than back in the day

[@The_Mitchells]

The goats are adorable! Miss having soup with you guys 🥲

[@OffGridBruce]

Ah same! The goats are honestly the best! So funny and so much character. Defo get some when you get land

[@terrygauvin3961]

Great video 👍 always interesting 👍

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks Terry

[@ElisandeWalters]

they look effin cute

[@OffGridBruce]

Oh they are!

[@michaelmcclafferty3346]

Great video, thanks. Love the music too.

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks Michael 🙏

[@bordercollie1255]

The cutest goats ever 🐐🐐 and learned how to change a coil spring today! Bad news for my mechanic.

[@OffGridBruce]

😂 it was an easy job actually compared to some

[@carolleslie9739]

Always enjoy your videos,lovely family 💙❤️🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks Carol

[@captured-by-kenny]

Great vid mate, keep it up👍

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks 🙏

[@alanahhannah]

So enjoyable watching you with your amazing kids,

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks. They are great 😊

[@peanut292]

Beautiful goats. Best of luck with them.

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks 🙏

[@allonesame6467]

Adorable pygmy goats! Blessings Abound!

[@OffGridBruce]

They are so full of character and getting really tame now

[@wild.in.ireland]

Love it! And the thumbnail haha!!! Can't wait to meet these little nutters

[@OffGridBruce]

I actually made a bit of effort with the thumbnail this week to see if I could get the old algorithm on my side.

[@christinamontano11]

yeah! goats

[@OffGridBruce]

Oh yeah :)

[@aliveandfiddling]

You need the energiser very soon! Goats and sheep NEVER respect unelectrified netting. And you will need to cut all the grass and brush away from the bottom of the netting, otherwise the electricity will short out. I know all this from painful experience. Thinking of you! XX

[@OffGridBruce]

Thank you 🙏 I am patiently waiting. It should be here any day. They seem to be staying put so far but I know it’s a matter of time. And I like my polytunnel goat free

[@kimberlyearly8918]

I know this is 5 months ago but we got 2 Nigerian dwarf/mini nubians in April. We have a permanent pen but also an electric fence so we can move them around. Somehow they can tell if the fence isn't working and they slip right out lol. I'm not sure how they know when it's off or when it's on. Usually it's my little whether that does it haha.

[@prubroughton2327]

we us a solar energiser, to keep sheep and full size goats in they are excellent We are in nz

[@OffGridBruce]

I have a voss energiser on the way. They are being good so far but I know it’s only a matter of time

[@c-monsta]

Great video! Love the wee goats. Well done Betsy for sorting the spring and it looks like you're doing a great job with the goats too. 🐐 Loving seeing the c-monsta hoodies getting good use too. Well done!

[@OffGridBruce]

Those hoodies are loved to the max!!

[@jembo1959]

They will settle down in no time, always the same when new animals arrive to a new home, they don't be long sussing out the escape routes. Best of luck with them there lovely.

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks jimmy. Already they seem to be warming to us. I am watching them all the time at the moment. They are so funny

[@aileenrose1651]

Goats are my favorite farm animal. I've had them for about 30 years. Hope they work out as well for you too.

[@OffGridBruce]

So far so good. They are lovely little things. Getting very tame now

[@tiarnanvanderbrun8260]

I hadn't realized you were vegans until the mossy bottom interview so taking your time getting livestock makes much more sense to me now. Those goats will work wonders for clearing brush and trimming encroaching branches. They'll also give valuable fertiliser to the fields. My one bit of advice is water belongs in pipes underground, lugging water by hand is a labor intensive, time consuming job.

[@OffGridBruce]

Well I’m not really vegan anymore although i don’t buy meat or milks. I am going to milk the goats when the time comes :)

[@tiarnanvanderbrun8260]

@@OffGridBruce I'm sure you'll make the most of having them. Nothing in the shop will taste as good as what you've made yourself so it'll be worth the wait.

[@bigwilf1966]

lovely seeing this. I am guessing ythe damp feet thing dosn't appy to pygmys then or has your pen got dry enough ground under it?

[@OffGridBruce]

Well I mentioned it to the woman we got them off and she said it will be dry if the sheds on it. We put some straw in to keep them warm. May be different in the winter though but that part of the field stays pretty dry

[@bigwilf1966]

@@OffGridBruce great glad i didn't just give you extra work. will be watching especially for yealds of milk on such small goats. Or are they just lawn mowers due to you and the family being vegan.

[@kimberlyearly8918]

@@bigwilf1966 I'm not sure about pygmys but I have 2 young Nigerian dwarfs and that breed actually gives a lot of milk to be so small. There milk is also supposed to be sweeter than other breeds. My female is still too young to breed. But, like I said, not sure about pygmys.

[@bigwilf1966]

@@kimberlyearly8918 Thx for thats are that breed ok for the uk? Were in scotland its very wet and breezy.

[@davidfennell5124]

Goats look great Bruce. What age are they and when will you be able to milk them?

[@OffGridBruce]

10 weeks old. I’d say at least a year before we would introduce a puck which is good really. Gives us time to bond and build a little milking table

[@davidfennell5124]

@@OffGridBruce ah great stuff. Lovely addition to your family!

[@robscoble1579]

Proper cute 🐐 Might get more people goat-o your channel to watch them 😜 Good job with the coilover too, don't suppose you fancy changing the clutch on our van? We're off the road atm 😭 Really great to see your daughter getting so involved as well, I've taken a leaf out of your book involving mine more in jobs too 👩‍🔧

[@OffGridBruce]

😂 what van have you got? I’m thinking of doing some mechanics now to bring a bit of income

[@robscoble1579]

@@OffGridBruce good idea. It's a VW T5. He's served us well over the years and kids have grown up with him. Lots of camping and road trips, etc, but starting to go wrong a lot lately - with not all things I can have a go at fixing either 😔

[@Peterharte73]

Pygmy goats are beautiful animals do yo plan to keep them for milk or can you milk them or just grazing the land.

[@OffGridBruce]

A bit of both. Milk when we can and clearing brambles etc when we need them to :)

[@phirst55]

I do hope neither of those goats are male,, August/September time they start spraying their scent to attract the females,,, not the best fragrance that sticks to your clothes,, just a warning incase you've not kept goats before!!

[@susanwheeler9624]

With names like Treasure and Belle they are probably female 😄

[@OffGridBruce]

Thanks Philip these are both girls. I was aware of the puck goat scent although never experienced it in person. Hoping I can borrow one when the time comes