# VIP Member Interview - Pearce Pastures



## Sumi (Oct 26, 2014)

Melissa, known to BYH members as Pearce Pastures, has been a BYH member since June 2010. She will most often be found in the Goats section, advising members and sharing pics and stories of her herd.

*1. Melissa, tell us a bit more about yourself, family etc.*

My name is Melissa Pearce, from Wanatah Indiana. I will celebrate a decade of marriage this June to my best friend. We have three great kids that have grown up learning to care for our animals and be responsible for their needs.

*2. Why and when did you start keeping goats?
*
My goat keeping all began with our current vet who is also a country neighbor. Once my husband and I got engaged, we started shopping for a little starter house, bought it, and my husband moved in and got to work sprucing it up.

I came over one day to help do some painting, and he told me to come to the barn....and showed me the three white chickens that our neighbor had given us as a "housewarming present". Boy, had we arrived in the country. We didn't have a clue how to take care of those birds but the neighbor (vet) had insisted that barn needs animals.

After learning the basics of what chickens need, we were hooked on the idea of being sort of little farmers. We got more birds. And after getting married, officially moving into the home, having a few kids, we just kept adding to the flock and learning more about animal care.

Then there was the zoo trip to Indianapolis. Of all of the animals we saw at the zoo that day, my husband and oldest son were just smitten with goat and her babies. It is all they could talk about and that of course led to the question, "Can we get goats?"

I said, "NO WAY!!"

I caved.

And I am now a goat addict and proud of it

*3. Which aspect(s) of goat raising do you enjoy the most?
*
After a day spent teaching and parenting, both jobs requiring every ounce of my patience without much acknowledgment for the arduous workload involved, I get a great deal of satisfaction from the daily routine of feeding, watering, and cleaning up pens. It sounds like more work but it is an escape. The goats always appreciate it. They are excited to see me, take turns getting loved on by me. That is probably that that is my favorite part of raising them.

*4. Which members of your herd, past and present, stand out for you and why?
*
As we got into goats, we switched from pet pygmies to Nigerian Dwarf goats for milk and now Boers for meat. However, the first doe ever born on my farm, a fairly unattractive pygmy goat, is one I could not part with. I was terrified when her mother went into labor that I wouldn’t know what to do, and then was meticulous with her bottle feeding routine. In short, I was a “new mom” when it came to her. In the end, though, we did fine and became more confident as caretakers. Lily will always stand out in my herd simply a milestone in my ability to keep and raise goats. 

*5. What was the funniest thing(s) that happened to you in your years as a goat owner?*

There are many times that pop into my head that I recall having me in stitches over the years. Like when one of the goats stole and drank all of my coffee while I was working on their fence. Or how my oldest goat would let the youngest sit on her back.

I suppose the one that has us still laughing is the time a friend stopped over after church wearing his best clothes and long overcoat. We had just had babies and he wanted to see them and I warned that the barn was dirty but he was okay with it. Dirt ended up not being the problem. As we went into the barn, our biggest girl, a Kiko mix, was apparently in heat and thought our friend was quite handsome. I was both mortified and dying with laughter as he about got knocked over by this flirty doe. He has not gone back in the barn since.

*6. Beside goats, what other animals and birds do you keep?
*
Beside goats, we raise laying chickens (Blue Wheaten Ameraucana, Salmon Faverolles and Black Copper Marans), meat chickens (Cornish Cross mostly), and rabbits (Blue Flemish Giants). We are “babysitting” a friend’s young Cotswold sheep right now and they are, so far, pretty fun and it could be something we try in the future. We do have a pig right now and thought we might like raising them but I am not a fan and probably won’t again. 

*7. What animal do you think you would enjoy raising that you haven't tried yet?
*
Our next project is to raise a steer, since we will have the space soon. I have been working on this plan for a few years now, figuring out fencing, feeding, and what breeds to try so soon enough, we will be putting it all into practice.

http://www.backyardherds.com/members/pearce-pastures.2005/

For more about the interview feature and a full list of interviews see here:

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/vip-member-interviews.29571/


----------

