When Bria Stambaugh tells people that her family’s hobby farm works with goats, she says the usual reaction is an enthusiastic “that is awesome!” … or a bewildered “why?”
Situated in central North Carolina, Stambaugh now shares her goat-centric adventures to the world through the pun-tastic Udder Chaos Instagram account.
“The farm and agricultural community is composed of some of the most dedicated and genuinely good-hearted people you could ever hope to meet,” she says.
In a rare moment of respite from the goats, we spoke to Stambaugh about watching a hobby farm vision grow and the realities of goat math. We also got into the personalities of some of the farm’s champion ruminants.
Doing the Goat Math
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“We are somewhat limited at our property and starting from nothing, so goats—and Nigerian Dwarf Goats specifically—seemed to be the best fit for our family,” explains Stambaugh, whose own interest in farming was originally sparked by being ushered into the horse world as a child.
“We intended to just have two wethers for pets,” Stmbaugh continues. “However, goat math is a legitimate phenomenon, and we quickly grew to our current hobby herd of six. Our next step will be to breed and venture into the world of all things dairy goat products.”
Let Chaos Reign!
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Asked about being around goats all day, Stambaugh says that it’s pretty much “chaos!” She likens goats to “perpetual toddlers—curious, persistent, demanding, comical, loud, mischievous and most notably very well natured.”
Stambaugh adds that while the list of daily goat chores might remain the same, in general “no two days navigating working with goats is!”
Read more: Miniature dairy goats are perfect for small farms!
Meet Turbo, Fiona & Diesel
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“Goats are a lot more intelligent than most people give them credit for,” says Stambaugh. “They also each have very distinct personalities. Our largest, Diesel, desperately wants to be a lap goat and keeps everyone in line. His twin brother, Turbo, is constantly finding ways to torment the rest of the herd.
“Then our doe Fiona is always the first to greet us and is constantly talking—much to our neighbor’s delight!”
Watching the Vision Grow
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Reflecting on the Udder Chaos experience, Stambaugh says that she takes joy from seeing how the venture “grew from our own vision” and “seeing your ideas not only take shape, but flourish.”
Additionally, Stambaugh says that adding goats to the hobby farm has increased the amount of quality time the family spends together, especially when it comes to conferring “invaluable life skills” to her children.
“It is truly a labor of love, but we have found a wonderful community by following this crazy little idea. There is no turning back for us now,” she vows. “We are excited about what the future holds and the adventures we will create.”
Follow Udder Chaos at Instagram.
