{"id":343,"date":"2026-10-21T23:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T23:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goldencrossfarm.org\/Home\/?p=343"},"modified":"2026-10-28T20:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T20:28:34","slug":"how-golden-t-cross-farm-started-goat-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldencrossfarm.org\/Home\/how-golden-t-cross-farm-started-goat-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"How Golden T Cross Farm Started: A Goat Rescue in Topeka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every farm has an origin story. Ours involves a van that was not set up to carry farm animals, two baby goats on my lap, and a mama goat staring over my shoulder the whole way home. Here is how Golden T Cross Farm, our little urban homestead Topeka style, got started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming Home to Topeka<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I moved from Wichita back to Topeka, Kansas in September of 2020 to be near family. The house I live in sits on a 0.40 acre lot with a back yard that was partly fenced. The area around us used to be semi-farming land, and there are still a few horse pastures that were grandfathered in, but today it is considered urban. That makes us an urban homestead, and honestly, we are in good company. Most of my neighbors keep chickens, goats, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food prices were climbing fast, and my sister and I started talking about putting some animals on the land. By 2022 it just made sense to start growing and raising my own food. We only needed the right opportunity. It showed up sooner than we were ready for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One White Doeling Turned Into Three Goats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, a friend of my sister called to say one of her Mini LaMancha does had given birth on Saint Patrick’s Day. I saw a picture of a little white doeling and told my sister to tell her friend I would buy that one. Just the one. That was the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get ready, I ordered some square wire fencing off Amazon and patched the holes in the fence so the back yard would be completely fenced by the time the doeling was weaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On March 26, 2022, the friend invited us to come see the goats in person. When she pointed out the doe, I noticed right away that she was very skinny. She had two doelings following her, and the white one was struggling to stand and kept getting stepped on by the rest of the herd. I walked into the corral and scooped that little white doeling into my arms. At that moment I told the friend I would buy all three: the doe and both of her doelings. So much for the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Van Ride Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We had driven out there in a van, and that van was not set up to haul farm animals. We managed to load everyone in anyway, with the two doelings riding on my lap. The doe did not know what to think, so she stayed as close to me as she could from the back, with her two front legs up on the middle console, looking over my left shoulder for most of the trip. I have had worse traveling companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were not prepared at all for an emergency rescue, so my sister and I had to stop on the way home for hay, goat food, colostrum for the doelings, and goat milk. My sister gave them all Nordic names: Freya for the doe, Fulla for the white doeling, and Frigg for the brown and white doeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mastitis, Bottles, and a Dog Crate in My Room<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Freya and Fulla were both very skinny. Frigg was in pretty good shape. Once we got them home, I found that Freya had mastitis in her right udder. I used to be a vet tech, and that experience came in handy fast. I took the kids off her and put them in a dog crate in my room. I started Freya on antibiotics and milked out her right teat to relieve the pressure. I wormed all three goats and taught the kids how to drink from a bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Baby<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next couple of days were touch and go for Freya and Fulla. On top of everything else, Freya had already rejected Fulla. So I worked with the two of them together until Freya would accept her baby, and I kept both kids on the bottle until she fully did. It took patience, but she came around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mini<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We raised our Mini LaManchas from 2022 to 2025, and they have since gone to good homes. If you want to see more of them, I put together a post looking back at our Mini LaManchas<\/a>, and our goats page<\/a> compares the breeds I learned about. One thing they taught me early: you cannot keep goats out of anything. They will eat anything and get into everything, so mini goats in an urban setting need a very sturdy pen or run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Chicks, Four Roosters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The goats had barely settled in when, on March 30th, my sister went to TSC and came home with four chicks. We did not have a proper brooder yet, but my daughter was already raising some chicks, so I sent them to her house until I could care for them properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had two Black Australorps and two Buff Orpingtons. Every single one of them turned out to be a cockerel. Four for four. If you are hoping for eggs, that is not the luck you want, but it did get us started. You can meet the flock we have now on our chickens page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Four
Our first four chicks in 2022. Every one of them grew up to be a rooster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of those four is still with us. Mr. Roo, one of the Black Australorps, is 4 years old now. He’s the black rooster you’ll see in the flock photo on our home page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Real Urban Homestead by May<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By May 2022 we had meat rabbits, dual purpose chickens, and goats on the farm. That happened fast, and if you have ever kept chickens, you already know why. Chicken math is a real thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topeka is pretty lenient about keeping animals, and our neighbors have been great. Many of them have bought stock and eggs from me, and they come to me for advice too. That is one of my favorite parts of homesteading in town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are thinking about starting your own urban homestead, here is my advice: plan ahead on feed, because you will end up feeding the local wildlife too. And yes, chicken math is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting an Urban Homestead Topeka Style: Read the Rules First<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lenient is not the same as anything goes. Before you bring an animal home, read the Topeka Municipal Code. I would rather you spend twenty minutes reading than have a neighbor spend twenty minutes on the phone with the city. A few things the code says right now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n