Rock Bottom Farm is a family farmstead located in Richmond, ME. Raising registered Nigerian dairy goats and kunekune pigs on pasture for pork production.
Please see our website for more information!
02/24/2025
So. Many. Kids!!
We’ve got some snuggle dates posted .. but if that doesn’t work and you need a separate private family goat snuggle date, please send a message!
… or if you are thinking about adding goats to your homestead, send a message!!
Each year refresh my colostrum supply from does who are big producers or who only have 1-2 kids. This way I always have extra if there is a kid who needs to be tube or bottle fed. There is a powdered colostrum that can be purchased, but nothing is as good as the real deal!
Goat colostrum has also come in handy around here for orphaned piglets!
02/16/2025
With kids arriving daily, we’re looking forward to goat snuggles! There are two options on the website: a one-hour private goat snuggle for up to 10 friends or family or group goat snuggles where 1 ticket covers up to two adults and the kids in the household.
02/15/2025
02/09/2025
We’re about to have 30+ goat kids born … but I’ve used up my freezer supply of milk!
With about two more weeks until I can start once a day milking, is there anyone local to me who has (goat) milk already?!
Looking for 1 gallon to keep making soap .. can be frozen already. Willing to pay, or trade soap! ♥️
02/09/2025
I have very few photos of Brutus (Tiny Hill Et tú Brutae *B … born on the Ides of March!) he was a bottle baby last spring and every time I got close with a camera, he thought I had food. 😬
Most of my does are bred to him for this spring .. I’m super-excited for what he will do for our herd! (Pictured below, harassing does)
⭐️If you are shopping forr goats, send a message!! Plenty of kids available!⭐️
Sire: Tiny Hill Farm Ur Ine 4 SumFun +*B – Bosley Gravel Jr. (Tiny Hill Farm Pez *B X SG Kids Corral LB Krystal Blue 1*M VEEE90) Bosley’s sire, Tiny Hill Farm Pez *B (Phoenix Farm Hard Candy *B X TOP TEN ELITE SG TinyHillFarm’s SuperLois 6*M).
Dam: ELITE Doe SG Tiny Hill Farm Raspberry Beret 2*M – Beret (Elite buck SG Sugar Moon V High Roller ++*B X TOP TEN SG Tiny Hill Farm Sansa 1*M VEEV89)
02/08/2025
Five does on deck for this weekend:
Pi, Clover, Basil, Frenchie and S’mores.
My prediction is that S’mores looks closest .. overnight or tomorrow .. followed by Frenchie. The other three have me scratching my head!
02/07/2025
Wyatt (Tiny Hill Wyatt Earp *B) joined the herd as a bottle baby in 2018 .. he's sired the majority of our kids in the previous 6 years -- his influence is very heavy in our herd. Unfortunately, in November he suddenly developed rear leg weakness .. classic presentation for meningeal worm, a parasitic nematode that infects the brain and spinal cord of goats.. around here, whitetail deer carry it. Goats are infected by snails who pick the parasite up and goats inadvertently eat the snails while grazing.
We utilize electric and permanent fence and livestock guardians to discourage deer from passing through or browsing in our fields. We maintain a robust flock of runner ducks to eat bugs and slugs in the fields .. Wyatt's is only our second case (and first on this property) since we started raising goats 9 years ago.
We started treatment as soon as he started showing symptoms, but the nematode causes demyelination, which causes permanent nerve damage and he was not able to regain strength in his rear legs and thus was not able to safely return to the herd.
We said goodbye to Wyatt, but know that he lives on through his daughters!
01/27/2025
We are expecting kids a little earlier than usual this year (it was intentional!!) .. which means snuggles will happen a little earlier. It's likely to be a bit chilly for the first snuggles and I'll offer alternate times if weather gets in the way!
I'll add dates as things fill up! As always, please do reach out if there isn't a time that works for you and I'll see what we can do!
01/19/2025
This will be Griff’s first kidding season .. he’s practicing being patient 🤩
01/19/2025
It’s that time of year again!
Our first due date is February 2 - early this year!!
Getting kids dried off and warmed up as quickly as possible after delivery is vital for their survival.
We need to restock the towel supply and will use any old towels you have to spare! We can also make use of wash clothes and dish towels. We do not need any more quilts (you’ve all been so generous!). Feel free to send a PM to arrange pick-up / drop off! 💛
12/26/2024
Goats love your gently used Christmas trees! 🌲
We are welcoming ornament & tinsel-free Christmas trees at 565 Brunswick Road in Richmond — you can drop off in the turn around by the road, or drop up at the house and say a quick “Hi” to goats over the fence!
We ask that you don’t throw trees into the pasture.
12/03/2024
What better way to welcome spring than with piglets due on March 20, 2025!! 🌷
Kunekune piglets will be available as pets and / or feeders. Not offering any registered stock this season.
11/20/2024
Less than 90 days until the arrival of 2025 kids!
I bred early this year .. I usually plan for late-March / early-April kids, but I will worry about kids being born and getting cold regardless — I watch cameras and run to the barn at all hours of the night — so why not do it in February instead of April?! Something bright to look forward to in the cold, dark, New England winter!
Kids are expected between 2/2 and 2/28 with a couple of stragglers later in the spring!
Are you ready for goat snuggles?!?
10/26/2024
Now accepting all pumpkins or fall squash! Mostly, the pigs enjoy these treats .. occasionally goats / chickens.. and even a livestock guardian!
10/06/2024
This is actually how we keep the weeping cherry tree pruned so perfectly .. (Myrtle)
09/26/2024
Five days of veterinary-guided medical treatment..
Five days of belly rubs, ear scratches and whispered words of encouragement..
Five days without any water intake..
Five days of eating only hand-fed apples, bananas and raw eggs..
Five days with a body temp
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With kids arriving daily, we’re looking forward to goat snuggles! There are two options on the website: a one-hour private goat snuggle for up to 10 friends or family or group goat snuggles where 1 ticket covers up to two adults and the kids in the household.
Fall Pumpkins!
Now accepting all pumpkins or fall squash! Mostly, the pigs enjoy these treats .. occasionally goats / chickens.. and even a livestock guardian!
Smitty update: he’s hanging in there. Body temp was very low last night, I threw everything at home (antibiotic, anti inflammatory, steroids) .. I tucked him into a pile of hay and went to bed. He got up and ate the food I left him overnight but took quite a bit of persuasion, a raw egg and a big push to get him up - then he ate a bowl of fruit and soaked grains.
Still not himself, but he made it through the day. Hoping for progress tomorrow! 🤞🏼This is the first time we’ve had a sick adult pig in 6 years of raising and breeding pigs — there is always more to learn!
Tallying up the numbers and submitting registration papers! The 2024 kidding season brought 28 new babes to Rock Bottom Farm. We lost two — one stillborn and one died hours after being born. We had two bottle babies, and I held back only four kids! I’ll watch how these kids grow and decide who stays / goes as they mature and freshen! 🩷
Another successful nest! These ducklings look like a mix of Cayuga and runners. 🖤
We were fortunate last year to have all the hay we needed, and didn’t have to sacrifice quality, but I can’t say it isn’t still a relief to have the barn filled up again with gorgeous fresh hay! I start to stress when the barn is about half full, anyone else with me?!! In August we will stuff the barn to the rafters with second cut to get us through another winter. Keeping fingers crossed for lots of sun & just enough rain!! ☀️Thanks for the help @jake.mac11 @emhackett @tripp_mac_1124 & Amber Dodge
Bottle baby!
💜 UPDATE: Joey has a home! Phew!! 💜
Looking for a bottle baby?!
Joey might be the girl for you! *loves* snuggles, petting, talking, long walks in the yard and is literally “in your pocket” .. she’s a runt, small for her age, and I’d prefer that she go to a pet home — though she may grow very well and could potentially be a homestead milker. Mom easily milks a half gallon a day at peak.
We have other does / wethers who could go with her as companions if you don’t already have goats. She’s very, very sweet, but making me crazy with her demands for milk, love and attention! 🤍
PM for details. Must be prepared to commit bottle feeding.
Looking for the Good! 💚
My #applewatch recorded nearly 16,000 steps yesterday as I moved fences, moved animals and went about my usual “day off” tasks. While setting up hog net to move the sows and piglets onto grass I stopped to watch the goats playing on the rock pile.
THIS is the part I love .. but it doesn’t happen without busting my buns! 💚
Both aspiring farmer's with many ideas for hobbies and projects, Scott and Melissa joined forces in 2015. With four boys between the two of them, they set out to embrace this crazy life; following Scott's motto: "Today is today!"
Scott works full time for the City of Hallowell as Police Chief. Melissa is a Nurse Practitioner at the Richmond Area Health Center.
Scott's interests include composting (everything!), vegetable gardening, metal work, tumbling stones, re-purposing discarded furniture, photography, searching for lost treasure on abandoned properties and collecting rocks and fossils along the river banks of the Kennebec, kayaking, bikes and camping.
Melissa enjoys flower gardens, small craft projects, canning, animal care taking, collecting rocks for gardening / landscape designs, baking, camping and accompanying Scott on river trips or any other adventure he can stir up!
|| Chickens ||
The gateway animal. At first it was just for the joy of collecting fresh eggs at the end of each day. Then came the endeavor to humanely raise chickens for our dinner table.
Currently, we raise Red Rangers for meat, and choose not to medicate the birds we will eat. We feed our meat birds a good-quality, high protein chicken feed, offer plenty of kitchen and garden scraps and the whey leftover from the cheese making process. Since moving to Richmond, we have started working on plans for pastured chicken and will offer a chicken co-op for 2019 (message us for more details!).
Our laying hen flock is quite diverse. Some of our favorites are Araucanas / Ameraucanas, French Black Copper Marans, and Orpingtons. This will be the third year we have hatched out own chicks. Keep an eye on our Instagram and / or pages for pictures of our egg rainbow!
|| Maple Syrup ||
Scott's venture into "sapping" eventually led to the purchase of an evaporator and a passion for small-scale maple syrup making. From mid-February through early-April you can catch a glimpse of wood smoke and white steam pouring from the roof of the sap house, with Scott inside, stoking the fire and watching the sap boil. Bottles feature the "SMACK'S" label, representing "Scott Mac & Kids", the sugary-sweet start-up for Rock Bottom Farm. The kids play an integral role in the collection of hundreds of gallons of sap throughout a season. You can usually find them hanging around the sap house, chopping wood for kindling or throwing snowballs at each other. Each season we produce enough syrup to supply our family for the year, and a little extra to share with friends and family. We hope to continue to grow this part of our homesteading adventure.
|| Goats ||
Goats joined our farm in June of 2016. Melissa had an interest in raising dairy goats, inspired by an undergraduate college term spent in Namibia at the Cheetah Conservation Fund where she worked on a project to promote the use of livestock guarding dogs on rural farms to protect sheep and goats from predators, with the primary focus on preventing the killing of cheetahs. Fast-forward nearly a decade: the opportunity to have goats was within reach, and Scott said "go for it!". We started our herd with two Nigerian Dwarf does from Sunflower Farm in Cumberland. We now have a herd of 14 registered Nigerian Dwarf goats! Kids will be for sale in the spring.
|| On the Horizon ||
We moved our operation to a larger property in fall 2018 after stumbling on a 200-year-old farmhouse with 27 acres of land. We have plans to continue our expansion and would like to introduce a farm stand in the summer of 2019 to offer fresh fruits, vegetables, goat milk products, and eggs to our community. We've got grand ideas, and hope you'll follow along and join us when you see something exciting!
After all, small farms cannot make it without the support of the community!
Rock Bottom Farm is a family farmstead located in Richmond, ME. Raising registered Nigerian dairy goats and kunekune pigs on pasture for pork production.
