ADGA Registered Nigerian Dwarf Goats
Located in Mosheim, TN. In addition to Nigerian Dwarf Goats & LGD's, we sell farm-fresh eggs & chickens.
Welcome to South Of Eden Farms
Discover South Of Eden Farms
South Of Eden Farms, is located in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee. We are conveniently located in Greene County Tennessee. Knoxville/Gatlinburg/Asheville/Johnson City are a just a short drive from us. We raise miniature goats known as Nigerian Dwarf Goats. All of our goats are registered with ADGA &/or AGS.
Photo provided by Captured By Celeste @ capturedbyceleste.com
About Us
The Farm
We aim to be self-sufficient by growing and raising more of the food we eat because- WHO wants to eat pesticides and chemical fertilizers? Not us!
We avoid chemicals in our gardens and we use a holistic approach towards animal husbandry combined with the use of modern medicine.
Our goats are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) and can be registered with the American Goat Society (AGS) and Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association (NDGA). Our herd tested negative for CAE, Johne's disease, and CL as of 2021. We test our entire herd annually and we only purchase from tested herds.
Nigerian Dwarf goats are a miniature dairy breed. Their small stature makes them ideal for small homesteads and new farmers. They are easy to handle and they make great pets. A Nigerian Dwarf goat is NOT the same as a pygmy goat. The ND IS a Dairy breed. The pygmy is not.
The Nigerian Dwarf goat produces rich, sweet milk. It has the highest butterfat of all the dairy breeds, making it an excellent choice for cheese and soap making.
We focus on milk production so that we can supply our family with milk, however, we also aim to have correct conformation within our breeding stock in order to improve the breed in all areas.
We have an ever-growing herd of adult Nigerian Dwarf does- but we plan to keep somewhere around 30 breeding does when all is said and done. Most of our does are polled (naturally hornless).
We also have an Alpine doe and 2 mini-Alpine does We would like to see how the production of the offspring (mini-Alpines) compares to that of other breeds.
In addition to goats, we are also raising Livestock Guardian Dogs. Our primary focus for breeding will be on the Turkish breeds. The Anatolian Shepherd and the Kangal have proven to be effective guardians of livestock in Turkey for centuries. We are very impressed with their temperament and their fierce guarding instincts. They are solid LGD'S, even in areas with heavy predator loads. In fact, these breeds are being used to fend off Cheetahs in South Africa, Iran, Kenya, Algeria, and Botswana.
The Turkish Shepherd is an effective, non-lethal method of discouraging the cheetahs from taking livestock in the countries where they remain a threat. Whether your area predators are big cats, wolves, coyotes, bears, fox or feral dogs, the Turkish Shepherds can help you prevent losses and will be an invaluable asset to your farm.
Our breeding bitch is OFA certified for hips and elbows and we are currently working towards a litter.
Our Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD'S) are raised with our goats, chickens, and pet dogs. They are never aggressive towards us and we trust that our children are safe in their presence. However, you should exercise caution when allowing strangers near an LGD. Their job is to protect their territory and their stock, so they may or may not be welcoming to strangers- especially if you are not present to let them know it is okay. For more information on these breeds or livestock guardian dogs in general, please send us a message on Facebook. And be sure to like our page to stay on top of the latest happenings around the farm.
Our Story
We are not your typical, home-grown farmers. We are city folk, who fell in love with the mountains of East Tennessee in 2005. I said to my husband "Let's go to Tennessee for a vacation this year." And he was like "Tennessee? Why would I wanna go to Tennessee?" Neither of us had any idea we would love it so much.
We transplanted ourselves here a few short years later. We learned to garden and the desire to be more self-sufficient grew from there. One morning in October,
We went to the local flea market to buy vegetables and we left with 2 hens and a rooster. We had been talking about getting chickens for years and it was one of those things on our "to-do list" but we just kept putting it off because we weren't prepared yet. We still weren't prepared that day, but like many things in life, sometimes you just have to jump in.
We put our 3 chickens in a huge, wire-dog crate filled with pine shavings and we made it work. A few weeks later, the hubs built a small coop out of free wood pallets. Why had we waited so long to do this?
We went to the local flea market to buy vegetables and we left with 2 hens and a rooster. We had been talking about getting chickens for years and it was one of those things on our "to-do list" but we just kept putting it off because we weren't prepared yet. We still weren't prepared that day, but like many things in life, sometimes you just have to jump in.
You've heard that chickens are the gateway livestock, right? Well- I am here to tell ya, it's true!
Another trip to the flea market almost led to an impulse purchase of the most adorable baby Nigerian Dwarf goats. I caught kid fever in a BIG way, but something told me I couldn't just bring a baby goat home the same way you bring home a puppy. Goats were new to me and I needed to do my homework.
I spent several months reading online, watching videos, talking to goat breeders, and learning as much as I could about raising goats. One of the first things I needed to understand, was the difference between registered and unregistered goats. I was finding goats for several hundred dollars, but the lady at the flea market was selling kids (goats) for $75.00. If I was going to convince my husband that we should spend $400-$600 on ONE goat, when he knew we could buy one for $75, I was going to need to have a REALLY good reason.
That's when I learned about Johne's disease. The fact that the disease can live in the soil for months, maybe even years with NO way of eliminating it, really concerned me. I didn't want to contaminate my soil by being cheap- so I decided that I needed to buy from herds that tested for this disease, as well as the other diseases that I learned about, like CAE and CL.
It's a good thing I figured these things out before buying from the flea market because the breeder wasn't even familiar with any of these deadly and incurable diseases.
Anyway- fast forward a couple of months and we purchased our first Nigerian Dwarf goats (December 2015). We started with a doe and 2 wethers. Within a couple of months, we were up to 4 does. We didn't want to keep a buck at first, but we ultimately decided it made more sense to have our own buck than it did to borrow one, so we bought a buck in August. By November, he had all of our does bred. We hit the jackpot when kidding started. Billy Joel sired 7 does and 2 bucks and they are ALL polled (naturally hornless)!
In just over a year, our herd grew, our lives changed and our only regret is that we didn't discover this life 20 years earlier.
Our Goats
We have about 20 breeding does here at South of Eden Farms. We still have our very first doe, Run Joey Run My Brother's Keeper and she has given us many gorgeous kids.
Better Wayz Jewels Shimmer and Better Wayz Holy Moly are 2 of our favorites here on the farm. Holy Moly has yet to give us a doe, so we won't be selling any of her does for a while.
Our bucks are Heaven's Hollow Honors Edge, his son, South Of Eden Shakespeare.
We also have Run Joey Run BB Merlin (polled & blue-eyed) and Better Wayz Chester & South Of Eden Buddy, an Honor Grandson.
Kidding season usually begins in December/January at South Of Eden Farms, but continues well into the summer months.
Our nigerian dwarf goats sell out before they're born most of the time so we encourage interested families to get on our waiting list at least 6 months before kidding season begins. We haven't advertised kids for sale for several years so please don't wait for us to post kids for sale to get in touch.
We will not be updating this website to list current kids for sale and we don't publish our breeding plans because we simply do not have the time.