Aimee Parry and Tom Mitchell have been fattening free range goats for The Happy Goat Company

Boyfriend and girlfriend Aimee Parry and Tom Mitchell, who are both 20 years old, have been busy fattening free range goats for meat under the name of The Happy Goat Company.

The couple, who have been together for four years since they left Kingstone High School, keep the animals at Tom’s family farm, Mileshiggins Farm in Wormelow, while the meat side of the business is based in Preston-on-Wye.

“Our interest in goats first started when I worked milking a big commercial herd of goats one summer,”

said Aimee.

“I realised goats each have their own personalities and are very individual animals.

“I came home one day and said to my boyfriend Tom that I wanted two pet goats to keep at his farm.”

In April 2010 two pet goats were acquired from a milking farm in Camarthenshire and subsequently named Monty and Rosie.

“We still have them and will do forever. Rosie will go to the billy this year to breed as Monty is castrated.

They are both very affectionate and love human attention,” said Aimee.

With their experience of keeping goats a success, Aimee and Tom decided to take things a stage further to produce goat meat, usually called Chevon or Mutton, to make their own sausages, joints, and mince.

“Tom and I decided to take the plunge and get some male kids to fatten for meat,” said Aimee.

“There are a few producers of goats’ milk in Herefordshire but not many doing meat, and we are definitely unusual because all our goats are free range and outside, whereas most are fattened inside.

“I got in contact with the place I used to milk, and off we went to buy three billy goats.

“As the nannys are used for milking the male kids are dispatched at birth, because just like with cows, a high percentage of males are not required.

“As we arrived we went into a pen full of nannys with kids to pick our three, the farmer persuaded us to have a couple more at no extra cost.

“We ended up leaving the farm with no fewer than 14 goats.”

The next few months were costly and time consuming – with bottle feeding 14 goats proving to be a daunting task.

“They had no idea how to suckle and were very weak.

Within the first two days we unfortunately lost two despite our best efforts,”

said Aimee.

“We started with four feeds a day at 7am, 1pm, 7pm and 1am. Although it was hard work it was very rewarding.”

The couples most recent purchase is three toggenburg nannys with the plan to breed some pedigree offspring next year.

Aimee has completed a diploma in animal management at Hartpury College near Gloucester and is doing an advanced apprenticeship in livestock production.

She is also completing her apprenticeship on a local outdoor rare breed pig farm.

Tom is currently studying for a degree in agricultural business management at Hartpury College.

He works on the family farm helping with its dayto- day running and also works at a large arable farm as part of his degree.