Anyone raise goats?

[Lowdown3]

Anyone else on the board raise goats?

We got a couple of nannies last year at probably 3 months old, Pygmys. They were teeeeenny!
Like the wife said "they are like big cats right now."

Pygmys are a smaller breed of goats and we have been very fortunate because it's made them very easy to handle. Also since they have maybe only reached maybe 60 lbs. in weight they still remain very manageable. Their size and a good temperament has helped my son bond with them also.

This spring we got a male also. He was younger and slightly smaller than "the gals" so this wasn't a problem. If anything, one of them bossed him around.

Lately one or both of the nannies have come into heat. Some of the mating rituals are pretty weird to say the least..... The buck pees on himself quite a bit and if he can manage it, tries to get it on his face for a better "scent" for the gals. YUCK!!!

On the softer side, he coos to them, sticks his tongue out a lot and pulls his upper lip up in the same way a horse does sometimes.

We are hoping for some kids in 4-5 months.

They have been helpful in the garden as well. We rotate pasture areas for them to include moving them into the individual garden areas once the main harvest is over. They go in, eat the weeds, trim the grapes on the fence in the south garden and poop everywhere. To me this is easier and better than penning them, providing ALL of their feed and then having a nasty pen to clean out and manure to spread every week.

Why not let the animal do the work for you?? I'm considering raising a cow for this purpose also. Here once it hits about mid June most of the gardening is over till the fall. It's that hot. So having goats and possibly a cow in the garden areas from mid June till Sept (about the time we start fall gardens) would bring a lot of manure in that we have been paying for.

We have chickens and rabbits also, but they don't produce the kind of manure necessary to cover a large enough area that we need to grow food in. So far we have been using most of their manure in a 50'x50' area we call the north garden. The soil is good there, but it's taken years of putting in almost all the manure we get, plus the normal work in cover crops, liming and other soil amendments.

The goats have been a lot of fun and another learning experience for us. We look forward to some kids, some milk and eventually some meat also.

[eeyore]

I raise pygmies back in 99-01 had a baby and it was on formula, so i needed an alternate and some for the other kids also. They will usually throw twins, the second time brithings.

Only had two deaths, i was the first female i bought, the buck jumped the fence and bred her too early, she and the baby died in child birth. The other was a buck, he got into the grain bin (55 gallon trash can) and it twisted his guts inside, had to put him down.

About the only plant in my area that will hurt them is wild cherry, so i removed them they will eat about everything else.

The only trouble i had out of them was keeping them in, i needed 5 foot fence to keep the does in and a 6 foot fence to keep the buck in. There wll be a Alpha female and she will run the others, not the bucks.

They love to show off, they were a lot of fun when we had them. I gave them all the shots, which was a great reason to keep that stuff on hand.

I will look for pictures. I never tethered mine, but people i know did when they had particular areas they needed to clean out.

[Lowdown3]

We had goats once before. Kinda bought them on a whim when we first moved. We were NOT ready for them...... They escaped out of everything we put them in.

This time around we had just improved the fencing on our garden areas, using 5 foot "dog wire" type fencing versus the chicken wire fencing we started with- bad move but thankfully we had the time to figure that out!

We constructed two separate goat pastures, also with 5 and 6' dog wire type fencing supported by 4x4's in concrete every 10 feet. This has worked out well.

For the garden areas and for gates we have some of the 54" high 17' long cattle panels that we move as needed.

They do love to show off. Ours come running and doing this little side jump thing when we go to the goat yard. If you squat down when your in there with them, one will climb your back and stand on your shoulders.

We have the CD &T (IIRC) shot but we haven't done it yet. Probably need to but now I think we'll wait in case they are prego.

[Klayton]

I was thinking about goats for my future farm. You are raising pygmy breed? They are so small, are you raising them for companionship, meat or dairy?
All I remember from my grandfather's farm was BUCKS STINK!! and you have to keep them out of eyesight of the does or the constant calling each other will drive you batty.

Let me know how they turn out for you. I am thinking of a dairy breed, and a seperate meat breed. Still debating if it will be worth having full size cattle on the farm for survival purposes... They just eat sooo much and drink tons of water to boot....

[dilli]

glad to hear the goat thing is going better for you this time around Lowdown :) we have culled ours down to just two does and one buck -all pygmy/ dairy cross. now the pasture can handle them easily and with just a touch of supplemental feed. Aint the peeing thing just nasty... gotta watchum when they are real feisty, they will get ya... dont ask me how I know lol

[slingshot]

Hey Lowdown! Just wanted to mention using hardwood ashes from the stove/furnace for liming your garden. Probably already know this, but felt obligated to mention it anyway. That's how I get rid of my furnace ashes. Had French Alpine goats at one time long ago. Goats and cows will really clean up a place. The fencing cost now days prohibits me from getting them again on this place. I paid $60 for a roll of 4' fence with 12" stays back then. Now it cost $160 the last time I priced it! Goats are wonderful animals for a lot of reasons.

[chancemft]

We have goats, I used to have boers, but we had to sell them when we PCS'd to Ft. Cambell, Ky. Now that we are in Az. I decided it was time for more. The price has realy came up on them. What I sold 4 years ago, has more than doubledas of a month ago. We bought a doe in hopes of milking her.Not gonna happen! She had 3 kidds on her side, so at least we will have meat from the 2 bucklings, and we are traing the young doe for milking. I had forgotten how entertaining the kidds can be. They have suplied many hours of entertainment since their arrival.

[chancemft]

CD&T and white mucsle(from over feeding) and tet, and you should be good to go! To keep them in the fence......... I met a guy who made a coller for his best escape artist, he called it his "hole checker" he had made a coller with spikes sticking off of it about 12" long, with the hooks forward. Anytime the goat tried to go through the fence the hooks would catch on a wire and they would have to back up to untangle themselves.

[Erg]

I've got one pygmy wether. I plan on getting some nannies and later a buck. I discovered that you never want to permanently house a buck in with the females...wether's are best for that.

So, once I saw an offer for a free one on craigslist, I swooped however, not quite ready to expand that project yet.

I certainly like having them though. Much better, IMHO, than full sized goats. The pygmy's consume a lot less and they can produce enough food and milk to make them worth their cost.

[MustangGal]

We have two little pygmy does, they are about three months old now. One was a bottle baby and the other was not. It is taking a lot of time and attention to get the second little goat to be friendly. I am wondering if we will be able to milk her. The bottle baby, on the other hand, is a totally different story. If I were buying goats to milk, I would make certain I got bottle fed goats. Or raised them myself on the bottle.

I would like to breed our does to a Nigerian Dwarf buck as they are supposed to have more milk than the pygmies, but since there are only three of us it shouldn't be an issue. I do want to try making cheese and butter. It is my understanding that pygmies have a pretty high butter fat content.

[Irish-Tech]

We raised nubian goats back in the 80's, they were friendly and produced plenty of milk.

[rockriver]

we have been trying to buy a small place for a while. we were there last week.
the owner has one goat and pen and small shed.
we have been far apart on money.
owner looked up and said. i'll throw in this goat and the chickens.
i think the goat is old.
but there's about 10 chickens..
we are getting "closer!"

[1Admin]

He added maybe $200. to the pot, maybe. :) Stay on him, you'll eventually get what you want.

Goats have personalities, some good, some bad. This last go around with goats we bought them really young, penned them up and went out every morning and afternoon and fed them by hand and worked with them a lot.

Later we got a young buck and raised him to sire our first born on the 'stead kids. After a short period of time we just couldn't get near him. He wasn't dangerous, just had some crazy horns for a little Pygmy goat. When it was time for him to go, 10 yards was about the closest I could get, it was all I needed. He served his purpose, perhaps TWICE, well know for sure pretty soon on the 2nd time.

Probably next spring we'll get another baby buck and raise him, have him for a year or so.

Year old buck doesn't necessarily taste terrible, but no matter how you cook it, it's like chewing bubble gum.

[homesteader361]

Best of both worlds goats

We were given a French Alpine doe and her Boer mixed daughter. We acquired a Kinder(Nubian doeXpygmy buck) buck for breeding. Both Does produce twins at second breeding. The does are milked one a day (AM) and kids feed the rest of day til bedtime and are placed in stall beside Moms with screened peep hole strip. Stress is only 1-2 days as they see and smell Mom. The kids grow to about 75lbs at 4-6mths and meat from them is the best I ever had. The milk is whole milk(Alpine) to very creamy milk(BoerXAlpine).
Once my girls get around 7 years old, I will be getting Kinder does and/or keep two (BoerXKinder) mix to replace milk and meat production. The older does and buck will live out the rest of their life ,if finances allows this.
Please Do Not Breed your pygmy does with a larger breed, you will likely cause much pain and a horrible death for them. A 'Kinder' is Pygmy Buck with Nubian Doe. Kinderish is Pygmy buck with any larger breed Doe. The birthing is a breeze and produce a midsized friendly goat.
About Bucks and their habits, it is gross and especially if you have an affectionate one like mine is. He likes to greet us with rub of pee soaked face (yuck). He is tied during day to hut beside goat house with a 4x6 ft high used rock screen look-through into their yard in solid fence of 6ft tall. Bucks can be very destructive for their size.

[Lowdown3]

Please Do Not Breed your pygmy does with a larger breed, you will likely cause much pain and a horrible death for them.

I might have missed it, but I don't think anyone said that they did that or suggested it. ????????