How much do Goats really "stink"?

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First time poster, just joined today!

My family is going to be moving to Oklahoma this fall and are going to settle on 5 1/2 acres of mixed woods and field.

We have been researching Nigerian Dwarf Goats extensively and feel they would work great with our lifestyle to provide milk.

We have spoke to several different people, both rural and city folk, whose first response is to snurl there nose and say "Goats and dirty and stink."

I know any animal not properly cared for can stink, we plan to separate a buck if we end up with one.

But seriously, how much do Goats truly "stink", when kept in a large outdoor fenced in area with a loafing shed and are free range pastured during the day?

Thanks for the help, I know it may sound like a dumb question.
 

mysunwolf

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Kids and does smell sweet like the pasture to me. However, buck goats are not cute and most certainly stink :sick I have known some that were worse than others but all of them are pretty bad and will get the does smelly as well. Sick goats will also stink. And of course, the poop always stinks! So you're right, if you give them enough room to roam you will not have as much of an issue with odor, except maybe the poop smell right around the loafing area, and even that will not be bad if there's enough air flow.
 

OneFineAcre

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Nigerian Dwarfs are great. I've got a few myself. :)

They don't stink. They smell like livestock. If you don't keep their living area clean, it will smell. But, if you keep it cleaned regularly, they just smell like livestock.

But, the goats themselves don't smell.

Bucks however, do get pretty pungent during the rut. Starts about Sept and starts to ease off in January. Right now, mine don't smell bad at all, and I've got 5 Sr. Bucks.
 

Southern by choice

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buck goats are not cute and most certainly stink

I could not disagree more.
I have
3 Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
2 Mini Mancha Bucks 3 Lamancha Bucks
3 Kiko Bucks
and currently 8 kids bucks ranging from 3-6 months

THEY ARE CUTE! Wonderfully affectionate. Baby loves ... ALL of them. I LOVE BUCKS!

Nigerian Dwarfs are great. I've got a few myself. :)

They don't stink. They smell like livestock. If you don't keep their living area clean, it will smell. But, if you keep it cleaned regularly, they just smell like livestock.

But, the goats themselves don't smell.

Bucks however, do get pretty pungent during the rut. Starts about Sept and starts to ease off in January. Right now, mine don't smell bad at all, and I've got 5 Sr. Bucks.

I agree with OFA

Usually bucks do get pretty rank during rut. Your first year with a buck you will gag. :sick by your second year it isn't as bothersome by your 3 rd year when rut starts you will say... oooohhhh smell those handsome boys! With a proud grin. :lol:

Most of the year they have a slight musky scent.
When spring/summer hits we bathe all of our bucks and give them summer clips.

We do not keep our bucks and does together ever. We milk and it can definitely affect the milk flavor.
 

Southern by choice

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Wanted to add... I do wonder if a bucks diet may contribute to the potency of the scent. I have been to a few farms where their buck's scent was absolutely horrid.
 

babsbag

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My goats don't stink, and they would be offended. :p Like everyone else says, the bucks can get a tad rank during rut but it doesn't really drift through the air very far. My goats are about 100' from my house and I never smell them, but the prevailing winds blow away from their pens. I only time I notice a smell is when I clean the pens after winter and the bottom layer under 12" of straw can be pretty rank for a day or two. But it isn't the goat that smells, it is the decomposing bedding.

The buck smell can be hard to get out of your clothes and hands so you just learn that you don't handle much during rut, but if you do you wear old clothes, you change before you sit on your nice furniture, and you find someone that makes Buck Off soap and buy a few bars.

You will LOVE goats.
 
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