Hello from Iowa!

Bekkidotes

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Hello, all!

My name is Bekki and I'm a 24 year old coastal Virginia girl who has been living in and loving rural Iowa for about 8 months now! My boyfriend and I recently started keeping goats and I've since realized how great it is just to be plugged into a community that values the outdoors and sharing knowledge. I know I have a lot to learn. I am also learning to vegetable garden with my significant other and we would like to eventually breed Nigerian Dwarf goats and add some ducks or chickens to the family. Since I am grad school bound in the fall, we are trying to start veeeeeeerrrrryyyy slowly and not do too much since I'll be mostly unavailable for two and half years. Although I have to sheepishly (goatishly?) admit that we are considering adding two angora goats to the family this weekend (I'll have to let you know how that works out!)
I've tried to attach some picture of our little herd, hopefully it works
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!

Our miniature Boer goat, Cappuccino, is very sweet and has a great story of how he came to be with us. A meat goat farmer we found in Iowa had purchased an "open" Boer doe. It turns out, not so much... three months later she gave birth to the little 50 lb runt that we know and love. He didn't know what to do with him, but kept him for a year until Cap decided he wanted to use his small size and escape artist abilities to break into the does pen again and again and again. I'm not even sure if he could breed a regular Boer doe due to his size but he apparently was very motivated to try!! The farmer got so sick of it he offered us little Cap for free if we would only drive up and get him away from his does ASAP! He is quite the escape artist if females are around, but we love him and that hasn't been an issue at goat-themed sausage fest that is now my backyard. I told my dad this story and his addition was, "Well, if they didn't know the doe was pregnant, it seems like your goat's dad was quite an escape artist, too."
 

Baymule

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We are so happy to have you here!! Welcome to the forum, this is the best place on the internet. Feel free to ask anything, people here are very helpful. Welcome!
 

Bekkidotes

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Thanks everyone!! I can neither knit nor crochet, however my boyfriend is very enamored of fiber goats because he loves the idea of eventually doing animal husbandry with a breed where (1) he gets a product without having to milk a goat everyday (2) the bucklings don't have to be sold or devalued, and (3) nobody gets eaten! :p The sweet guy will never be OK with butchering an animal he's raised, and I think the most I could raise for slaughter would be fish or fowl, I just get too attached to the four-legged fellas! The two angora goats he is interested in are wethers, so if we buy them we are planning to give them a nice loving forever home and get our feet wet with the idea of fiber goats, shearing, etc. He also is working 14+ hours a day right now (poor man) so the idea of not having to milk a goat every morning but still getting a product to offset the cost of raising them really appeals to him!
 

CntryBoy777

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Welcome from NW Mississippi!....:frow
We have goats, chickens, ducks, and cats here for now. I used to drive a big-rig and have been all thru and around Iowa and spent many nites on lots at fuel stops quite often. Your herd looks really good, and be careful they tend to "Multiply" around ya and in your heart. Tbere is a lot of info in the existing Forums and Threads, so just make yourself at home and browse around. If ya have any comments, questions, or advice feel free to jump on in.
Again.....:welcome
 

Latestarter

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Not everyone gets animals with the idea of eating them... Though many do follow that route. It's all what's best for you! Greetings and welcome to BYH! Glad to have you with us. Iowa sure is a long way from coastal VA... I spent many years in the VA Beach area. Loved the place, hated the crowds and traffic. We have a great group of goat folks here as well as most other animals being covered along with... So what are you doing for Grad school? Good luck whatever the subject you are matriculating :D Thanks for sharing the pics! You have some very adorable goats :clap Please add at least a general location to your profile... If you ask for help or advice, normally the first thing anyone wanting to help will need to know is where you're located. I'm in NE TX and what would work here might not work where you are... I'm getting old and will never remember the location you posted above, later on :hide Make yourself at home!
 

Bekkidotes

Chillin' with the herd
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Not everyone gets animals with the idea of eating them... Though many do follow that route. It's all what's best for you! Greetings and welcome to BYH! Glad to have you with us. Iowa sure is a long way from coastal VA... I spent many years in the VA Beach area. Loved the place, hated the crowds and traffic. We have a great group of goat folks here as well as most other animals being covered along with... So what are you doing for Grad school? Good luck whatever the subject you are matriculating :D Thanks for sharing the pics! You have some very adorable goats :clap Please add at least a general location to your profile... If you ask for help or advice, normally the first thing anyone wanting to help will need to know is where you're located. I'm in NE TX and what would work here might not work where you are... I'm getting old and will never remember the location you posted above, later on :hide Make yourself at home!

Wow, thanks for all the advice and the great welcome! VA beach is near my home, it's so great to meet someone familiar with the area! I'm going to grad school to be a Physician Assistant. And you're absolutely right about not everyone eating their animals! I think raising your own meat can be a super ethical and humane way of doing things, I just happen to know that if I tried to raise meat goats/pigs/cows I would end up with several huge forever pets and a very overworked boyfriend! ;) I'm a sucker for anything with 4 legs and a tail. :rolleyes:
 
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