C&D Farming..oh what a life!

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol piggy so cute i am in love.
Okay so my thought is the same as B&b's if you want them as pets you feed differently then you feed a doe that you milk. You can use the word no to the people wanting dairy goods if your not wanting to do that. But only you can decide and not to dis on nd but they aren't known to be high producers. Some does produce lots of milk at the beganing but they slack off pretty quickly. Some go forever and a half with milking. Feed could have been part of it as well i also give time for her body to adjust to the new feed before doing anything different but the more milk the more feed along with the more often you milk.

 

[lalabugs]

What is your goal with the goats? How old are the kids you are talking about possibly wanting to breed this year?

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Ok, my goal with the goats is to raise happy healthy pets. Sell some cheese and milk..because now I have it. I never knew that I would have it. I want to breed them, but on a time table that is right for each of them..and definitely stagger them out so I don’t have kids all over the place!! My kids were born 1/31. Personally, I think they are too young to breed this fall..but our friend told Chris they are fine to breed at 80% full grown. Now he is pushing to breed, because he wants to sell kids. I also would like to sell some kids..but I don’t see why we need to rush things. I keep stressing how these animals need to be healthy, etc. He gets it..but sort of doesn’t at the same time. He thinks it’s ok to breed Honey very soon, and she had Sugar...sometime around December? Maybe November? I say her body needs a year. Same with Sugar..she’s big, but still young. I don’t care what that farmer said..I say it’s too soon. I’m asking you guys for confirmation..so I can tell Chris what’s right and wrong here with the animals.

As for the feed with Busty..makes sense about her body adjusting. Should I maybe milk her in the mid day too?

The farm began as a hobby. Then we were able to sell eggs and some animals when we bought out that one farm. Now, th3 farm has grown sooo much....it has turned into a very small business. Selling bunnies at Easter. Eggs all year. Goat milk/cheese? If I can? Selling mini pigs. Selling kids..in the spring...but, we don’t need to breed all the goats this year!! I understand that, he doesn’t. We are also a growing farm. Expanding the gardens, that started for us, now we have excess, and decided to sell. The hay...the corn...it’s a trial run,,it’s jus5 a start. If we don’t like it, we’re done. We don’t want to sell hay. He doesn’t want to sell corn. He just s wants to try it out. The growing is his passion. To be honest, I can’t believe my house isn’t littered with plants already!! But we started too early last year and and screwed it up. Plus he’s building a greenhouse, so...a lot will go in there.

My very main goal with all my animals is healthy and happy!! Any extras are purely a bonus. But, it does help, because, then the farm is kind of paying for itself...so, it will never be a business that earns a dime....just keeps everyone healthy and fenced in, etc!!
thanks everyone!!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

With nubians you can breed when they reach 80 lbs. But honestly some wont even go into heat the first year. One of my does didn't the first year she need more time to grow. My other doe did great. It just depends on the animal. Some require more time then others. Daisy was at two before she kidded for the first time. Nubians get up to 150 for does. So at 80% they should be 120. It just depends i think it helps the older they are personally. However that being said i have a 7 year old doe that i think needs a year off until her condition comes back but i might decide different the closer we get to August-november. I would remind him that if you dont want winter babies the longer you wait the better. Also unlike my girls who breed seasonal yours are all year long breeders. So you need to be more careful they can be breed as young a 3 months not saying thats a good thing just saying they can go into their first heat very early so make sure no bucks are in with them and I would seperate new wethers as well. It's like cows you can,breed at a year old but its not good for the cow to do that. It's one of those things yes you can but what's best for the animal in the long run to keep them healthy and able to keep going without complications. Now panda my current doe is like i said seven and she underweight in my opinion and her coat is pretty rough she been breed every year and I pretty sure i gonna breed her daughter's this year in order to give her time off. Granted i am in a different boat then you i have to have the milk. I have a family of six and three are allergic to any other milk so i cant afford to have them and not get milk. I can,either rebreed panda or her doelings this fall. I going to wait as long as i can to breed in the fall for the doelings sake and continue to milk panda until the give birth. But that does make it hard for my buck who will get breeding time in the fall but.will be seperated from them most of this year instead of how I did eith my last girls and had him run with them until they gave birth. Like i said it depends on the animal if you dont think their ready they they might not be. I would wait until i knee they would be at the size and weight i thought was right.

 

[lalabugs]

I do not have advice on the milk/cheese. I personally use our milk from our goats for us. The first few months the milk is used for any bottle babies. We do not sell the milk or sell cheese, etc. Here in CA sales of milk and cheese products are heavily regulated. I can only sell for pet use. Not human consumption.

As far as the kids. It really depends on the kids and how much they grow and mature in the first year. I know a lot of people who wait to breed until kids are 2 years. I personally do not, unless the kid is slow growing/maturing. Nilla was 60 pounds at 6 months old. She grew rather well her first year. She is a purebred Nigerian Dwarf. We have a doe that is suppose to be my sons show doe this year. She is SLOW growing. I contacted the breeder, apparently that is her lines. Her dam was slow growing as well. Her name is Opal. Opal will be 7 months old this month on the 21st. At 6 months old she was 40 pounds. A lot of people would say 40 pounds for a purebred Nigerian is ideal to breed. Opal however is not mature enough to be bred. Her body is still very small. I honestly will be shocked if she matured enough on her 1st birthday to be bred. It all depends on the goat. She has been in heat since she was 3 months old. I would not breed her. I'll try to get pictures to show what I mean.

When I first started with goats. I was told if they're 40 pounds. Other people said 7-8 months old. Other people said 2 years. There is no actual set rule. With our set up, I need to be able to breed the does as soon as their bodies are ready. I do not have enough land to let does I want to keep sit for 2 years before deciding to breed. If you want to breed, then you need to feed them to grow. Compare the doelings to their dam, do their bodies look mature enough to be bred? Wide enough in the hips? Etc? Right now at 3-4 months old, absolutely not!

Rebreeding once a year is fine, as long as the does are in condition to do so. Also remember dairy animals have a different look to them than say boer goats. What makes you feel that the does who freshened are not in ideal shape to be rebred sometime this year?
You can increase the times you milk her to see if she'll start producing more. If she's always only fed her kids then dried up, she may be trying to dry up to wean her kids.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Ok..great in fo guys!! I milked Busty three times today. Don’t think I got anymore, didn’t expect anymore, but am trying to get her in a ruitine for her to make more milk. Ok..so I can breed the moms again the fall? I’m ok with breeding both Honey and Stormy, they are young and great moms..FF1...but, this was not Busty’s first time, not sure...she’s older..not sure...and, I can tell, she’s well, she adores the kids, but at some times she’s just tired. Plus...do I need to let her dry up two months before kidding so she replenishes for the new kids?

Defintely the kids are wayyy too young now. But Sugar is def growing fast!! She should be ready to breed this year? Plus, I haven’t looked for a heat...but, perhaps I should? She mounts her mom a ton? My wether....ugh..does this mean I need to separate this poor little guy?? Oh nooooo! I have heard horror stories, and yes, I kind of had it in my mind that I might need to do this...but, he ignores the girls completely. He’s actually quite shy now...not at all like he was in the beginning? I hate to isolate him!!

I really definitely don’t want to breed anyone until late fall, so we have noooo kids until warm weather! Then they can play in warm weather!! It worked out ok this year, but now we see, how much better it could be. Farming is learning..and we’re doing everything fast! Ugh.

At this point, I’d be happy breeding three in the fall. Then wait till spring to breed the res5 of doelings..but, do kids sell in fall? I do t want to breed and then not be able to sell kids...because then I will have wayyy too many goats. Trust me..I love my goats! But, I don’t want too many..they are my pets..this is not an operation. I’d like to stagger out breeding. And I’d like to breed one with its own breed...which will probably mean buying 3bucks? We talked about doing stud ser...but, by the time you’re done..it might be cheaper to buy your own? And then, you know they get bred, too...we are still in the talking phase of alll of these things. That’s why I come here. To learn, and then go talk to him so we can make informed decisions!!

So...I was thinking about another doe..aapn Alpine..for a bit..but @Jesusfreak101 , just mentioned her Nubian, and I was talking about pigs to tge V’s on the phone today and we started goat talk...she recommended going with Nubian, or...LaMancha. I’ll be totally honest, Chris doesn’t care for the ears on the LaManchagoats. I love allllgoats. But, I’ll admit...I do love big ears, for some reason, even on pigs, rabbits, etc. anyways...Nubian better than alpine, if I did look into another goat? We aren’t getting one anytime soon..I have way too much on my plate right now. Infact..we had a mini piglets die today. Got stepped on. Heartbroken. I tried everything. At birth there was an underdeveloped one...we tried with her too...she died today also. Buried them together. We think another has his back legs hurt by mom. She’s very nervous because of us. We’re trying to stay away...but we’re so afraid to leave her alone!! It’s a tough call. Goats were easier...they weren’t as tiny. These guys are literally the size of bananas. Walking bananas. They are soooo cute....but it breaks your heart to see one get hurt.

ok, back to goats....so, when I milk Busty, obviously, she wants fed. Sooo, is it ok to feed her all three times? Cut back each time? The milking doesn’t take much time at all anymore. Honestly..I waste more time fiddling with getting the other moms to get away from her feed because they gobble theirs down.. I feed them less. If I lock them up..it’s war. I’ve been trying different ways..working on my opinions. It’s a rodeo..I’m sure you understand...

ok, bullying...Sugar is being bullied. Stormy and Busty want her no where near any of them. Honey...doesn’t do enough about it. I don’t know how to prevent it, I don’t know how to stop it..etc. The solution is to seperate them...that’s not a solution...that’s a temporary fix. I cannot have goats that can’t live together. It needs to be some kind of balance??

ok, thanks everyone!!

i hope you all are staying safe...staying healthy...hope your farms are going well!! Thank you, once again for reading..and always helping!! I know I ask a ton of questions...but, I’m trying to learn a lot of stuff..in a hurry! We probably took on more than we could chew? But we’re here now..these are our animals. Not getting more..oh, one rabbit Saturday. Maybe a goat in Summer. But not a new type until next year or so..until we have ourselves situated with all of this....

We love this life..our community loves having a small farm in town, and has welcomed us with opened arms..which feels really great!! So, life...on our farm..in our bubble, is good...back in reality..not so much. So, we’re trying hard to avoid that..hope you all are too!! Thanks guys!! You all ar3 great!!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Okay first i love nubians i am obsessed but there are others such as toggenberg, sansan. My nubians are loud goats they holler for you none stop or each other or just talk lol i am a loud person so i like them. I wouldn't say any goat better then another. But there are differences. Nubians have a high butter fat only out done by the nd if my memory serves. And no if you trying to increase milk in crease feed not decease.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Remove the bully where they can see or here the rest of the herd for a while like a month and then reintroduce might lower her status some but som goats are dossier then others top goat gets the best of everything.

 

[chickens really]

Ok..great in fo guys!! I milked Busty three times today. Don’t think I got anymore, didn’t expect anymore, but am trying to get her in a ruitine for her to make more milk. Ok..so I can breed the moms again the fall? I’m ok with breeding both Honey and Stormy, they are young and great moms..FF1...but, this was not Busty’s first time, not sure...she’s older..not sure...and, I can tell, she’s well, she adores the kids, but at some times she’s just tired. Plus...do I need to let her dry up two months before kidding so she replenishes for the new kids?

Defintely the kids are wayyy too young now. But Sugar is def growing fast!! She should be ready to breed this year? Plus, I haven’t looked for a heat...but, perhaps I should? She mounts her mom a ton? My wether....ugh..does this mean I need to separate this poor little guy?? Oh nooooo! I have heard horror stories, and yes, I kind of had it in my mind that I might need to do this...but, he ignores the girls completely. He’s actually quite shy now...not at all like he was in the beginning? I hate to isolate him!!

I really definitely don’t want to breed anyone until late fall, so we have noooo kids until warm weather! Then they can play in warm weather!! It worked out ok this year, but now we see, how much better it could be. Farming is learning..and we’re doing everything fast! Ugh.

At this point, I’d be happy breeding three in the fall. Then wait till spring to breed the res5 of doelings..but, do kids sell in fall? I do t want to breed and then not be able to sell kids...because then I will have wayyy too many goats. Trust me..I love my goats! But, I don’t want too many..they are my pets..this is not an operation. I’d like to stagger out breeding. And I’d like to breed one with its own breed...which will probably mean buying 3bucks? We talked about doing stud ser...but, by the time you’re done..it might be cheaper to buy your own? And then, you know they get bred, too...we are still in the talking phase of alll of these things. That’s why I come here. To learn, and then go talk to him so we can make informed decisions!!

So...I was thinking about another doe..aapn Alpine..for a bit..but @Jesusfreak101 , just mentioned her Nubian, and I was talking about pigs to tge V’s on the phone today and we started goat talk...she recommended going with Nubian, or...LaMancha. I’ll be totally honest, Chris doesn’t care for the ears on the LaManchagoats. I love allllgoats. But, I’ll admit...I do love big ears, for some reason, even on pigs, rabbits, etc. anyways...Nubian better than alpine, if I did look into another goat? We aren’t getting one anytime soon..I have way too much on my plate right now. Infact..we had a mini piglets die today. Got stepped on. Heartbroken. I tried everything. At birth there was an underdeveloped one...we tried with her too...she died today also. Buried them together. We think another has his back legs hurt by mom. She’s very nervous because of us. We’re trying to stay away...but we’re so afraid to leave her alone!! It’s a tough call. Goats were easier...they weren’t as tiny. These guys are literally the size of bananas. Walking bananas. They are soooo cute....but it breaks your heart to see one get hurt.

ok, back to goats....so, when I milk Busty, obviously, she wants fed. Sooo, is it ok to feed her all three times? Cut back each time? The milking doesn’t take much time at all anymore. Honestly..I waste more time fiddling with getting the other moms to get away from her feed because they gobble theirs down.. I feed them less. If I lock them up..it’s war. I’ve been trying different ways..working on my opinions. It’s a rodeo..I’m sure you understand...

ok, bullying...Sugar is being bullied. Stormy and Busty want her no where near any of them. Honey...doesn’t do enough about it. I don’t know how to prevent it, I don’t know how to stop it..etc. The solution is to seperate them...that’s not a solution...that’s a temporary fix. I cannot have goats that can’t live together. It needs to be some kind of balance??

ok, thanks everyone!!

i hope you all are staying safe...staying healthy...hope your farms are going well!! Thank you, once again for reading..and always helping!! I know I ask a ton of questions...but, I’m trying to learn a lot of stuff..in a hurry! We probably took on more than we could chew? But we’re here now..these are our animals. Not getting more..oh, one rabbit Saturday. Maybe a goat in Summer. But not a new type until next year or so..until we have ourselves situated with all of this....

We love this life..our community loves having a small farm in town, and has welcomed us with opened arms..which feels really great!! So, life...on our farm..in our bubble, is good...back in reality..not so much. So, we’re trying hard to avoid that..hope you all are too!! Thanks guys!! You all ar3 great!!

I think if you are seeing the buckling trying to breed he should be castrated.

 

[SA Farm]

1) Ok..so I can breed the moms again the fall?

2) Plus...do I need to let her dry up two months before kidding so she replenishes for the new kids?

3) But Sugar is def growing fast!! She should be ready to breed this year? Plus, I haven’t looked for a heat...but, perhaps I should?

4) My wether....ugh..does this mean I need to separate this poor little guy??

5) At this point, I’d be happy breeding three in the fall, do kids sell in fall?

6) And I’d like to breed with their own breed which will probably mean buying bucks? We talked about doing stud service...but, by the time you’re done..it might be cheaper to buy your own?

7) So...I was thinking about another doe..I’ll be totally honest, Chris doesn’t care for the ears on the LaManchas. Are Nubian better than alpine, if I did look into another goat?

8) We think another has his back legs hurt by mom. She’s very nervous because of us. We’re trying to stay away...but we’re so afraid to leave her alone!!

9) so, when I milk Busty, obviously, she wants fed. Sooo, is it ok to feed her all three times? Cut back each time?

10) ok, bullying...Sugar is being bullied. Stormy and Busty want her no where near any of them. Honey...doesn’t do enough about it. I don’t know how to prevent it, I don’t know how to stop it..etc. The solution is to seperate them...that’s not a solution...that’s a temporary fix. I cannot have goats that can’t live together. It needs to be some kind of balance??

I know I ask a ton of questions...but, I’m trying to learn a lot of stuff..in a hurry! We probably took on more than we could chew?

Okay. Got it condensed to pretty much just your questions for those who’d like to answer lol. I have a hard time answering when it’s such a long post, personally. I left blank the ones that were answered before I started this project!
1) yes
2) yes. Not only so she can put her energy and nutrients into her kid(s), but to make sure she has colostrum available, not just milk.
3) learn about condition and decide in the fall if she’s big/strong/mature enough to handle breeding. If you want.
4) not if he’s a wether and has been for a while. A buck, yes.
5) depends on your area. Not here because, you know, winter lol
6) there is a LOT to consider with either buying or stud service and I would definitely recommend research and reading/searching for threads on here regarding that topic before you buy or rent.
7)
8) I would leave her alone, personally. Look, don’t touch if your presence is freaking her out so much. That said, I have no experience with pigs. Seems just feeding and watering/visual observations should be plenty if she’s so skittish.
9) I always fed my goats grain each time. I had a separate area for milking, so I didn’t have to wrangle the others much if at all.
10)

Hope this helps a little