First Goat- Doe? Buck? Wether?

9byDesign

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Sorry for what may be a dumb question to most. We want to get 1 or 2 goats for our 7 children for Christmas this year. We live on an acre in suburbia ;) with 4 chickens/ coop, a "barn cat", and are planning to pen & stake out a goat or two.

Any master advice on what breed to get and male, female, wether, and how many goats (1 or 2)? We do seem to like the Nigerian Dwarfs and the Nubians. We would LOVE to have milk for our large family...but are not sure how much that REALLY involves.

Thank you kindly in advance for your time and consideration. I know this is a novice question.
 

jodief100

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It all depends on your goals. Whatever you get you should get two. Goats are social animals and need the compainionship of other goats to be happy.

I would recomend some research on some of the smaller milk breeds, like Dwarf Nigerians. With one acre you should get a smaller breed.

Your neighborhood in Suburbia may frown on a stinky buck. Males can be agressive and they STINK! For a small backyard herd it may not be a good idea. If you want milk you will need to see if there is some way to get your girls bred without having a buck. Sometimes you can work something out with the breeder you buy from.

A wether and a doe make a good pairing if you want milk. If just pets, 2 wethers is great, they are usually available for less money. If you want more milk, go with 2 does.
 

ksalvagno

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Make sure you can have goats on your property before you get them. Some cities allow it and some don't. It would be horrible to get them and get attached only to be told by the city to get rid of them.

With just one acre, probably Nigerian Dwarfs would be the best. You do need to decide what you want them for before purchase and it would be important to find a breeder who would let you breed your girls to their buck if you want milk.

Visit some local farms and talk to goat owners. It really is important to decide if you really have the time to milk or not.
 

9byDesign

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Thank you. I know we live in an agricultural residential subdivision and are allowed chickens. (Several neighbors have horses, and two neighbors have goats.) I am assuming- yes.

I have heard- no bucks. I am just trying to decide betweeen the combo of two does or a doe and a wether. We very well MAY intend to try for milk/ breed at least once.
 

jodief100

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How much milk the goats produce will be a consideration if you want one or two. Talk with the breeder who you plan on buying them from and find out how much milk you can expect. Milk goats are a big responsibility. They need to be milked twice a day. They have medical needs, worming, vaccinations, etc. Proper food and shelter are essential. A goat that is pregnant or lactating needs more than just browse and hay, whereas wethers will be fine on browse and hay, in most cases. Do a lot of research and make sure this is something you want to take on.
 

savingdogs

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You want more than one goat, and not a buck, that is for sure.

Bucks smell TERRIBLE, you would not want one even if your neighborhood allowed it. Did you know they urinate on themselves on purpose? :sick
Not a good pet! Only people with herds of goats need to keep a stud.

We did not think we wanted or needed a wether when we bought ours, but he got thrown into the deal when we bought his sisters. Now he is our favorite. They are a bonded three and always like to be together. It actually makes them easy to control this way however, if you catch one, you pretty much caught them all, because if you lead one away, the other two follow. Since the wether is the most friendly, we just collar and lead him and having him is quite useful. If you are anywhere near their area, he makes sure he is poking his nose into your pocket, following you around, asking for a scratch, or gazing lovingly into your eyes.

You can have dairy breed goats and not milk them if you choose, just don't breed them or get castrated males. We decided we wanted to try keeping goats before we jumped into milking. Now we are really looking forward to starting milking when our does are old enough. If we think it is too much work, well then we just won't breed them again. We've only been at this for a year but we are finding goats to be really fun.
 

Emmetts Dairy

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I would stick with a dwarf breed as well, with an acre. And REALLY dont get a buck. LOL Yours neighbors will hate you...:lol:

I would go with a wether and a doe...or two does as well and have them breed if you want milk. If you find milkings too much you can always dry them. But keep them for pets.

But they are a herd animal so always get two of whatever you decide!!
So they wont be lonely.

But have fun and I would visit some farms so you can learn what involved for housing and their daily needs are.

I love our goaties!!!!:love They are fun and have fabulous personalities!!
 

cmjust0

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Personally, I'd either go with two does or two wethers -- but not a doe and a wether if you intend to breed and milk the doe. When she's dry and open (meaning not in lactation or gestation), the doe's nutritional requirements will be similar to that of a wether.. However, about 3mo after she's bred, her nutritional requirements will begin to change.. When she's in lactation, she'll have vastly different requirements from the wether.

When she's in late gestation and lactation, for instance, you'll probably want to start incorporating alfalfa or some type of legume hay for calcium and better protein content in the roughage portion of her diet.. While alfalfa hay won't hurt the wether, per se, it can get expensive to feed *two* goats free-choice alfalfa hay when you're only be getting a return on the investment from the doe.

They'll also have to get their bagged feed rations seperately when her dietary needs increase.. The doe will need more concentrated ration (bagged feed) to gestate rapidly growing babies, as well as to keep up her milk production during lactation without losing tons of body condition in the process.. You may even end up putting her on an entirely different feed designed specifically for lactating dairy goats..

The boy, on the other hand...he'll need whatever he's always needed.

Don't get me wrong, though.. It's really not a huge deal to keep different classes of animals such as wethers and does together.. People do it everyday! I'm just saying that if you're looking to minimize the PITA factor...keeping one class of animal is easier.

Oh, and yeah...there's quite a bit that goes into milking. Fresh milk is great, but you're probably going to find yourself going in for stainless milk buckets, strainers, teat dip, twice-daily chores, being ANCHORED to your place while the doe's milking, etc.. Whether or not it's worth all that is up to you.

And don't necessarily expect it to be more economical than buying milk from the store, either.. Goat's milk definitely isn't "free" just because you own goats.. Not that you necessarily expected it would be, of course, but suffice it to say that my experience tells me by the time you figure in the feed, shelter, veterinary care expenses, equipment expenses, time and opportunity cost of milking, blah blah blah, that "free" goat's milk can end up being the most expensive milk you'll ever put in the fridge.

Just some things to consider. :)
 

9byDesign

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That's also great, much-wanted information. Thank you !!!

PS- Liked your "Whether or not" pun ;).
 
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