General Discussion thread

[Tea Chick]

I AM NOT AN EXPERT AND ANYTHING I SAY MAY NOT BE THE ABSOLUTE BEST THING FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE< BUT HAVE WORKED BEST FOR ME IN THE PAST.

Goats are pretty low maintenance. If you already have a pasture and stall/barn build for them, they only cost about 100-200 dollars a year (150 average). This is not including random vet bills. TIP: always have an emergency stash in case your goat gets sick, poisoned, needs a sea section...anything can happen!

I would suggest getting a smaller breed like the Nigerians dwarfs. I would also suggest getting a polled (born with horns) or disbudded one to start off with so if they turn mean in the future you won't have as big a problem. I used Fiasco Farm website before I got goats and all of mine have been perfectly healthy. Just google their website and they have ALL the info ever needed for a goat. Also don't get a buck. They are harder to handle and can smell really bad when they go into rut and some pee on their faces so...... haha.

I would suggest getting a wether (castrated buck) to start because they don't go into rut and don't go into heat. You can keep them with a buck or doe and they are generally easier to handle and more friendly than a buck.

Get a young goat so you can teach him or her how YOU want them to act and it is easier for YOU to learn with a small baby that doesn't know all the 'goat tricks' yet. Don't get a pregnant one!!! You need to learn a normal goats health and care before taking care of a pregnant one. also you would have to learn all the things in a short period of time before the babies come so you can be prepared for them...it would be stressful when the babies come. Also if you have never been a 'midwife' before, it isn't quite as easy as just calling the vet...what if they are on an emergency call, you need to learn more about goats before getting a pregnant one.

Get 2 goats. The best companion for a goat is another goat. Does and bucks can't stay together, but a doe and a wether, a doe and a doe, a wether and a wether, a wether and a buck , or a buck and a buck are possible combinations too! Goats can stay with chickens but normally don't like the smell!.......neither do I!

anything else you want to know just ask!

SUMMER TIPS:
- at night make sure their is a slight opening where they sleep to get a breeze through to them
- in extreme temperatures, keep a fan on them out of their reach. When babies are born make sure they don't get to hot because they are more likely to die of overheating than an adult
- never give HOT water in the summer and always make sure your goat is drinking a lot!

WINTER TIPS:
- to prevent frostbite on the ears or ears getting too cold, cover them with Vaseline to kind of make a 'protective' layer
- to save some money, instead of buying a winter goat blanket or dog blanket, but an old sweatshirt or thick long sleeve shirt. Normally a small 8-10 year old girls clothes will work for an average size goat.
- use a heating lamp in their barn where nothing can reach it!
- Keep all babies and 1-3 month olds out of the snow if possible

I hope this all helps and good luck with your first goats!

Thank you very much for the advice. I'm glad to know what works for others and I'm exstatic to know that ppl respect one anther's views and choices and different situations.

 

[Tea Chick]

What do you feed your goats?

I have some woods fenced in on three sides; I'll fence in the fourth side and check the other three sides, build a barn/shed for them to be safe from predators (what predators eat goats??? I have chickens so I have to protect them from things as small as rats and as smart as racoons/foxes, etc).
What else should I make sure is done labor-wise before I actually get goats?

 

[bonbean01]

Have no clue where you live, so can't give a heads up on predators...here our main predators for sheep and lambs are dogs and coyotes.

 

[Tea Chick]

I live in the Deep South.
South and East of you (in Miss.) I'm guessing we have basically the same predators, right?

 

[Tea Chick]

But this thread is supposed to be for general discussion of organic goat husbandry, so I hope everyone will feel free to post any and all questions or even tips they want to share.

So what predators does everyone deal with and what area of the country are you in (nothing specific necessarily, but Pacific Northwest, Deep South, Mid West, etc.)???

 

[Southern by choice]

Taylorm17 has some very good points... I would however like to add a few thoughts to the discussion.

I prefer owning my own bucks for several reasons. Bio-security being the first and foremost! No need for driveway breedings and driving who knows where, I will never leave my does anywhere and if I were to lease a buck and it had recent tests that were all neg for CAE CL and Johnes the buck would still have to be in quarantine for minimum of 30-60 days... Not worth it to me. Having 2 registered ND bucks that are unrelated allows diversity in my breeding program especially if I choose to retain a doeling. Bucks cost the same as a wether but can produce something. They do not eat much either and they are easy.

All our Bucks, Nigerians and Kikos (also New Zealand) are sweet as can be. Honestly our ND bucks are sweeter than our does. They love all over us. Yes they do gross stuff and the first year takes some getting use to but they are really only truly gross during rut. They can breed anytime but aren't always . It may sound gross but no matter how bad they smell you cannot help but to love on them. So maybe when the beard is dripping with pee I don't scratch their beard but their sides and their head. Love our bucks! Not all goats are the same but so far our bucks have been wonderful... and we are adding more! LOL

One of our biggest focuses as far as breeding goes is parasite resistance and hardiness... OVER ALL OTHER THINGS. Owning a buck allows me to determine how resistant the animal is and if it is good enough to be in our breeding program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are in NC- predators are coyotes with occasional bobcat. We have a great deal of poultry so we have lots of small predators.
Wild hogs are moving into NC (not where I am) and they won't go for the goats but will destroy land and fencing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since this in organic husbandry I thought you may be interested in Lespedeza. It grows wild here but is high in tannins and acts as more of a preventative with parasites. Lespedeza has been studied a good deal. When goats eat it the parasites (mostly the barberpole) are greatly affected. It provides a coating of sorts around the worm making it unable to feed and unable to reproduce... eventually the worms will die and cannot continue to make more! Pine bark and pine needles are excellent also. Pumpkin is great too.

Pics of some of it on the fringe of the dumpster driveway. Notice it is where the pines are, with lots of pine needles. It is also growing in with the poison ivy.

 

[bonbean01]

I'd say yes...probably same predators. For our sheep we have their shelters and hay feeders in a paddock they go to every night...field fencing with 3 strands of electric around it on the outside for predators, a very bright light that comes on at dusk and turns off at sunrise. When there is pasture, we take them to the pasture to graze during the day...that pasture is field fenced also, but no electric. Even when we have good pasture, we bring them to the paddock every evening. That is because we have a fair number of coyotes, and not all our neighbours keep their large dogs at home.

You've gotten great advice already on here, and you totally came to a good forum to learn! Good idea before you get your goats...wish we'd learnt more before we got our first sheep as some lessons are learned the hard way.

If you go to the goat section on this forum, lots of excellent information on just about everything about goats

 

[taylorm17]

I live in ohio, our only predators are the neighbors dogs, the cold, and coyotes, but they don't come up to the house because a=our dogs live next to the goats!

 

[Tea Chick]

Taylorm17 has some very good points... I would however like to add a few thoughts to the discussion.

I prefer owning my own bucks for several reasons. Bio-security being the first and foremost! No need for driveway breedings and driving who knows where, I will never leave my does anywhere and if I were to lease a buck and it had recent tests that were all neg for CAE CL and Johnes the buck would still have to be in quarantine for minimum of 30-60 days... Not worth it to me. Having 2 registered ND bucks that are unrelated allows diversity in my breeding program especially if I choose to retain a doeling. Bucks cost the same as a wether but can produce something. They do not eat much either and they are easy.

All our Bucks, Nigerians and Kikos (also New Zealand) are sweet as can be. Honestly our ND bucks are sweeter than our does. They love all over us. Yes they do gross stuff and the first year takes some getting use to but they are really only truly gross during rut. They can breed anytime but aren't always . It may sound gross but no matter how bad they smell you cannot help but to love on them. So maybe when the beard is dripping with pee I don't scratch their beard but their sides and their head. Love our bucks! Not all goats are the same but so far our bucks have been wonderful... and we are adding more! LOL

One of our biggest focuses as far as breeding goes is parasite resistance and hardiness... OVER ALL OTHER THINGS. Owning a buck allows me to determine how resistant the animal is and if it is good enough to be in our breeding program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are in NC- predators are coyotes with occasional bobcat. We have a great deal of poultry so we have lots of small predators.
Wild hogs are moving into NC (not where I am) and they won't go for the goats but will destroy land and fencing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since this in organic husbandry I thought you may be interested in Lespedeza. It grows wild here but is high in tannins and acts as more of a preventative with parasites. Lespedeza has been studied a good deal. When goats eat it the parasites (mostly the barberpole) are greatly affected. It provides a coating of sorts around the worm making it unable to feed and unable to reproduce... eventually the worms will die and cannot continue to make more! Pine bark and pine needles are excellent also. Pumpkin is great too.

Pics of some of it on the fringe of the dumpster driveway. Notice it is where the pines are, with lots of pine needles. It is also growing in with the poison ivy.

Good info on the breeding; thanks for sharing!!!

I've seen that stuff!!! Yeah, we have that around; I hope my chickens are eating it. lol I wonder if the dogs will. I have one that grazes almost like a cow. She's really something; it's funny to watch her stand there and eat dandelion leaves.

 

[Tea Chick]

I live in ohio, Are only predators are the neighbors dogs, the cold, and coyotes, but they don't come up to the house because a=our dogs live next to the goats!

Ah, smart move, putting the dog next to the goats; I'll have to keep that in mind.