hello from Mississippi

[HobbyFarmerJen]

Hi everyone! I am Jennifer. Married for 14 years with 4 boys. We have 23 chickens. We also have turkeys, chickens, and guineas in the incubator!
I am very interested in getting a couple small goats for milking/pets. My husband is a juvenile diabetic and we think the milk will be easier on his stomach. Plus, they are so stinkin' adorable! I am here to do my research. Do I want pygmys or dwarfs? We think it would be wonderful to get a male and female that would breed. We want them to be friendly.
We live in the country on a little more than half an acre.
We adore our chickens.. can't wait to hatch our Bourbon Red turkeys and guineas.
- I want to be prepared for goats.. not sure what to expect. I would need to trim hooves once a month? Can I do it or does a vet have to? So many questions! Please teach me!

 

[that's*satyrical]

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

Thank you so much. I am thrilled to be here. I am a little overwhelmed just reading all the different things they eat!
And oh boy.. how do I know what bushes on my property could be poisonous? I'm not sure what plant life is growing but I have a lot of trees.
Soooo much research to be done. But I can do it!

 

[that's*satyrical]

I think dwarfs are better for milking than pygmies, pygmies are more of a meat goat. We have the Nigerian Dwarfs, I love them.

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

Thank you. I am almost positive we won't eat our goats. We will become too attached. So Nigerian Dwarfs it is! That answers that!

 

[M.L. McKnight]

Welcome neighbor!

With one buck and a pair of does you will have a nice supply of milk and a number of kids to make you laugh. Trim their hooves yourself, it is as easy as cutting your own nails. Good clippers can be found at TSC for around $20, or you can get even better ones from an online search.
Goats can easily hop over a hog panel and kids can waltz through a cattle panel so keep that in mind when thinking of fencing. Rolled wire, combination wire and electric all work for me.

A buck that can smell a doe in heat changes from a pesty pet to a level 10 ninja in the blink of an eye! They WILL find a way to get to your girls and will make the funniest sounds you can imagine.

Have fun!

 

[goatgurl]

Jennifer, welcome from arklahoma, tornado capital of the world. i hope this group who i have found to be awesome, very generous with their knowledge and experience will help guide you thru the pitfalls of new goatie mama-ism. i think the choice of Nigerians will be a good fit for you. good luck

 

[Sumi]

Welcome to BYH! Please don't hold back with the questions! We were all brand new livestock owners once and are happy to help. There are some very good goat articles here that will tell you more about these funny creatures and their care: http://www.backyardherds.com/resources/categories/goats.2/

Enjoy the site and your new venture!

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

A level 10 ninja! Hahaha.
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I am excited to be here and I'm soaking up all this wonderful information!
So.
First on my list is fencing in a large area of my property, (is ten foot high good?) , then building a shed/goat house, then somehow checking my land for dangerous plants (horticulturist anyone?) THEN understanding their complex diet (so overwhelming.. baking soda? What?!.. what is DM?).. THEN find sweet little goats to purchase. Am I supposed to keep the males separate from the female? (Someone mentioned the males trying to get the does in heat.. but I want them to mate- so can they live together?.. is that a dumb question?)
That's the plan so far. I'll start fencing this weekend.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Welcome from North Carolina.