I feel so very behind with my goats.

[Carla D]

Love the pics and all the boys are adorable!!!!!!!!!!
You may be able to still have the horns burned but do it quick!

Thank you so much. I love these these little guys nearly as much as my very own little girl. I honestly don’t know where to turn to even attemp burning the horns. We do have a vet that seems fairly well knowledgeable when it comes to goat. But due to a couple of situations we can’t get our balance to him paid of at this time. He won’t do it until the balance is paid. He’s also going to want to be paid for his services at that time.i honestly underestimated how quickly they have grown. I have another question about the horns. the tips on some of them are not necessarily sharp point, or a bit rough along the edges. Is this something I can blunt or smoothen with a fine file/rasp of a chunk of sand paper? Also do you know of any places that may offer to help me or to teach me how I can do it myself? Moneys pretty tight lately. And it sounds to me that you have quite a menagerie as well. Thank you for answering all of my questions. You are awesome!

Love the pics and all the boys are adorable!!!!!!!!!!
You may be able to still have the horns burned but do it quick!

 

[Southern by choice]

Thank you so much. I love these these little guys nearly as much as my very own little girl. I honestly don’t know where to turn to even attemp burning the horns. We do have a vet that seems fairly well knowledgeable when it comes to goat. But due to a couple of situations we can’t get our balance to him paid of at this time. He won’t do it until the balance is paid. He’s also going to want to be paid for his services at that time.i honestly underestimated how quickly they have grown. I have another question about the horns. the tips on some of them are not necessarily sharp point, or a bit rough along the edges. Is this something I can blunt or smoothen with a fine file/rasp of a chunk of sand paper? Also do you know of any places that may offer to help me or to teach me how I can do it myself? Moneys pretty tight lately. And it sounds to me that you have quite a menagerie as well. Thank you for answering all of my questions. You are awesome!

Look into the vet school and also look at your counties extension services. Have you asked the breeder where you got them from? I assume they came from a dairy, you may have mentioned it already.
Dulling the tip won't solve all the issues with horns.

We used to primarilt be a poultry farm that bred heritage and rare breeds but goats took over! Now we are all dairy goats. Our meat goats are on a semi-permanent lease.
We have Lamanchas, Miniature Lamanchas, Nubian ( a token few) and Nigerian Dwarf. My favorite- LAMANCHA! They are my
Then my mini's... then the Dwarves, then the Nubians. LOL they are all just a hair separate. Many say we need to narrow down our breeds. They are right. Lots of management and breeding decisions and keeping LOTS of bucks! But then when I am with them I just can't. My family and farm partner is @Goat Whisperer - she owns almost all the Nigerians. She manages our farm.
I LOVE the boys. Hardest thing for me to sell a buck. Not many people like you out there that want big bucks as pets. They are great as pack animals and brush clearers.

That is a thought. If you end up not getting the horns off look into pack goat clubs near you. Pack goats are amazing!!!!!!!!

 

[Carla D]

Love the pics and all the boys are adorable!!!!!!!!!!
You may be able to still have the horns burned but do it quick!

Thank you so much. I love these these little guys nearly as much as my very own little girl. I honestly don’t know where to turn to even attemp burning the horns. We do have a vet that seems fairly well knowledgeable when it comes to goat. But due to a couple of situations we can’t get our balance to him paid of at this time. He won’t do it until the balance is paid. He’s also going to want to be paid for his services at that time.i honestly underestimated how quickly they have grown. I have another question about the horns. the tips on some of them are not necessarily sharp point, or a bit rough along the edges. Is this something I can blunt or smoothen with a fine file/rasp of a chunk of sand paper? Also do you know of any places that may offer to help me or to teach me how I can do it myself? Moneys pretty tight lately. It also sounds like you have a pretty amaziníng little menagerie of your own as well.

Love the pics and all the boys are adorable!!!!!!!!!!
You may be able to still have the horns burned but do it quick!

Love the pics and all the boys are adorable!!!!!!!!!!
You may be able to still have the horns burned but do it quick!

 

[Carla D]

Look into the vet school and also look at your counties extension services. Have you asked the breeder where you got them from? I assume they came from a dairy, you may have mentioned it already.
Dulling the tip won't solve all the issues with horns.

We used to primarilt be a poultry farm that bred heritage and rare breeds but goats took over! Now we are all dairy goats. Our meat goats are on a semi-permanent lease.
We have Lamanchas, Miniature Lamanchas, Nubian ( a token few) and Nigerian Dwarf. My favorite- LAMANCHA! They are my
Then my mini's... then the Dwarves, then the Nubians. LOL they are all just a hair separate. Many say we need to narrow down our breeds. They are right. Lots of management and breeding decisions and keeping LOTS of bucks! But then when I am with them I just can't. My family and farm partner is @Goat Whisperer - she owns almost all the Nigerians. She manages our farm.
I LOVE the boys. Hardest thing for me to sell a buck. Not many people like you out there that want big bucks as pets. They are great as pack animals and brush clearers.

That is a thought. If you end up not getting the horns off look into pack goat clubs near you. Pack goats are amazing!!!!!!!!

I had never thought of looking into vet schools or the county extension office.

I don’t know anything about pack goats. I’ll have to look into them. You are so very helpful. Thank you. We do plan on castrating them. But, I really didn’t know anything about goats when I bought these guys. I’m playing catch up now, trying to figure out how best to care for them. The plan was to keep four as pets. I had that four figured out. The Nubian was my first pick as a pet, but he sadly didn’t make it. The rest I was going to sell. I had someone who wanted to eat a few of them. But, darn it all! I fell in love with each and everyone of them. I don’t know how that happened. then I planned on raising Nubians simply because I loved my only Nubian out of the pack I have. I wanted to breed them and sell them. But, I don’t want to go through the hassle of raising registered goats. In all honesty how was I going to feed all those different types of animals.” I’m guessing love alone isn’t enough to keep them alive, happy, and hopefully thrive. I don’t know what I was thinking. But then again, I never imagined I’d fall in love with pigs as well. My daughter and I will go into their pastures and talk to them, scratch their heads, give them bouquets of ditch flowers to eat, make them feel special. We can even get the pigs to lay down by scratching them in a certain spot and they will eventually fall asleep. One afternoon she and put them to sleep” with love and kindness. Even our 400-500# boar loves it when I bend over and talk sweetly to him and make him feel like he’s the only animal around. I know, I’m crazy. But loving all animals is the way I was raised. I can’t even walk past a kitty without scratching its head, talking to it, or picking it up and holding it. I’m starting to thing furry animals were created with the sole purpose of loving them.

 

[Southern by choice]

I’m guessing love alone isn’t enough to keep them alive, happy, and hopefully thrive.

Glad you are seeing this now. You are right, love is one thing but feeding and caring for them as well as being able to provide vet care etc is costly.
Loving animals is also about doing the right things. Selling for meat is HUMANE! I rather put a goat that I love in the freezer than watch that goat go fromplace to place and end up neglected, which happens to bucks and wethers way too much.
At least I know they were raised well, cared for, loved. In .007 of a second the deed is done and I don't have to worry. Food is a blessing. Only the bucks that we would consider breeding quality will stay intact and be sold as bucks.

 

[Carla D]

Glad you are seeing this now. You are right, love is one thing but feeding and caring for them as well as being able to provide vet care etc is costly.
Loving animals is also about doing the right things. Selling for meat is HUMANE! I rather put a goat that I love in the freezer than watch that goat go fromplace to place and end up neglected, which happens to bucks and wethers way too much.
At least I know they were raised well, cared for, loved. In .007 of a second the deed is done and I don't have to worry. Food is a blessing. Only the bucks that we would consider breeding quality will stay intact and be sold as bucks.

This fact has bothered me since I learned about it. So, why is it that wethers and sometimes bucks/billies end up being neglected or treated less than stellar or respectfully?

Personally, I would think wethers would be treated the best. They seem more friendly, less work than a doe/nanny that need to be milked once or twice a day, and definitely less stinky than a buck because they aren’t trying to attract a female to mate with, and I would think they would have by far the nicest, gentlest, and sweetest personalities. Am I wrong about this? Thank you so much for answering so many, many questions of mine. I truly appreciate your thoughts and opinions.

 

[Latestarter]

A wether is "useful" for one thing... costing you money. They can't breed, therefore can't produce kids for herd expansion or sale (or food). So aside from companionship for a buck, or being a pet, they have very little value. Many folks want a pet and since wethers are so cheap, they get one. They then find out that goats can be destructive to landscaping and in general in their environment. They eat a lot, so cost money. They are quite a bit of work. When the "thrill" of ownership wears off, they sell him or try to get rid of him in whatever way. Many times you'll see wethers offered for free on Craig's List. You mentioned the detractors of having a buck, but that aside, they are needed to produce kids and you need to produce kids if you want milk (normally - there are exceptions). So the costs of buck ownership are somewhat offset... They "produce" something for your money.

 

[Southern by choice]

Everything that @Latestarter said.
Reality is goats are livestock. Livestock has a purpose. It has only been in the last 5 years with the goat craze that everyone wants goats as pets. It has definitely brought it's share of trouble for livestock producers. Yes, most of us still see our goats as pets however livestock needs feed, vet care, management etc. 50% of kids born will be bucks. When only 1 buck is needed to cover 50 does there is no need for lots of bucks. For thousands of years and most places in the world eat the males that keep the does to produce milk and kids. When people pick bucks they are choosing bucks that will improve their herd and bring traits desirable... I personally hate wethers with intact bucks because when rut starts the wethers become the female surrogate if you catch my drift. Over and over and over. You also have the fact of once people get a few goats and decide hey I love goats and want to do more then that wether is just an eating machine and brings little "value" yet the feed and care is still the same.

People that get pet goats strictly for pets or wanting to homestead end up folding within the first 3 years. The next round won't make it to 5 years. Those that make it to 5 are generally more serious and have moved into making the farm work for them.

On our farm we have several does retired, they will live their life out here. Yet they cost me alot of money to feed, care for, test annually etc. Yet no milk, no meat, no kids. They also take the space for productive animals.
We have one wether. We will keep him forever. Rarely do we sell wethers as pets and when we do it is a Nigerian not a standard breed. Standards are fed, cared for and at 70 lbs are for market.
At least I know they will never be abandoned, abused, neglected.

 

[Baymule]

If you want to "save" a farm animal, eat it. If there was no financial reward for breeding and raising farm animals, they would cease to exist. Indeed, many heritage breeds are endangered of going extinct, since the big producers favor only a few breeds. For example, milk-Holstein cows. There are many dairy breeds, but the Holstein leads the pack.

We raise feeder pigs for slaughter. I don't want to raise breeding stock and am quite happy buying pigs to raise. I look for heritage breeds in order to support the farmers who are raising them to keep the genetics and old breeds alive.

http://livestockconservancy.org/

Many of us here raise our animals, we love and care for our animals and we eat them. We know how they were raised, we know how they were treated and we know what they were fed. They just have one bad day. Up until that day, they lead good lives. They are loved and appreciated.

There is nothing wrong with keeping pets. But if they reproduce, soon you are overrun with pets. If you sell them, they are likely to be eaten. I see adds all the time for "pet only" farm animals for sale. yeah, right.

By all means, enjoy your goats. Love them, care for them and have fun. We are just explaining how we can love our animals, yet send them to slaughter for us to eat.