New goats

[Horselover]

I am planning to have goats soon, but I don't know what breed. I am looking for goats who are:
1) inexpensive to feed
2) not huge
3) friendly
I want them mostly as pets and weed control, and no longhairs

 

[maritown]

Looks like Nigerian dwarf or pygmies would be a good choice for you!

 

[Horselover]

Anything smaller than 150 pounds is fine but not-huge goats are great! Also, would you recommend Sanaans?

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH! There are a LOT of goat lovers here and they'll all have things to say about their chosen breed(s)... not a bad thing of course Funny your screen name with chosen avatar... As for a goat being friendly, although there are general breed specific qualities, there are also some things you can do to influence the outcome there, like bottle raising it so it bonds to you etc.

Sanaans are primarily dairy goats bred for milk production... quantity as well as quality. They are a single color, so if you want goat "eye candy" (something other than all pure beige/cream colored) move away from the (pure bred) sanaans.

Just as a "toss in", you know there are cross bred "minis" (cross of dwarf buck to large doe) that are bigger than a dwarf/pygmy, but smaller than a full sized goat, with the (best?) attributes of both! Just something else to further add to the general confusion

Anyway, glad you joined us! Have fun with your choices and good luck with your new soon to be goats!

 

[sadieml]

Welcome to BYH! I am a goat-lover/addict. For small, you definitely want to look at Nigies, Pygmies, or "mini" crosses. If you don't care about milk, then wethers may do well for you, and often you can find wethers cheap (sometimes even free on Craigslist). You could even try a local auction and pick up culls from local dairies, etc.. Our local auction get culls from a dairy specializing in Saanens, and Saanen crosses, usually bucklings, and they go for cheap. Of course, any auction animals (indeed, any newcomers to your farm) should be quarantined at first, so any animals you currently have are safe from anything the noobs might bring in.

Good luck with your goats! Keep us posted!

 

[Horselover]

Maybe a Sanaan-Nigie cross...

 

[Latestarter]

There ya go, two dairy breeds, Sanaan for quantity and Nigie for quality and down sizing and color (eye candy)

 

[Horselover]

also how much feed, hay, etc. would they need?

 

[rochelle~loves~goats]

FYI...goats aren't cheap to raise! There is medication, hay, grain, minerals, straw for bedding, shelter, fencing, there is vet visits! TIME & MOST IMPORTANT LOVE & PATIENCE!
I have Nigerian dwarfs/Pigmys & love my 6 goats (babies) with all my heart! Seems like there's ALWAYS something going on with one of them...or I'm just a worry wort after losing one of my babies...I watch my goats (babies) constantly & worry!

 

[TAH]

Not many are you looking to have?
How much land do you have?
How much are you looking to feed?
Are you going to be breeding them?