Lorien Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 I think it would be really fun to add goats to our farm. So, to anyone with experience ..... I'd like to learn as much about them as I can. Any advice you can give, or direction to websites with info that would help us get started would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 They are really awesome friendly lovable creatures. They are far too clever for their own good and almost impossible to keep fenced in. They prefer to browse although they will graze if there aren't any rose bushes, apple trees, or anything else that they probably shouldn't be eating anywhere within a good distance. They are seasonal breeders in most cases and prefer to breed in the fall and kid in the spring, making milk supply a bit cyclical. They are delicious if eaten young. The milk is very digestible. The females are fine but the males smell really badly except during mating season, when they smell absolutely horrible. I miss having them. All of my favorite books are out of print though. Almost any basic book (check your library) should be able to give you a decent amount of info. RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING. Also I really recommend you start with a pair of them and not buy more than a few just to check your fences and see if you're okay caring for them. If you are okay with eating your animals meat goats would be ideal because then you're only committed for a summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Where I live, goats need to be protected from predators (mainly coyotes), so people have llamas, donkeys, or livestock guardian dogs to watch over them. I love goats but haven't had them since I was a kid. I love their funny personalities - they remind me of a cross between a cow and a dog. We thought about getting some, but don't want the hassle of having to put up new fencing (we have horse fencing and there's no way that would contain them). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 They are really awesome friendly lovable creatures. They are far too clever for their own good and almost impossible to keep fenced in. They prefer to browse although they will graze if there aren't any rose bushes, apple trees, or anything else that they probably shouldn't be eating anywhere within a good distance. They are seasonal breeders in most cases and prefer to breed in the fall and kid in the spring, making milk supply a bit cyclical. They are delicious if eaten young. The milk is very digestible. The females are fine but the males smell really badly except during mating season, when they smell absolutely horrible. I miss having them. All of my favorite books are out of print though. Almost any basic book (check your library) should be able to give you a decent amount of info. RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING. Also I really recommend you start with a pair of them and not buy more than a few just to check your fences and see if you're okay caring for them. If you are okay with eating your animals meat goats would be ideal because then you're only committed for a summer. No fencing on the farm other than a very old, tumble-down boundary fence that wouldn't keep anything in or out! We'd have to start fresh with fences. We have lots of wooded areas, but they're littered with wild roses. Are they a problem? Where I live, goats need to be protected from predators (mainly coyotes), so people have llamas, donkeys, or livestock guardian dogs to watch over them. I love goats but haven't had them since I was a kid. I love their funny personalities - they remind me of a cross between a cow and a dog. We thought about getting some, but don't want the hassle of having to put up new fencing (we have horse fencing and there's no way that would contain them). We have coyotes. We spotted one on our game cam recently. A fence capable of keeping goats in should keep coyotes out, shouldn't it? Or is that just wishful thinking? 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 No fencing on the farm other than a very old, tumble-down boundary fence that wouldn't keep anything in or out! We'd have to start fresh with fences. We have lots of wooded areas, but they're littered with wild roses. Are they a problem? Oh no they're not a problem and the goats will control them. They are amazing at controlling brush. They will probably also kill all the trees by eating the bark, though, so if you're not okay with that you would need to fence them out of the trees. The issue is that if you're TRYING to raise some kind of shrubs, when (not if) the goats get out they will make a beeline for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 No fencing on the farm other than a very old, tumble-down boundary fence that wouldn't keep anything in or out! We'd have to start fresh with fences. We have lots of wooded areas, but they're littered with wild roses. Are they a problem? We have coyotes. We spotted one on our game cam recently. A fence capable of keeping goats in should keep coyotes out, shouldn't it? Or is that just wishful thinking? 😄 Coyotes are smart and can get over and under fences easily. They'll go right through an electric fence if they are hungry enough. That's why people here keep guardian animals with their goats. A goat farmer I know told me that intact male llamas are the best animals for chasing away predators. Also, they eat the same things as goats, which makes caring for them easy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Oh no they're not a problem and the goats will control them. They are amazing at controlling brush. They will probably also kill all the trees by eating the bark, though, so if you're not okay with that you would need to fence them out of the trees. The issue is that if you're TRYING to raise some kind of shrubs, when (not if) the goats get out they will make a beeline for them. Oh, I see! I thought maybe they were harmful due to thorns/poisonous leaves, or something! Keeping the brush down is reason number one for getting them! However, we'd rather they didn't hurt the trees, and it would have to be impossible for them to get out. Which sounds unlikely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Coyotes are smart and can get over and under fences easily. They'll go right through an electric fence if they are hungry enough. That's why people here keep guardian animals with their goats. A goat farmer I know told me that intact male llamas are the best animals for chasing away predators. Also, they eat the same things as goats, which makes caring for them easy. It's not good to hear that coyotes aren't easy to keep out, but it's good to know what we're up against! It will be interesting to hear what DH says when I let him know that to have goats I need to have llamas too. 😄 I guess that's why we see llamas and donkeys so often on the farms around here! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 One of my best sites: www.fiascofarm.com Deborah Niemann's books are excellent. She runs a great web site as well, but it is mostly focused on Nigerian Dwarf goats (the kind I have). http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/ What breed are you planning on getting? No climb fence has worked well for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 No-climb fencing works well for us, generally, but somehow they do sometimes find a way to get out. I believe they see a fence as a challenge to overcome (even if there's nothing better on the other side). Goats are super clever and really friendly. The kids love them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Those of you who have goats, do you sell them, milk them, just enjoy them? When we had acreage, I thought about goats but heard too many stories of annihilated gardens, etc. :) For a while I was toying with the idea of selling meat goats but who am I kidding? I could never sell an animal for food. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 I grew up next door to a goat farm and we had a goat, cow, horse, chickens and sheep in different combinations at different times growing up. Goats are great at getting out of fences/pens and into trouble. They really do eat anything:everything in the flower and vegetable gardens, trash, hanging laundry, and the bark off trees. Giving a goat Pepto Bismol for her resulting digestive issues on the vet's orders is as frustrating as you think it is. They can't chew through the bottle and they're not great at taking a swig. The horse's oats are what did her in. The horse kicked her in the head while she was eating them. The one we had long term was nowhere near worth the trouble. The other two were delicious! I love goat meat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 (edited) We had goats ( about 15 over the years) and never had any escapes but my mom used electric fencing that I swear would knock you down if you touched it. It also helped that they had a ton of room to roam. Any trees that we wanted to save were fenced in with chicken wire cages, they couldn't tear them down or chew through them. Nubians are in my opinion one of the best breed (we had Alpine, Boer, Lamanchas, and Pygmy) they're better behaved then some of the other breeds plus they have floppy ears and big noses. We bred them and milked them and I showed them, as well as chickens, sheep, and ducks, at out county and state fairs.... so mostly just pets. Edited May 22, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 What breed are you planning on getting? Not sure. We haven't gotten that far! 😄 We just started talking about it after we took a walk through the woods and it was so overgrown and tangled it looks a bit like a jungle. The idea of goats was mentioned and since then we've been thinking about it. I was asking so as to get some kind of idea of what we'd be getting into. The farm hasn't been a working farm in over 16 years, but neither of us are strangers to livestock. We've just never had goats before. The more I read about how hard it is to keep them penned in, the less likely it is that we'd get any. MIL has bushes and flowers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Goats are naughty. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 If you're anywhere near Ohio, my sister is selling purebred nubians. 2 m a m a c h e w @gmail.com Remove spaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Try sheep. You will still have issues with eating trees, but they are much, much easier to fence in. Get a breed that sheds naturally and you won't have to shear them. They aren't as friendly but they will eat brush as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) I've had dairy goats on and off for 18 years. I've never had issues keeping them in our fences. We have what they call, "hog wire" around our pastures. We got a heavier gauge because they do like rubbing their bodies on it, and the smaller gauge just gets torn up too easily. The squares on ours are 3x3 - maybe even 4x4. I think adding some hot wire around the base on the outside of the fence and maybe a string above the top would deter a LOT of predators. I've always enjoyed my goats, and we love the raw goat milk when we have one in milk. Right now I just have two does that I'm hoping to get with a buck in the fall. I second fiascofarm for goat care info - great site! Edited May 23, 2017 by StaceyinLA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I used to keep goats, Toggenburgs mostly, or crosses. There isn't necessarily any added value in purebreds, but I think Togs are the prettiest. We did milk them, and ate the boys. I really like goats, they have great personalities, they are fun and smart. There are some things to think about - like fencing. We used paige wire which worked pretty well, though it causes problems with horns. They used to spend a lot of time figuring out how to get through the gate though and were intermittently successful. I just never had as much time to think about it as they did. If you want milk you'll need to breed them, you might be able to keep them over two years, but not more, and it could be less. And then you'll have to do something with the babies. People might buy or take the girls, but the boys aren't good pets unless you castrate them, and most people don't want just a pet. How you would deal with horns is another issue with babies - many people don't like disbudding, but there are some significant disadvantages to not doing it, too. About the coyotes - it might not be a problem. We had ours close to the house, and we had dogs. Coyotes just weren't willing to come that close to people and dogs, even though there were a lot around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Mama Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 We've had goats off and on. La Manchas are my favorites. They were very sweet and followed us around everywhere. They stayed in our fences better than the Nigerian dwarves. Those little buggers are Houdini on hooves. We currently have pygmies for Joy's 4-H project. They are fun and only get out when our very naughty sheep do. They are followers, not leaders. ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Goats are a fair amount of work, as is any livestock. You have to manage parasites. Hooves need trimming. You need to be knowledgeable about what types of plants are poisonous to them (some people claim goats won't eat poisonous plants if they have other options, but I have emphatically found that they do readily eat stuff that is horribly poisonous). Goats don't take a lot of time, but they do take small amounts of time consistently, and that's without anything unusual happening. They can be excellent at clearing areas of brush and weeds, but you have to have that area fenced. Some people are successful in training goats to respect electric net fencing, which is relatively easy to move. I've never had the luck (or, more likely, the time) to have that work. Mine just got tangled in it (over and over and over) and it was a bloody nightmare. Fencing needs to be thought through well, especially if your idea is to move them around to different areas. Likewise, some people take the time to train their goats how to walk on a lead line. I've not had that time (or maybe my goats are just loving but incredibly stupid). When I want them to go somewhere, I try to coax them with a bowl of grain. It works well, with patience and preferably another helper. Going on vacation becomes more interesting, as you need someone able to care for the little beasts. Don't' get me wrong....I love my goats. They are affectionate and bond well with people. Sometimes I go months with very little time invested. But then I also have months where one gets sick, they find a new way to escape (one time they learned to surf one another and then pop over the top of the fence), they get mites, they eat something poisonous and start to barf (BAD in a goat) and need repeated boluses of activated charcoal, etc. Hours can disappear, repeatedly, in those cases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 It definitely sounds like goats aren't something we should just jump into! Thanks for all the pointers! You've given me a lot to think about, and talk over with DH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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