Nakia Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Well, ok, I definitely want one!! Or two!! My husband and I are in discussions about it. He had previously said "no farm animals", but I'm wearing him down. :D Some questions: What would be the approximate start up cost of acquiring two goats plus all the supplies needed for milking? Also are goats expensive to keep? How much room do goats need? We have an acre of land. It is already fenced in. I want family friendly goats. What is the best breed? I have looked on the Fias Farm website and they recommend LaMancha. The nearest LaMancha breeder to me is 2 hours. I would be willing to go that far, if needed, but I wanted to check on other breeds too. Also I don't want so much milk that I don't know what to do with it. That's one reason I can't get a cow (but I really want one of those too!) I know I would have to take the mommas to be bred, but how often does that have to be done? What do I do with the babies they have? Do goats have a hard time having babies? Can you recommend any good books for me to read? I have looked at some websites, but I am more of a book-in-hand-so-I-can-highlight-and-reread kind of girl. :001_smile: As you can see, I know absolutely nothing about this, but I really want to learn. I want to do lots and lots of research. It might be another year or two before I actually do get some goats. Any other helpful information, a la "milk goats for dummies" would be great! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 We have Nubians and Nigerian Dwarfs. The people I know with LaManchas are crazy about them, but I can't get past the whole ear thing. You first need to decide if you want registered stock. $300-$350 is a pretty standard price for show quality animals. That's pretty high, but you are going to need to sell babies each year. You will make your money back, plus some with quality animals. We bought 2 Nigerian doelings in 2007. Last year, we kept one of their doelings. This year, we had 8 kids from those 3 does. I gave the boy away, they girls will bring $1,800. I did not want to be in a position of trying to find good homes for $30 goats. It's an added bonus that my kids like showing. They have made great friends, and it is not too expensive. I don't think it costs very much to feed them. We feed grass hay, alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets and a mix of beet pulp, oats, barley and sunflower seeds. We use T-posts and welded wire fences. Your other major concern will be health. Don't buy from someone who doesn't test for CAE (basically goat AIDS) and CL (a very contagious disease). We also worm our goats give them quality loose minerals, and prevent health problems whenever possible. This saves us so much money, because we have never lost a goat. For breeding, you can take them back to the breeder or lease a buck for a month. That usually costs $50 per doe. If they don't conceive, another breeding is usually free. You should join: http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/ and ask their opinion of any goat you are thinking of buying. That's all I can think of at the moment. The goats are so much fun. They are definitely my favorite animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I forgot your question about milking. You can milk into a pan or bowl that you already have. You need a milk stand. I'll see if I can find the pictures of the one my son made for me. It's the one on the Fias Co Farm website. If I were doing it over, I'd make the platform a little longer. You need some way to strain the milk once you get it in the house. I always find loose pieces of hay in mine. You can spend a whole lot of money on milking supplies, and while that may be fun, it isn't necessary at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 Thanks for the info, Amy! I found a Nigerian breeder that is pretty close to me. I emailed her to see if we could go out to her farm to check things out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 My favorite, hands-down, is the LaMancha. They have the sweetest disposition, are quiet, have REALLY good milk, and are generally easy to milk (always exceptions though). I find Nubians noisy, though most people LOVE their Nubians. Saanens are also super sweet, but their milk has less fat (which I don't mind). However, it seems that they can have more of a percentage of having off-tasting milk, possibly due to the lack of fat. The saanens I've had have had good milk though. Alpines are another option of course, and they are really great goats. The only thing is that they can tend to be really aggressive with one another, though they are usually VERY loving to their humans. It isn't fun, though, if you have a super bossy one that always beats up the others. That having been said, you can get a bossy rude goat in any breed. I wouldn't do Nigerians, especially not for your first milking experiences. Nigerians are precious, but they are often much more difficult to milk due to the size of their teats. They are SO adorable though! Another option is a good cross-bred doe. I have a LaMancha Nubian cross right now that is awesome. I have had some Alpine Nubian crosses that were great and some Alpine Saanen crosses too. I find the crosses to be really hardy and healthy. Costs - expect to pay (depending on your area), $250-300 for a registered doe in milk. You may get a cross cheaper. You can also consider a doe with a baby or two by its side. You'll probably pay less for the babies, the doe will be in milk, she won't be lonely (you should never have just one goat), and you'll be able to breed the younger one within a year or so. I just bought my doe with 2 doe kids on her. I paid $300 for them all. They have no papers, but she is a good milker and in nice condition. The kids are 1/2 boer and 1/2 dairy. I can breed them back to a boer buck and have their male offspring for meat and female offspring to sell as 3/4 boer (those sell well here), or I can go back to dairy for dairy babies. We have had no problems selling grade does because we deal with good milkers. Showing is not big here, but people are ALWAYS looking for milkers. An acre should be fine for a couple of does. They will need a nice shelter. As far as milking supplies, you don't need much. A nice stainless pot or pail (leevalley.com has a compost pail that is stainless and I LOVE it for a milk pail - it's CHEAP too), a strainer (I use a permament coffee filter lined with a paper filter), wipes to clean the teats before milking, something to strip the first few squirts of milk into (cleans out the end of the teat without getting it in your drinking milk - a plastic cup will do, dixie cups you can throw away daily, etc). You'll need a milk stand (probably your biggest expense, but they can be easily built). You'll also need some glass containers to store milk in (never store in plastic). I buy cleaners from Hoegger Goat Supply to clean my pail and jars. It's cheap and concentrated powder that will last forever, but it sanitizes the stuff well. For books, Caprine has a nice book they sell (Goatkeeping 101 I think). Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way is another good one. Fiasco Farm is a FANTASTIC website. You can find out just about anything you need to know. I really prefer her herd management practices to anything I've ever read, and use a lot of her herbal supplies (including the wormer). We also raise our goats like she does. I like my does to raise their babies. They are healthier, and, if I am in a bind and can't milk one morning, I can always leave the doe with the kids. I just leave the doe with the babies from the beginning and after a few weeks, I'll separate them at night (like 11-7 at first, then, as they're eating more, I'll go longer). I milk the doe most of the way in the morning, then put her with the kids. This is great because if we leave town or something, I don't need a milker, just someone to feed. The babies will be happy to nurse all the time. I leave the kids on for about 4 months or so if the doe seems fine with it. I have always had really big, healthy babies. Anyway, it's obvious I could go on and on. I hope this hasn't overwhelmed you. If you have any more questions, just holler! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 We started with 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats and love them! Our dc are all on the small side, and these are their goats. We're ready to upgrade to larger goats now, though.:001_smile: Dh built our milking stand and we get our supplies from Hoegger.com. If you have too much milk, you can make yogurt, cottage cheese and soap. I froze a small portion once and it thawed nicely. We have a local goat dairy who freezes all of their milk with no problem. We got our goat book from Tractor Supply and I can't remember the name of it. It covers everything. There's a very active practical goats yahoo group, too. hth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 homedairygoats This is just my opinion of course, but it has TONS of members and LOADS of info. If you want to get a lot of input, check it out. I get 2-3 digests/day from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 I don't know anything about milk goats but would suggest that you check your zoning laws FIRST. In some areas you can do whatever you want with your land--even just 1 acre. In our area (rural) you need 2 acres to have a goat or 2. There might be rules about the number of goats, where they are located on the property, type of shelter required, etc. Your local zoning laws may or may not allow milk goats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 I don't know anything about milk goats but would suggest that you check your zoning laws FIRST. In some areas you can do whatever you want with your land--even just 1 acre. In our area (rural) you need 2 acres to have a goat or 2. There might be rules about the number of goats, where they are located on the property, type of shelter required, etc. Your local zoning laws may or may not allow milk goats. Thanks! I hadn't thought of that before, but I just got off the phone with the county planner, and we are all clear from that angle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 My sister has some very fine show quality Nubians! We have had Nubians since I was in kindergarten (I'm 43 now). They are very sweet, loving animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 My sister has some very fine show quality Nubians! We have had Nubians since I was in kindergarten (I'm 43 now). They are very sweet, loving animals. I live in Maggie Valley, NC. Please tell me your sister is close to me!! I'd love to see them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Too bad! However, I strongly recommend Nubians. LaManchas and Nubians have similar personalities/milk fat content/production. I just can't get past the ears, either. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Great. Glad you won't have a problem with zoning. We are in Michigan and some townships have very strict zoning and others very lax. What you can do on one side of the street is vastly different than what you can do in another township---just across the street. Thanks! I hadn't thought of that before, but I just got off the phone with the county planner, and we are all clear from that angle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 I just realized that FiasCo Farm is less than two hours from me!!! But there is no way to contact them on their website. Does anyone know a way I can get in contact with them? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I am expecting a shipment from Molly (some herbal wormer). If there is contact information I will pass it along. I do think they have relocated though so I'm not sure if the address information you're seeing is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 I am expecting a shipment from Molly (some herbal wormer). If there is contact information I will pass it along. I do think they have relocated though so I'm not sure if the address information you're seeing is correct. Oh ok. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.