Thinking about buying a milk goat... fencing questions

Technically, they are browsers. Mine like grass, though!

I've noticed that about mine, they only pick and choose the yummiest of the weeds and then a mouthful of grass here and there.

Okay, I'm going to admit that my goats are on less than an acre. We are spreading them out as soon as we get the new fencing installed, but I had two and then three goats in a pen about 100' by 30'. It WAS full of lovely weeds and weed trees to start, but those are pretty much eaten away.

I'm meticulous about cleaning, they get fresh feed and water daily, and they're fine.

In my personal experience, you can indeed dry lot goats and have them remain healthy and productive.

BTW: Mine eat browse and grass both, but they won't eat "lawn" alone. They'll go hunting for good succulent weeds.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Cows get worms, horses get worms, dogs and cats get worms, goats get worms.

All God's chil'en get worms.

http://www.goatbiology.com/parasites.html

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

I was referring to the larvae crawling up the grass, that just conjured a yucky picture in my mind haha! But we have maintained many different animals over the years- dogs, chickens, cats, horses, calves/cows (though not milk cows unfortunately!) etc. So I am used to dealing with and preventing parasites, and putting up with other "yucky" aspects of animal husbandry. Thanks for the link! Very helpful information. And thanks for the other replies. Just as an update- we are possibly going to look at a goat tomorrow. She was due any day, and just kidded tonight, twins! She's a mini toggenburg, and although we were wanting a full size breed, she may be a good one to start with. And the timing is perfect, she's decently priced, and she's only about 10 min from our house. And since I'm new, I won't have to worry about kidding first thing. We have to get the fencing put up first though! Although, we do have an empty horse stall we could keep her in just for a few days...

If she has just kidded, the horse stall is the best idea. She needs to stay close to her babies if they are coming with her, and you will need to get her used to you and the premises, and be able to check on her regularly for a few days, even if the kids are not coming with her.

Plus, it gives you time to get that acre fenced.

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

I like horns too. They make good goat handles and good goat catchers.

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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

It is reasonable, but I have seen them for less. Because the doe is in milk, take time to milk her to see if she gives a good amount and is easy to milk or go see them at milking time. If she has CAE, they tend to not be great milkers, so it's a quick way to catch it once in a while. And it also allows you to see how tame she is for milking. Same with knees, look to make sure they aren't swollen. Make sure you don't see any lumps anywhere, especially near the jaws.
If this is going to be your first goats, then I would get them if they look healthy. You want them for personal use, not show, not selling milk, right? If so, then start with what you can. You will love goats. I would encourage anyone to get them. They are amazing animals that provide much of the world's population with milk and protein.

Goats do jump fences easily, so you need to have a wire around the top. I have also just let them wander the property. They are like dogs, they know where they get fed and don't run off. But if you have neighbors who are anti-goat, you would want a good fence. Some people even keep them on the underground fence collars. They learn to respect the property lines quite easily.

Most people who have goats keep a LGD dog to protect them from stray dogs, coyotes, etc. Most goats do teach dogs to respect them, but if it were a pack of dogs, it would be a problem, especially with a kid there too. So, an LGD is a great asset.

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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I don't have a LDG. Although folks with more goats that I have keep an LDG, small herd owners often don't.

The horns issue is HUGE. A few folks prefer horns, but *in general* dairy goats are disbudded (have the horn buds removed) within a few days of birth.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

~smiles~ A *few* folks preferring horns means:

In every dang country EXCEPT the U.S. and Canada, judges will judge horns in shows as part of the overall package, unless the goat is naturally polled.

Now, in general, dairy goats in the United States are disbudded within a week of birth.

I don't think being the only country in the WORLD that has national registries that DEMAND that goats be disbudded or dehorned to be shown means that only a "few" folks prefer horns.

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

Looking at the British Goat Society looks like they prefer no horns also. http://www.allgoats.com/contacts.htm#BREEDER'S WEBSITES at least at the websites that work PC would let me look at on there dairy goats. They may not demand they be disbudded but it sure looks like they prefer it.

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COSO Farms Web Page: http://www.cosofarmslamanchas.com/

COSO Farms Face Book Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/COSO-F...45087715522558

UH OH. You've kicked it into debate mode.

Figured on a world wide scale, I'll grant the preponderance of evidence indicates that horned goats outnumber dehorned.

HOWEVER, as most (not all) members on this board live in the United States, and this board is based in the U.S., and most of the readers are in the U.S., *most* of the goats represented by readers and potential readers of this board have and will have dehorned goats.

A *few* members of this board prefer goats with horns.

(I bet I have debate tournament nightmares tonight.)

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

LOL!!!!!

Shall I save both sides some typing & go dig up the last multi-page debate on this, post the link here, let the OP read it all and decide for themselves?

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Best Wishes,
Crystal
http://noodlevilleadventures.blogspot.com

Keep up with Noodleville Goats on Facebook!
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Here we go!

Horn questions

Three pages worth of horn talk.....Some for horns, some against and some who just don't care either way

Read through, decide for yourself and then go goat shopping

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Best Wishes,
Crystal
http://noodlevilleadventures.blogspot.com

Keep up with Noodleville Goats on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/NoodlevilleFarm

We had a small heat wave a couple weeks back.. upper 80's/High humidity, hot sticky afternoons... not a good day to spend HANGING stuck in a fence..SO... I went ahead and stopped on my way back from town.. to tell my neighbors to the north.. (the guy who LEAVES horns on his goats)... that he had not ONE, not TWO.. BUT THREE.. very over heated, stressed out ... HORNED.. goats hang up in his fence... took four of us to get them out.. I then drove home to my house.. same type of fencing....but for some ***ODD*** reason.. there were NO goats stuck in my fence....hmmmm???? I wonder why????? LOL...

susie, mo ozarks

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"My darling girl, when are you going to understand that "normal" is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."
http://www.agesagoacresnubians.com/

My Boers that I purchased as breeding stock have horns. They don't get their heads stuck because their heads are the size of bowling balls. They look like cows compared to the hornless Saanens, Alpines, Toggs, and Nigerians.

I use cattle panels for my fence because I like to change things around and even though it is heavy it is easy to use with Tposts. I put up 4 acres of panels this year alone...no small task for one person and gosh darned expensive but it lasts. It's the duct tape of the fence world, 1001 uses.

Australia http://www.dairygoatsqld.org.au/does.htm

New Zealand http://www.nzdgba.co.nz/breeds.html

Canadian http://www.goats.ca/sales.php

Scotland http://www.scottishgoatkeepersfedera...o-gallery.html

Sorry these are all English speaking countries but don’t have time to do the translator thing.

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COSO Farms Web Page: http://www.cosofarmslamanchas.com/

COSO Farms Face Book Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/COSO-F...45087715522558

So, coso, I went to all the links you provided, had to browse around to find these organizations disqualifications, and not one of them stated that having horns was a disqualification?

What are you trying to prove there? I stated that the U.S. registries were the only ones that disallowed horns in the show ring.... Actually, only three registries even in the U.S.: AGS, ADGA, and MDGR are the only three registries in the world that disallow horned goats in the show ring. All of them are located in the U.S.

So, your point with these links is.....?

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

Links!

Central France: http://www.workaway.info/1991129954c1-en.html

Sweden: http://www.sinosheep.com/swedish-landrace-goat.html

Might I challenge you to find a dairy goat farm in Germany which has disbudded or dehorned goats? How about Austria or Luxembourg, hmmm?

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck

ROFLMAO.

We are so funny.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus