Starting Goats...why is it so hard?

I casually milk my goats. I have left babies on them, only milk once a day - I can skip a day if I have to. Milk, cheese and soap - best way to go

If I started again (might go this way next year), I would have high quality milking nubians and breed them to a meat buck. Milk and meat. My Nubians do make nice meat goats anyhow - 8 months old/130 lbs.

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Cathy Westbrook, Tallabred Soaps, Inc.
Purebred Nubians

I think it's hard for a lot of people because it requires committment.

Also dairy goats are probably the most labor intensive livestock to raise and they are often raised by people with a non farm background.

It's not impossible but like when I got into goats I went to the library and read everything I could.

It's hot hard but you have to be observant of the animals and consistent with your management. People don't have those traits so much anymore so it's hard for some.

I know, I said pet goats. They really aren't, they are working goats. I said a pet goat because there not going to be butchered. Rocky and Lilly are both working animals, they pack and keep our pastures free of everything we don't want in there. Plus keep us intertained. LOL

I have my Snubians for sale right now (in fact, actually got a nibble through Craig's List just a while ago), but I will tell you that the Saanen dam of these two girls made for some very tasty meat - plenty of it, too.

As I've mentioned to Emily, I never had marbled goat meat before. It was so good!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

I found a meat goat farmer here. I think he has boer. Has a lot of them. Is willing to let me get a kid when I am ready. When we asked about milk goats he looked at us funny. But sure enoug, the next day he said he found a guy up the road who as milk goats! He doesn't know what breed they are or know anything about them. I am going to look into this a little more. There is nothing out here so I was surprised when he said someone had a milk goat. He also said if I wanted to just use his male goats for breeding I could.

I admit, we have only talked to him a few minutes here and there because he works with DH. I worry about his meat goats because being so close to the border and having so many??? I wonder if he just has a bunch of "mutt" goats that he sells for meat and just says they are boer??? How would I know? I wanted to see the milk goat people to know what they have as well. BUT, and this is a BIG but, (not mine for once!) I do worry about the goats themselves.

Sherri, I am in far west Texas near the border.
Gila Dog, that is a cute photo!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Tallabred, can you go into more detail? I am interested on how that works.

Thanks everyone who is still responding. I am reading them over and over. I have been doing a lot of reading on this. And thanks too about the eating thorns. My thought is also getting a goat for my daughter via 4H and going that route until we really see what we get ourselves into. I am not sure yet on the dehorning process, still youtubing lol. DH trims our horses feet, so I will make sure the goats are also on the list.

I just don't think goats are that hard to keep. They are fairly healthy animals, and the only issues you really see are bloat if you feed too many sweets or too much grain. The more you interfere with the animals the more problems you make. Basically, they do well if you just don't over treat.
I think CDT vaccines are a good investment, but you don't need to do a lot more if you feed them well. I know some people walk around with needles and drenches and Bose and a hundred other things, but I never have used them very often at all. Honestly, they don't die that easily unless you interfere too much and create an issue. I have had goats since my kids were little, like 20+years. I lost one. She got into the feed shed one night, and bloated then died.

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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Pinky, does the boer goat fella test for CAE?

Make sure you familiarize yourself with what a healthy goat looks like, and what to avoid (like abscesses, etc).

So excited for you as you start out on the Goat Adventure. Hey! We should make a video game for goat owners, kind of like Oregon Trail, and name it....

ADVENTURES IN GOAT HERDING!!!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Pinky, if you are in far west Texas check the New Mexico/Arizona breeders list. The American Dairy Goat Association has a breeders list by state.

Like someone else said - ALWAYS check a breeder to find out about testing. AND if they actually have hard copy proof to show you. Boer goat breeders usually don't test.

I have had goats (dairy and meat) and I have sheep now. The sheep are WAY easier! They don't challange the fences, they don't try to escape, they seem to be much hardier. But they also don't have the personality that goats have. They don't do cute stuff all the time. Although I did see all of the Barbados Blackbelly sheep running and hopping the other day. It was adorable. The Katahdins have not done anything cute like that.

We started with goats in 2006 and I love it. We did start with boer goats but I switched over to only dairy goats a few years ago and I am much happier. I milk twice a day, everyday and while hubby thinks I have totally lost my mind, I tell him I'd much rather hang out with my girls then on a vacation anyways. I think it comes down to doing what you love and having goats that work into that picture. Learn as much as you can before you get your goats and have a mentor if possible that can help. Find a vet that will work with you (you will most likely know more then the vet does about goats, but find one that will listen to you and get the medicine that you need)
Above all, HAVE FUN! Goat's are awesome!

Doesn't know anything about is own goats - be careful. I'd likely not buy from him if he can't tell you anything about them.

One thing to look out for are the diseases, especially CL and CAE. CL is zoonotic and can infect you, your other livestock, and is fairly virulent. CAE only affects goats, but it can be a devastating disease. Do your research and buy from healthy herds ONLY. Practice biosecurity and isolation when bringing in new animals.

As for mutt boers - many are mutts. This is normal. With boers, percentage meat crosses are also registerable (at 50% or higher). If you use a purebred or fullblood buck to breed to your does of ANY breed or cross, you can register the kids at at least 50%. If your doe is unregistered (for example, I have a 50% doe that was a result of accidentally breeding a myotonic buck to a pb boer doe and cannot be registered), then her percentage doesn't 'count', and the kids would be registered at 50%. But, if your doe is registered at, say, 75%, the kids would be 88% boer kids when sired by a purebred boer buck.

Any breeder who doesn't know what CL/CAE are, don't buy from them, IMO. Herds that have abscesses that are NOT from vaccinations, don't buy from them unless they were tested and found to not be CL.

Oh - and don't compromise on what you want. If you want disease free goats, don't buy the first goat that you find locally if it's not exactly what you want (disease free). Save yourself the heartache.

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Dona Barski

"Breed the best, eat the rest"

Caprice Acres

French and American Alpines. CAE, Johnes neg herd. Abscess free. LA, DHIR.