Why do you keep goats?

We keep meat goats. They are pretty low maintenance if you make a good setup. They taste good to eat. And, even though some have bad personalities.... They have personalities and will interract with you more than some animals.

Your setup for housing, water, feeding and other goat duties makes an enormous impact on what your job experience is.

And, doing dairy obviously has several more required activities than meat.

Don't be discouraged from making changes when something isn't working.

My experience has been that it takes us about 3-4 years to feel like we know what we're doing with any new species we start keeping.

So, I hope this helps other wanna-be goat keepers who may not be aware of the hidden costs (time and money), the "dangers of the heart (you will fall in love)," and other aspects of goat-keeping.[/QUOTE]

Narnia75, you have helped me immensely. I think I would feel exactly like you. How many goats do you have? Just the 2?

I planned to buy 2 Kinders next year, I am on the wait list already.
My reason for goats was initially weed control. Then I thought about babies and goat meat, then I thought about milk and cheese.

My husband says it will be another job and we will be retiring soon. I guess he's right.

I am from a family of small farmers or to use the modern title "Homesteaders " ; a milk cow ,and plow horse was part of the farm . I milked a cow as did my foreparents . my great brown swiss providing all the dairy and beef I needed for many years . then unexpectedly just before she was to café I lost her .a sad time to lose the biggest contributer on the homestead .at the same time the cattle market went through the roof where you could once get a milk cow fairly reasonable or even a slow producer from a dairy farm for hambuger prices ; they are now selling at gormeit prices and above my price range . I found a good registered lamancha doe in milk for 300 $ from a local dairy and decided to give her a try . me being single now did'nt need gallons of milk a day and even with less than a gallon still had plenty to feed to the pig so I dived in she is a big pet that eats in a week what my cow ate in a day she hops up on a milk stand (much to my old back and knees likeing ) and I can lead her about with a string . I still have a angus cow to raise a beef calf from to fill the freezer .so the goat has fit right in for my needs . did I mention she has a good personality and is fun to work with not haeing to worry about getting a toe steped on and goat berrys are not as messy as 2 gallon cow plops . but with only a couple meat type bucks available to use localy and them wild in huge pastures . I found a great gentle Nubian buck that was a show / pet to buy from a lady who was selling her farm . so I would have him when I needed him at a great price and he was desented as well so now with keeping her last years doe kid and them both having 1/2 Nubian kids this year the goat population has grown to 5 . my only regret s that my young doe that I raised is the product of the dairy using a "Mini Mancha " buck on there first freshiners ( something the dairy I bought her from "forgot" to tell me )so now I have a small teated doe that I raised and broke to milk to find that she not only has extreamly hard to milk teats but that her kid takes all she produces ( thankfully) but she s my pet so I'm keeping her . still the first lamancha doe gives all I need .

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My wife fell in love with our first doe, Missy. We bought her at a Jacob's cave animal swap a couple years back. Of course she needed a companion, so we later bought a buckling, Martin, who is now our main breeder. They have made some beautiful kids. Later, we purchased more to diversify our line. It's gone quite well. As a bonus, I love the taste of goat milk. Ours is so sweet. And the meat is out of this world. To me it tastes like lamb, so I can't wait to cull another soon and get it in the smoker. Overall though, they are great to have and handle. They all have their peculiar characters and know the pecking order. And best of all, they love their daddy. That would be me.

What breed?

I got into goats 13 years ago, my mom bought them for brush clearing (two does) and it grew from there. There is a back story but it is rather long .

My very first doe was attacked by dogs and we ended up having to put her down, I wanted to breed my other doe so I would have a baby out of her should something ever happen. Little did I know the world that would open to me . Why do I keep my goats...or why do I have my goats. When I was younger it was because I wanted a horse and couldn't afford one, then it became because I wanted my own family/kids to grow up on a farm, now I want to make this a full fledged business through a micro dairy.

My goats where my crutch when I was young and suffering from severe depression, they keep me active and physically working, I have found MANY great friends through the goat community and honestly I couldn't imagine NOT doing this. My mom and I have a shared love of animals and this brings us together, every kidding season we are both there delivering kids and discussing who will have what. I have always been an animal lover, had "my own" dog from the time I was 7 years old, got into raising poultry at the tender age of 11 (did that until I was I think 17-18). Farming is in my blood, my great grandpa was a farmer, my grandpa LOVED mules and had a heart for farming, my other grandpa has a love of anything horses. Yep I was born to do this .

I think honestly that you might be spoiling your girls a BIT too much but that is me . I have a herd of 15 (milking 8 twice a day) and I only take 4 MAYBE 5 hours a day total between morning and evening to get everything done. However my does are on pasture, I don't have brush around here for them to eat so they graze during the day and I supplement with a good quality hay. They do get grain on the milk stand and Chaffhaye (alfalfa) after milking .

Justine
PS: It DOES get easier! I promise, goats are a STEEP learning curve and a fast one as well.

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Stupidity ?

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Hopefully, we can streamline things when we put them in the barn and fence in that pasture. We are hoping that they will have enough to graze on for a while in that location. If we don't take them out to browse, that will cut down on our maintenance time significantly. We also want to go to once a day milking. This also will cut down on time spent with them.

seems i'v forgotten the main reason for keeping a dairy animal on the farm ;and want to add it to the list -- the healthy milk ; produceing my own food on my own place adds to the great feeling of independence and self relialability . the idea that the family cow or goat - living on the same ground ,eating the same greens ,and drinking from the same spring exposed to the same bacteria both good and bad. will help you stay healthy through her immune system by produceing antibodies in her milk that help protect you as she would protect her kid or calf same with the honey from your home raised bees . not to mention not having your food sorses exposed to who knows what by who knows how many whos from distant places .

Because our land is not condusive to cows and my dog kept killing our rabbits. We have 56 acres and barely a acre is flat the rest is mountain forest and rocky cliffs. Which my goats love! They help keep back the blackberries and poison oak. I get a little milk for cheese making a bit of fiber for spinning. I have always liked having unusual pets and the goats quirkiness suit my personality. They are a perfect fit for our needs.