Goat For Daughter In Ffa

[tresieg3]

OK THIS IS ALL NEW TO ME, MY DAUGHTER IS IN FFA AND SHE WANTS TO RAISE A GOAT, I KNOW NOTHING ON GOATS
WHAT KIND IS THE BEST ? WHAT DUE THEY EAT? IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL I NEED TO DO TO A GOAT. PLEASE HELP

[mygoat]

Reaserch. Please do not just go out and buy a goat. Do alot of reaserch and find a local livestock vet that can deal with goats. Some will not work with goats. You will need to get two goats, they are more mentally stable that way. They eat a mix of grains usually called goat chow. The best feed for them is specifiic goat chow, not cattle or all stock feed. You also need to provide them with hay, baking soda and a mineral salt. There are 3 main types of goats, Meat, Fiber, and Milk. Meat goats are usually large meaty animals sold mainly for meat. Fiber goats don't have as large of a market, and are either Angoras ( a breed) or cashmere ( any breed or crossbreed, it depends on how wide a diameter the fibers are) All goats have cashmere, its the down they get in the winter, but alot of goats do not produce the ultra fine fiber called cashmere. Then there are the milking types. They are usually purebred but there are alot of mix breeds as well. They less meaty that milking breeds. They produce up to I think a gallon? I don't own milkers (yet!) I have pygmies. Look up the different breeds, look online and save good websited under favorites. Get a good goat book. Make sure it is legal to own goats in your area. Be prepared to pay alot for proper fencing and housing. visit local goat owners and ask them to teach you the tricks of the trade.
Good luck!

[mary,tx]

If you don't use all caps, your post is easier to read. Caps are very hard on old eyes. Good luck with whatever, though.
mary

[Laura Workman]

I strongly recommend against going into this unprepared. And you will not get the folks on this board to give you as much information as you'll find in a book, which is the minimum you should start with. Perhaps if you comb the archives for weeks, you'll get an idea, but there are very many conflicting views there, and being new here, you don't know the experience level of the people making the recommendations. Thus, the book.

So go to the library and get a book called "Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way" or the newer version, "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats," both by J. D. Belanger. After your daughter has read that book thoroughly, she will know enough to choose a breed, and she will know what it needs to eat, how to shelter it, etc. If she wants to know more, get her "Goat Husbandry" by David Mackenzie. If she really wants goats, let her do some research first. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble (large vet bills or dead animals, you choose).

If your daughter is rather young, there's also a book called "Your Goats" by Gail Damerow that she can read. Meanwhile you should be reading the two books mentioned above so you can fill in at least a few of the gaps in her knowledge.

[Misty]

Originally Posted by mary,tx

If you don't use all caps, your post is easier to read. Caps are very hard on old eyes. Good luck with whatever, though.
mary

I like the caps!! I can see them better.

[Goat Freak]

Well if you do decide to go with goats, we have some Boer bucklings that will be ready to go in a month or so, they are only a month old right now. if you are interested give me a pm, but like everyone else said, please do your research first, it is never a good idea to just jump into it. Good luck, and like I said if you are in the Hudson area, or around there and are interested just give me a pm. See ya.