Help! What are the disadvantages of goats

[rabbitgal]

I thinking of geting a goat , but what are the disadvantages. Please tell me! (not the good things the bad! )

Rosie: (hannah's sis)

[moosemaniac]

They really grow on you and become an addiction.

But seriously, if you have them, you have to be home to take care of them. No week long vacations! Aside from that, and I hate to travel anyway, I can't think of too many bad things. I love my goats and find them very therapeutic after a long day in the office dealing with lawyers!

Ruth

[A'sta at Hofstead]

Oh, and you don't get A goat- they are herd animals and need a companion.

[rabbitgal]

I heard that saanens have a ''docile temperament'' is this true?
Rosie

[moosemaniac]

I've heard that too. Write to Marilyn at the website I posted on your other thread. She can certainly fill you in on Sanaans. She raised champions for years.

Ruth

[rabbitgal]

We're planning to get dairy goats in the near future anyway, and Rosie DSis is trying to decide if one will be "hers".

Hannah

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

My Saanens always varied greatly in temperament. I had the quiet, sensitive ones and the wild ones. But I guess most of them were more polite than induviduals of other breeds I've had.

Bad Things About Goats -not many!
1. They have to live in pairs, at least
2. Grown bucks stink, according to most people
3. Many goats are escape artists!
4. Most goats I've had tend to waste hay, but maybe it's just my goats...

[rabbitgal]

Originally Posted by moosemaniac

I've heard that too. Write to Marilyn at the website I posted on your other thread. She can certainly fill you in on Sanaans. She raised champions for years.

Ruth

Ok I will thanks
Rosie-

[rabbitgal]

Originally Posted by xoxoGOATSxoxo

My Saanens always varied greatly in temperament. I had the quiet, sensitive ones and the wild ones. But I guess most of them were more polite than induviduals of other breeds I've had.

Bad Things About Goats -not many!
1. They have to live in pairs, at least
2. Grown bucks stink, according to most people
3. Many goats are escape artists!
4. Most goats I've had tend to waste hay, but maybe it's just my goats...

Thanks! but there has to be more than that! I wan't to know all of the disadvantages/the bad not the good(I know that already! )

[moosemaniac]

Originally Posted by xoxoGOATSxoxo

Bad Things About Goats -not many!
1. They have to live in pairs, at least
2. Grown bucks stink, according to most people
3. Many goats are escape artists!
4. Most goats I've had tend to waste hay, but maybe it's just my goats...

Now those things aren't so bad!

Ruth

[fishhead]

They taste almost everything. They climb on everything. They will escape poor fencing just because they can. They can look fine one moment and be dead the next.

[AnnaS]

The biggest issue with goats is fencing. Goats will jump over a 5 1/2 ft fence, stomp down woven wire, crawl commando style under gates 5" off the ground, and shove other animals into electric fences and use them as stepstools. They will also figure out how to open most gate latches and all but the round doorknobs.

The second biggest issue is what they do after they get out of the fence. Goats will debark all your fruit trees, eat your pine seedlings, your rosebushes, and the entire vegetable garden. Then they will pry the siding off your house, butt your electric meter until it sends a tamper signal to the power co, floss their heads on your clothesline, poo copiously on your front porch, and play king of the hill on your car.

All of the above are personal experiences...

If you keep dairy goats, you have to be home every twelve hours to milk. I really enjoy the routine but many people hate "being tied down". Trustworthy relief milkers are expensive.

But I can't resist- goats are also the most entertaining, affectionate, useful animals I have ever owned. Like moosemaniac, I find goats therapeutic- I can go into the kid pen and have eight Togg babies snuggling up, giving goat hugs and leaning on my knee.

[rabbitgal]

Thank you for all your help!
Rosie-DSis

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

That most folks don't understand that they are livestock.
That you will not for years find a good vet unless you have an experienced breeder in your area that has already broke her or him in.
That they die.
That they multiply like flies.
That bucklings breed their sisters before you get that they are sexually active.
That they poop, and you have to pick up that poop.
They waste hay and you have to pick up that hay.
You have to trim feet, sometimes monthly if you live with lots of humidty or ground moisture, and you will hate to trim feet eventually.
That your first goats, without alot of help from someone to help you, will be sickly, disease ridden goats who milk 1 cup a day, and you can't sell them for half of what you paid for them. (the best question for you to ask of a breeder is who would you buy goats from, not what they have for sale)
That those first goats will be soo loved by you that you will keep them until they die.
That your first fences will do nothing more than teach your goats to jump, higher and higher as you keep adding to it.
That instead of purchasing a really good doe or two, you will want 12.
That you will be in and out of the goat buisness in 2 seasons.
That although you see us all selling bucklings, nobody buys your bucklings and they are too cute to eat (note: not too good to eat but too cute).
That you won't eat your bucklings, and try to find forever homes for them as wethers.
That instead of joining a local club, and find a goat mentor local to your area, you will listen to all of us on the internet Vicki

[ozark_jewels]

Yeah, what Vicki said!! Sounds a lot like me 7 years ago!

Goats are hay wasters.
Goats need wormed more often than other livestock.
Goats need a good shelter where cows are fine with woods.
Goats are horribly addictive.
Goats cannot be alone.
Goats *cannot* have moldy hay or feed. An amount of mold that wouldn't phase a cow, can kill a herd of goats.
Goats will die on you sooner or later and it will rip your heart out every time.
You will have lots of excess bucklings that are not buckling quality and you will have to either find pet homes for them or face the fact that they will be eaten sooner or later. Or bite the bullet and eat those delicious things yourself!

Are they worth it???? OH YES.

[Sweet Goats]

OK, did you say disadvantage? I didn't know ther was one
If I had to say something I guess feeding them in the winter (because it is cold) and the fact that they grow on you. They are the best.

[dosthouhavemilk]

You aren't likely to make any money off of them without a great deal of time and effort.

[TexCountryWoman]

You can't be squeamish and get things done yourself.

Goats need you as their midwife and you have to be able to "go in" and retrieve a stuck or dead kid, no matter how difficult or nasty.

Goat kids need to be dehorned (actually refered to as being "disbudded" when done real early). Yes, they holler, but it gives them and you a better life. it can't be put off til you are up to it. Vets are famous for screwing this up, you need to find a goat person to do it, or buy an iron and do it yourself, for real.

Baby male goats need to be castrated early. I cut the testicles off with a knife before 2 weeks of age. My hubby holds them and tries not to faint while I do it.

Goats require injections, oral meds, things such as that. You must be willing to keep notes and a calendar and keep up with it. Your goat depends on your notes.

And like stated above, you must be willing to eat your bucklings or wethers or find a kind market for them. You will be over run quickly and you are ultimately the one who loves them the most.

[rabbitgal]

THANKS This is what I was looking for! all of you have been a big help!
Rosie-DSis

[PygmyLover]

The bad lets see: as stated you can't leave them without finding someone you trust to take care of them - who is also willing to do so.

You don't make much of a profit from them if anything at all unless you have a large herd (ok some of you may have accomplished this but I would say you are the exception and GOOD FOR YOU!!!).

They require a lot of time and energy. There aren't many good goat vets out there so when they they ill, more then likely you will be on your own.

You may get ridiculed by your family and friends for owning goats (yes you have to hvae more then one!!!)

There are just those hidden expenses you don't really think about until you get the goats and then you are out money you weren't planning on spending.

there are plenty of poisonous plants to goats out there. This means you have to be extreamly careful what they eat. So you will want to build them a shelter and pen to keep them separted from anything that they would eat that can harm them. This can take up a good portion of a yard and can be expensive to build.

Stuff like that. Really only minor things. But I do it because I love them. They are a hobby.