2 questions about goats

[tickranch]

I'm new to the goat world sorry if my questions seem idiotic.

?1- I have 2 acres fenced for goats. I already have 3 fainters on it. I would like to get some nubians for milk plus a buck. The buck yard would be 1/2 an acer, so how many nubian does can I have on an acre and a half?


?2- The fainters I have were not handled much I'm assuming. They are very shy and do not like to be touched. I've been working with them as best as I can. They will come up to me now and eat out of my hand and smell me and such but if I try to pet them or any thing they run off. I trim their hooves and give wormer and such but they don't like it and it can be a struggle. My question is if I put new goats in with them will they turn wild too?

[thaiblue12]

I do not know about the acre question.
But I do know that you should try for friendly Nubians. The Fainters will not turn the others wild and new friendly ones might actually help your shy ones.
I have a little pygmy girl who is fearful. By petting my girls and giving them treats and attention has helped her trust me more. Still does not like her body touched but I can pet her head and hand feed her.
JimS had a good idea on here about fill your pockets with treats and sitting in the middle of your goat area and letting them come to you. If I find that thread I will post the link here so you can try that.

[CritterLover]

I take a few vanilla wafers or vanilla Oreos(without the filling, just the cookie part) in the pen with me and an old hairbrush or horse brush and just sit down where they can see me. I use the treats first and then work up to the brushing. After about 2 or 3 days, 15-20 minutes at a time, they will come to me either for the food or the scratching. I assume when they are older they might require more than a few days, but its free to try, right?
Thaiblue12 is right, friendlier goats might have a positive effect on the more shy ones.
As far as the acreage question, there are guidelines for how much acreage supports how many goats, but a lot of it will depend on what is available on those acres you have. Is it a grass field, wooded lot, or dry lot? Are you sensitive to overgrazing or are you ok with it being grazed down and supplementing with hay? What type of climate do you live in? These are just questions I asked my self when we moved to a new area and we were trying to decide how many would be too many for us. I hope I was helpful.

[tickranch]

It is a wooded lot and very rocky. We are in Missouri, so we have all four seasons.

I can supplement feed and hay.

I was thinking about dividing it into 3 sections for rotational grazing, each section would be a half acre each.

edit to add: I'm not wanting a huge herd. Just a few dairy goats to provide for our family.

[cjb]

You have plenty of property for a small herd, provided you rotate and supplement.

I agree that you should take a good hard look at the nubians you're purchasing. We have a 1/2 Nube and she is a noisy escape artist. We wouldn't trade her for anything but she is definitely higher maintenance. Nubians are known for being talkers and jumpers so be sure your fence is good! Fainters can't jump nearly as well as most goats so this will be new for you. You could also try mini's - standard goat X pygmy or Nigerian Dwarf or Nigerians themselves. Nice, small goat that gives alot of milk for its size. I'm getting my first ND next month ;-)

Good luck - sounds like fun.

[christij]

I have 2 Nigerian Dwarfs, a BoerX her two kids and a Nubian her two kids on a little over 2 acres divided into 3 sections. Mine is mainly grass pasture with some browse at the fence lines. I am planning on keeping 2 does back this year - so that will give me 2 minis and 4 adults with kids next year and I think that will be pushing it. I also supplement with cut browse/hay/alfalfa pellets/grain for those that have kids or milking.

I love my Nubain but her and her kids are the loudest of the bunch. But I love my milker. If you are looking for a decent family milker already trained and well handled you should check out Ozark Jewels girls - she did have 3 different breeds earlier in the year. I did consider Nigerians as my milkers but their udders/teat size were to small for me.

This year kids were dam raised so they are skittish but as they get older and see me interact with their elders they are coming slowly around.

If you have any pasture land at all in those 2 acres I would soil test so you know what you are working with mineral/health wise with your ground so you can maximze the use of your land. I kept putting this off and now I am regretting it and wish I would of done that as one of my first steps prior to bringing the goats home.