Considering Taking the Leap

[orpington]

Friends, I am <this> close to buying some Alpine goats. A place near here is selling them cheap; I have a barn, and room in my heart.

I figure to buy one 3-year old nanny and one 6-month old doeling, or two doelings. I hope to breed them and raise them for milk for us and meat for the local African immigrant population.

Some things that concern me, as I have never kept goats:

Is it expensive? We don't have hardly any extra money!

Is there lots of routine veterinary care?

Can I trim the hooves myself? I'm not afraid to do it, I just wouldn't want to mess it up!

How much stall room does one goat need?

We have a two-acre fenced yard; will they stay in a yard that size or will they try to get out, just because they are goats?

I am worried about being able to purchase good-quality hay after our drought this year. What do I look for?

How long will it potentially be till we have milk?

How do I know if the goats are disease-free?

Thanks for your help!

[Trey]

Good questions!

Originally Posted by orpington

Is it expensive? We don't have hardly any extra money!
This depends on how much forage/pasture you have for them. If you are going to be milking them the feed bill will go way up.
Is there lots of routine veterinary care?
Some vaccinate, some don't. I would count on worming them at least 4 times a year (more if they are crowded, or if you live in a hot, wet area)
Can I trim the hooves myself? I'm not afraid to do it, I just wouldn't want to mess it up!
Yes, it is pretty easy
How much stall room does one goat need?
They aren't generally 'stalled', but I wouldn't try to keep any more then two does in a 10x10 sleeping area.
We have a two-acre fenced yard; will they stay in a yard that size or will they try to get out, just because they are goats?
If it will hold water it might hold goats. What kind of fence is around the two acres?
I am worried about being able to purchase good-quality hay after our drought this year. What do I look for?
With milking diary goats, look for alfalfa.
How long will it potentially be till we have milk?
Is the doe bred? If not you could probably still get her bred this year, you will have milk in the spring.
How do I know if the goats are disease-free?
Buy from a herd that tests,or have them tested yourself.
Thanks for your help!

They are a lot of fun, and habit forming!

[Ken in Maine]

There's a saying that floats around... "if you can't feed them don't breed them"... goats are wonderful, loving, friendly, habit forming animals. It is very easy to get in over your head and in the end it's the goats that are the losers.

You admit you don't have any "extra" money. Raising goats is like gambling... don't risk any more than you can afford to lose. From the sounds of it you can't afford to lose any. Don't be an impulse buyer. Save your money and buy goats when you have that "extra" financial ability. There is no rush... learn all you can... maybe get your goat fix by volunteering to help someone who owns goats with chores... hoof trimming... barn cleaning... etc.

There is a reason the people near you are selling them as you said 'cheap'. Buy the best animals you can afford and cheap is not a good reason to buy.

My opinion... for the sake of the goats don't do it until you can afford to.

[orpington]

That all sounds like good advice. This large family is seeing their kids go off to school, which is the reason they say they are getting out of the business. I have bought other animals from them over the years and I have been very satisfied.

I will take your advice not to leap in until I am financially ready. I will eventually need to build a new shed for them, as I would like to keep four and have a nice setup for them and for milking and storage. I could keep two goats until that time, and being offered something cheap is very tempting. Reading about all the diseases that you have to look out for makes me feel very wary about that, though.

In the meantime, I can focus my energies on preparation.

I guess I have had an impression of goats as being easy animals to keep, but that idea is rapidly fading as I have read about them. Thank you for your input.

I'd better look before I leap!

Most importantly to me, do goats like Tommy Jarrell or would they prefer Joni Mitchell?

[HazyDay]

Yes you can trim their feet yourself. I am working on a how to video. It will just be posted on my site and I will give tips on how to trim hooves and maybe a tattooing, disbudding, and banding a buckling.

First I always would look at how much money can you spend? If you do keep 2 goats you will need a buck or some one near you with a buck who will stud him out. Hay, grain, mineral, any other supplies find a supplier of all of these. Find a goat vet so you know who to call.
When ever you can spare 10-20 bucks buy some thing for the barn. it may take 2 years of slowly fixing your barn, but when it's ready then you can get goats.

Read all you can. Learn about diseases and how to prevent them.

I will tell you that if you are starting out buy 2 doelings (weaned maybe 3 or 4 months old.) Let them grow till they are yearlings then breed them. It does take along time to get something out of them, but after a year you should know alot about goats. Maybe then you will be ready to breed!

Yes listen to Ken. It can cost alot of money and being 16 years old and having a show herd can cost me alot of money, (I think I have so far paid well over 300.00 in grain his year. Hay I don't know as I get it free from a family member. Supplies have cost me over 150.00 this year. And I have only made $500.00 off milk,cheese,kid sales. So I still have made some but that all if going back to the herd. This spring I hope to make some money, but hey I always buy new supplies so all the money goes back to them!)

Hope it helps. When I get the video made I will tell you.