Worth the cost?

[Skykomish]

I've been mulling over whether or not to get into goats. Right now I have rabbits & chickens and am fishing. I'm going to be feeding my dogs on RAW as soon as I have enough meat accumulated so that I won't run out. I have 5 huskies- 4 Alaskans and 1 Siberian, and am expecting puppies (which we are planning to keep 2) and a Mini Poodle. So I have a lot of mouths to feed. I have an area that was used for goats before I bought this house but it seems on the small side to me. It has a "double" inside stall (two box stalls combined into one) and the outdoor area that is goat-fenced is about 30 ft long by 20 ft wide with an additional sectioned off area about half that size. There is also another area that big next to it but the fence is really short and I'm using the inside for my rabbits. Is this area big enough to do meat goats? Or do I need to fence off a larger area? I do have 5 acres but its only fenced with wire (not the barbed kind). I do not have a horse trailer or truck so I'd have to pay someone to transport them for me. There are Boers coming to Wy but I have no idea on the price. There are Boers about an hour away for $250-$350 a piece. I've seen Nubians for about $30-$50. So I guess, basically, how much is this all going to cost? How many lbs of meat am I going to get out of it per year? It would have to equate to less than $2 per lb or I may as well buy ground beef from wal mart. Thanks!

[steff bugielski]

I don't know much about boers but if you plan on feeding them grain it will be cheaper, not better meat at walmart. I would think you would get around 30lbs meat from a goat around 125-150lbs. If they are to browse all day with no additional feed you would need a few acres of brush and such.
I have dairy goats, we sell raw milk. I spend at minimum $750 per year per goat. I get about 1 gallon a day per goat 9 months at of the year.

[Freeholder]

For your small place, I would suggest getting Kinders instead of Boers. They are a dual-purpose breed, with excellent, rich milk if you wanted to milk one. They are prolific -- triplets and quads are pretty much the norm, and Kinder does have had -- and raised -- as many as seven kids! The kids are fast-growing, with a high dress-out percentage -- 60% or better. If you breed for early kidding (Jan./Feb.) and butcher in late October, your kids should weigh sixty to eighty pounds (possibly more if well-fed), and would give you 36-50 lbs. of meat. They don't need grain -- they'll just get fat if you give them grain (other than possibly a heavy-milking doe).

If you can't find any Kinders locally, get a couple of decent Nubians -- get the best you can afford, paying attention to udder quality if you plan to milk your Kinders at all. And pick up a couple of Pygmy bucks to breed to the Nubians. Some selection here will also be beneficial -- larger (oversized) bucks will give you slightly larger Kinders. Look for bucks whose female relatives are prolific and good mothers, raising all their kids without help.

Kathleen

[CountryHaven]

Truthfully with the small space you have, I don't think you will be able to provide the amount of meat you're hoping for to feed so many large dogs. I'd go with a feeder calf if you REALLY wanted to do that. You could get buy with that little space, although it would mean a LOT of hay and grain so probably wouldn't be cost effective either. If you had a lot of grazing land and could grass feed a large herd of goats it would do the job great, but depending on where you are, it could also mean hay feeding up to half the year anyway for the breeding stock which could get really costly.

[Ernie]

That's a lot of dogs. I don't think you're going to come out ahead financially with goats. I think you're better off with those rabbits.

[celticfarmgal]

If you are just buying goats to breed and feed as raw to dogs then why not just get the Sale barn Goats they are a heck of alot cheaper !! I have seen healthy looking goats sell for as little as $5 here most are boer crosses

[fishhead]

I think I would check on the sales barns and local farmers. I'd get a large chest freezer for times of plenty and forget about raising meat.

Your post doesn't say where you are but in MN the state will sell you roadkilled deer for $5 and you could fill a freezer pretty fast.

[Ernie]

At the most I'd buy whatever wethered goats and lambs were going for cheap at that year's sale barn then put them out on pasture all year and butcher in the fall before the snow comes.

[sgian]

With sale auction stuff you can get a lot of diseased goats, and feeding the meat raw to dogs can transmit some diseases and parasites to the dogs. Plus once the dogs get a taste of the meat they may decide not to wait and start going after the goats themselves. Dogs can get through fences better than goats since dogs are smarter and can also dig, but once a goat sees how to get through the fence they will be going through also.

I'd make a larger pasture for the goats if you get them, but $100 for 330' of 4' high woven field fence plus all the t-stakes you'll need might not make it cost effective.

[Skykomish]

I'm in Wyoming. Never heard of anyone selling roadkilled deer. I was wondering about that actually. Supposedly if you freeze them for a month it kills any parasites they might have. I also don't know what a "sale barn" is? If you could point me towards the deer and sale barns that would be wonderful!

[fishhead]

Contact the fish and game and your highway dept. Our MN deer carry a parasite that is fatal to dogs if they eat uncooked venison. I don't know if freezing kills it. Your fish and game dept should be able to answer that one.

[sgian]

You'll probably have to ask around locally if anyone knows of sale auctions for livestock. Around here, every county has its own "sale barn" auction once a week, but that might not be the case elsewhere.