Another question for y'all

[GBov]

You lot are going to get tired of me right quick lol

My cunning plan calls for three Nigerian doelings but have been reading about raw milk and dont want to wait all that time till the little girls are big enough to produce.

I have three kids (the people variety) and they are a bit timid so would an adult doe be good pet material for them? I KNOW doelings will be almost eaten up with love and affection but dont know about a doe. Do they adapt well to small noisy children?

If I had room and the money (and wasnt going to be trying to fly the plan under the radar) I would just get a doe and three doelings but as it is, am stretching the budget in ways I didnt think possable lol.

[thaiblue12]

Try to find a friendly doe with kids at her side. You can milk the mom in the morning and leave the kids with her all day, then separate them at night.
I wish you were closer I have three pairs like that for sale. But they are moms with bucklings not doelings.

Or you can buy a doe in milk and a couple of doelings. They probably won't get along that great at first.
As long as you find a doe that was well socialized, preferably a bottle baby she will do fine with handling and have the kids be calm around her is a good way to teach them to be gentle and have them feed her animal crackers and give good shoulder scratches and the doe will be won over in no time.

[deineria]

Yes, I'd get a doe with a doeling by her side, if possible.
Our doe was a yearling when we bought her, and she is great with Kids. She didn't come from a farm with kids prior.

[QoTL]

Just a hint-

In my experience, MOST of the grown goats I have bought have taken weeks to be really comfortable here, and that's with mostly just me in the barn. The buck I currently have came from a farm that LOVES their goats, he was the kids' favorite there.. but he still took 2 months to be ok with me! I can pet him now if he has a treat, but he still isn't crazy about me, and I have to do a lot of coaxing- and he got here in December!


The only goat who has come here and been super-duper tame from the start was a very old gal I rescued. She has since died, but is still my goat-y mentor, since she is honestly the kind of goat I want in my herd- very sweet, calm, and friendly, adored the kids.


My point (long winded... sorry is that taming a grown goat, or even just giving it time to adjust, can be pretty unrewarding at first. It is totally understandable that such a smart creature would be miserable and uptight when you bring her home, but from the human side it's a bummer to provide love and not feel like you are getting much back.

If you really want something that will be a good pet, maybe consider that in a different animal than your milker. I'm not saying grown girls can't be good pets- they CAN and DO all the time. But to bring a grown doe home and expect her to be very friendly to complete strangers is asking a lot from them.

[GBov]

Thats good advice Qotl, thanks for it as I can now plan ahead and work around the possable shyness of the milker.

I love having a plan

[kwagner21]

wow. makes me think i really lucked out with my girl. i was the only one handling her, but she took no time at all to adjust here. friendly and sweet from the start.

[billooo2]

I have had some milkers that were shy when I first brought them home, and I have had others that acted as if I were their long lost best friend. I think that it depends on whether or not they were around strangers ......and, in my opinion.......some personalities seem to be influenced by genetics. I have a couple does that will never be "best friend" pets. Most of their daughters tend to be "stand-offish" (is that a real word?).........but one of their daughters has been a real pet right from the beginning, in spite of being dam raised.

[Alice In TX/MO]

You do know that "PLAN" is a four letter word. I suspect you do because of the laughing emoticon.

[GBov]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

You do know that "PLAN" is a four letter word. I suspect you do because of the laughing emoticon.

Yep

Still, a plan gives me the illusion of control and that keeps me going, well, that and lots and lots of tea lol

Well, break over, back to chopping more branches into little bits for the compost pile. Cant wait for the goats, they eat the small branches and give me good stuff for garden. Sounds like a beautiful friendship already :banana02:

[Natural Beauty Farm]

Originally Posted by GBov

You lot are going to get tired of me right quick lol

Naw ask away we are friendly.

My cunning plan calls for three Nigerian doelings but have been reading about raw milk and dont want to wait all that time till the little girls are big enough to produce.

Reading your other posts... your space is small and you will basically dry lot them. Are you prepared to buy high quality roughage for three year round? Do you have the space to store 200 bales of Alfalfa hay? The price changes during the year and some pay $20 a bale in their area. In order to get milk you will need the services of a Buck. He will have to be of a small breed also, so that you do not have kidding problems.

I have three kids (the people variety) and they are a bit timid so would an adult doe be good pet material for them? I KNOW doelings will be almost eaten up with love and affection but dont know about a doe. Do they adapt well to small noisy children?

An adult will do better than a kid with heaps of attention from small children. If children play rough and treat a goat like a puppy then the goat will grow up playing rough and you will not have a good milker.

If I had room and the money (and wasnt going to be trying to fly the plan under the radar) I would just get a doe and three doelings but as it is, am stretching the budget in ways I didnt think possable lol.

Think long and hard about this plan, just because the kids want a goat, does not mean you need one right now. Take a step back and figure out what you want and why you have settled on this breed. Check out feed costs in your area, make a budget of what it is going to cost for each animal over the next year, remember to have an extra few $$ added in for vet visits and meds, wormers, shots, etc.... For most people goats are a hobby, they cost us money. If you are scraping together the cash to purchase them and robbing peter to pay paul then I would put things on hold. It costs more to keep a goat then most get out of it financially. If you can sell milk, then it helps, if you have good stock and a name people know, then it helps, if you feed top shelf alfalfa and keep up to date with parasites so that you have healthy stock, then it helps the bottom line. At this point we hope to break even as top breeders.

Figure this stuff out and then lets talk some more.

[GBov]

NBF, you are right, you are a friendly lot indeed

Now, to answer some of your questions...................

Hay storage is about 20 bales worth with more for pellets.

Yes to buying in all forage and feed, its like buying good soil isnt it? Good feed in = good manure out = great garden soil.

The buck problem is a bit harder but had thought, when time comes, of hiring the services of a buck. Perhaps from where I buy them in the first place.

My kids are too gentle if anything. They cant play with our so called family dog because she is just too rough for them but thats an entirely different topic so I wont start on the dog right now lol But baby chickens need have no fear round my three so I think the goats might just like it here.

I chose this breed not because of size - I chose it when we had two acres - but because of butter fat content. I LIKES rich milk! But when I had everything just about ready I found I couldnt afford to get them because I would have had to import them to Ireland. The breed hasnt made it there yet but now that we have moved to Florida I can get them for cost price instead of cost price plus shipping 3,000 miles. Quite a bit of a savings there.

And why now? Because I suddenly realized that my getting goats was like my having babies...........................If I had waited till my hubby thought we could afford them, we would still be a childless couple. So far we have three kids, three cats, one dog, one snake and a bird and manage to keep it all going. I doubt our world will stop going round if we throw three goats into the mix.

It might, but I think not lol

But this time I have arranged a plan B for if things go too pear shaped. My brother has 10 acres in Georgia so if they have to go, he will take them for us and we can go visit them.

My plan had stalled before then as I didnt want broken hearted children if we had to get rid of the goats but this way it will be one more reason to go see my family. Not quite win win but not too far off it either.

I dont plan to sell the milk but hope to make cheese and and yogurt and have fresh milk for drinking and perhaps butter. I have read you can make butter from Nigerian milk but some first hand info would confirm or deny that.

I know they will cost to keep but they will off set that by enriching our garden, our larder , our health and our lives.

Cant ask more than that from a pet, can you

[Tallabred]

Where are you in Florida? Location makes a hugh difference in hay costs. I am up in Tallahassee - everything is expensive but with 14 horses I get everything in bulk which cuts hay costs in half.

[GBov]

Originally Posted by Tallabred

Where are you in Florida? Location makes a hugh difference in hay costs. I am up in Tallahassee - everything is expensive but with 14 horses I get everything in bulk which cuts hay costs in half.

Volucia county.

Havnt costed hay yet but will next livestock market day. I can start talking to people in the area and finding out where to find what I need BEFORE I need it!

[GBov]

Blast NBF, forgot another reason for getting baby goats................

Tis spring and I feel BROODY!

And that little fuzzy goatling at the market just made it worse, Worse, WORSE!!!

[suzyhomemaker09]

We have full sized and mini Lamancha's...My 11 year old daughter now does the milkings for me ( )
As long as the goats have been properly socialized I see no problem introducing a full grown doe to your collection.