How many did you start out with?

FoghornLeghorn · #1 02/27/11, 08:30 PM

I was just wondering how many goats everyone started out with and how many you have now. My son is selling his buck and getting 2 bred does instead. Guess I'm kind of wondering what I'm letting myself in for. I know that goats multiply faster than cows....

Alice In TX/MO · #2 02/27/11, 08:38 PM

We started with a young pair. Undetermined breed of minis.

They had one kid. Sold the buck.

Got one Nubian, one Alpine, one LaMancha.

Sold the doe and kid minis.

Things blossomed. Had 21 goats within three years.

I'm down to six does, two bucks, and one buckling that's two weeks old.

Check back in a couple of weeks, and the number will rise. Five of the does are pregnant.

Creamers · #3 02/27/11, 08:44 PM

I bought a Pygmy buck and two does to begin with - have since gotten out of Pygmy goats. I have
all Dairy now.

You might keep the buck since the bred does might have the same sire,
and you might want another line. . .something to consider, anyway.

I have 10 does and bucks and 3 kids that are for sale now, 1 here that is sold and then one of the does is due to kid

LoneStrChic23 · #4 02/27/11, 08:46 PM

I started with two bred mini does. One seems to not be pregnant (she's my mom's, but mom lives with me), but the other had twin bucks.

Bought a pregnant standard alpine, decided to focus on standards instead of minis, so I bought a standard buck (bottle baby). Butchered one of the twin bucks born to the mini, the other will be butchered once I don't need him as a companion to my bottle baby.

So currently, 2 mini does, one mini buck kid, 1 standard doe, 1 standard buck kid.

My ultimate goal is 3 standard does, 1 buck, and one mini doe.

Goat Servant · #5 02/27/11, 08:50 PM

Started out with 4; 3 Boers & a Nubian.
Am now at 10 babies & their 4 mamas, 3 pregos 3 yrlng does, 2 bucks & a wether.
One of the bucks is my only purchase in 5yrs.

CaliannG · #6 02/27/11, 09:26 PM

Two, then 6..sold them...then moved. Got 3, had many...sold them...had 6 and moved with them. The 6 turned into 8, then 9, sold two...then had 12....sold 10....now have 2 that are both preggers.

Ask me again next month.

FoghornLeghorn · #7 02/27/11, 09:50 PM

Lol, so what you are all telling me is that they will multiply quickly and the numbers change constantly and if I/he doesn't keep on top of things we could soon be overrun? Do I have the general idea?

Alice In TX/MO · #8 02/27/11, 10:06 PM

You hit the nail with the hammer.

RedSonja · #9 02/27/11, 10:50 PM

We started with nine - 4 does and 5 bucklings. Lost one doe in the first few weeks to an accident, so that was 8 left. Had 8 for several months until the first buckling (by then wethered) went to freezer camp. Then a month or two later another buckling went to freezer camp. So that was six left. Then bought a buck at the end of December so we can get our 3 does bred. One of our does had triplets when we bought her, one of them had twins and the other was just turning a year old and had never been bred. So... if Viola has another set of triplets, and Oreo has another set of twins, and Little Bit as a first freshener has one or two kids... we could have anywhere from 3 to 7 kids born here end of May/middle of June or so. Bucklings will be sold as bottle babies, doelings may be retained or sold later on.

So yeah, it fluctuates, sometimes rapidly.

-Sonja

Wags · #10 02/28/11, 12:12 AM

I started with three doelings and one adult doe. I got up to 12 does and culled hard last year. Down to five does now, but I think I just agreed to sell one of those so we will be at four does, two bucks and a wether until kidding starts in a few weeks.

delphinium · #11 02/28/11, 01:04 AM

Started with two bred does; one had twin bucklings; the other died during an emergency c-section; dead twins. Was given three open, maiden does - had no intention of breeding them ... a two month old still nursing buckling had other ideas! Anyway, several years later, I now have eight does (three bred); three bucks; and four wethers. If all goes well the numbers will change in April, May and June.

goatkid · #12 02/28/11, 03:13 AM

I started out with two doelings. A month later, I got another doeling and then several more kids and one adult Nubian before the year was out. I worked on a goat dairy at the time and was paid in part in goats. I now have 26 adult goats, 16 babies with more babies to come. I always sell the herd down to about 25 before we start kidding again.

julieq · #13 02/28/11, 05:13 AM

We started out about twelve years ago with ND's, two doelings and a buckling. We added Nubians later on, then Alpines, then went back to just ND's. We've been up to over twenty at times, but now just have ten adult ND's (plus kids due this year of course).

horsepoor21 · #14 02/28/11, 05:17 AM

We started out with three does in milk ,and one doeling . We now have 9 goats ....plus getting 6 more (and 4 of those are pregnant and due in March) in a week . LOL I admit it ,I'm addicted !

Backfourty,MI. · #15 02/28/11, 06:40 AM

Bought a buck to start with, we really knew nothing about goats but dh wanted 1 for a pet! Right! Well wwe had to get a female, they had a doeling. When the 2 females became pregnant the following fall since we kept them all together we sold the buck. They were pygmies to start with.
Then we decided to get Nigerians so we sold the female pygmies & bought 2 nigerian does' & then a nigerian buckling.
We nowe have 8 goats, 4 Nigerians, 3 mini nubians & 1 standard nubian. 5 are bred to kid this spring & 3 are bucks.
We are not planning on keeping any babies this spring which is so hard because I love them all but 8 is enough & actually may sell 1 of my bucks this year too.

mabeane · #16 02/28/11, 08:12 AM

We started with 5 ND...a baby wether, a wether, a horned buck and two does..kept the does and added two baby does (16 weeks old), added another milker and a dehorned buck. Now we have 5 does and a buck. Three are due to kid in 20 days...more to come. This is all in less than a year!

Natural Beauty Farm · #17 02/28/11, 10:08 AM

Started with two potato chips, then two became 8, which became 26, now three years later we have 93, with 42 left to kid.

coso · #18 02/28/11, 10:13 AM

I started off with two does and two doelings, seven years ago I have been up to thirty some and down to none . I have seven right now. Decided I may as well stay in because I'm addicted. LOL Yeah, it's a pain to get up every morning before work and milk, feed kids, etc.. but If I don't have them I miss them.

pookshollow · #19 02/28/11, 10:40 AM

Mwahahahaha! I started six years ago with two Nigerian Dwarf does. I now have, as of Saturday night, thirty-nine! And that was just the first kidding of the season.

I now have Saanens, Nigerian Dwarfs, Boers, and a few crossbreds.

Slugmar · #20 02/28/11, 10:44 AM

my mom and dad started out with 4 does and 1 buck that shot up tp 20 something, then they got out and ate a neighbor peach tree do they sold all but the originals that was three years ago. I moved bsck to the small ranch into the back house with my wife I bought 9 fullblood and 7 mixes and on my off days id get extra work and used that cash to buy more so now I have 35 all of the first timers and now this weekend I just picked up 29 more so im up to 64, 2 bucks and 6 bucklings. Oh and im going to start kidding here soon also so that number will go up.