New Goat Owner Newbie

[enggass]

Ok. Here I go. I want to get some goats in the next year or so. No breeding at first. Cold climate - Maine (coast). Possibly for meat - maybe just pets/land clearers... Low maintenance, perhaps smaller breed. Friendly. Have been looking at Nubian Pygmy(I think that's the name) - Boer maybe? I really like the look of the Cashmere and there is a breeder a couple of hours away, although they are probably not low maintenance with having to comb/sheer etc. Do all goats need their hooves trimmed? Looking for Recommendations. At this point I know pretty much nothing.
Thanks,
Steve

[Alice In TX/MO]

Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf crosses (both milk breeds) are called Mini Nubians. A pygmy goat is a meat goat.

All goats need hoof trimming.

No breeding? Get wethers. (neutered males)

Boers are LARGE meat goats.

Do you want to have milk?

It will be easier to advise when you have a goal figured out.

[enggass]

I know that to begin I will only want meat goats. Not interested in breeding - at least in the beginning. What are some of the breeds I should look at in regards to meat?

[Alice In TX/MO]

So, you want to buy small ones and grow them to butchering size? Most of the folks who want meat goats get a couple of females and a male and grow their own. Your ban on breeding is a bit confusing.

Boers are the primary meat goat, but you can butcher ANY goat for meat.

[enggass]

Ok. Sorry. Let me clarify... I do not want goat milk for use or consumption. I also do not want to be needing to milk the goats. That is what I am trying to stay away from. I understand I could get a female and a male to produce baby goats that I could grow out to meat - that may be an option. It is not so much breeding I don't want, but the milking. Like I said, I am very new to this and am looking for some direction. What breeds might you recommend for this scenario? Average size.

Gestation for a goat is @ 5 months, correct? How long would newborns milk if weened naturally?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Boer kids nurse for about 10 to 12 weeks, if I understand their norms.

Seriously, if you just want some meat on the hoof, go to the local auction and watch. See what is coming through the ring. There's no reason to get purebred, pedigreed *anything* if all you want is brush clearing and meat.

There are a lot of adequate quality cross bred (mutt) goats that go through the auction ring. Just keep in mind that they may carry some diseases that you wouldn't want to introduce to your farm if you think you'll want milk goats later.

Boers and Boer cross are your basic meat goat.
http://www.boergoats.com/clean/coverpage.php

Spanish goats are the generic "brush goat."
http://www.spanishgoats.org/

Gestation is five months. All goats need basic care, supplemental minerals, hoof trimming, deworming, clean water, shelter, supplemental feed in winter, etc. NONE of them should be just turned out and expected to survive.

[bluetogreens]

newborns will ween naturaly anywhere from 8 weeks to 6 months depending on you. Unless you milk a goat it wills top producing once its kids are off, just like other mammals. (i.e. humans)

we are very new to goats only having ours 7 months now, and i can now second the the advice given to us my soooo many. You can read until your blue in the face, but you really do best learning "trial by fire".

For a low maintenance, yet healthy and meaty goat that does well with their kids I would almost suggest KIKO's ( although pure kiko stock is expensive). good meat good parasite resistance good weather tolerance from what i have read. If you do no feel like fencing for big goats pygmies/fainting goats/nigerian dwarfs are great breeds, with fainting goats and pygmies being the meat and nigerian being the dairy side although most breeders have breed the dairy out of Nigies as they are popular as pet stock.


Any goats ( you need at least 2 you will wind up with at least 4) will do a good job of "brush" control, but if you want a manicured lawn go for sheep.

oh and depending on the height of the brush you want them to clear, dwarf goats will keep the bottom 3 foot clear, full size will keep up to about 5-6 feet clear

[wintrrwolf]

Hmm a pygmy or pygmy cross sounds good, you could breed pygmy /cashmere if you want the fiber but if you just want a small-average meat goat I would do pygmies. They are very hardy and stocky. Good pygmy size is close to ND. OR you might consider Kiko, I would stay away from Boer they are big and not as resistant.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Kikos are not easy to locate. Here's a link to their registry. http://www.kikogoats.com/

[Alice In TX/MO]

Do you have fencing in place already? If so, what kind? Remember the phrase, "If it won't hold smoke, it won't hold a goat." There is MUCH truth in that. The small breed goats are notorious escape artists. ALL goats are intelligent and seek the weak spots in fencing.

[enggass]

No. No fencing yet. Still in the research phase. I understand when people say trial by fire, but I'm the type that needs at least the necessary info to feel comfortable before acting. One common theme I have seen is that the fencing needs to be top-notch! Thanks!

[Pony]

Ah, enggass, you've come to the dark side. Here: have a cookie.

IIRC, your primary reason behind wanting goats is to clear scrub land, right? So you could use just about any scrub goat (as long as it's healthy) to clear the land. If you want to have them for meat, you could still use the "mutt" types. You don't have to milk a meat goat. Heck, you don't have to milk dairy goats if you don't want to (but why wouldn't you? They are so lovely!)

ANYway, glad to see you here in Goat Land.

[enggass]

Yes. One reason is to help me clear some land, but I would also like to possibly get more from them such as meat. Delicious cookie ;-)
ETA: What do you mean by 'scrub' goat? A specific breed(s) type?

[bluetogreens]

scrub goat, mutt, sale barn fodder all equals... My "dairy" goats are alpine/nubian mix and whereas i will be bringing better genetics into the herd next breeding season, we love our "mutts"

[Alice In TX/MO]

Goooooooaaaaats. Gggggoooooaaaaats. You need gooooooooaaaaatttttsssss.

[enggass]

[Suzyq2u]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Goooooooaaaaats. Gggggoooooaaaaats. You need gooooooooaaaaatttttsssss.

[FrogTacos]

If you don't want to breed them and want them for brush, then possibly eating, I would look for freshly weaned wethers (castrated males) right around when all the green starts growing in your area - let them eat it until it quits growing, then slaughter them. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Will your land support this? That will depend on whats growing. Grass, nope, like said before, get sheep. The best way I can explain it, if you don't want to walk through it, your goats want to eat it. This includes blackberry brambles, rose bushes, poison ivy/oak, honeysuckle, your perfectly manicured bushes, etc.

Your "Spring to Slaughter" herd - if there is enough stuff for them to graze on, will require the least amount of financial input on your part. You might not have to give additional feed - if they start looking a little skinny, feed them, if they are semi to plump, don't. (That will also depend in part on the type you get)

Assuming you are only going to have them on the hoof for 6 to 7 months, you would want to have a deworming program, too many variables to consider but I would guess they would need it 3 times during that period. 1)Right after you buy them 2)At approx the halfway mark 3)Before slaughter (different wormers require different leave-off times) The good news is, since you aren't running a breeding operation and would likely be replacing your entire stock annually, Valbazen is the way I would go - it kills most of what you would probably have and isn't expensive.

Hoof care will also depend on a variety of factors. Some goats require it more often than others and you just cant tell until you have them. You probably wouldn't need to to it more than once a month, if that often - again, will depend on the individual goat, and environmental factors. Ive had my buck for almost 5 months now and only gotten ahold of his twice. Both times he just got a minor trim.

I highly recommend Boer goats (I'm partial to them) - they aren't huge at weaning, and if you feel like they are getting too big to handle, just slaughter them.

Anyway, that certainly isnt all encompassing, but its a few things to keep in mind before you make the plunge.

[nehimama]

You've come to the right place; we're ALL Goat Enablers!

[wintrrwolf]

yeah you might want to stick to wethers first, since they are pretty much good for browsing and then eating...all goats should come with a warning label "my goat antics will make you laugh and you will fall in love with me" good luck