What means burbs??? :umno: Wow, that is so interesting...

 

Suburbs. City. Neighborhood.

Yup, she got divorced, I think.

 

It's too bad she was divorced. I really don't like the site though. I think the info is not the best.

 

Hugh. Who would'da thunk it?

 

It's a great site for newbies, but I've moved to others for more current info.

 

I take it he got custody of the goats?


(And yes, DH and I joke about who gets the critters if we should divorce! We easily agree on the kids, but lawyers will buy boats and new houses with the money we'll spend fighting over the critters!)

 

I don't know if he has goats now. No info.

She got the herb business.

 

Wow, how strange!

 

I remember when she sold out of goats - I didn't think it was 2008 though, that seems SO long ago!

Still great information generally, especially with the kidding presentation diagrams. Really helpful for newbies to picture how the kid is coming before kidding season.

 

I agree with Alice, it's good info for folks just starting out with goats. Alot of general information. There are other sites with alot more current stuff though & everyone here is always so good with information when needed as well so if someone needs a website there's surely someone here that can direct them to the right place.

Too bad they got divorced & had to sell all their goats though.

 

Divorce is a common reason for getting out of goats.

Also goats are a common reason for getting divorced.

I talked to a lady I sold some goats to a while back and she said she was selling them because her husband was not helping her like he should.

I had to wonder how much he was on board with the original purchase.

I think you have to be really carful when you have goats, and if you are the one who originally wanted them - or with farming in general - that the person who wants them does the most of the work. Resentment can build up easy.

Also it's not that uncommon for somebody who wrote a book, or has a website to go out of goats. Remember Jerry Belanger the dude who started Countryside magazine as well as Dairy Goat Guide and wrote a goat book got out of goats and actually sold his land off to a quarry I think, ----ing off his neighbors who wanted to keep it rural.

It's easy to be enthusiastic when somebody else is doing a lot of the grunt work or when it's new. Harder to maintain when it's routine and you are doing 90% of the work.

Would make a good topic for this forum- what the average length of time people have been milking goats here. Is it possible to post a poll?

 

I think the average goat person has goats for 3-5 years. And that is why I sell very few goats for pets, because their life expectancy is about 12 years as non-working pets that are well cared for... the vast majority of owners are not the lifelong owner of the goat.

I've been milking for the past... 4 years or so? But I've owned goats the past 10. Until this year (moved an hr north to attend MSU) I've been the sole person doing chores and am in fact the person who started our farm. My dad was nice enough to help out while I"m away - and I relieve him every weekend so he can relax from chores. I also do all the stuff he doesn't know how to do on the weekends.

 

Life isn't for the timid, sometimes things happen that can't be avoided, getting through life seems to be mostly about learning how to adjust to new realities.

The site is mostly good for newbies and they have some great pictures on there, and it's all in one place. The dehorning pics and the birthing pics are really helpful.

 

I think the average goat person has goats for 3-5 years. And that is why I sell very few goats for pets, because their life expectancy is about 12 years as non-working pets that are well cared for... the vast majority of owners are not the lifelong owner of the goat.

I've been milking for the past... 4 years or so? But I've owned goats the past 10. Until this year (moved an hr north to attend MSU) I've been the sole person doing chores and am in fact the person who started our farm.

Hat's off to you:rock:

Yeah after 23 years I've concluded eating extra bucks or selling them for meat is way more humane than selling for pets.

 

I have tried doing the 'pet home' thing,and in the end had to see one of my first, loving does die a terrible preventable death. freezer camp is much better.

I've had goats for almost 7 years now, milking the whole time. and no plans to stop yet. I have learned tho. that 4 is plenty for me to care for/milk, and will just allow them to drop in numbers naturally since my kids (human) are growing up and will fly the coop by then too.

 

I have tried doing the 'pet home' thing,and in the end had to see one of my first, loving does die a terrible preventable death. freezer camp is much better.

I've had goats for almost 7 years now, milking the whole time. and no plans to stop yet. I have learned tho. that 4 is plenty for me to care for/milk, and will just allow them to drop in numbers naturally since my kids (human) are growing up and will fly the coop by then too.

Chewie,

I think 4 is about the ideal number for non commerical person.

 

I've had goats for four years, and I'm gradually learning what a good number is for us, too. Two bucks (because we have two sizes of does.) I'd like to keep the doe number down to four, but that's a challenge. Right now, I'm milking three, have one retired doe who is still with us, and three doelings that I need to make a decision about.

 

It was actually my hubby's idea to get goats on our farm. I was the horse person. So, he said we should try them, I was not sold and hadn't realized that we had finished "discussing" the possibility. Anyways, he next tells me that he has ordered 25 pregnant boer goats and a registered buck. Oh my! Then he left for Iraq. So, there I was, kids dropping every where and 100% clueless. Not a good place to be. That was in 2005. I dug in and got help from people with more experience then me, attend an awesome class that the University of TN extension offers and have learned a whole lot. So, fast forward...I do not have any boer goats now. They were not profitable to our farm and honestly, I did not care for them. I got one Nubian for Christmas in 2009 and fell head over heels in love. Since I am the primary care-giver/farm hand, I have only have Nubians now; oh and 1 little nigerian dwarf that arrived this year. I have 8 does and 1 Nubian buck and am very, very happy. I love milking and love my girls. I make goat's milk soap, lotion, and soon Goat's Milk Fudge that is sold online, at Farmer's Markets, and the occasional craft fair. Milking is hard work and not for everyone, but I love it....hubby likes the cheese. lol

 

It's a great site for newbies, but I've moved to others for more current info.

Yep -

 

I don't like the herbal medicine only thing for goats. I really think wormers are better than herbs, etc. That's my main complaint about the site. I guess I just always trusted my vet more than a stranger on the web who was trying to sell me her herbs and potions.

I do like the pics though.
It is sad that she divorced. There are just too many broken marriages in this society.

 

A pal of mine is friends with that lady and has given me some of her herbal stuff which is good.

There's a limit to what herbal medicine can do. I know for sure almost all herbal wormers are pretty ineffective.

 

kind of a double half post thing

 

We've had goats since 2006. I really love the routine of milking. I don't think we will ever have more than 4 to 6 does. Fiasco Farm has good info for newbies. I don't care for the herbal only view, but that is for the reader to determine if that is for them or not.

 

Fir Meadow uses herbal only. A person would be hard pressed to find a hardier, healthier, more championship-winning herd of goats. I don't know why it's considered "funny" that someone would continue to impart their vast knowledge via a website simply because they sold the goats. While the owners of FF were more inclined to use herbal, it certainly isn't a "herbal only" view as they give dosage recommendations for all chemical alternatives, meaning at some point, they probably used them too. I would surely point someone to FF's website before I recommended this board. I am chuckling over the assertion that there is "more current" info. There are lots of ways to successfully raise goats.

 

Fiasco farm is turning the website into a book or writing a goat book as well. I have them
"liked" on FB and they were asking for recommendations on picking a name.