[PooperTrooper]

Actually , im getting 2. both are Nigerian dwarf goats , one is an adult, and the other is one of her doeling. i just got to wait till her buckling is weened off of mama before i can go pick them up. EXCITED!

i still got to go pick up the stuff for them, bedding , food, water and food buckets , hoof trimmer ect. but i got about 2 weeks before i get them. so i have enough time to do so.

i got these goats for dairy. and ive wanted to get goats for a long time, ive tried to research a lot , but you can only research so much i have a whole notebook filled with "study material" for goats... other goat people (mainly the one i ask all my questions to , and the lady im getting the duo off of ) and they tell me "just make sure you dont feed them things they cant have , and learn by experience." .. which i guess is true in some cases..

im currently running around my property (0.9 acre, fully chainlink fenced in.) looking for breaches in the fence , and building up the ground at the gates. (i need to go get a bunch of bricks.) i cleaned out my decently sized , not really used shed, to convert into a small barn (i wont have more then 2 goats most of the time... ya know .. ill have babies like once a year for freshening , but they wont be staying.)


any tips , or advice you would give someone who is new to raising goats ?

 

[geo in mi]

geo

 

[hiddensprings]

Find a good vet and a good mentor in your area. Goats are awesome but it is also a learning experience to keep them healthy. Having someone you can call is always helpful

 

[GTX63]

Farm animals will not mirror your personality, schedule, energy, patience or tolerance levels.
Your husband, kids, relatives can tune out and self exist; goats will be all about you 24/7, and that includes when they break fences, dent car hoods, eat you or your neighbor's garden.
Goats can also have a tendency to die of natural causes, for no reason, and almost immediately, or at least after you paid the vet.

 

[muleskinner2]

The most important thing I always tell new goat owner is this. If your fence will hold water, it might hold a goat.

 

[PooperTrooper]

The most important thing I always tell new goat owner is this. If your fence will hold water, it might hold a goat.

no idea what that means. lady im getting the goats off of , was excited i already have my whole yard fenced in , and told me to make sure they couldnt open the gate latches. i know they can jump pretty high , but she said none of hers where ever interested in doing that. so im hoping it stays the same here. if not , its going to be fun making my fence an extra 2 or 3 feet ... oh boy..

 

[PooperTrooper]

Find a good vet and a good mentor in your area. Goats are awesome but it is also a learning experience to keep them healthy. Having someone you can call is always helpful

the lady who is going to show me how to do goat things has known my family since i was in diapers. so i trust her tuns, im worried mostly about trimming hooves, i dont want to cut too deep . and when i get baby goats from freshening , shes going to have to teach me how to wether a buck and debud them.. and she said she would answer the phone at all times of day or night for me , cause i might have doe struggling with birth or something. shes also a naturalist, and can pretty well point out a problem a goat is having and fix it fast.. she will have vets number for me to call if i need one... but she said she rarely ever needs to with her goats. so fingers crossed i got that all figured out at the moment.

 

[Alice In TX/MO]

The saying about goats points out that they are clever and will escape if possible.

Goats will ruin chain link fencing by rubbing against it. You might want to consider a hot wire on the inside.

https://www.chelseagreen.com/2018/good-fences-and-good-gates-make-good-goats/

 

[muleskinner2]

no idea what that means. lady im getting the goats off of , was excited i already have my whole yard fenced in , and told me to make sure they couldnt open the gate latches. i know they can jump pretty high , but she said none of hers where ever interested in doing that. so im hoping it stays the same here. if not , its going to be fun making my fence an extra 2 or 3 feet ... oh boy..

It means that no matter how good you think your fence is, they will probably get out. They will try to go over, under, or through.

 

[PooperTrooper]

It means that no matter how good you think your fence is, they will probably get out. They will try to go over, under, or through.

i hope they dont get out , i got a busy road in front of my house, i dont need to come home from work to a dead goat in the road... maybe ill have to tie them up while im at work ? kinda like a dog chain ?

 

[[email protected]]

I had a wooded area fenced off with 150' x 150' of chain link fence. a lady came by and gave me two female goats.
It took them less than 10 minutes to find a place to crawl under.
My advice would be : get a cow..

 

[haypoint]

If your plan is dairy, someone should be milking her, otherwise, she'll shut down to serve just her babies.

 

[geo in mi]

Do you like to drink goat milk?

geo

 

[PooperTrooper]

I had a wooded area fenced off with 150' x 150' of chain link fence. a lady came by and gave me two female goats.
It took them less than 10 minutes to find a place to crawl under.
My advice would be : get a cow..

i cant get a cow . lol their far to large to keep in my back yard. im actually in the progress of lining my whole fence bottom with rocks , and then im going to pour concrete on them so they cant crawl under. was going to do that even before i got the goats , for chicken security.

 

[PooperTrooper]

Do you like to drink goat milk?

geo

never had it , ill get use to it. plus im mostly going to use it to cook and bake with. im just ready to have unprocessed milk.

 

[PooperTrooper]

If your plan is dairy, someone should be milking her, otherwise, she'll shut down to serve just her babies.

the lady who has her right now milks them, and when she comes here, ill be milking her.

 

[PooperTrooper]

The saying about goats points out that they are clever and will escape if possible.

Goats will ruin chain link fencing by rubbing against it. You might want to consider a hot wire on the inside.

https://www.chelseagreen.com/2018/good-fences-and-good-gates-make-good-goats/

i heard electric fences dont work on goats ? im going to make the middle of my yard a little playground for them to deter them from going and messing with the fence. will they still ruin it , if they dont have horns ? guess this is what they said by "you will learn by doing"... if they get out .. i really hope they dont damage my neighbors stuff ... they already dislike me for no reason .. dont need to give them a reason ... lol

 

[GTX63]

Every critter is unique. There are billies penned next to a girl in heat that Fort Knox wouldn't hold. I also know of folks who have goats that seem no different than dogs, lazing around in the yard and on the porch.
Plan for the worst and then everything after will be a pleasant surprise.
Credit to you for trying to make this work. Lots of people are buying farm type animals right now and many of them will not be able to handle the long term commitment.

 

[[email protected]]

we got rid of our goats back in the 'late '70's.
I have not had a glass of cow's milk since. I occasionally have a little on my Cheerios, and I cook with it, but I cannot stand that slimy stuff in my throat.
watch what your goats eat. If they get into certain weeds the milk will be undrinkable.

 

[PooperTrooper]

Every critter is unique. There are billies penned next to a girl in heat that Fort Knox wouldn't hold. I also know of folks who have goats that seem no different than dogs, lazing around in the yard and on the porch.
Plan for the worst and then everything after will be a pleasant surprise.
Credit to you for trying to make this work. Lots of people are buying farm type animals right now and many of them will not be able to handle the long term commitment.

ive wanted to start homesteading for a long time, i decided to start now of all times because well it was time. but i been told if i cant handle it , i have a place for them to go to. so thats always nice to know. and i know they would go to a good home that way. im always expecting the worse, that way when its not so bad , its relaxing. im actually waiting for those people getting the chickens and such to decide "this is too much" so i can get a few more layer birds off them lol. with or without this virus, i was going to start getting animals this year. i was going to actually wait on goats till next year cause i know their not cheap animals to get and care for. BUT opportunity came, so i took it. lady is selling them for 1/3rd of the price they normally go for , just because shes getting up there in age and cant handle all the chores for them now. and i do have a bit of extra cash right now due to being laid off, so i can stock up on the medicine and minerals they need for a while till i start getting paychecks from work again.

the two im getting seem pretty chill, so i shouldnt need to worry, but i still do of course...