A few questions about goats...

Hi! I really want goats, but for reasons unknown, my dad just is not convinced. We are zoned for goats. I've read dozens of books and none answer these questions.
1.) If I got a bottle baby and I bond with her, could I just keep one? I'm homeschooled so I'm home most the time.
2.) If I'm not able to keep just one doe, could I keep a doe and a buck together outside of the rut? I'm prepared to build a separate pen and run for the buck. And yes, I have been around bucks in the rut. They are amusing.
3.) I own a black lab (6 years old) and he's been raised with chickens and toddlers from birth, would he be good with the goats? We've never had him mess with anything, the duck sleeps next to him.
4.) I'd have to buy them myself, could I build like a small lean-to type shed out of pallets? I could also expand off of my chicken coop.
5.) If a goat was raised with chickens/ducks, would she be gentle with them?
Any comments/concerns and answers are welcome!
-Liv
PS I'd be getting Nigerian, Nigerian X Nubian, or Saanan X Nigerian.
Thank you ahead of time!

Anyone
-Liv

I had goats for a short time, they sort of drove me crazy. I kept three weathers together and all they did was "fight" then I would separate them and they would bawl nonstop to be back together. If you get one goat prepare to be its "heard" they seem to need lots of attention and it will look to you for it. I would think that a friendly dog would be a good companion for a goat. The other thing I would caution about a buck is that they will start to stink. As far as a shelter, don't get to worried, they get an extremely thick layer of cashmere in the winter. The cold doesn't bother them at all.

@waddles99 I would keep the buck for breeding. I probably will get either a pair or two does and a buck. @ Eric 2016 my first thought was my dog could be the companion.

What if I got a bottle baby, and when she's about 5-6 months or so, I bought a bottle baby male, so that both will be bonded to me, but will be a herd? The buck odor doesn't bother me
-Liv

I'd think that should work well. I sold my goats and got a potbelly pig, turned out to be a great move for me. Others have great luck with goats.

Ok! Great! Thank you so much! I was looking into potbelly pigs but we aren't zoned for them
-Liv

Just curious, why are you wanting to get into breeding? Are you looking to milk your goats? I would suggest AI over keeping a buck. It isn't worth it to keep a buck just for a couple goats.

Hello! I tend to agree with lots of things that @waddles99 said, but let me add some things.

Like waddles said, it would probably work out best if you had two goats. Yes, a dog could be a companion, but goats are very active and jump around a lot....needless to say a goat could possibly injure a dog playing, while two goats playing know what I like to call "the goat ways" and would most likely not injure each other. Also dog related; we have three dogs that get along fine with our goats, proper training is needed when you get the goats though. We've experienced that the dogs will test their boundaries with the goats when you first get them. The dogs might try to bite the goats ears, legs, etc., a simple "no" should work, but if the testing continues a harsher punishment might be needed. Honestly, it sounds like your dog would be fine with the goats if he's that good with the poultry.

I know you plan on breeding, but honestly I would not get a buck. Instead, when you want your goats to be bred, take them somewhere where they have a buck and would allow you to breed them. Bucks can be dangerous during rut, will try to take over you, and will be very hard on fences. And if a buck is really intent on his ladies, he'll most likely find a way to escape. But, if you're willing to take the risk with a buck, you might as well try it.

You've been taking about bottle feeding the goats, so they will bond with you......(correct me if I'm wrong here ) Bottle feeding is a lot of work and time. And trust me, if you don't bottle feed the goat, it'll still bond with you and think of you as part of the herd. We got our goats at three months old, they had been raised with Momma for all that time and yes, were a bit skittish. However, they got fed two times a day on grain at our house (a lot less work than bottle feeding) and got spent lots of time with each day. They follow me everywhere I go now.

And one last comment, I'm not sure if your interested in showing or not, but if you are, then a cross is probably not the way to go, a purebred would be. If you're not interested in showing though, a cross is perfectly fine.

Hope this helps and if you have any more questions/concerns, ask away!

henny1129