INFO ON GOATS? I NEED HELP WITH THIS PROJECT...

[Nathan Sampson]

4H is such a great program what does you mom have against it.

 

[LydiaB]

CAE can shorten their lifespan if they have it, but others have no symptoms. There is a ton of information on it if you do a quick search.
Johnes causes thickening of the intestine walls and causes death by starvation.
Brucellosis cause miscarriage, however it is not common in the US. It is best to test for it just to be sure, though.
CL causes "cheesy" absesses and when they burst they spread to other animals and humans.
CAE is the easiest to handle, you just need to feed the babies pasteurized milk.
I am homeschooled and I used to be in 4-H. We stopped because it took too much time. We got goats after we quit, so I have never shown them. I personally do not show because of the disease risk. However, some people who are concerned about diseases do show. I would reccomend The Accessible Pet, Equine and Livestock Herbal by Kat Drovdahl. She shows her goats and has a disease free herd. It has lots of good goat care information. I recently decided to register my goats, so I do not have purebred stock. I would recomend becoming and ADGA member if you want to have show stock. It is $10 for a Junior membership. They send you a directory of all the other members and it may help you find some goats.
I think you should be able to afford to take care of goats if you are willing to work hard. I am mostly paying for my goats and we have 8. Mom and Dad pay for the grain since they get milk from them, but I am paying for all the hay, Kelp and herbs. I didn't have to pay for any of the fencing or pens though. How much you spend depends on where you live, hay prices vary a lot and they need different shelters in different areas.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Alrighty, that's good to know. I have some new questions:

1) Can 2 Nubian does live in a 50' by 50' ft pen made of cattle pannels?

2) Can they live primarily on grass in the summer and eat hay and grain in the winter?

3) Can they live in a converted metal shed?

4) Are stalls an absolute necessity?

5) Do goats get along with chickens?

6) Where should I buy my Nubians, and how much will they cost from the specified place?

 

[LydiaB]

Alrighty, that's good to know. I have some new questions:

1) Can 2 Nubian does live in a 50' by 50' ft pen made of cattle pannels?
Not as their sole shelter. If you want to feed them hay all year you could have that as their outdoor shelter. I would reccomend Red Brand Sheep/Goat fence. I believe it is cheaper than cattle panels. I prefer woven wire over welded wire. Goats seperate welds. If you use cattle panels you could make a round pen to give more room with less fence.

2) Can they live primarily on grass in the summer and eat hay and grain in the winter?
They need grain all year round if you milk them/want more milk. Whether or not they need hay depends on how much grass they have. You would need an acre or more if you don't want to feed hay in the summer.
3) Can they live in a converted metal shed?
Yes. I have my bucks in a metal shed. You may need a front wall if it doesn't have one, depends on your climate.
4) Are stalls an absolute necessity?
Depends on temperment. For the safety of the kids it is best for them and their mom to be seperated for a couple of days after they are born and a couple of weeks at night. Then the kids need to be seperated for 12 hours if you want milk.
5) Do goats get along with chickens?
Yes. However, you won't for long. They make a mess of the milk stand and they waste hay by scratching at it and pooping on it. I now have a great dislike for chickens in shared space. It is not sanitary. ( I also hate chickens in the garden. They are destructive.)

6) Where should I buy my Nubians, and how much will they cost from the specified place?
Depends on where you live. I would reccomend Kristie at Land of Havilah, but she might be far away from you. Buy them from someone who tests their goats for the diseases I mentioned and has good milking lines. Who that is depends on what part of the US you are in. Baa-Si farms is in Iron ,MN and I would reccomend them if you are in that area. I think these places cost $250 for a doeling. Barb Halazon is in the UP and I would reccomend her as well. I believe she still has some doelings for sale. They are $250 each. I got some goats from her.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Thank you, LydiaB. I live in the state of Oklahoma. Do you know any good goat breeders out here?

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Also, Land of Havilah looks amazing. I would buy from them, but they are too far away. :-(

 

[LydiaB]

Go here and look. http://adga.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=category&id=19:lnkmembersites&Itemid=48. You will need to click through the OK breeders to find ones with Nubians. If they don't say that they test you can email them to find out if they do or are willing to. I don't know of anyone in OK, but I am sure there are some good ones. I will ask on the LOH FB group.

 

[Skipspin]

As far as 4H, it really is a good idea, especially if you can find another group with several members that have goats. If you want to show many shows require that you are in 4H or FFA. You don't have to be in a group that has anything to do with goats, though, for that requirement. Age is the only requirement for 4H, it's 8- 18 (or graduated high school.)

I home school my daughter and 4H isn't a big time commitment unless your group is unusually active. Most meet once a month, but may have some other things here and there when it's close to show time, etc. You can get scholerships through 4H, and our club doesn't charge any dues. Some do, but it's usually very minimal. No one in our 4H club does goats, BUT we sometimes do things with some other families that are in another 4H club out of our county, but not far.

When you are "goat shopping" ask the breeder about local goat clubs, 4Hers that have goats, etc. They are probably your best source of info since it can be very hard to find out online, etc. Also, go to your local,/ county and/or state fairs. Talk to the dairy goat people and ask them how they got started, where they bought their goats, what they would do different, etc. We did that last year before we bought a goat and it was very informative.

 

[LydiaB]

Here are 3 Nubian goat breeders in Missouri. http://www.allnaturalsimplelife.blogspot.com/ http://www.grannysbest.blogspot.com/ http://www.legacyconnemaras.com/GOATS1.html
You will have to contact them to find out where they are.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

I like the "granny's best" kidding barn. That was a good setup.