Any goat people mind a brain pick?

[codymax2]

What I want- Goats for milk and meat

What I have- 2 acres cleared 7 acres partially wooded & a 1000sqft barn w/no fencing

Questions- Which breed would you suggest?

Fencing ideas

Feed per goat, grain, hay per day.

And a good all around book to buy!!!?

 

[Glenmar]

If you start out with some dairy goats from good milking bloodlines, you could breed them to some
Boer bucks and eat the kids. Then you have milk and meat. Thats my only suggestion. I am new to
goats too.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I am crossing Nubians and Kikos. Kikos are hardy, worm resistant, less foot care, great mothers. Compliment Nubians quite well. Storey's meat or milk goat books are good. I feed my adult goats two dog food scoops of pelleted feed daily and hay, plus minerals. I had 100 goats on ten acres, it was a bit much, now I am down to about 15 and they can't keep up with the pastures. But chickens eat less;-)

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
that's a good suggestion.

we have LaManchas, they're easy, frendly, calm, excellent milkers with mild flavored non-goaty milk. good mothers, easy kidders, and fairly prolific (we get twins and tripplets). there are other excellent breeds as well, I've got a Kinder, she's pretty nice too but not as big a producer. if you get many replies on this, you'll probably get just as many breed recomendations

depends on your primary purpose... more milk, more meat, larger litters of kids (some do 5's and 6's), more parasite resistance, more docile... there's a wide variety of traits to choose from.

we are currently shopping for a large frame heavy boer to be a terminal sire, boer's are slow growing but meatier than dairy goats. crossing a boer buck on dairy does gives faster growing meatier kids that grow considerably faster on the generous amount of milk the dairy moms make. if you keep or rent a dairy buck you can breed your top milk producing does in hopes of getting more top producing dairy does. I won't keep any boer cross does for my diary flock, the boers are not outstanding milk producers.

I'm not a fan of the mini goats, although they can be adorable - lower milk production, slower growth rates and smaller carcas size, and difficulties with kidding in many breeds.

you will need fencing. goat resistant fencing. maybe with an electrical wire as well. square grid no-climb is best, maybe with a hot wire on the top. goats are rubbery and can fit through spaces you wouldn't think they could. they'll climb stuff and use it as a springboard for getting over fences and on to the barn or house roof. or your car. fencing that isn't tight will invite them to crawl under or bend it over and climb or jump out. once one learns how to escape, that one will teach the rest.

goats will clear your wooded area - they eat a wide range of things but are especially fond of woody weeds, trees, shrubs, and anything ornamental you've planted in your yard and are particularly fond of... which is why you need goat proof fencing. if you want to use them for clearing, fence a smaller area and keep them in it until they've really cleared out what you want gone, then move them to another area. if you give them a large area to roam, they'll go through and pick out the tastiest stuff, and it'll take a lot longer, if ever, to get it really cleared. goats will also kill large trees by barking them, so you'll want to watch what they're finding tasty and move them accordingly. some goats are clever and athletic enough to get up IN the trees, so they might do a better job than you expect! mine don't actually tree climb, but they will stand on their hind legs and work together to snag and pull down branches you wouldn't think they could reach.

you do not need a big barn space, but do need enough room for them to get out of the weather. ours particularly detest rain, but don't seem to mind snow. they spend more time in the shade and under the shelter than our sheep do.

you didn't say where you are, but in many areas parasites are a major issue, so you will want to learn about that. in CA, we wormed once, maybe twice a year. in MO we watch carefully for signs of worms (pale inner eyelids, bloat, appetite changes, body condition loss) and I'm buying equipment so I can do my own fecal counts for parsite eggs. we've averaged worming once a quarter so far, but you can loose goats fast if you don't pay very close attention. depending on the terain, you might need to do some hoof trimming... ours are on all soft ground and we have to trim. when they're out on rocky or sandy ground, you may not need to.

ditto on the storey's guides, they're a good general reference.

feed depends on the goat, the breed, if they're in lactation or not, if they're growing or not, if they're bred, how well you've controlled parasites, and how much they're getting from browsing. we feed some alfalfa, some oat or bermuda or other grass hay, and we feed just what they'll clean up before the next feeding. it's important to have enough feed bunks because the bolder ones will run off the meeker ones and some will get plenty while others starve. we feed grain only in the last couple of weeks of gestation if they're losing body condition, and while in milk. we keep a sweetlix protien block out for them all the time, along with white salt, goat minerals, and baking soda (they will eat this for an upset stomach). we suplement with leftover fruit or veges, and trimmings off the trees (the whole branch goes in when we prune and they eat leaves, twigs, bark...) goat are susceptible to bloat, so you need to be careful of changing their feed.

some folks who are serious about their dairy production pull the kids after the first couple of days or a month and milk the does, and bottle feed the kids - we don't, I think you get much better growth on the kids by letting mom do her job. after the first month we do pen the kids at night so we can milk in the morning and get the night's production, then leave the kids with the moms during the day to nurse all they want.

did I leave anything out?

feel free to ask.

 

[codymax2]

Thanks!! I was thinkin that exact thing!! I'm thinking boer/nubian crosses

Quote:

 

[codymax2]

100 goats!! Yikes!! Do you feed separate? About how much hay do you think 4-10 goats will go through per day or month? I'm so excited to be able to get to do this!! I have been wanting it for so long! I used to have some hens but after 3 years a nasty neighbor blew me in. Not because they bothered her I only had 3 and didn't even share a property line with her

. For sale sign went up soon after!
Quote:

 

[ArkaFarmaMama]

^^^ Good Stuff ^^^!!!!!

But personally I prefer Pygmys! Smaller, less to feed, have twins or more, while they do have less meat and milk, it's BETTER!
Higher Vitamin D content and potassium in their milk, more tender meat due to the smaller connective tissue. I even prefer
a smaller carcass to process, and the skulls sell nicely due to their large horns/skull ratio. Takes less time to milk due to less
but I'm not sure how much you'll need?
They are EXTREMELY easy to handle, you just pick em up! Like mid sized dogs! They are insanely cantankerous!! Beware!
They are almost impossible to contain, but mine never strayed, they had it too good. We are on moderately smooth ground
and they were in the yard mostly and I never had to trim their feet. They were too short to jump on our SUV/Truck's so we
didn't have to worry about that!

I mostly fed them pasture, I had plenty and only fed my pregger does goat feed. It's not good to feed an allstock and grain
gives the billies stones. But zzGypsy is right you really have to watch out for fighting over food. They are ruthless!

Pygmys like to sleep elevated so you will need to build a ramp up to a platform where they can be relaxed and feel safe at
night. And if you get goats get ready for poop! Especially in your big barn! Gnats love moist goat poop so it would be wise
to limit their access to a smaller area in the barn so you can keep it clean!

Goat wormer for a pygmy here is only $2, they eat a 1 to 2 Lbs. of feed a day when nursing/preggers, and they will consume
just about anything that you love if they get out! But are not quite the pasture princesses that they are portrayed as, they
are just extremely intellegent and opportunists!

Good luck and enjoy!! Goats are great!

 

[codymax2]

YOUR AWESOME!!! Thanks so much! I'm in Central NY. I really like the look of the nubians. I plan on keeping a buck and a weather for a friend. So you think I should Get Nubians for my does and cross with a boer buck? There is a nice one for sale nearby! I would like to move them around to clear some brush, think t posts with the square grid would keep them in? What about vaccinations? I'll have to know when? Thanks so much for your time and experience! Anne
Quote:
that's a good suggestion.

we have LaManchas, they're easy, frendly, calm, excellent milkers with mild flavored non-goaty milk. good mothers, easy kidders, and fairly prolific (we get twins and tripplets). there are other excellent breeds as well, I've got a Kinder, she's pretty nice too but not as big a producer. if you get many replies on this, you'll probably get just as many breed recomendations

depends on your primary purpose... more milk, more meat, larger litters of kids (some do 5's and 6's), more parasite resistance, more docile... there's a wide variety of traits to choose from.

we are currently shopping for a large frame heavy boer to be a terminal sire, boer's are slow growing but meatier than dairy goats. crossing a boer buck on dairy does gives faster growing meatier kids that grow considerably faster on the generous amount of milk the dairy moms make. if you keep or rent a dairy buck you can breed your top milk producing does in hopes of getting more top producing dairy does. I won't keep any boer cross does for my diary flock, the boers are not outstanding milk producers.

I'm not a fan of the mini goats, although they can be adorable - lower milk production, slower growth rates and smaller carcas size, and difficulties with kidding in many breeds.

you will need fencing. goat resistant fencing. maybe with an electrical wire as well. square grid no-climb is best, maybe with a hot wire on the top. goats are rubbery and can fit through spaces you wouldn't think they could. they'll climb stuff and use it as a springboard for getting over fences and on to the barn or house roof. or your car. fencing that isn't tight will invite them to crawl under or bend it over and climb or jump out. once one learns how to escape, that one will teach the rest.

goats will clear your wooded area - they eat a wide range of things but are especially fond of woody weeds, trees, shrubs, and anything ornamental you've planted in your yard and are particularly fond of... which is why you need goat proof fencing. if you want to use them for clearing, fence a smaller area and keep them in it until they've really cleared out what you want gone, then move them to another area. if you give them a large area to roam, they'll go through and pick out the tastiest stuff, and it'll take a lot longer, if ever, to get it really cleared. goats will also kill large trees by barking them, so you'll want to watch what they're finding tasty and move them accordingly. some goats are clever and athletic enough to get up IN the trees, so they might do a better job than you expect! mine don't actually tree climb, but they will stand on their hind legs and work together to snag and pull down branches you wouldn't think they could reach.

you do not need a big barn space, but do need enough room for them to get out of the weather. ours particularly detest rain, but don't seem to mind snow. they spend more time in the shade and under the shelter than our sheep do.

you didn't say where you are, but in many areas parasites are a major issue, so you will want to learn about that. in CA, we wormed once, maybe twice a year. in MO we watch carefully for signs of worms (pale inner eyelids, bloat, appetite changes, body condition loss) and I'm buying equipment so I can do my own fecal counts for parsite eggs. we've averaged worming once a quarter so far, but you can loose goats fast if you don't pay very close attention. depending on the terain, you might need to do some hoof trimming... ours are on all soft ground and we have to trim. when they're out on rocky or sandy ground, you may not need to.

ditto on the storey's guides, they're a good general reference.

feed depends on the goat, the breed, if they're in lactation or not, if they're growing or not, if they're bred, how well you've controlled parasites, and how much they're getting from browsing. we feed some alfalfa, some oat or bermuda or other grass hay, and we feed just what they'll clean up before the next feeding. it's important to have enough feed bunks because the bolder ones will run off the meeker ones and some will get plenty while others starve. we feed grain only in the last couple of weeks of gestation if they're losing body condition, and while in milk. we keep a sweetlix protien block out for them all the time, along with white salt, goat minerals, and baking soda (they will eat this for an upset stomach). we suplement with leftover fruit or veges, and trimmings off the trees (the whole branch goes in when we prune and they eat leaves, twigs, bark...) goat are susceptible to bloat, so you need to be careful of changing their feed.

some folks who are serious about their dairy production pull the kids after the first couple of days or a month and milk the does, and bottle feed the kids - we don't, I think you get much better growth on the kids by letting mom do her job. after the first month we do pen the kids at night so we can milk in the morning and get the night's production, then leave the kids with the moms during the day to nurse all they want.

did I leave anything out?

feel free to ask.

 

[ArkaFarmaMama]

I forgot, in my area, AR, regular Pygmys are going for $85!
Pregger does even higher! Nice return for a smaller less to feed
animal!
Here are a couple 2 day old kids! I miss my girls!!!

 

[codymax2]

Awww! They are sweet! Do you milk them?
Quote: