Anyone have goats?

[CrazyFowlFreak]

DH and I would like to get a goat to help with brush, for a pet, and eventually get another to breed and have milk. What types of goats do you recommend? What kind of goats do you have? What are your experiences, good and bad, with goats? I'd love any info at all.

Thank you!

 

[shadowpaints]

i have had several types of goats but right now i have a nigerian dwarf buck and a nigerian dwarf doe and a pygmy doe. they are smaller goats.

i have had milking goats before, i have had alpines, nubians, lamanchas those 3 are great milking goats! i loved em!

we started out with a pygmy wether (neutered male) and got more after we got him and his sister. goats do better in pairs, so be sure you get two .

they can be loud come feeding time (especially if your late!)

they are very good at escaping LOL

we love our goats and will always have a small herd!!

 

[Sunshine Chick 1]

go to backyard herds. Wonderful site and lots of info on goats.

 

[Egg_newton]

I just got my first goat this week! She is a dwarf nigerian. I can't keep her at my house yet tho because I need a second goat. So, she is staying at a friends house who has other goats. I plan on breeding and milking her.

 

[hearthnsoul]

That is one beautiful goat!!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I used to have 14 goats. They're boar X albine. Anyway, they would just run around in the day and at night they would go to the barn and sleep. Well my chicken door is pretty big and the goats would go threw the chickenyard and go in the tiny chicken door and eat the chicken's feed dock over their water break eggs etc. Then the door would shut on them and they'd be stuck in there and the chickens would freak out and not lay eggs. I hated thoughs goats. They were just pests. If you ever tryed to feed horses or anything they would come running and eat their food, and it didn't help that they horses are just scared to death of the goats because our big billy would but them all the time. On the other hand they would really keep down the grass and stuff and sometimes we'd milk one of the nannies. They can be very good pets, I got very attached to some of them. Then they got to be so _____ we got rid of them, we traded 12 of them for a quarter horse mare ( That isn't brock ) and kept 2 goats. Our favorite nanny, Sweety Pie, and our billy, Darth Billy. On Christmas morning Sweety Pie died and we just had the billy goat and well lets just say we don't have him anymore.
We don't need them for their milk now because we just got a Jersey Milk Cow.

 

[Morri]

This is my goat Alber George Sydney (... "Alby") he is a Boer goat...... he was gonna be a freezer goat so i bourght him. He is a wether (castrated male goat) and his a sweet boy. He thinks h is a dog and has frre range of the property (he can get through the fences) ... he comes when called, rears on command, loves pats, kissed on command and even tries to come inside lol...

when i forst got him he was 6 months old and was petrified of people.... so everyday after school i would go into his pen and sit there reading books to him.... eventually he came closer and closer till he finally trusted me..... lol i even slept in his pen

Now he is adorable and i absolutely love him to bits.. Goats make great pets!!!! Boer goats are bred for meat not really for milk tho..... Goodluck with your searches!! and i hope u find a great companion!!

Here he is thinking "what is that flashing thing??" hehe



*click for a bigger pic if u need

 

[hearthnsoul]

I have 4 goats, three nigerians (1 wether, 1 doe, 1 buck) and a pygmy doe. I absolutely love my goats. I can't even imagine my life without them. I know alot of people have escape artist goats, that being one of the issues,..but I can say I have had one escape in the time I have had my goats and it was the day after I brought my first two home and she was just looking for me. We raised up the doorway to the corral and even though I know she could escape,..she doesn't. My goats are well fed they have one another to keep them occupied and I am back and forth out there all day long. They have a good amount of space,..their barn is 8x12 attac hed to an 8x8 chickens coop the duck chick run that's covered is attached to that and then there is the corral off the goat barn which is roughly 30x30 feet. In the next few months we are building a second barn to separate the boys from girls when babies are born, and as well to give the pig his on place. So yes we are having babies for milk and the intent is my buck and doe are registered so we plan to breed to cover the barns expenses! All of my goats have different personalities, they are intelligent, lovable just plain delightful. IN fact my doe Appy just started her own blog yesterday http://appyswindow.blogspot.com/
I say thumbs up on the goats. When I had just two they were so easy peaze,..now with four it's a little more complicated only because we brought home wilbur the pig so feeding time is still a hecyic thing everyone wants what everyone else has,..as for brush I have mine on lockdown in the corral because they eat all of my bamboo, they love pine trees, poison ivy, although I find my chickens do a better job with the poison ivy. Oh and goats they are picky with food. One of mine must rub all treats upon her head for fear it will smell like one of the other goats. None of them will eat anything that hits the floor, good thing we have a pig now. I say thumbs up on the goats.

 

[CrazyFowlFreak]

Such pretty goats you all have! Great info, too. Thank you

 

[grace6691]

I have two boer does and I love them! They aren't good for milk but they're really friendly and easygoing and get along well with my horses