BACKYARD GOATS?

[BackyardAnita]

I'm looking into getting one or two goats.
Are they expensive to care for?
Is it hard to care for them?
Any advice on what breed or how to care for them?

thanks in advance!

 

[sodamancer]

If you are having TRUE BACKyARD goats then they will be more expensive than farm goats who have access to pasture. I will be buying 50 bales of hay a season.....so 200 a year, to feed my goats because i have no pasture. I will also need to buy a 50lb bag of feed every 2 months for my milking doe. Grain here costs 22$ a bag and excellent hay is 15$ a bale. But that is hay with no weeds and 90lb bales. I could purchase 10$ a bale hay but because i am milking my goat and showing another i want the better quality hay.

Hard to care for depends on your definition of hard. Milking 2x a day for a dairy goat. Socializing, hoof trimming, ect.

 

[cassie]

Hello I am looking for some advice on my goats , I bought them a few weeks ago and they were 4 months when i did . i got one male and one female . well my sister said today she seen the male mounting the female and now i am wondering if he could actually impregnate her and if so is it ok for me to put a separator fence through the pen to keep them from breeding because i am not sure she is old enough or weighs enough yet to breed . but it is getting cold around here and rainy so i am worried they wont be warm if they cant snuggle they are a lamancha type milker goat breed and i read this is the season males go into rut but I didnt think he was old enough yet . So any experienced advice is much appreciated i think i do need to separate them tomorrow as long as they can touch noses they shouldn't get to lonely

Thanks so much

Tiffany

I had a doeling kid at eight months of age once. That means she got bred at three months. You don't need a buck. When you want to get your doe bred you can take her to a buck to be bred. Bucks are a handful and they are smelly.

 

[WillowRunRanch]

I absolutely agree with Cassie with her advice to Beeconeofhealth. No bucks unless you are serious about breeding and have a buck with papers who is worth charging a stud fee for!

They will make your property smell terribly, they urinate all over their legs and beard on purpose to increase their smell, and if you want your doe for milk-- keeping a buck who is not far separated will make your milk taste bad and generally be unusable for anything but making soap...maybe... if your lucky.

Since you already have the buck and perhaps have fallen in love - don't despair. Call your vet and discuss castration. A castrated, descented (they burn the smell glands that are strongest at the top of the head) male is a wether and they make excellent pets. I keep one around here most of the time. They are so lovable the neighbors actually come to pet and visit them and prefer their company over that of the does.

I also have my boys disbudded as well for the safety of all. Again, if this has not been done talk to your vet ASAP.

The younger he is when all of this is done the more likely it is you will have a positive outcome.

BB

 

[cafarmgirl]

Don't get just one. Goats are herd animals and they are much, much happier with a friend. Two or three is better.

I don't consider goats expensive to care for at all. Mine eat pasture about 9 months out of the year where I live so I don't buy much hay. And no grain since mine are not milking or raising babies.

Not hard to care for. Feed and water them and keep their pens clean. Trim their hooves as needed. That's probably the hardest thing to learn to do and even that isn't hard. Helps if you have somebody who can show you how.

I deworm mine quarterly and vaccinate every two years.

They do need a good shed where they can get in out of the weather and you need really good, strong, sturdy fencing. They really are escape artists! They will go over, under, around or through it if there is even a remote possibility of doing so.

As far as what breed depends on what you want to do with them. Are they to be pets, do you want dairy goats, meat goats? Just about any goat can be a good pet if that's what you are looking for.

 

[jorey]

Seperate them then get that male casterated. After about a month after he is castrated you can put them back together. He's still youmg enough that he can be banded to castrate.

 

[jorey]

seperate till she's close to a year old and I belive they say 70 lbs for large breed goats. I didn't realize you were going to breed. She can get pregnant this young and that's just to young in my opinion. I'm no expert in any way, just from personal experience and lots of research.

 

[jorey]

You are very welcome : )

 

[WillowRunRanch]

I am personally in love with the sweet nature and small stature of the Nigerian Dwarf. What are the breeds you favor?

I keep mine mostly for milk to make cheese and soap.

 

[sodamancer]

So I way over estimated the hay consumption. My 2 pregnant does go through a bale a week of organic timothy orchard grass mix that I found at a great farm center for 10$ a bale. Yea for me only needing 60ish bales a year. That makes me VERY happy. Plus a bale of starw a month for bedding. so about 60$ a motnh to care for an animal that can feed me. Love it!