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!

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[beeconeofhope]

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

 

[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.

 

[beeconeofhope]

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.

thank you for your quick answer

but I bought them to breed so i can get milk , meat and to grow my herd, I just am not sure /dont think she is old enough and right now they are the only two i have . I have never owned kids before we always just bought them as adults but I would like to have dairy goats for milk now so i am starting a herd from theses two

thanks again
Tiff

 

[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.

 

[beeconeofhope]

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.

Yes I agree that is the best course of action ,I was reading a lot on it all night and they seem to say 70-80 lbs for breeding so you are very right one goat breeder said that milk breeds are normally bred at 8 months to 1 1/2 years and at 80 + lbs and that milk breed males go into rut from august to jan in warm areas "i am in Texas so it is warm a lot of winter too" so his little man parts are working right lol luckily he is very clumsy and she isn't having it so i am hopeful that there isn't gonna be a bad out come from this if i separate them tomorrow morning .Thank you very much again for your advice

I do appreciate it a lot

 

[jorey]

You are very welcome : )

 

[LilRedRoo]

We raise LaMancha dairy goats (and crosses for our personal preference in milk) and have learned that running the bucks with the doe is not recommended for both milk quality reasons and for breeding reasons. Your LaMancha buck can breed at a very young age, including at 4 months, and if your doeling was in heat when he mounted her you may have a tricky pregnancy on your hands. It's dificuly to tell a pregnant doe from one with just a healthy rumen, so if you are concerned it may be good to get a vet to take a closer look.

Most dairy breeds in Texas, from what we've seen, go through their breeding cycles similarly to the whitetail deer in our area (we are near the central and east Texas area in Robertson County). Typically October-January, but in heat cycles.