Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

There are quite a few people with Boers, surely you could find someone to loan out their buck. I don't have a clue about the milk since I have only had does to this point.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I am slowly starting to warm up to the idea!

 

[Prairie Fleur]

With mine I milked my doe once a day after separating my buckling over night. I dam raise my kids and depending on how high of production your doe has and how many kids determines when you can start milking. With only one kid I started milking Cayenne within a couple days of kidding. Also if you leave the kids on during the day they keep the dam milked out and they push the production up much farther than you milking twice a day since they produce to fill demand. Also the kids tend to not get coccidiosis and other things when they're dam raised.
You won't get very good milk production from a Boer. If you want milk and don't want a mini goat a full size milk goat would be better. And if you've never milker before its best to start out with a trained doe. My little guys do a fantastic job of weed control. But they may not be right for you. We have some good sized areas that we can't mow and they completely cleaned them up for us. Extra bucklings of any breed can be used for milk regardless of breed.
Some people with sell a bred doe or even one in milk. If you want a milking doe it's best to find out if the owners milk and you want to get barn records if at all possible. Find out what good production is for the breed you choose and find out which lines have good production and which ones don't. The amount of milk produced between lines can be huge. I got Nigis because I liked the small size and they have more butterfat in their milk than any other breed of goat. Nubians are next in butterfat content and they're a full size milk goat. They produce more milk than a Nigerian naturally but have lower butterfat and tend to be more pushy while Nigis resemble dogs in goat bodies. they love to follow me around and see what I'm doing.
Some breeders will do a drive by breeding but it's not always easy. Nigis, at least if not all goats, have a 12-18 hour heat cycle. They will only breed during 'standing heat' and that can be hard to detect without owning a buck or a wether to tell you. I still can't tell when my does are in heat unles they are actively standing for breeding. My bucks stink like all get out from fall to early spring. Late spring, summer and early fall I can hardly smell them.
Do your research, see what breeds are available in your area and talk to lots of people who have goats to see what will work for you. The best book book I've found on raising goats is Raising Goats Naturally by Deborah Neimann. She's raised goats for years and the book has a ton of practical information. Breeding, kidding, health issues, feeding etc etc is all covered in detail. It's the best book I have on goat info.
Just my opinion on things tho. You're welcome to pm me if you ever have more questions!

 

[chicken danz]

I agree with Prairie Fleur. You definitely don't want a Boer for a milk goat. And small goats eat a lot as well. They just don't convert that to meat like a boer does. They may be shorter but they can manage to eat up amazingly high. Goats tend to prefer more brush and trees than anything. That is why they are so attractive for clearing out areas. There are several breeds in various sizes and you need to decide if you are raising for meat or milk.
Having a milking stand and training them to go to the stand at a designated time works very well with goats. They are extremely smart. I have a friend with nubians who's goats go to the stand and they have a specific order in which they go. They automatically go by number and never loose that order. He keeps his girls in milk because he shows them

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Wow, who needs to research when I have you guys?

Good thing I have all winter to decide LOL! Milk would honestly be a bonus, and I'm not certain I want to take on another chore that MUST be done EVERYDAY

We go out of town quite a bit in the Summers and while my chickens are easy and fun for Freinds to care for, not sure they would feel the same about milking a goat!!! Honestly I don't even know if we would like goats milk, I haven't had any since I was a child and my DH is super picky (although he is getting better!) I guess we need to find someone local who has some we can try.

The main thing we need help with is the tumble weeds in between things, and grass in back (mower won't fit easily between the trees). We would move her around the yard every so often. I would like to get her a harness so that we can easily move her on a lead.
Don't worry she wouldn't stay roped up, I see so many goats in my area that don't even have shelters and just stay on a lead waiting for butcher day.

That reminds me, can a goat sleep in a big coop with chickens? We can easilly build her a small shelter if we need, but the coop is huge! We will probably keep the goat in the pen with the chickens when we are gone (if we can) since that is the safest area. We have another fenced in yard, but that is the childrens' play area.

My boys are pretty young (3, 6, and 9) and I need a docile breed for them. I do like the idea of a smaller goat if it could handle the weed control. With a smaller goat I wouldn't have to worry about my boys riding it across the yard.

 

[chicken danz]

Maybe you should consider a sheep instead. They do a better job of eating grass. There is also several breeds or sheep depending on it you want wool or not and what your ultimate plans are. They are more suited to eating grass than goats are I think. I don't think I've ever heard of milking them but I am sure someone has tried it. I always thought sheep would be hard to handle but I have a friend who has a big herd of them and they are all big pets. I recently cared for her animals when she was gone and they all wanted to be petted while I was there. Just an alternate suggestion.
I had one goat I named Cookie. She loved the little butter cookies. I taught her to sit up like a dog and beg for her cookies. Sometimes I miss the goats but most of the time I'm thankful I don't have to handle them anymore. I have geese who do a better job of eating down the grass and weeds than the goats did. LOL

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

The 'grass' in back is sparse and mixed with tumble weeds, and invasive trees. Honestly the chickens do a good job on the grass! I need a brush cleaner more than anything else!

I keep forgetting to update on my injured girl! She is doing amazing. I had to fight to keep her in the house LOL, she did get vacated to the back room, but is plenty warm. She even roams around a bit as I do laundry, shhh don't tell my DH!

 

[Prairie Fleur]

Wow, who needs to research when I have you guys?    

Good thing I have all winter to decide LOL!  Milk would honestly be a bonus, and I'm not certain I want to take on another chore that MUST be done EVERYDAY     We go out of town quite a bit in the Summers and while my chickens are easy and fun for Freinds to care for, not sure they would feel the same about milking a goat!!!  Honestly I don't even know if we would like goats milk, I haven't had any since I was a child and my DH is super picky (although he is getting better!)  I guess we need to find someone local who has some we can try.

The main thing we need help with is the tumble weeds in between things, and grass in back (mower won't fit easily between the trees).  We would move her around the yard every so often.  I would like to get her a harness so that we can easily move her on a lead.  
Don't worry she wouldn't stay roped up, I see so many goats in my area that don't even have shelters and just stay on a lead waiting for butcher day.  

That reminds me, can a goat sleep in a big coop with chickens?  We can easilly build her a small shelter if we need, but the coop is huge!   We will probably keep the goat in the pen with the chickens when we are gone (if we can) since that is the safest area.  We have another fenced in yard, but that is the childrens' play area.

My boys are pretty young (3, 6, and 9) and I need a docile breed for them.  I do like the idea of a smaller goat if it could handle the weed control.  With a smaller goat I wouldn't have to worry about my boys riding it across the yard.

One of my goats favorite foods is tumbleweeds. They definitely kept them down in their pens and I've even seen them eat on the hard dry ones in winter when they want some variety. Nigis are definitely pretty docile breed. The family that gave my buckling a home has 2 small children (ages 3 or 4 and 6 or 7) and Star was such a sweetie I didn't worry about him getting too rough at all. He'd stand stock still when you gave him scratches and would lean into them. He was a absolute love. My adult bucks would do that still if I'd let them but they have to go without because I don't care to have stinky hands for days on end from one scratching session!
The thing with dam raising your kids is that if you can't be there to milk you just leave the kids with their dams and they do the milking for you. I did. That a number of times with my doe this summer and it seemed to work well. Her production would drop a little but she was only raising a single. It made it pretty handy for us if we had to leave overnight or for the weekend.
DH refuses to drink my goats milk but my MIL loves it. I used mine in cooking and I froze the cream to save it so I could make butter. I also hope to make goats milk soap this winter with some milk I froze. Eventually I'm hoping to try my hand at cheese making and icecream maybe. there's lots of ways to use the milk other than just drinking it. keeping your milk clean and cooling it quickly is imperative to keeping the 'goaty' taste out. I milked into a glass jar and used a paper towel to strain it once I got inside. I used a cloth for a while but I had a hard time keeping them clean and santized. Then I poured the milk into a tin bowl, weighed it, and set it in another bowl filled with ice water to chill before putting it in the fridge. Next morning I scraped off the cream and decided what I was going to use the milk for.

 

[Prairie Fleur]

The 'grass' in back is sparse and mixed with tumble weeds, and invasive trees. Honestly the chickens do a good job on the grass! I need a brush cleaner more than anything else! I keep forgetting to update on my injured girl! She is doing amazing. I had to fight to keep her in the house LOL, she did get vacated to the back room, but is plenty warm. She even roams around a bit as I do laundry, shhh don't tell my DH!

She's looking good! Congrats! I'm really disappointed, the hawk got my little girl that I rescued from London. I loved that chicken and she was so sweet, often coming and hanging out wherever I was when I went outside. None of my other chickens think very much of me other than when I have food. Like always it would be my favorite.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Well I mentioned milk to my Husband and he said we have a pasturizer that was in our home when we bought it (we inherited some crazy stuff!) and I love goat milk soap! How long will she produce milk, with proper milking, after the kid is sold?

She's looking good! Congrats!
I'm really disappointed, the hawk got my little girl that I rescued from London. I loved that chicken and she was so sweet, often coming and hanging out wherever I was when I went outside. None of my other chickens think very much of me other than when I have food. Like always it would be my favorite.

So sorry you lost her

, it's always the favorite isn't it? I have always loved the hawks, but I learned this year that hawks suck when you love chickens more!