Goat Thread!

[Serotonin]

Hello everyone! I am a first time goat farmer who's planning on getting a small (2 or 3) herd of weathers or does in the spring. I've been doing my research and preparing but am having a hard time deciding what breeds to look for specifically. I'm primarily interested in goats for weed/brush clearing (and as pets too, of course), so milk or meat production potential is not a factor in my decision making. I have plenty of pasture acreage too, so space is also not a concern. Right now I'm leaning towards a medium or large sized breed, as we do have coyotes and (much more rarely) other predators in the area.

My biggest worry is getting a breed that can handle our hot summers. I live in the Sierra foothills/central valley area of California where it regularly is in the 100s F during the summer. This past summer was especially bad, with temperatures even hitting 115 F. My property also gets quite a lot of direct sun, which only makes it worse (though the pastures do have some natural tree shade). It hardly ever goes below freezing in the winter and the spring and late fall stay at a fairly consistent 50 - 70 F, so I'm mostly just concerned about the summers.

When I got my first chickens, I somewhat foolishly got a mystery chick mix and ended up with quite a few chickens from not very heat tolerant breeds (Easter Eggers, Welsummers). We've been able to mitigate the heat with in-coop fans and AC and a mister but they were clearly having some heat stress during the peak of the heat wave even then. So I'd like to avoid a similar situation with goats as much as possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions of heat tolerant breeds I should look for in particular?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hello everyone! I am a first time goat farmer who's planning on getting a small (2 or 3) herd of weathers or does in the spring. I've been doing my research and preparing but am having a hard time deciding what breeds to look for specifically. I'm primarily interested in goats for weed/brush clearing (and as pets too, of course), so milk or meat production potential is not a factor in my decision making. I have plenty of pasture acreage too, so space is also not a concern. Right now I'm leaning towards a medium or large sized breed, as we do have coyotes and (much more rarely) other predators in the area.

My biggest worry is getting a breed that can handle our hot summers. I live in the Sierra foothills/central valley area of California where it regularly is in the 100s F during the summer. This past summer was especially bad, with temperatures even hitting 115 F. My property also gets quite a lot of direct sun, which only makes it worse (though the pastures do have some natural tree shade). It hardly ever goes below freezing in the winter and the spring and late fall stay at a fairly consistent 50 - 70 F, so I'm mostly just concerned about the summers.

When I got my first chickens, I somewhat foolishly got a mystery chick mix and ended up with quite a few chickens from not very heat tolerant breeds (Easter Eggers, Welsummers). We've been able to mitigate the heat with in-coop fans and AC and a mister but they were clearly having some heat stress during the peak of the heat wave even then. So I'd like to avoid a similar situation with goats as much as possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions of heat tolerant breeds I should look for in particular?

Hey! I live there, too! Goats are made for hot weather. Any breed will be great! I have 4 mixed breed does for brushing who do great in the heat. It's the WET they don't like!

For our area, I suggest getting them a good house to lock them up in at night and electric fencing. You'll also want a covered rain-out area for them for reasons that are probably painfully obvious to you if you look out the window right now. Also, we do have slight selenium deficiency in our soil, so make sure you find minerals they like.

Be sure to check FB groups for goaties. They are often listed. Lots of goat owners up here!. Wethers are easy to find year round.

 

[1cock2hens]

I have hot humid wether during the sumer reaching over 100 degrees down to the negatives in winter. I have Nigerian dwarf, myotonic, sannan, and pygmy goats. All seem to do well here and I don't baby my animals at all. Myotonic goats come pretty big if you want big and they don't climb!

 

[Serotonin]

Hey! I live there, too! Goats are made for hot weather. Any breed will be great! I have 4 mixed breed does for brushing who do great in the heat. It's the WET they don't like!

For our area, I suggest getting them a good house to lock them up in at night and electric fencing. You'll also want a covered rain-out area for them for reasons that are probably painfully obvious to you if you look out the window right now. Also, we do have slight selenium deficiency in our soil, so make sure you find minerals they like.

Be sure to check FB groups for goaties. They are often listed. Lots of goat owners up here!. Wethers are easy to find year round.

Hey neighbor! That's a relief to hear after learning the hard way that chickens are very much not made for hot weather.

At night, I was planning on keeping them in a side pasture that has a large three-sided shelter originally intended for a horse. It keeps out rain and wind well, but it doesn't gave a door. I'm not very handy, but do you think I should try to add one? Do you have many problems with predators going after your goats? We've seen coyotes on our property so those are definitely around, not sure if they're bold enough to go after a large goat. I also have a proper barn with an empty horse stall I could use for them if you think that's a better option.

I am in a few California goat/livestock groups and am always surprised by how many people are selling goats, so finding some thankfully shouldn't be hard. I never knew how popular goats were until I moved out here haha.

As for the rain... Yeah, I know we need it and I really shouldn't bemoan it, but my chickens aren't fans. Not to mention that it's rained so much that the ground is just constantly muddy and squishy. And to think they're forecasting like two more weeks of nonstop rain...

I have hot humid wether during the sumer reaching over 100 degrees down to the negatives in winter. I have Nigerian dwarf, myotonic, sannan, and pygmy goats. All seem to do well here and I don't baby my animals at all. Myotonic goats come pretty big if you want big and they don't climb!

Do you have a personal preference out of those breeds?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hey neighbor! That's a relief to hear after learning the hard way that chickens are very much not made for hot weather.

At night, I was planning on keeping them in a side pasture that has a large three-sided shelter originally intended for a horse. It keeps out rain and wind well, but it doesn't gave a door. I'm not very handy, but do you think I should try to add one? Do you have many problems with predators going after your goats? We've seen coyotes on our property so those are definitely around, not sure if they're bold enough to go after a large goat. I also have a proper barn with an empty horse stall I could use for them if you think that's a better option.

I am in a few California goat/livestock groups and am always surprised by how many people are selling goats, so finding some thankfully shouldn't be hard. I never knew how popular goats were until I moved out here haha.

As for the rain... Yeah, I know we need it and I really shouldn't bemoan it, but my chickens aren't fans. Not to mention that it's rained so much that the ground is just constantly muddy and squishy. And to think they're forecasting like two more weeks of nonstop rain...



Do you have a personal preference out of those breeds?

I do suggest a door or the barn unless you have good electric fencing or livestock guardian dogs. Imo the barn would've great if it's adjacent to your pasture. We have been visited by bears a few times this fall/winter, and coyotes will absolutely go after goats if they are pack hunting. We are also in mountain lion territory here. Mountain lions attacks on livestock are rare,but they do happen. It happened west of town earlier this year.

I have no preference for breeds as I adore them all, and they will all do well. Nigerians and Pygmies are small, so if you want size, that might not be the way to go.

Honestly, since you are just looking for brushers, any will do. I just went on CL and looked for someone selling multiple kids. I happened on a very fairly priced group of 4 doelings and snatched them up. Mine are mutts - mixes of Nigerian, Nubian, and Boer. They do their jobs fantastically, and they have been remarkably healthy. If I were breeding or milking, I'd probably choose NDs because of milk quality.

You will LOVE goats! I'd get more if I could, but I don't really have the land. They are so much fun and pretty easy once you set up a good routine for them: feed, forage, minerals, supplements, good trimming.

Oh - goats hate rain and snow WAY more than my chickens do. They think the world is ending whenever they get wet.

 

[1cock2hens]

@Serotonin it's really hard to say, I forgot to mention I also have 2 pygmy/ dwarf mixes that are soooo sweet and easy to handle. My buck is a Nigerian and he's very sweet, follows me everywhere. I think if I were to stick with one breed it would be a toss up between Nigerian dwarf or myotonic. Nigerians are small though and don't go through as much brush as a larger breed. They seem to eat the leaves off of everything but leave the stalks of the plants. I had a nearly 150 pound myotonic wether who was the nicest goat I ever had and he ate everrrrything. Myotonic will never outrun a predator, one of its purposes is to be put in a herd of cows or more expensive goats etc and used as bait for predators. If something attacks the herd it will lock up and the predators will go after it giving the herd time to run off. I've not had predator issues but I have 3 dogs

 

[Serotonin]

I do suggest a door or the barn unless you have good electric fencing or livestock guardian dogs. Imo the barn would've great if it's adjacent to your pasture. We have been visited by bears a few times this fall/winter, and coyotes will absolutely go after goats if they are pack hunting. We are also in mountain lion territory here. Mountain lions attacks on livestock are rare,but they do happen. It happened west of town earlier this year.

I have no preference for breeds as I adore them all, and they will all do well. Nigerians and Pygmies are small, so if you want size, that might not be the way to go.

Honestly, since you are just looking for brushers, any will do. I just went on CL and looked for someone selling multiple kids. I happened on a very fairly priced group of 4 doelings and snatched them up. Mine are mutts - mixes of Nigerian, Nubian, and Boer. They do their jobs fantastically, and they have been remarkably healthy. If I were breeding or milking, I'd probably choose NDs because of milk quality.

You will LOVE goats! I'd get more if I could, but I don't really have the land. They are so much fun and pretty easy once you set up a good routine for them: feed, forage, minerals, supplements, good trimming.

Oh - goats hate rain and snow WAY more than my chickens do. They think the world is ending whenever they get wet.

Funny enough, we do have electric fencing for all the pastures but that one. We just recently moved to the property and the previous owners kept goats and horses. When we moved in I didn't really think about getting goats myself, so we turned the goat hutch into our chicken coop (with some modifications).

I think we're far enough down in elevation that we don't have to worry about bears, but we have had neighbors spot big cats. And judging by how much coyote howling we heard over the summer, I wouldn't doubt that they pack up around here. So it probably is smart to install a door or just use the stable. I'll have to think about which is the best option.

I'm more familiar with horses than goats, so apologies if this is a weird question, but are goats very hard to fetch from the pasture and lead around? While the three-sided shelter is in a pasture, the barn isn't directly connected to a pasture. It's not far, just a short walk, but keeping the goats in the barn would require me to turn them out and bring them back in every day. Which I totally don't mind doing if the goats are at least semi-cooperative haha.

I have to say, I am pretty excited for goats. I have never had any myself, but I helped take care of some once and was surprised by how dog-like they were.

If goats hate rain, yours must be pretty miserable today. Do you just keep them in on rainy days and replace pasture foraging with hay?

@Serotonin it's really hard to say, I forgot to mention I also have 2 pygmy/ dwarf mixes that are soooo sweet and easy to handle. My buck is a Nigerian and he's very sweet, follows me everywhere. I think if I were to stick with one breed it would be a toss up between Nigerian dwarf or myotonic. Nigerians are small though and don't go through as much brush as a larger breed. They seem to eat the leaves off of everything but leave the stalks of the plants. I had a nearly 150 pound myotonic wether who was the nicest goat I ever had and he ate everrrrything. Myotonic will never outrun a predator, one of its purposes is to be put in a herd of cows or more expensive goats etc and used as bait for predators. If something attacks the herd it will lock up and the predators will go after it giving the herd time to run off. I've not had predator issues but I have 3 dogs

I like that you don't have to worry as much about myotonic goats climbing fences, but honestly think I'd feel bad if I scared one and caused it to lock up. I know it doesn't necessarily hurt them, but still haha.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Funny enough, we do have electric fencing for all the pastures but that one. We just recently moved to the property and the previous owners kept goats and horses. When we moved in I didn't really think about getting goats myself, so we turned the goat hutch into our chicken coop (with some modifications).

I think we're far enough down in elevation that we don't have to worry about bears, but we have had neighbors spot big cats. And judging by how much coyote howling we heard over the summer, I wouldn't doubt that they pack up around here. So it probably is smart to install a door or just use the stable. I'll have to think about which is the best option.

I'm more familiar with horses than goats, so apologies if this is a weird question, but are goats very hard to fetch from the pasture and lead around? While the three-sided shelter is in a pasture, the barn isn't directly connected to a pasture. It's not far, just a short walk, but keeping the goats in the barn would require me to turn them out and bring them back in every day. Which I totally don't mind doing if the goats are at least semi-cooperative haha.

I have to say, I am pretty excited for goats. I have never had any myself, but I helped take care of some once and was surprised by how dog-like they were.

If goats hate rain, yours must be pretty miserable today. Do you just keep them in on rainy days and replace pasture foraging with hay?




I like that you don't have to worry as much about myotonic goats climbing fences, but honestly think I'd feel bad if I scared one and caused it to lock up. I know it doesn't necessarily hurt them, but still haha.

My goats come running whenever I go out there. But I guess it depends on how much pasture you have. My goats only have about a half acre at a time because we rotate them frequently. But if a goat doesn't want to be fetched, there's not much can be done - lol! If you get babies and raise them, or ft bottle babies, you will have very friendly goats.

I'm planning to leash train mine this summer.

 

[1cock2hens]

Funny enough, we do have electric fencing for all the pastures but that one. We just recently moved to the property and the previous owners kept goats and horses. When we moved in I didn't really think about getting goats myself, so we turned the goat hutch into our chicken coop (with some modifications).

I think we're far enough down in elevation that we don't have to worry about bears, but we have had neighbors spot big cats. And judging by how much coyote howling we heard over the summer, I wouldn't doubt that they pack up around here. So it probably is smart to install a door or just use the stable. I'll have to think about which is the best option.

I'm more familiar with horses than goats, so apologies if this is a weird question, but are goats very hard to fetch from the pasture and lead around? While the three-sided shelter is in a pasture, the barn isn't directly connected to a pasture. It's not far, just a short walk, but keeping the goats in the barn would require me to turn them out and bring them back in every day. Which I totally don't mind doing if the goats are at least semi-cooperative haha.

I have to say, I am pretty excited for goats. I have never had any myself, but I helped take care of some once and was surprised by how dog-like they were.

If goats hate rain, yours must be pretty miserable today. Do you just keep them in on rainy days and replace pasture foraging with hay?




I like that you don't have to worry as much about myotonic goats climbing fences, but honestly think I'd feel bad if I scared one and caused it to lock up. I know it doesn't necessarily hurt them, but still haha.

I've only seen my myotonic does fall over a few times when i first got them, they are so comfortable around people that they don't react to us out there, I never saw my big guy fully fall over he just stiffened up for a minute.

And to answer your question about how easy they are to fetch from the field, all but one of mine have learned to go into there shelter at night, the one that I have to fight with is old and was left alone in a field with 1 other goat for several years before I took her in as a rescue so she has an independent nature. If you bring your goats a little sweet feed every morning they will quickly became your best buds and rush to you when they see you or the feed bucket. I have alot of land for mine so I don't feed my goats regularly, when they see my feed bucket they fly to me lol

 

[1cock2hens]