GOATS!

[abbymckinn]

Ok, so me an my family want to get some ND and one Pygmy, for milk an pets. We don't have a ton of room, and we don't need much milk that's why we are getting smaller goats. But if any if y'all have goats please share any and ALL info!!! Anything would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Stacykins]

Is there anything specific those of us with goats can answer?

 

[abbymckinn]

Umm? How hard is it to fence them, what should we feed them? Can we put cayenne pepper and oil on trees to keep them for eating the bark?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Umm? How hard is it to fence them, what should we feed them? Can we put cayenne pepper and oil on trees to keep them for eating the bark?

Goats are not hard to fence...provided you do it right the first time. Put up a flimsy fence and yes, they'll drive you crazy. Nothing like stepping outside and finding several goats on top of your car! That said, if you want to keep them in you need a good sturdy fence and if you want the fence to survive to do it's job it's best to run a hot wire around the inside about a foot off the ground to keep the goats off of it. Otherwise they use it to scratch themselves or they climb up with their front hooves to try to reach over etc. Goats are incredibly hard on fencing. And no gaps! You would be amazed how small an opening a goat will squeeze it's body through and believe me, if there's a way out they WILL find it! They will watch you come and go and they will check the gate to see if you didn't latch it or to see if they can figure out the latch. Pesky little varmints!

I have no idea if putting cayenne pepper and oil on trees will keep them away, not something I've every tried. How many tree's are we talking about and how often are you planning an coating the tree's? You'll have to apply an awful lot, especially if there are lower branches that the goats can jump up to. I've had goats climb very high into tree's to browse believe it or not, well over my head, and these were chubby Boer goats! Very agile and nimble! If you have just a few tree's it might be easier to just put a fence around them.

As far as feed...goats that are breeding/kidding/milking can be fed good quality grass and alfalfa hay and a little grain or goat chow. Dry goats do fine on nothing but good quality grass hay and/or pasture. You need to supply a loose mineral mix made for goats. They also need to be dewormed on a regular basis and have their hooves trimmed regularly.

Just be aware that to have milking goats means you'll also have to have access to a buck for breeding and once the doe's kid and then start milking it's a major time committment. Every day, twice a day as long as they have milk. It's a big undertaking and it means you can't leave home unless there is somebody to fill in and milk for you. And then there are the new kids to deal with. If you want to milk the doe you'll have to separate and bottle raise the kids, and have an idea of what you are going to do with the males. Most people who buy bucklings are going to raise them for meat. So you'll need to consider if you have the room for the extra pens for raising the youngsters until they are sold.

 

[abbymckinn]

Ok thank you for all the info!! Cafarmgirl! We are planning to put them in a pen that's about 10,000 sq. feet, plus a 300 ft. milking/feeding pen. There are a lot of cedars, and some oaks.