Going to Look at Goats Today

[Broke Down Ranch]

Well I found some goats that interest me as for the milk and meat possibilities. One nanny is on the older side at 8 yrs old BUT she has triple girls that are coming with her. She is purebred Nubian, the doelings are ½ Boer so I figure even if mama is about due to retire the girls can be bred back to a Nubian buck for more dairy goats or Boer buck for meat in the freezer. I am getting the 4 of them for $90. Then she has another ½ Boer ½ Nubian 3 yr old nanny that is $65 and think I will also get purebred Nubian buckling that she has for $45.

Now I just need to find some recipes for cheese...

All you goat folk - what are some things I can look for to check general health of the goats? I know to look at the white of the eyes and gums to check for worms - is there anything else?

 

[Smoky73]

Thats a good deal to me. I have a Toggenburg nanny who is 4 yrs old for sale for $40 and I can't even seem to GIVE her away. Geez.

 

[MissPrissy]

Have you not seen our yogurt and cheese and other dairy thread loaded with recipes?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9738

Check their teeth and hooves too. And look at the udder. If you plan to milk make them put the does on a milking stand and see how they behave. You do not want to bring home a doe that refuses to be milked.

 

[hcammack]

god why cant I live in colorado I want a tog so BAD!!!!!!!!!!!! my mom would kill me though. Also remember that the buckling will have to be kept seprate when he is older and check what missprissy told you she is the goat master !

Henry

 

[trailhound]

Quote:
To bad you are on the other side of the country- I would love to have a Toggenburg and they are hard to find and expensive around me.
Andrea

 

[trailhound]

Broke Down Ranch-

Sounds like you have a good plan with your goats- congrats and enjoy!
Andrea

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Quote:
No, I didn't even know the thread existed....is it a sticky somewhere that I just didn't see? OK, when looking at the teeth and hooves, what am I looking for? As for milking, the woman says they have both been milked but I know we can't always take what other people say for the truth so I think I will see how they load on a milk stand.

The 3 yr old is not in milk right now and the older nanny has the kids on her still so having to milk right away is not essential (tho I want to milk as soon as possible) - is there a thread somewhere on BYC about building my own milking stand?

 

[mistylady]

Goats are great! We have the generic four legged ones. They eat the brush for us and have cleared so much land!

Find out when they were wormed last. And ask if they have ever had foot rot.

One thing about our goats .... they are escape artists! Prepare yourself!

 

[Chatychick]

Its not the whites of their eyes its their eyelids...pull the bottom 1 down and check the color...hopefully it is really pink, paler color is that they need to be wormed soon. Yep the hooves and teeth are inportant and with goats you want to have them checked for CL and CAE. Boers are known to have CL.It is a type of absess that is contagious to humans. Ask when she last wormed them and even if she tells you worm them all when you get home and then do it again in 10 days, and then 10 after that. I do when I get a new goat to make sure they are healthy and strong. You really dont want to get 1 that is weak as most of the time you cant get them going again and its heartache. Also with the babies you want a cocci prevention treatment and treat the olders also for cocci as sometimes moving is very stressful and it can bring it on. It sounds like a good price but really check them out before you bring them home. Yep the buck will need to be in a different pen and will need a friend also. Most of us keep a wether with them as company and if they are by themselves they will get out to get to the others. Good Luck

 

[dacasodivine]

OMG how lucky are you? I have just started looking for a dairy doe or doeling and there's not a lot out there. The ones I have found are $150 and up.

I wish I could find a deal like that! I don't suppose you are considering parting with one of the doelings?