Hubby wants a goat...what's the low down on goats?

[MissPrissy]

yogurt and cheese!

 

[boilerjoe_96]

If you want them to munch aound the yard...

maybe two options.

1: Get portable fence and move it around...or

2: Find a bottle baby that loves people and let it roam around your place eating whatever it wants. Mine like the burning bushes(yes we try to keep themout of them). I always return them to their pen at night.

They will eat your landscaping which could include toxic plants..be careful. My two pigmy's one could just pick them up and put them back intheir pen if they won't leave the landscaping alone. Found two little does 3-4 months for 35 a piece.

They are quite the characters...such wonderful personalities... I love our goats. We are going to branch outinto Boer's for showing and 4H...

Oh, they aren't the grazers sheep are, but even with plenty of food around they still ike to nibble on everything(including my shirt/shorts, shoes etc)..

 

[gila_dog]

Goats are wonderful if your lifestyle and homestead are compatible with them.

- Don't get A goat. They need company, so a pair or more is better.

- Unless you want to be milking the goats twice a day, every day, for about 9 or 10 months per year, then fugget-about getting milk does. Then there's dealing with their breeding, pregnancies, and kids.

- They will certainly eat stuff you have growing around the yard. Especially fruit and shade trees, roses, garden vegetables, etc. And it takes a real stockade to keep them in, or out.

If you aren't discouraged yet, then here are some good things about them.

- They are very productive milk producers. If you have young children you are already tied down so keeping goats isn't that big of an additional load. And the milk they produce will be great for your kids. Learning about life, sex, death, birth, responsibility, joy, etc, will be good for you and your kids.

- They make great pets if you will take the time to make pets of them. I am into packgoats. See this post for more.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=81202

 

[Haviris]

If he wants milk, they will have to be bred. He could buy some already in milk, but to keep them producing milk they'd have to be bred each year.

 

[Chicky Joy]

Personally, I'm not all that interested in getting goats. He'll probably change his mind when I tell him all the aspect of keeping them etc...

They sure can be cute though. My cousin's wife raises goats with the kids for 4H.