I got Goats!

[helmstead]

Beautiful doe and ADORABLE buckling! CONGRATS!

I agree, the best way to learn to swim is to dive in.

I have heard recently about a lot of people that milk their Boers. From what I hear, their docile temeraments make them good on the stanchion and they do produce well (granted not as well as a good dairy goat, but not a waste of time, either).

FlightsofFancy has a doeling out of one of my Nigi girls (who I am milking now - she's a good milker) and BY a Boer buck (I didn't do it...she came bred). She's wanting to try her out with milking when she freshens. Be interesting to see how she does!

 

[gila_dog]

Quote:
Citychick. Read that. Read it again. This is important information. There is nothing cuter and more adorable than baby goats. But that cuddly little buckling will turn into rutting, stinking, peeing-in-his-face sex machine in about 6 or 7 months. He won't be cute at all. Two does, who have a goat-boyfriend visit each of them for an afternoon of romance, once each fall, will be a much better way to go. But next year you will have to deal with more baby goats yourself, including more baby billy goats. They have a way of multiplying.

Something everybody should know about the reality of goats is this. A few very lucky bucks are all that it takes to keep the goat world going strong. Another few lucky ones become wethers and live long lives as pack goats, cart goats, brush clearing goats, etc. All the rest get eaten by somebody. It's a hard reality.

 

[chickenannie]

hcammack,
I heard that the reason some people think the taste of goat milk is "off" is based on what the goats eat. In other words, if the goats forage on weeds, etc., the milk tastes of those odors, but if you feed them grain, hay, etc and control what they eat, that the milk is less "off-tasting".

Personally I'd want my goats to forage, but those would be the consequences.

I'm sure others know more about this than I.

 

[Citychick]

So you think my boy is a bad idea? I was kinda hoping it would be a convienience? He will be put to work clearing out some areas but I was told this breed wasn't as bad as some when it came to being stinky? Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[MissPrissy]

If you plan to keep him for brush clearing then have him castrated. Otherwise he will be more interested in sex than clearing brush. This will make him a wether - a non-breeding male goat.

Depending on the blood lines and how you want to cross your does you can wait it out until he is 6 months and mate him to a doe then have the procedure done. Alot of goat vets come to your farm and do it on site.

I do not own a male goat. I have no plans to own a male goat that is not castrated ASAP.

The scent of a male goat is not pleasant, especially in mating mode. The scent won't wash off of you easily either. Everything that comes in contact with him will smell like him. Some goat ppl like the scent and dont think it is that bad. i promise you it is that bad. Just being around the smell will change the taste of your milk.

To be honest whomever you are getting the goats from is passing off an unwanted male to you and they will no longer have to deal with it. That is one of the downfalls of being a very new goat owner.

Your female will be happier with a wether or another doe. Bored goats are very destructive goats.

 

[helmstead]

My goodness - the male bashing!

I'm sorry, but I have to step in for the other side. Bucks aren't that terrible! You all paint a picture of a goat that reeks every day of the year, has a sex drive that will make him starve and can't be enjoyed.

We have a breeding operation, so of course we have bucks. Our experiences with bucks have been good ones. They only stink when they're in rut. They're sweet natured, manageable, good foragers. I cherish all our kids - but especially the bucklings. They always have the sweetest personalities and I know they'll either make good herdsires or great pets as wethers.

Also, our buck pen is adjacent to the doe pen. Even with that proximity - the milk we're getting does not taste bucky. It is sweet and delicious.

Yes, wethers make great pets - but they don't do any good to someone (like citychick) who plans to breed. Driveway breeding isn't always the best way to go, and shipped semen is a whole other bag of worms.

chickennannie - yes, feed can affect milk taste the same way it can affect egg flavor. You want to avoid strong flavors - onion weed, garlic, bitterweed. Ours are grain and alfalfa fed, and our milk is delicious and sweet.

citychick - the GOOD news here is that IF you decide sometime down the road that you don't like having a buck - you can always make him into a wether. You have time to decide because goats, like dogs, can be neutered at any age and will (95% of the time) stop the buck behaviors.

 

[Chatychick]

Yep I agree with Kate thereas I have 2 grown bucks and they are the sweetest and better natured than the does, sometimes. Yes during rut they are very stinky but thats the life of a buck. I love mine and I bottle fed 1 and bought the other when he was just born and got him when he was a little older...
They are great guys and I am retaining 1 that was born in Feb...I love my does and bucks ...as long as the bucks dont run with the does the milk should be fine. Also if your new doe has bucks what are you going to do with them? There is a BIG chance she will have 1 at least ...I had a Alpine doe have triplet bucks...talk about fun...I have a friend up the road that has a buck and he dont stink cause he dont have any does to make him that way...Good luck in what you decide to do ...

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
I know those faces! Which one are you getting? Nicole is a friend of mine, a great gal.

 

[cgjsmith]

I have to agree with the last two posters. My buck is the sweetest goat we have, he loves to be petted and talked to. He is the one who follows me around watching what I am doing. Its actually my weathers that cause the most problem. For some reason they jump higher and jump over my 4 1/2 ft gate. We just had a set of twin bucklings both are too adorable and both have that wonderful loving personalities of their dad. Yes Moe (short for mohawak because hes got a line going down his back) does stink when hes in rut (Like a really strong onion grass), but all the other times he doesn't smell at all and he is full of personality. Crystal

 

[gila_dog]

MissPrissy had a good idea. You can go ahead and get the little buck, breed him to your doe (as long as they aren't brother and sister) and then have him castrated. It's much better to neuter him late, rather than have it done when he's a baby. The reason is because if you want him to live a long healthy life his urinary department needs to be full grown so he will pass urinary stones (urinary calculi, or UC) later in his life. If you neuter him too young he will be at risk of getting plugged up by a stone and dieing a pretty miserable death. This is a job for a vet to do, tho. I agree that wethers are great pets. I have 3 that I use as packgoats. They don't stink and they are big good natured guys. They will eat lots of brush and weeds, so if your place has lots of that stuff growing , plus a GOOD fence to keep them in (and dogs out) he will really be a good guy to have around. Good luck!