Just a couple goat questions . . . . .

[MeredithW]

If you are getting milk goats, what are your plans for their babies? After all they will have to have babies every year.

I'm not sure, I'm sure my mom is going to figure it out, but what I've gathered is that we are going to breed them every year, sell the females and either sell or butcher the males . . . I don't like it, but that's what my mom wants to do.

 

[MeredithW]

Your first post says you are going to get "a goat" that implies one, single. I am glad to hear you are getting multiples.

Oops! Well, I just meant that I myself am going to get one pet goat . . . I should have made that more clear!

 

[PioneerPrincess]

The most important thing is to do your research. Learn as much as you can before you get your goats to save yourself from a lot of heartache. What kind of feed and hay are you going to get? What will your does need? Your bucks? Your kids? It all depends on whether you will be keeping them dry, using them for meat, or milk. Learn about what they need for minerals and what you have available in your area that is suitable for goats. Check to see if you are deficient in selenium and copper. Most goat owners have to copper bolus their goats twice a year. Also, learn about worms and deworming. I like to use an herbal dewormer for my goats, but you need to find out what you want and what will work for your herd.

One of the best things you can do is attend goat shows or find local breeders who know what they're doing. Ask them questions and be willing to learn and write down what they suggest doing! Ask them if they could teach you how to disbud, castrate, milk, and so on if you've never done it before.

IMO, if you're just getting into goats, starting with bottle kids is not the best way to start. Bottle kids take a lot of time to care for and feed. They have sensitive rumens and must be fed carefully or you risk bloat, enterotoxemia, and so on- not something you want to deal with when just starting because if you lose the kid, it's very easy to become discouraged and want to give up. It might be better to start with a few weaned goats, let them get used to you and grow up having lots of human contact. It will also be much easier learning to feed goats that aren't needing a lot for to keep good body condition. Then, once they're pregnant, you can learn to gradually increase feed as the due date gets near, figure out how much to give a lactating doe, and so forth.


Hope that helps! Goats are so fun to have!