Lets talk about goats!

[GitaBooks]

Thank you! What breed of milk goat would you recommend I start out with, and how many?

Well, what breed depends on how much space you have, how much milk you want, what is available in your area, and personal preference. Most of the common breeds are friendly and pretty easy to work with, though Nubians are famous for being noisy and mischievous. We kept Nigerian Dwarfs, as they are good grazers, good mothers, and produce a smaller amount of milk which is more easily consumed by a whole family. Ours, however, never turned out to be milk-goats and were just pets.
Saanens and La Manchas are both known for being friendly and good diary does.
Mix breeds can also be used just fine as milk does, since they still produce enough milk for your average family easily, especially if a dairy-breed mix. However, you also want a goat that doesn't need large amounts of food for the milk they produce, which is why a smaller goat may be better for a backyard goat keeper.

Goats should never be alone, so you should have at least two, but it can be fun to have more, just because of their unique personalities and cool interactions with one another. It is like having a group of dogs playing together, and they love to run with one another. Goats that feel like they are in a herd will feel safer (and likely argue a lot too

). Too many goats, of course, will be overwhelming, so two or three is a good start. Getting goats that were raised together will help prevent issues with introductions or anything like that.

Here is one of our two Nigerian Dwarf sisters, I'm pretty sure this is Lily. Daisy was like a third larger then Lily, who was the runt of the "litter". They were quadruplets.

 

[prizepete]

They take about 20 min to milk when you are first start milking them. then as you get better it gets faster. It takes less time for me to take care of the goats than the chickens!

Thank you! What breed of milk goat would you recommend I start out with, and how many?

It depends how much milk you want, If you like milk with more milk fat, how much room you have!

 

[chixcoop]

Quote: How much space does each goat need, and how do you graze a goat? Do you tie it to a post, keep it in a fence, or let them out like chickens to free range then they come back at night. A gallon a week would be nice. I've done some research and I'm interested in Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Will those goats give me about a gallon per week?

 

[chixcoop]

It depends how much milk you want, If you like milk with more milk fat, how much room you have!

I would like goat milk that is around skim cow milk.

 

[H Diamond]

I would like goat milk that is around skim cow milk.

You would actually have to skim the milk to get it that skim. Nigerians have a pretty high butter fat, so you'd epithet need to get used to fill fast milk or buy a cream seperator. Goat milk doesn't seperate near as much as cow milk on it's own.

How much space you need depends on the goat and your location. I live in the high desert, so my goats would need like 5 times the space as a goat in central illinois.
Goats need fenced in. I highly do not recommend staking them out to a post. Some folks do but you run the risk of them getting tangled up as well as make them ready prey for predators.

You would get more than a gallon a week from a good Nigerian. Some full size goats (some of my sables) give me 2 gallon a day.

 

[chixcoop]

You would get more than a gallon a week from a good Nigerian. Some full size goats (some of my sables) give me 2 gallon a day.

Wow! 2 gallons a day is way more than I was expecting! So would a Nigerian Dwarf give around 3 gallons a week?

We have a pretty big backyard. What material fencing does the goat enclosure need to be made out of? I know that it doesn't need to be made out of chicken wire, but what is a common material?

Is 15 ft sq per goat good enough? I am thinking of a 7x7 for 2 goats. That seems small though.

 

[H Diamond]

Wow! 2 gallons a day is way more than I was expecting! So would a Nigerian Dwarf give around 3 gallons a week?

We have a pretty big backyard. What material fencing does the goat enclosure need to be made out of? I know that it doesn't need to be made out of chicken wire, but what is a common material?

Is 15 ft sq  per goat good enough? I am thinking of a 7x7 for 2 goats. That seems small though.

Depending on how well bred the doe is for milk, 3 galloncould be feasible.
Your best bet would be 4 x 16 ft hog panels with some t posts or round posts. Another option is any type of heavy woven wire fence, worth sturdy posts.

7 x 7 would be 49sq ft, so 24.5sq ft per goat. If that's their only pen, I'd certainly go bigger. 7x7 isn't very big. If it's just their shelter and they have a bigger pasture, then that would be fine.

 

[chixcoop]

So is a 15x10 good for their whole enclosure? How protective does their hut have to be, is it something that they need to be locked up in at night?

As for living space what do most goat keepers do once the goats eat up all the grass in their run area?

The hog wire looks a little expensive on tsc. If I go for the roll of wire, how tall and what gauge should it be?

Is something like below good?
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/welded-wire-48-in-x-100-ft?cm_vc=-10005

 

[GitaBooks]

So is a 15x10 good for their whole enclosure? How protective does their hut have to be, is it something that they need to be locked up in at night?

As for living space what do most goat keepers do once the goats eat up all the grass in their run area?

The hog wire looks a little expensive on tsc. If I go for the roll of wire, how tall and what gauge should it be?

Is something like below good?
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/welded-wire-48-in-x-100-ft?cm_vc=-10005

These are some great questions.

With any animal, the bigger the better. They love to graze, run, play, jump, and do all sorts of other crazy things. However, for a couple of goats, the run/pasture doesn't need to be that large (ours was probably about a fifth an acre or so and they didn't graze any bare patches into it at all).

How protective does their hut have to be? Well, for weather reasons it should prevent any rain, wind, snow, ect from entering it and be secure against drafts. However, the more air circulation the better, so a closed hut isn't usually the best option. Where the goats are locked up, however, should be coyote proof, as coyotes are more then willing to come up to a barn and steal sheep/goats whenever they please. The people who use to live on our property kept sheep and you can still find their bones out in the field from all the times they were take by coyotes, and these were large sheep.

Our goats didn't graze their grass that much, properly because they preferred to pick and choose, they got plenty of hay, and they got supplements of grain. However, it all depends on the amount of rain, the type of soil, the goats size, how much supplemental hay/grain they are given, the size of the paddock, and so much more. Two smaller runs can help prevent grazing down, such as the system of rotational grazing used with cattle and sheep. You simply put the goats in one pen for a few days, then switch them to the other to let the first rest.

We used TSC goat wire for our fences and it works very well, though the goats will lean against it and cause it to sag over time. We also use it for our two acre dog yard, and it is still up and running years later. If you plan on getting a miniature breed of goat (Nigerian, Pygmy, or a cross-breed) then make sure the kids, which are tiny at birth, can't wiggle out of any fences.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. : )

 

[chixcoop]

These are some great questions.

With any animal, the bigger the better. They love to graze, run, play, jump, and do all sorts of other crazy things. However, for a couple of goats, the run/pasture doesn't need to be that large (ours was probably about a fifth an acre or so and they didn't graze any bare patches into it at all).

How protective does their hut have to be? Well, for weather reasons it should prevent any rain, wind, snow, ect from entering it and be secure against drafts. However, the more air circulation the better, so a closed hut isn't usually the best option. Where the goats are locked up, however, should be coyote proof, as coyotes are more then willing to come up to a barn and steal sheep/goats whenever they please. The people who use to live on our property kept sheep and you can still find their bones out in the field from all the times they were take by coyotes, and these were large sheep.

Our goats didn't graze their grass that much, properly because they preferred to pick and choose, they got plenty of hay, and they got supplements of grain. However, it all depends on the amount of rain, the type of soil, the goats size, how much supplemental hay/grain they are given, the size of the paddock, and so much more. Two smaller runs can help prevent grazing down, such as the system of rotational grazing used with cattle and sheep. You simply put the goats in one pen for a few days, then switch them to the other to let the first rest.

We used TSC goat wire for our fences and it works very well, though the goats will lean against it and cause it to sag over time. We also use it for our two acre dog yard, and it is still up and running years later. If you plan on getting a miniature breed of goat (Nigerian, Pygmy, or a cross-breed) then make sure the kids, which are tiny at birth, can't wiggle out of any fences.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. : )

Thanks! That was very helpful.

Now that I am leaning towards a 15x10 for their pen, how big should their hut be? Also, what is the minimum size that a baby goat can squeeze through in a fence?