love goats but will they mix with my chickens

[mom2to]

I am interested in getting a SMALL pure breed of goat that my kids and I can take care of fairly easily. They need to get along with the chickens and kids so much be docile.

I want the kids to be able to show them so they do they/must they be papered?

Do you have any ideas on what I can read?

What breeds do you have? How much do they cost you?

How much did you pay for them?


or whatever you want to let me know.

thank you!

 

[AhBee01]

I have 3 goats they are Nigerian dwarf/ pygmy cross. My chickens are left to free roam with my goats, and the chickens avoid the goats, as my female likes to buck her a good chicken every now and then! The chickens love to go and scratch in my goats pen! keeps the bugs down! You need to have more than one as they are a herd animal, 3 is better! Mine weigh about 65-70 lbs. My males are fixed, and they are a set of triplets! They eat a cup of feed a day, a 1/2 cup in the morning and a 1/2 cup in the evening, and all the hay they want! They go through about 60 bales of hay a year. Eat all the brush and poison ivy in my yard! A lot of plants are bad for them so read up and know what's in your yard. My goats are also dehorned. They are the sweetest things and only play buck, they have never rammed us. We got them as soon as they were weaned, and handled them a lot! They follow us everywhere!
There is a goat forum,on here go there and ask away! Have fun, keep us posted when you get them!

 

[ParadisePoultry]

Nigerian Dwarfs are a nice small breed and give excellent milk. They are a little pricy, but you could start with one bred doe and a wether, and when she kids you get more goats and milk!

 

[justbugged]

Chickens really like goats. I like goats, but they are very naughty animals. I know that I learned that before the age of 3.

 

[BlakesFarm]

Fainting goat maby?

 

[jason_mazzy]

My goat and chickens have mixed just fine. I have to vote for pygmy as one of the easiest to raise and care for.

 

[Hound]

Goats and chickens can get along so long as you take one thing into account; if a goat eats chicken feed you will have a vet bill at best, and be down a goat at worst. Goats can get themselves into some surprisingly small holes to eat anything they're not supposed to.

 

[txhomegrown]

I plan to get goats later this year. If I have one buck and eight does, I can keep the agricultural tax status. My taxes for 5 acres were $45.00 last year.
I have been doing some reading on the subject and I am leaning towards one of the smaller breeds. It depends what you are raising them for. Any goat will clear brush. But you need to decide if you are buying pets or livestock. Will you be using them for milk? Then I would go with Dwarf Nigerians. If you are raising them for meat, the African Pygmy would be the way to go.
If you intend to show them, I imagine they would have to be registered. I have seen goats on Craigs list for as little as 20 bucks, all the way up to 6 or 7 hundred dollars.

 

[pardygwyn]

My chickens and goats liked each other, it was me who couldn't deal with goat shenanigans. But they did give me one of the cutest backyard National Geographic moments ever before I rehomed the goats! I looked out the back door one summer day just in time to see my black doe lying down in the middle of the flock and tilting her head this way and that so they could catch the flies that were buzzing her. The chickens were very gentle and careful; I don't think any of them ever pecked her but she certainly got a lot of relief from the flies that day! She always seemed to get swarmed when the sun was out, I suppose because it made her warmer than the other, not-black goats.

Anyway, back to the subject. They do well together, but I would house them in a separate coop and shed. Chicken poop + hay = wasted goat food money. I won't be much help on the breeds you'd be interested in, though, since all the goats I had were full-sized La Manchas and Alpines. They didn't really seem that big to me, though? They did give tons of milk - too much for me! - and were friendly and gentle with my kids.

 

[mom2to]

Quote:
I would like milk and meat and show lol. I don't care for goat milk so that is not a interest to me much but I guy I know would make cheese out of it if I milk them. I do not have brush. I just want them for meat/pets. If I have to many boys they will be sold or go to freezer camp. I too, would like to to the tax thing but my tax account has to clarify a few things for me first. I am interested in the showability also but was informed today unless full size in my area can not show small goats. Everyone around here has boar.