My new nigerian buck

[penelope77]

here is my new buck starrynight. goat boy is his son. he's a really sweet boy and loves animal cookies and carrots but all my goats love those things.

 

[eggcochin_freak5]

ah i love goats

 

[Psittizen Shikkin]

he's got a great face and he throws handsome babies.

 

[penelope77]

yes he does. i can't wait to use him on my girls.

 

[miss_jayne]

what a cute kid! we would like to have some goats for milk. any advice? i want to do it right and safely.
again, beautiful little guy!

 

[penelope77]

what i did is i read some books(boring but a good thing), then i joined a few goat forums and quickly got annoyed and kicked off one, then i found a good breeder that had what i wanted. i get my goats from her and she even let me bring back one to help with hoof trimming. plus i got a friend out of it and constant goat support. i also found one other goat person that is now my friend who does things completely different than the other friend so i have two seperate opinions. it works out nicely and they both help me whenever i have any questions. one thing i found with goats, rabbits and chickens is that they aren't as complicated as alot of books and people make them out to be. the goat isn't going to get bloat and die everytime you look at it wrong. i was really scared when i brought my first one home while waiting for the next one. i was sure i would kill it. as you see in the picture he is fine. in fact i five now and i haven't killed one yet. they aren't glass and they won't break. another thing you can do if once you find a good breeder is see if they will let you come out a few times to see how everything is done. if you aren't comfortable with something ask them to show you or explain it again. ask them what they are feeding and do that to start. then ask what other people are doing and you can figure out how you want to feed from there. if you ask other people first you will be soooooo confused. a good fence is very important unless you have a goat like mine who honestly i think would scale up any fence no matter how tall. my other ones never jump out. it's really important that you know how to do your own goat stuff as it will save you money. shots were the scariest for me but now i can give my dogs shots too. milking can be tricky at first but once you get it, you've got it. your technique will develop as you go and you can feel if it isn't right. the hoof trimming i still have trouble with so i work on one goat for about four days taking a little off each hoof each time till it looks alright. i don't take enough off yet cause i'm afraid of hurting them. i have to get over that cause hoof health is very important. oh and you'll want a sturdy milk stand. my first milker tested me alot and i am not a very good builder so i had to build a new one. wow this is getting long. get good hay. mine get bermuda hay and alfalfa pellets or cubes if they are out of pellets. again though find out what the goats are eating where you get them. once you get going in your search things will go quickly. the key is the quality of the goats and the person you get them from. if they don't want to help you out then don't buy from them. i mean after you have goat hands on experience you'll know what to look for and can buy anywhere you want. i just found that a good breeder will also be a good helper. plus she always has what i want so i haven't had to go anywhere else. if you want to pm me feel free. i am fresh in this but i have learned alot. the goats are one of the best decisions i've ever made. oh they are addictive too like chickens. oh and a really great goat site, one of the best in my opinion, is http://www.fiascofarm.com/ i personally only recommend goat forums for reading. i prefer to go to my goat friends for my questions and concerns cause some people can be alarmists and will have you digging a hole for your goat and really your goat just had an itch. hope this helps and forgive the length.

 

[Smoky73]

I have noticed that with goat forums too. The people there are so to the letter that if you do not do everything to a T you are a bad goat owner.
One of the new does I got has a spot on the side of the neck. He said that it was a sticker stuck there and said do not worry about it. They get them all the time and it will eventually open up and come out on its own. I also asked a few other questions about different things as these goats are worth a lot more money than the other ones I have had so want to do everything right but they said that I was worrying too much about stuff. They won't die over all the little things.
Over the years, I havent done half the stuff the forum people would have wanted me to do and they are all perfectly healthy and happy so I must be doing something right.

Are Nigerians like a dwarf goat?

 

[penelope77]

yeah, nigerian dwarfs, pretty much the same size as pygmies but different body structure and good milkers.