Thinking about getting some goats

[dadsdeercamp]

We want to get 2 or 3 milk goats and need to know what are the best kind to get? how much space per goat? how high of a fence? how much do they eat? how much milk does a goat give? and how expensive are they to keep? Thanks for any and all help.

 

[AlienChick]

You will definitely enjoy your goats! I have hair sheep and absolutely LOVE them!!! The best place to answer your questions and learn more about goat-keeping is the forum on the BackYardHerds forum. There's a lot to learn with proper pasture management, medications, milking, feeding, etc.

Good luck!

 

[miss heny]

well it depend on what you want to use the milk for. do you want high butter fat? if so i say nubians (but they are loud and love to test the fencing) or Nigerians dwarfs, they are small little things, the male are not suppose to past 28 (?) inches, cute little things, but will surely make sure that the place cannot be escaped from -_-. there is also mini breeds IE Mini la macha ( BTW the la macha is the only ear-less breed, meaning that they have no ears, they can still hear of course, and they are the most docile breed).

on the milk the goats gives out, it varies, the little Nigerian can give out at least a quart a day, will a Nubian can give a gallon, it depend on the breed, the breeding, and what the breeder is wanting IE are breeding for milkers or showers? the goat might have big lovely teets, but give out little milk if the breeder breeds more for showing.


on the feed it does depend on the co-op/feed store has, we feed purine goat chow, the alla natural stuff to our goats, with some extra stuff. and here is something to help keep the goat eating, Cinnamon! they LOVE it.

and shots, goats need shots like any other animal, you can save money by giving it your self, but the screams the animal does (not out of pain, more or less they dont like being stick, who would?) hurt the ears, and each month you need to trim the hoofs (which if you have a hubby, the best Christmas gift would be a milk stand it makes shots, milking and all sorts of stuff easier!)

oh, before you buy contact your local group and check out about the breeders, until you get use to the goats, steer clear of CL and CLA herds, if you are gonna breed you dont want that on your land, it can take up to TEN years for it to leave. and the milk then would not be wise to drink raw.

and if you are gonna sell the milk check out your laws first! better to be safe then sorry.

if you have kids it would bea good idea to either get a polled (natural born with out horns) or a disbudded goat, or if you dont want to worry about your goat getting stuck In the fence hole because of it horns and maybe killing itself. .

and on the space 25 square feet per goat for lager, the minis will need less, wielded wire for fencing.

and also on the feed we have mainly junior goats, meaning they have not been bred yet and they eat less, will the goat giving milk (or is preggers) they eat more, and to get milk you need to breed, so that means baby, what would you do if you get a boy? ( hear goat meat is good *sorry, bad joke*)

your best bet is to get story guide to milk goats, it has great info, and it is a good place to start

i hope you will have a great time when you get your goats, we sure are!

 

[LydiaB]

They need 4-5' fencing. The more you can fence off the less they will cost for food. I figure about $6 per week per goat. I do not vaccinate, so I don't have to pay for that. Which breed depends on your preference. I like nubians. Just make sure they don't have CAE, CL, Johnes or Brucellosis.

 

[1 animal lover]

We want to get 2 or 3 milk goats and need to know what are the best kind to get? how much space per goat? how high of a fence? how much do they eat? how much milk does a goat give? and how expensive are they to keep? Thanks for any and all help.

Your goats should have at least a 6ftx5ft area for each goat. I recomend nigerian dwarfs from what the internet said.
,hope i could help

 

[dadsdeercamp]

Space will not be A problem 105 ft. X 105 ft. and now thinking about smaller goats for,milk and maybe try making some cheese.

 

[LydiaB]

Nigerian dwarfs have a high butterfat content that makes their milk yield more cheese. If you do get NDs, you need to make sure you get them from lines bred for milk production, not show or cuteness. Also check teat size to make sure you will be able to milk them. A good Nigerian dwarf should give at least a quart daily, more is better. I have a Nubian that gave a gallon a day as a first freshener, so she should give 2 gallons a day next year. Nigerian dwarfs would give about a third I think. Really good ones will give 10 cups a day, but they are hard to find. Other options would be Minimanchas and Mini-Nubians. I have not had either, and I don't know much about them, I just know some people have them.

 

[Stacykins]

Space will not be A problem 105 ft. X 105 ft. and now thinking about smaller goats for,milk and maybe try making some cheese.

Not much to add, since a lot of good information has been covered.

But I did want to point you to a great breeder of Nigerian Dwarves. Karen Las of Pelican Acres, in Orr, MN breeds great little goats. She shows, and also focuses strongly on milk production. Her does who have had linear appraisals done have FANTASTIC scores. I have a doeling of hers in my small herd.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Go for Nigerian Dwarf Goats. We have three, and 2 are super sweet. They are small, sweet, quiet, and produce lots of milk for their size and it's high in Butter Fat. If you have any questions PM me. We breed them.

 

[silkieloverz123]

It all really depends on things i think. Space, if you have kids, the look of the goat. But it kind of is personal taste. If you want a goat who is low maintenance than Nigerian Dwarfs and i think Pygmies are not your thing as they are attention hogs. If you want a goat that wants attention they are great but they also can get annoying with they're crying for a playmate!