Give me reasons not to?? Please!!! :)

[PSFAngoras]

So it looks like our raw milk share is up . Really bummed. We haven't gotten milk in the last two weeks, and I'm not confident about this next week. I miss making cheese, and I'm already starting to notice my asthma and allergy problems starting back up, which is making me even more bummed.

Soooo, not that I need another animal, but a milk goat or two is really starting look like an attractive option. They don't eat much, right? And I've had sheep before, and goats aren't that much different, so I pretty much have the basic care down besides needing to put up a nearly bulletproof fence at my mom's place. She has land and we'd be sharing chores and expenses, which is another thing starting to make this look like a reasonable choice.

I've also milked goats before, so I know how, but as they were a friends so I didn't have the constant chore. I guess I could always let the kids out with mom during the day and then lock them away at night and only milk in he mornings before turning the kids loose again....

Someone help me think this through? I feel like I'm crazy for considering another animal or two (or eight ifyiu take into account two does could easily have triplets...)

 

[Zass]

Neh, you should get some goats. If all else fails, goats are delicious.

I actually have my heart set on milk sheep when I finally get a few acres of my own.
They seem easier to manage.
The darn goats were way too persistent at pushing down fences. They kept jumping up on top of the shed too, and tried to get over the 6' fences that way. Ended up having to move the shed. When they didn't have any other way to cause trouble, they started making REALLY loud goat noises. BLAAAHHH! BLAHHH!
I think they were pygmy crosses?

 

[Miss M]

Absolutely, if only for your health, you should get some goats!

I'm with Zass... I'm looking into milk sheep. I just do not want to be dealing with goats escaping into either of our neighbors' property. One is good, but understandably has objected to having her vegetables and roses eaten by the horses that have gotten into her yard. The other is not so good, and I don't want to deal with having to retrieve any animal from over there.

We've got the lean-to up now, so now we need to enclose part of it, and fence off a pasture. Also, I have to find out whether I can get sheep feed here.

PSF, you obviously need goats. Or sheep. :twisted:

 

[Ramjet]

I cant give you a logical reason not to .... pending you have space.



Just do it.


And tell us all about it.

 

[Dood]

The problem with sheep is the wool. It keeps growing and growing and if it gets wet or soiled can get fly stike - not pretty

At least in my experience, if you get a hair breed you get sheep with a more goat like temperament that can become just as much of a PITA as a goat Our Khatadin doe is a worse escape artist than our Nubian whether and certainly not as obedient - once she is out she is GONE while our goat comes to the back door

 

[ek.blair]

No reason not to! Goat milk is delicious as you know, and while they can be a pain at times just think of it as comic relief when you look back on it at the end of the day. My mom had nubians and they can be pretty sweet at times too

 

[Random Rabbit]

First thought that came to my mind.... Goats are Much different than Sheep...

Our sheep were content to remain withIN the fences... grazing the grass.

Goats... would check the fence line, actively Looking for escape routes. They do not Graze per-say... They prefer to Brouse tree branches....rose bushes... lilacs... Goats also Need copper... which in any quantity is poisonous to sheep.

Sheep are fairly quiet... unless one is late with feeding time..... Goats are Not quiet... They luv people and Must say HELLO... at the top of their lungs....

 

[PSFAngoras]

Some help you lot are!!!

The goats will be at my mom's, who already has a very vocal rooster, tom turkey, and about twenty hens who like to voice their opinion as well, so noise isn't an issue. The only thing that might be an issue is the Fencing, not that the neighbors will dispair at having a goat around as much as we'll get annoyed trying to put them away all the time.

And to add to all of your 'help' the Nubian dairy two blocks away from my mom's house has kids right now.... OR, there's an add for two free Dwarf Nigerian does that someone just can't care for anymore about three hours from here. I'd rather have less goats and get more milk from each (Nubians), but I won't look a gift goat in the mouth! (Though I'd only get hem if they were in good health...)

 

[Dood]

Of the 5 goat breeds I've owned the Nubians were the least destructive while the Nigerian Dwarfs were the worst.

I'd get a couple Nubians

Male goats STINK ! Apparently "Eau de Urine" is a big hit with the ladies and with a buck down the road you don't need to keep one to get kids.

 

[Zass]

But thankfully, female goats smell better than dogs.

 

[Sagebrush]

If you get them young enough you can almost rain them better then dogs too

 

[Zass]

Oh yeah, I always was told never to bring home "wild" acting goats with the intent to tame them down. I think it's best to start with kids or already tame goats.

The free does might be gentle...or they might be free cause no one wants to deal with them.
You could always bring them home, try them out. If they are untouchable or unmanageable. Enjoy chevon. If you like hunted meats, you will probably love it. With a taste and texture somewhere between beef and venison.

 

[Mickey328]

Sorry, but I can't help talk you out of it I want goats so bad I can all but taste it! They've recently allowed them in Ft Collins; unfortunately, our back fence is the city limits Wish the county would get on board with it! Only pygmy goats allowed, but that would be fine...a pint a day would be plenty for us. I say if you have the space...go for it!

 

[Random Rabbit]

Lest my post made it sound as tho i did Not like goats... i'm sharing a picture from when we had them. Luved those spunky critters... and oh the Wonderful milk.. !!!

 

[PSFAngoras]

Love your pic those almost loo like bunny ears in mid run!!

I will be calling the milk guy tomorrow and seeing where we stand. If he doesn't have milk again I'll be returning the jars and letting him know we'll be looking else where. Not his fault his cow dried up, but I'm getting pretty desperate with my asthma and allergy issues kicking back in. It's stuffy living with three cats when your allergic. I never noticed it before the milk, just though that was how it should be, but now that I know there's an alternative to living stuffy I don't want to go back!!

If we're not getting any more milk from him my mom and I will sit down and consider it in more detail, run numbers, and all. I'll let you know how it goes, but knowing how much she likes goats we'll probably end up with some.

 

[Audrey]

Goats will NOT survive on grass alone, they need brows (brush and brambles to eat), grain twice daily when pregnant and the entire time they are in milk, and 24/7 access to a high quality hay year round. Its a wives tale that goats don't eat much. They have the fastest digestive system of all the ruminants, and therefore eat a lot. They are awesome, and a lot of fun, but they are not cheap.

 

[Cottie]

Reasons not to...?

They're expensive. We got a "deal" on a Saanen cross in milk. Oh...yeah. $75 worth of meds and 1 month of withdrawal periods later, we're still a week away from being able to drink her milk. The chickens are loving it, though. We purchased a papered LaMancha recently, she's a doll. Milks very well. But, the cost was high.

So, if you want two goats, I'd plan on looking for a while and purchasing from a good source that runs yearly blood testing for the common nasties. You're either going to pay $350 for 2 weanling does, which won't produce milk but eat like hogs for a year, or $500 to $600 for does in milk. The advice I got before we got goats was to get the doe in milk, so you can see how she milks. It's more $$$ at the outset, but you don't get screwed.

Oh, and you can't have just one, unless they have another hoofed buddy - donkey, horse, cow, llama, etc.

They're hard to fence. We are using cattle panels - mid price range, easy to set up, generally contains them as long as they don't have the wandering spirit. Rolls of goat fencing break easily (from what I've been told) and is expensive. Electric fencing only works on goats who will let it; some act like a Rottie being hit with a shock collar and simply ignore the hot wires.

Hay can be a major issue. It's expensive, they get particular about it.

If they pick up worms, you can't drink the milk for 14 to 28 days after you deworm them. If they get mastitis, you need to wait a week after the last Pen-G shot. Very few vets know anything about it, so you'll be researching symptoms and trying to guess in the dark what the best treatment would be (like rabbits...).

When they kid, they can have problems. Do you want to be shoving your arm up into a goat's body to untangled twins? What will you do with those kids - eat, sell, keep?

Oh, and if you want to get milk year after year, you need a buck, which can be even harder to maintain. We decided not to keep on and go with a stud service after a friend told me about a buck that scaled two 6 foot fences and several other barriers to get to a doe in heat.

You have to milk them twice a day, at about the same time. It doesn't sound bad going in....but can really be a pain some days. Sometimes they want to kick the bucket over, or kick you in the arm/chest/face, or eat your hair, or drink their own milk, or just wiggle around.

Anyway, those were all my cons. We got them anyway. :lol:

 

[PSFAngoras]

All of the cons are things we've had thought out. Believe me, nothin is expensive compared to a horse, so goats would feel cheap for us. However, we did have our little pow wow and decided against it for the time being. My mom might be making less here shortly, and her arthritis is bad, so milking would take its toll. Also, I could do it financially, but I'm fairly stretched on time as it is. I could make it work, but I'm tryin to teach myself how to stop overloading myself and getting stressed.

We can always look it over again when my house is done remodeling and things slow down a bit, but now isn't the best time when you start to look at it all benefits aside.

I'll just get more rabbits!

 

[Mickey328]

If you do, and have more milk than you need, I'd love to buy some....for my animals, of course

 

[CDiana]

I saw those dwarf nigerian goats advertised too. They are sooo cute. If I can ever buy a little land of my own I want a couple goats. I have a friend in Wisconsin that used to have a goat farm with her parents. She had to sell most of them though. She makes goats milk soap, lotions and a few other things with the extra milk. Has her own little business out of it call Mama's Milk Shopp. I think she bought a trailer house from the profits , or at least a down payment. I buy some of her products. she is actually cheaper than most other places i've seen. I like the idea of making my own soap and lotion. So I cant be no help to convince you not to buy a couple.