# Turtle Rock Farm: First Goat Experience



## Turtle Rock Farm (May 21, 2018)

So, after multiple years of dreaming and hoping and building, I am finally bringing home goats in the next few weeks. Possibly as soon as this week, I'm not quite sure yet. I've researched my butt off, I've had a few moments where I thought "I'm insane, I can't do this, goats are too hard" and I've learnt more about bloat and worms and goat udders than I ever thought possible. I'm a bit nervous but at least I have a goat-savvy friend to help quell my fears. Here's hoping I don't kill them by accident in the first week.  

This is the first goat, an Alpine doe (in milk) that's about three years of age. Her name is Lucy. Ignore the Nigerian Dwarf photobombers, they're not coming home with me.





Here's the second, another Alpine girl named Lexie. She's the black with white markings that's most prominent/in focus in the image. This is an old image, she's about 6--8 weeks old now.


 

This is their new home. It's 6' x 8' if I remember correctly. An electric net fence has been set up in the back since the image was taken. It [the fence] isn't fully operational yet, but I'll be keeping them inside for the first bit anyway.





Anyway, hopefully within the next few weeks I'll have some pictures of them settled in and happy. I'm sure I'll be bugging you guys with more questions than you care to answer, so get ready


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## Kiki (May 21, 2018)

Congrats on the new family members!


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## Latestarter (May 21, 2018)

Congrats! Nice looking goats. Be very careful... they are addicting!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (May 22, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Congrats! Nice looking goats. Be very careful... they are addicting!


Thank you! Oh, I'm certain. I've had first hand experience with chicken math, and goat math seems just as sneaky. I'm already in love with another Nigerian Dwarf kid that I just _need_. Thank goodness I don't have enough space or I would definitely want to take her home too.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (May 26, 2018)

Lexie is home! Lucy is going to be dropped off next Thursday.


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## Wehner Homestead (May 26, 2018)

Congrats! She’s pretty. 

I hope she does well by herself until the other arrives.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (May 26, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> Congrats! She’s pretty.
> 
> I hope she does well by herself until the other arrives.


She's been doing fine. Cries for about 30 seconds after I leave, then hushes right up. To be fair, I've been practically living in there, so she's not alone too much, lol!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 5, 2018)

Lucy is home! There have been some difficulties with milking, but I've managed to get her empty.


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## Latestarter (Jun 5, 2018)

Patience and persistence... You'll both win the day! Great looking doe!


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## Wehner Homestead (Jun 5, 2018)

Milking well definitely takes practice. Each doe and udder is slightly different too. Welcome to the club!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 6, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> Patience and persistence... You'll both win the day! Great looking doe!


I managed to save a bit for consumption today. It all ended up as, er, 'chocolate milk' previously.   It's definitely coming along well, and I'm figuring out ways around her tendencies to perform an elaborate tap dance on the milkstand. The only thing I've ever milked before was a cow so docile you could probably lay on your back and squirt it straight into your mouth without issue.


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## Donna R. Raybon (Jun 8, 2018)

If your shelter has a wood floor?  you may want to use stall mats so you don't get wood urine soaked.  
Goats are so much fun, glad you took the plunge and enjoy!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 9, 2018)

Donna R. Raybon said:


> If your shelter has a wood floor?  you may want to use stall mats so you don't get wood urine soaked.
> Goats are so much fun, glad you took the plunge and enjoy!


Nope, dirt floor. Thank you!


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## Donna R. Raybon (Jun 9, 2018)

Good deal!  Do you have a milk stand?  That sure makes it easier.  My experience has been either they hold stock still or throw fits for about two weeks, then settle down.  Currently I am breaking a wild two year old 'rope goat' .....she trails a long rope on a halter so I can catch her.  Never offered to move while milking her, just can't get near her to catch.  She is coming around and not so hard to catch.  That is one of disadvantages of dam raising, kids can be wild.


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## Latestarter (Jun 9, 2018)

Not sure if it's a fluke, and I don't have decades of experience, but I've had dam raised and bottle raised equally friendly. I find the trick is to handle the babies as soon as possible after birth. Put fingers in ears, mouth, on butt, all over just like mom does. Make sure to pick them up and hold them for a short time. Then make sure to spend a little time in their presence daily. After feeding the group this morning (7 adults, 8 dam raised kids ~10-11 weeks), I moved a folding chair into the shade out in the pasture and had a seat for a while. My LGD came over and got his loving. My buck and adult wether made sure they got their scratches then went off to graze/browse, then most of the kids spent some time with me and got their scratches and petting. One actually climbed up in my lap as she wanted some intensive attention   Like humans, some crave more attention than others, but all of them, including the bucklings come up looking for attention and are very friendly (even after shots and bandings etc.).

In actuality, I only have really one goat who rarely comes to me or near me and that's my one mean girl/herd queen. She has never really been friendly, but that may be because I chase her around when she's being just plain mean to the others.


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## goats4us (Jun 9, 2018)

Congratulations! We just got our first goats 3 weeks ago (meat goats) so we're right there with you. This group is awesome, full of good advice and lots of encouragement! We had an injury right off the bat, blood everywhere, but we and the goat survived and doing great. We get quite a kick out of them. Enjoy!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 9, 2018)

Donna R. Raybon said:


> Good deal!  Do you have a milk stand?  That sure makes it easier.  My experience has been either they hold stock still or throw fits for about two weeks, then settle down.  Currently I am breaking a wild two year old 'rope goat' .....she trails a long rope on a halter so I can catch her.  Never offered to move while milking her, just can't get near her to catch.  She is coming around and not so hard to catch.  That is one of disadvantages of dam raising, kids can be wild.


I sure do. I'd have given up already if I didn't have that lovely thing. She is improving exponentially in behaviour and now throws only about two short fits per milking and sits quietly for the rest. 

The first milk of hers I tasted was rather like a smoothie that would have been good if some nut hadn't stuck lettuce or artichokes or something in it. I ended up feeding it to the chickens. Then I took her off pasture for a day---and now it's absolutely delicious.  I'm not sure how I'm going to work pasture to keep the milk edible, but I have a few ideas and we'll see how it works.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 9, 2018)

goats4us said:


> Congratulations! We just got our first goats 3 weeks ago (meat goats) so we're right there with you. This group is awesome, full of good advice and lots of encouragement! We had an injury right off the bat, blood everywhere, but we and the goat survived and doing great. We get quite a kick out of them. Enjoy!


Oh my, sounds scary. I'm glad it went okay! I'm running into a bit of difficulty too: I found out last night that the doe has a case of lice. Sigh. Anyone know what I can use on a doe in milk without wrecking the milk? I have Permethrin spray and powder that was mixed up for the chickens, but I don't know if that's okay to use or not.


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## Latestarter (Jun 9, 2018)

The permethrin is perfect for the task, but I have not been able to find or verify any milk withholding requirement for it. Perhaps @Goat Whisperer or @Southern by choice or maybe @babsbag would know for sure? Maybe someone else?  I can't find it listed at FARAD http://www.farad.org/WDIlookup/
Since it is a man made substance designed to mimic a natural substance, I should think that a 5-7 day withdrawal (just to be safe) should be more than adequate.
http://www.livingwithbugs.com/permethrin_pyrethrum.html


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## Southern by choice (Jun 9, 2018)

There is none.  We skip the milking following anyway.
The livestock concentrates should have this in their labeling.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 9, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> The permethrin is perfect for the task, but I have not been able to find or verify any milk withholding requirement for it. Perhaps @Goat Whisperer or @Southern by choice or maybe @babsbag would know for sure? Maybe someone else?  I can't find it listed at FARAD http://www.farad.org/WDIlookup/
> Since it is a man made substance designed to mimic a natural substance, I should think that a 5-7 day withdrawal (just to be safe) should be more than adequate.
> http://www.livingwithbugs.com/permethrin_pyrethrum.html



The synthetic version (permethrin) is much safer in general and far less toxic than pyrethrum is a botanical insecticide which is natural made from the chrysanthemum plant.  The synthetic version cannot be used on cats.


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## Donna R. Raybon (Jun 9, 2018)

Turtle Rock Farm said:


> I sure do. I'd have given up already if I didn't have that lovely thing. She is improving exponentially in behaviour and now throws only about two short fits per milking and sits quietly for the rest.
> 
> The first milk of hers I tasted was rather like a smoothie that would have been good if some nut hadn't stuck lettuce or artichokes or something in it. I ended up feeding it to the chickens. Then I took her off pasture for a day---and now it's absolutely delicious.  I'm not sure how I'm going to work pasture to keep the milk edible, but I have a few ideas and we'll see how it works.


Pasture should not have impact on milk taste to that extent?  
Yes, milk stand is  wonderful!  Funniest thing is how children love to play , put their head in, etc.  Whenever we were at fair the parents always threatened to buy one.  Getting dark, so gotta go milk.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 9, 2018)

Southern by choice said:


> There is none.  We skip the milking following anyway.
> The livestock concentrates should have this in their labeling.


Thank you!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 9, 2018)

Donna R. Raybon said:


> Pasture should not have impact on milk taste to that extent?
> Yes, milk stand is  wonderful!  Funniest thing is how children love to play , put their head in, etc.  Whenever we were at fair the parents always threatened to buy one.  Getting dark, so gotta go milk.


Evidently blackberry plants do? She was eating quite a bit of those.


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## Latestarter (Jun 9, 2018)

Actually, I've found that plants eaten can have a rather dramatic impact on milk taste... When my girl gets a few large branches of sweet gum leaves, her milk is awesome. When oak leaves, it's a little more "tart". When they're just out grazing and eating whatever, the milk varies a little daily. Thankfully I don't have wild onions or garlic here.


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## Donna R. Raybon (Jun 10, 2018)

Mine free range and have never found any difference in taste.  They have an abundace of whatever is growing here in eastern TN.  All of mine are Nubian and closely related, too.  I have noticed some differences among breed and within a breed, family lines.  
With cows, the spring onions have an impact if your pasture is overgrazed.  
Do whatever works for you.


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## Farmer Connie (Jun 11, 2018)




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## Shawluvsbirds (Jun 26, 2018)

Very cool! Except for the lice. 
Congratulations!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jun 27, 2018)

I treated her with the Permethrin spray and it did a dandy job of it. I gave her a CDT shot too, since she was due for one. That went pretty well, despite my fears. 

I still haven't gotten the electric fence up due to being quite busy, but I've been putting them in the chicken run for out time and they haven't escaped even once---yet.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jul 8, 2018)

So, I was told by the last owner that Lucy's feet wouldn't need to be done for a bit, but I checked them a few days ago and they are REALLY bad. The edges have curled under and made a new surface on part of it with packed in manure underneath. I've been trimming a little at a time every time I milk, and stopping when she runs out of patience. It's going well, but I'm worried about foot rot because of just how bad/dirty her feet were. What should I be looking for? And how do I know if the tips are too long? They are curving up a little but I'm not sure if that's because the soles aren't flat.

Also, Lexie's feet look like they could use a trim. When do you all do first hoof care?


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jul 11, 2018)




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## Turtle Rock Farm (Jul 14, 2018)

We got the electric fence running today. Lucy took one look at it, heard the snapping, and wouldn't even come close. Lexie took a few shocks to wisen up,


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## Shawluvsbirds (Aug 3, 2018)

Turtle Rock Farm said:


> View attachment 50174


pretty calico colors


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Aug 14, 2018)

They managed to clear this out in just 2--3 weeks.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Sep 18, 2018)

Hoof care is 'interesting', to say the least. I'm still working on getting them back into shape. She's almost dried up now. I'm milking less than once a day. Lexie is getting her winter 'pants' in and looks adorable.


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## Shawluvsbirds (Dec 20, 2018)

More pictures!!


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Dec 20, 2018)

Shawluvsbirds said:


> More pictures!!


I'll try and get some soon! Winter has made it difficult to get any good photo shoots.


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## Shawluvsbirds (Dec 21, 2018)

Turtle Rock Farm said:


> I'll try and get some soon! Winter has made it difficult to get any good photo shoots.


Well hurry up dang it. I bet they are pretty in the snow


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Feb 18, 2019)

We had a bit of a scare a few weeks back. Lexie bloated, and was down by the time I found her. Thankfully, after a dose of Peptol Bismol (recommended by a goat person I know) she stopped screaming and was up and walking a bit a few hours later. I still don't know what caused it, because their hay hasn't changed, they obviously don't have any toxic plants they could get into, and they had no access to the grain bin. 



Speaking of grain, I am thinking that Lucy needs more than the 1lb a day I've been giving her. She's getting a bit skinny. Yes, she has been wormed in the last year. How much do you all generally feed them?


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## Daxigait (Mar 8, 2019)

Turtle Rock Farm said:


> View attachment 50174


Your good photos are as good as your chicken ones.  Like jace


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## Daxigait (Mar 8, 2019)

Turtle Rock Farm said:


> We had a bit of a scare a few weeks back. Lexie bloated, and was down by the time I found her. Thankfully, after a dose of Peptol Bismol (recommended by a goat person I know) she stopped screaming and was up and walking a bit a few hours later. I still don't know what caused it, because their hay hasn't changed, they obviously don't have any toxic plants they could get into, and they had no access to the grain bin.
> View attachment 58230
> Speaking of grain, I am thinking that Lucy needs more than the 1lb a day I've been giving her. She's getting a bit skinny. Yes, she has been wormed in the last year. How much do you all generally feed them?


Remind Aaron Lee get a third to a half of a horse scoop a day of my mix.   The colored plastic ones I can get at the feed store. Then my milkers get a high-powered feed on the stand.  They get alfalfa in the evening and grass hay in the mornings.  yours are probably need a bit more than mine because your temperatures are much more extreme.  My  non milkers get a14% feed with some Alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, and crimped oats when pregnant.   I get a 25% protein mix with yeast for the milkers that I feed free choice while they're being milked to boost them.  I can also give them anything extra like gold Spike or anything while they're on the milk stand so I know who they get their dose.


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## Shawluvsbirds (Apr 15, 2019)

Only one goat picture since December? What on earth do you think I sign in here for?


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Apr 18, 2019)

I know, shame on me! This is the only recent one I have, and it's just them in their shed window.
I got a bag of alfalfa pellets from the feed store, and it has definitely been helping Lucy keep her weight on.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Apr 19, 2019)

I got the camera out today.


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## Turtle Rock Farm (Apr 19, 2019)

Also, how are Lucy's feet looking? I'm not sure if I'm getting them even enough.


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