# How much do Goats really "stink"?



## LLJ Farm and Stuffs (Jun 30, 2015)

First time poster, just joined today!

My family is going to be moving to Oklahoma this fall and are going to settle on 5 1/2 acres of mixed woods and field.

We have been researching Nigerian Dwarf Goats extensively and feel they would work great with our lifestyle to provide milk.

We have spoke to several different people, both rural and city folk, whose first response is to snurl there nose and say "Goats and dirty and stink."

I know any animal not properly cared for can stink, we plan to separate a buck if we end up with one.

But seriously, how much do Goats truly "stink", when kept in a large outdoor fenced in area with a loafing shed and are free range pastured during the day?

Thanks for the help, I know it may sound like a dumb question.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 30, 2015)

Welcome , glad you joined us!  We have just started with Nigerian Dwarfs- we have does and youngsters and they don't have much odor.

It sounds like you will have some acres to keep them on.  Maybe others can give some more information to you. @OneFineAcre @Goat Whisperer @Southern by choice @babsbag


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## mysunwolf (Jun 30, 2015)

Kids and does smell sweet like the pasture to me. However, buck goats are not cute and most certainly stink  I have known some that were worse than others but all of them are pretty bad and will get the does smelly as well. Sick goats will also stink. And of course, the poop always stinks! So you're right, if you give them enough room to roam you will not have as much of an issue with odor, except maybe the poop smell right around the loafing area, and even that will not be bad if there's enough air flow.


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 30, 2015)

Nigerian Dwarfs are great.  I've got a few myself. 

They don't stink.  They smell like livestock.  If you don't keep their living area clean, it will smell.  But, if you keep it cleaned regularly, they just smell like livestock.

But, the goats themselves don't smell.

Bucks however, do get pretty pungent during the rut.  Starts about Sept and starts to ease off in January.  Right now, mine don't smell bad at all, and I've got 5 Sr. Bucks.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 30, 2015)

mysunwolf said:


> buck goats are not cute and most certainly stink



I could not disagree more.
I have
3 Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
2 Mini Mancha Bucks 3 Lamancha Bucks
3 Kiko Bucks
and currently 8 kids bucks ranging from 3-6 months

THEY ARE CUTE! Wonderfully affectionate. Baby loves ... ALL of them. I LOVE BUCKS!



OneFineAcre said:


> Nigerian Dwarfs are great. I've got a few myself.
> 
> They don't stink. They smell like livestock. If you don't keep their living area clean, it will smell. But, if you keep it cleaned regularly, they just smell like livestock.
> 
> ...



I agree with OFA

Usually bucks do get pretty rank during rut. Your first year with a buck you will gag.  by your second year it isn't as bothersome by your 3 rd year when rut starts you will say... oooohhhh  smell those handsome boys! With a proud grin. 

Most of the year they have a slight musky scent.  
When spring/summer hits we bathe all of our bucks and give them summer clips. 

We do not keep our bucks and does together ever. We milk and it can definitely affect the milk flavor.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 30, 2015)

Wanted to add... I do wonder if a bucks diet may contribute to the potency of the scent. I have been to a few farms where their buck's scent was absolutely horrid.


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## mysunwolf (Jun 30, 2015)

Of course, I no longer have goats  My statements are based on the lingering memory of that awful buck smell. I bet you are right Southern, I'm also thinking it depends on the individual... kind of like people


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## Southern by choice (Jun 30, 2015)

mysunwolf said:


> kind of like people


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## Mike CHS (Jun 30, 2015)

Since SBC is a Buckaholic I'm not sure she could be considered unbiased.


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## babsbag (Jun 30, 2015)

My goats don't stink, and they would be offended.   Like everyone else says, the bucks can get a tad rank during rut but it doesn't really drift through the air very far. My goats are about 100' from my house and I never smell them, but the prevailing winds blow away from their pens. I only time I notice a smell is when I clean the pens after winter and the bottom layer under 12" of straw can be pretty rank for a day or two. But it isn't the goat that smells, it is the decomposing bedding. 

The buck smell can be hard to get out of your clothes and hands so you just learn that you don't handle much during rut, but if you do you wear old clothes, you change before you sit on your nice furniture, and you find someone that makes Buck Off soap and buy a few bars.

You will LOVE goats.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 30, 2015)

Mike CHS said:


> Since SBC is a Buckaholic I'm not sure she could be considered unbiased.



@Mike CHS - truly our first year I couldn't handle the rut smell. I have an ultra-sensitive sniffer.  I use to make the kids take off their jackets outside it was just too much for me. Now I go... awww are boys are smelling rather good now. 
I guess perspective changes as the does like the stronger scented bucks.


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## Mike CHS (Jun 30, 2015)

I grew up on my Grandparents farm and they always had goats in for dairy.  I don't remember them being stinky. Even when I go to my neighbors I do notice an odor when they are in rut but maybe my sinuses are somehow older than I am and it doesn't bother me.


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## Alta Loma Ladies (Jun 30, 2015)

I cant get my goat out of my woodpile, any suggestions?  Other than moving the wood pile?  rs


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## Southern by choice (Jun 30, 2015)

Alta Loma Ladies said:


> I cant get my goat out of my woodpile, any suggestions?  Other than moving the wood pile?  rs



Goats like to climb on things and are very curious. 
If you don't like him on it then yes, move it.


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## mikiz (Jun 30, 2015)

My first ever encounter with a Saanen buck ended with my mother almost leaving me behind at the farm. I had this great idea to let him rub all over me, I was only about 10 and I didn't mind the smell at all as long as I didn't put my hands near my face! My mother and brother were not so fond of the stink...
The girls never smelled, but that boy was pretty ripe, I guess it depends on your tolerance for smells as well as the potency of his perfume.


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## promiseacres (Jul 1, 2015)

My sister had a pygmy doe bred, she stunk up my dad's blazer.... badly after her visit. ..  but it did wear off. Certain city folk (& non city dwellers) are always not going to understand having livestock. You need to do what you want, let them stick their noses up in the air. Their loss.


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## LLJ Farm and Stuffs (Jul 2, 2015)

Thank you all for the info and positive comments.  We should be getting 2 doe and 1 buck Nigerian Dwarfs in October.  Have to get the pen built first.

Thanks again!


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## Bunnylady (Jul 2, 2015)

There are certain oily acids that make up a significant part of the fats in goat milk; if you have ever drunk it and noticed that it was significantly different that cow's milk in flavor, well, that's the "goatiness" that we all know. Goats smell like that, too, only a bit more so. All animals have an odor, and once you get used to it, you don't notice it. As others have said, the bucks have this smell in spades, some more than others (I have known bucks that I could smell 50 feet and more downwind). A lot of bucks have a habit of peeing on their beards and faces to enhance their buckly attractiveness; unfortunately, a lot of bucks are real attention hogs, too, so you wind up basking in their glory for a long time after you have been with them.

Incidentally, most people keep the buck separate from the does except during the fairly short periods when they want them to breed. This means building two separate pens, with the buck away from the does most of the time. A lot of people have a wether as a companion for the buck, so he doesn't get lonely.  (I can hear it already, "What? We're getting_ 4 _goats, now?!")


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## animalmom (Jul 2, 2015)

Goat Math strikes again!


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## Moody (Jul 2, 2015)

Bucks usually smell pretty awful ESP if you are down wind.

I think they may get smellier as they age which is just purdy smelling perfume to the lady goats. I have a one year old buck and a 3 month old buckling. The buckling smelled on his head but could have rubbed on another buck at the breeder. My one year old isn't stinky at all but it isn't rut season yet. He was a bit stinky last fall. I have been to breeders with bucks and honestly I left with the smell stuck in my nose and I didn't get within 100 feet of their buck. It stayed in my nose for an hour. It takes some getting used to for sure. And put their pen down wind.


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## babsbag (Jul 2, 2015)

@Bunnylady I beg to differ on the milk. If the doe is not with the buck, she is milked in a clean manner, and the milked is chilled immediately the difference between that milk and cow's milk is negligible and there should be NO goaty flavor at all.

That being said, there are some goats that have milk that just taste "off"; my Togg for one. But to say that all goat milk taste "goaty" is really not giving goats a fair shake. My girls would be offended.


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## Bunnylady (Jul 2, 2015)

babsbag said:


> @Bunnylady I beg to differ on the milk. If the doe is not with the buck, she is milked in a clean manner, and the milked is chilled immediately the difference between that milk and cow's milk is negligible and there should be NO goaty flavor at all.
> 
> That being said, there are some goats that have milk that just taste "off"; my Togg for one. But to say that all goat milk taste "goaty" is really not giving goats a fair shake. My girls would be offended.



Easy, there! Before your goats butt me right over the barn, I said_ IF_ you have drunk it _AND _noticed a significant difference, the smell/flavor that makes it different is "goat." Though I have had goats for years, I never tasted their milk (they are "brush goats;" I don't really _want _to know what flavor some of the brush around here could impart to milk ). I have had commercial brands of goat milk and yogurt; though I liked them both, there was a very subtle hint that I recognized as "goat." It wasn't strong enough to be unpleasant, but it wasn't identical in flavor to cow's milk products, either. I have heard that some breeds tend to produce milk with more of a goaty taste than others; perhaps the dairies had some of the stronger-tasting does in their herds.


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## Southern by choice (Jul 2, 2015)

Bunnylady said:


> Easy, there! Before your goats butt me right over the barn, I said_ IF_ you have drunk it _AND _noticed a significant difference, the smell/flavor that makes it different is "goat." Though I have had goats for years, I never tasted their milk (they are "brush goats;" I don't really _want _to know what flavor some of the brush around here could impart to milk ). I have had commercial brands of goat milk and yogurt; though I liked them both, there was a very subtle hint that I recognized as "goat." It wasn't strong enough to be unpleasant, but it wasn't identical in flavor to cow's milk products, either. I have heard that some breeds tend to produce milk with more of a goaty taste than others; perhaps the dairies had some of the stronger-tasting does in their herds.



Breed of goat does make a difference but really it does have a great deal to do with the milk/chill process.  I have tried different products from different dairies in NC. I can say I know exactly what you mean... some product taste like I just kissed a goat!  Some products I spit out immediately into the trash. Other products from different dairies no "goaty" anything.
Many people I know have tried different goat products and are very turned off saying it all taste like a goat .  When the same people try our cheese or fudge or ice cream they are shocked that it doesn't taste that way. 

For us there are times when I will taste a mild goaty tatse, no one else in the family can taste it but I am more sensitive and can.
Just my observations but when we went from using qt jars to 1/2 gallon jars it took a lot longer for them to chill and those were the ones that had just a "slight" taste difference. We are currently working on a system to chill much faster. Yes, diet also makes a difference.

We pasteurize our milk and there again getting it chilled down from 162 degrees to 45 must be done REALLY FAST. 
When it takes hours to chill down it tastes "off" IMO.

Goats milk from the store (and I don't care what brand) and canned goats milk is absolutely disgusting and is not representative of what your typical family farm's goat milk tastes like.
We do not leave our bucks with does ever. We hand breed- meaning when the doe is in heat we put her in a pen bring the buck up and in a few minutes the deed is done so to speak. Buck goes back to his pen and same with the doe. This way we have exact dates of earliest date due.


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## samssimonsays (Jul 2, 2015)

My goats don't smell at all, granted I have only had them since May 3rd. Their poop area does but only when it is damp and raining, which has been a lot lately  but kept clean it certainly helps! They get fresh hay daily when they are traipsing wet and rain into their shelter to help with that. I have 2 does and a wether. 

My friend down the road has a buck and he has never smelled "rank" just musky, pees on himself AND the girls  when he is being used for breeding but it is nothing that can't be cleaned.


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## babsbag (Jul 2, 2015)

@Bunnylady  OK, I will tell my girls to forgive you.   Goat milk from the grocery stores is usually pretty disgusting, that is for sure. But you might be surprised how the milk from your goats tastes. Boers are supposed to have very good milk in spite of not being "dairy" so your brush eaters might be ok too. I have two doelings this year that are 1/2 boer and they are slated for the dairy lineup just so I can see what their milk is like. Would be nice if they would milk like dairy and have the butterfat of a Boer. We'll see.


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## GLENMAR (Jul 2, 2015)

I love my goat milk. I can't wait until the kids are weaned so it's all mine.    Ahhh. The smell of bucks in the fall. That's how we know the seasons are changing around here. I don't mind the buck smell at all. I try not to handle them too much when they are very stinky.


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## alsea1 (Jul 3, 2015)

I think it also depends on the person. I like livestock so the odor does not bother me. However some friends of mine are horse people only and think even my sheep smell bad.
I agree with the others though. Management can be a key issue. The cleaner you can keep the area the better the health and least odiferous the animal pens will be.


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## Sweetened (Jul 9, 2015)

As others have said, its the buvks that stink. Of course, if youre loving on a doe who burps in your face or gives you cudd kisses, then they stink. 

I dont find buck odor all that offensive if you have one or two -- but walk into a buck pen with 6 or 7 and Ill do nearly anything to remove the onion-like burnig sensation from my nose!  Our saanen is super friendly, like a dog, but skunky; ill still cuddle him.


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## goatgurl (Jul 29, 2015)

I'm sitting laughing to and at myself.  ds4 use to refuse to go to the store with me at certain times of the year and i never knew why, hummmm.  and the answer is yes, bucks can smell like ---- but it doesn't bother most of us.  bucks can smell like a cross between a strong onion and a skunk when they are in rut but if kept separately the does smell like sunshine and hay.  everyone is correct, it is more about how you handle the milk then how the buck smells.  don't let others limit your dreams.  goats are wonderful.  and what lake are you moving to, we may sorta be neighbors.


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## lkmartin1230 (Jul 29, 2015)

My bucks have never been smelly enough to make the neighbors say anything, but we are in the country, and we have 4 people living on the road. I have horses, goats, pigs, chickens,and cows. All of the animals stink occasionally. Pigs live at my grandparents house thankfully because they get ripe in hot weather. But, as for bucks, last year I had 5 yr old buck, and he had a slight smell, but it wasn't that bad.


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