# Udderly fabulous?



## LovinLife (Sep 10, 2011)

I'm considering buying this Toggenburg. What do we think of those udders? The girl who is selling her is also selling another adult doe and a 5 month old kid. Do her udders look normal? I've never had goats before but I love 'em! Any tips on transporting them?


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## savingdogs (Sep 10, 2011)

I think those udders look nice, but I'm not a goat expert.

We did pretty well transporting goats, it helps to have a pickup with a cab over or a trailer, but we used a dog crate in the back of vehicle (we have mini goats though). Our goats made a lot of noise during transport but were really pretty much calmer than I would have expected.


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## LovinLife (Sep 10, 2011)

savingdogs said:
			
		

> I think those udders look nice, but I'm not a goat expert.
> 
> We did pretty well transporting goats, it helps to have a pickup with a cab over or a trailer, but we used a dog crate in the back of vehicle (we have mini goats though). Our goats made a lot of noise during transport but were really pretty much calmer than I would have expected.


Oh my goodness SD. I want these goats so bad but don't really know the first thing! I would be milking in the garage because we don't have a barn! .... and I don't even know how to milk!


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## fortheloveofgoats (Sep 10, 2011)

I think that they look good!  That kinda feels dirty.  I put our goats in the back seat of our car. I put a tarp down, and then a blanket. My doe did better than my wether. My doe laid down, where as my wether pushed his head up between my driver seat, and the side of the car. It was funny though, he put his head out the window. I had so many people looking, I was scared we were going to cause an accident. We and everyone else made it home safe. They are boer, and boer mix. I did buy them at separate times though.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Sep 11, 2011)

LovinLife said:
			
		

> I'm considering buying this Toggenburg. What do we think of those udders? The girl who is selling her is also selling another adult doe and a 5 month old kid. Do her udders look normal? I've never had goats before but I love 'em! Any tips on transporting them?
> 
> http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa203/aebertowski/goat.jpg


Just a note- goats have one udder (two halves), so if we're asking about one goat we would use "udder" in the singular.  

She certainly looks easy to milk!


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## savingdogs (Sep 11, 2011)

LovinLife said:
			
		

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I didn't know how to milk when I got mine either. Have the seller show you. Then.......practice makes perfect! It isn't so hard to learn, you just  need to keep trying. 

And I think milking in the garage would be fine. I use the laundry room. My goats have never.....left nanny berries or peed....while brought indoors. 

You can DO it! There is a lot of good help online....


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## Jen4 (Sep 11, 2011)

Your gonna love it... I just got milkin goats about a week ago, milked for my very 1st time yesterday evening, its an adventure but I love it & it get better the more I do it & the more my girls get use to me.


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## LovinLife (Sep 11, 2011)

I hope these goats are good girls and don't make a fuss and kick over the bucket or any of those other horror stories I've heard. I will be going and meeting them on Tuesday and maybe picking them up then. It looks like we might be doing dog kennels and a mini-van for the ride home.


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## LovinLife (Sep 11, 2011)

Jen4 said:
			
		

> Your gonna love it... I just got milkin goats about a week ago, milked for my very 1st time yesterday evening, its an adventure but I love it & it get better the more I do it & the more my girls get use to me.


Did you get yours as babies or as adults. The ones i'm looking at are two adults and one kid. Do goats adapt to new environments easy? From what I've heard they are kinda like dogs, each has it's own personality.


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## savingdogs (Sep 11, 2011)

LovinLife said:
			
		

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All of the goats I've known so far had their own personality. Moving to a new environment does upset them. But they loooove food, that is the way to their heart. Try to have some of whatever they have been eating ready for them as soon as you get home. When we brought new ones here, that made them feel happy and settled. 

Mine learned to love being milked because I took OFG's advice and never feed grain anywhere but on the stanchion. Mine had never seen a stanchion before so it took a couple of us to hoist them up there the first time. But after that, the memory of the grain was there and they only had to be coaxed up. NOW they charge up there and fight to be first. I had to establish an order so they don't fight about it so much. I always milk the certain one first. 
I have my little doeling going up on the stanchion to eat her little bit of grain she gets every day too, just so she learns when it is time to start milking her. I also mess with their feet and examine their scrapes and stuff like that on the stanchion while they are occupied with their food. Our relationship got much closer when we started milking and giving them all that grain. Food is the way to their hearts.


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## LovinLife (Sep 11, 2011)

savingdogs said:
			
		

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Good to know thanks! Did you make your stanchion or buy it? Are they pretty easy to make?


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## freemotion (Sep 11, 2011)

I made mine from scraps from a neighbor's scrap pile....I have essentially no carpentry skills but that thing could probably support a cow!


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## savingdogs (Sep 11, 2011)

Hubby made mine using the plans at Fias Co Farms. That is a good site to read. But he made it on the very LAST day possible, the day the kids were born....all in one day. It works excellent, I highly recommend using that pattern. I actually use the information for that site for much of how I do things. Their fudge recipe is very good and it explains a lot of stuff there. It is one lady's approach, she is pretty holistic/natural type, but I'm that way too so I like her advice. There are lots of choices and ways of having goats, what to feed them, etc. I think because they do well under different environments. 
But you want to find out what they have been eating and stuff when you bring them home and make changes very slowly. Goats don't do well with fast diet changes, it can make them sick. Just like having too much grain, they don't need much except when they are lactating.


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