# Anybody with less than 5 goats??



## rondam24 (May 29, 2010)

Seriously. We've been running all over looking at goat farm after goat farm, and every place but 1 have more than 20! The one exception has 3 adults. All the other places have been messy, smelly, and a little crappy looking. There have been diseases in the herds, and some does just don't look healthy. 

So is there really such a thing as a small goat farmer with only a few goats?? Please help... It's getting discouraging and frustrating.


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## ohiofarmgirl (May 29, 2010)

you only need two.. 


i have 4 currently but started with two. you are probably seeing just the 'pros'.... lots of people have small herds and arent messy and smelly. 

good luck!


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## Cuttlefishherder (May 29, 2010)

We are getting 2 goats some time soon, for dairy since we're all allergic to cows milk. Are you getting a few goats soon?


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## lupinfarm (May 29, 2010)

We have 3

I'm messy  but my goat shed, and fields are not.

We are looking into breeding quality registered milk goats (Nigi's probably at this stage)..

April, our newest goatie.. she's a Boer/Nubian came from a farm that has 80 goats, 2 pigs, a bunch of horses and some chickens  They raise goats for market and their place is fantastic, the barns smell lovely like hay and their fields are gorgeous. You just have to find the right fit.


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## Henrietta23 (May 29, 2010)

I am getting two next weekend and will possibly add a third so that I don't have to wait to milk. The guy I'm getting the two kids from only has two does. There are a few places around here where I see less than 5 in a penned yard. Even the "farms" I drive by have less than a dozen. Maybe it's regional?


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## freemotion (May 29, 2010)

I think if you have less than 5 you aren't really considered a "goat farmer!" 

I have six, but only recently, when the two doelings were born.  That is how the numbers jump up, and before you know it....twenty!

Just kidding.  Oops.  Pun. 

There are lots of people with just a few goats.  They probably aren't advertising, so you don't know where they are.  They may be all around you, tucked into backyards and such.  Like mine.

Here is how my herd is sneaking up there in numbers:

First two goats as companion to retired horse, moved to suburbia and needing companions to help her adjust to the noise of a neighborhood with kids.

#3:  A rescued dairy goat that I milked for a year.

#4:  A doeling I bought when the milk from one goat was not enough to support my cheesemaking obsession.

#5:  A buckling to breed the two dairy does (when the doeling grew up).

#4:  Back to four when the buckling was sold once he'd served his purpose here.

#5:  First the young doe had a single doeling

#6:  Then the older doe had a single doeling

I had decided back when I bred them that I would keep a doeling from each doe, if I got any.  And that is all I got.  I plan to get another buckling this fall, sell him in the spring.  After he has bred the younger doe and her doeling, and possibly the other doeling if she is big enough by then.  That means I will have three pregnant does, possibly....statistically, six more goats!


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## Hollywood Goats (May 29, 2010)

I have 2 goats! and they are very clean.


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## Roll farms (May 29, 2010)

I started w/ less than 5.

No, really.  I did....

43 kids born here this year, so I think I've got a bit more than 5 now...


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## chandasue (May 29, 2010)

I have 4 right now, but I'll be selling one of the babies soon and down to 3 until the next set of babies come. But I'm not keeping any of those babies. I'll have ample opportunity to repeat that breeding if the babies turn out really nice and she's a FF and the buck is young so I want to see how she produces a couple of years before I keep any of her kids. I'm also not really in a position in the place we live now to expand much. We have neighbors that I have to keep happy...   But other than getting a buck and a wether after we move to a place without neighbors, I don't see myself expanding to anymore than 6 adults. We just don't have a need for that much milk and I like to keep things small and manageable since I have a lot of other things going on besides goats. 

Edit: My goats pen is very easy to keep clean since it is just a few of them. The neighbors say they don't hardly know they're there and certainly not by smell. They only hear them occasionally. Only having a few sure makes milking and grooming a lot easier too, and cheap to feed!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (May 30, 2010)

I had 4, lost 1 and am getting another in June.  I have 4 and they are just pets.  2 Whethers and 2 does.  My whethers are the most friendly of all.  Nothing wrong with have 4 or less, just have at least 2.


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## Henrietta23 (May 30, 2010)

freemotion said:
			
		

> I think if you have less than 5 you aren't really considered a "goat farmer!"
> 
> I have six, but only recently, when the two doelings were born.  That is how the numbers jump up, and before you know it....twenty!
> 
> ...


Hmmm, trying to math in the morning.... will my little girl be old enough to pay your new buck a visit when he's with you? Hmmm....


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## RockyToggRanch (May 30, 2010)

Right now I have 8, but 2 bucklings are destined for freezer camp.
That leaves 4 does and 2 bucks....one of who may be sold after breeding?? Maybe.


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## Mea (May 30, 2010)

I think that in Goat Math...1+1=101 or something to that effect.

  When we started with dairy goats (way back in the dark ages)  i only wanted One.   Learned real quick that That was a very bad idea !  So we had two does.  Bred them...one had twins, the other triplets.  so 1+1=7.  It was all downhill from there.  Children were in 4H  and had to show...and needed the critters to show...and needed different age critters to show...and we needed to grow some out...and freshen some to see what we had going for us...and...and...   

   This time going into goats  we started with two milkers and the cutest spotty doeling !!  Right now we have three milkers...a dry yearling...that's 4 ... a buck and his companion...that's 6  ... and this year's crop of kids...6...so we're up to 12 at the moment....guess we don't qualify for "under 5" either....


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## freemotion (May 30, 2010)

Henrietta23 said:
			
		

> freemotion said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Eight months and eighty pounds....There are weight calculators online, you measure their girth behind the elbows and compare that to a weight chart.....so probably!!!  Bring her on over!


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## Henrietta23 (May 30, 2010)

freemotion said:
			
		

> Eight months and eighty pounds....There are weight calculators online, you measure their girth behind the elbows and compare that to a weight chart.....so probably!!!  Bring her on over!


 cool!!


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## aggieterpkatie (May 31, 2010)

I currently have 2, but for most of the year only have my one doe.  I had her two kids, but sold them when they were weaned.  I just bought a buckling for breeding this fall.  I only *need* one goat for my family's dairy needs.  I'd love to have more, but I just don't need more right now.  I've thought about one day having a goat dairy and producing soap and cheese...but I need to work for a while longer so we can afford to buy more property some day.  

Oh, and I have 3 sheep, so the lone goat isn't lonely.


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## goat lady (May 31, 2010)

I started with two and now have 12 and triplets (all bucks :/) born this weekend.   

Started with a doe and her buck. Got two more adult does and a little buck over a year ago. Sold the first buck and have gotten little bottle babies over the last 18 months and have been raising them till they are old enough to breed. Currently only have one on the bottle right now. Almost weaned. Two does will be one in Sept. a buck will be one in Jan. two more does will be one in Jan./Feb. So we have 10 does of various ages and two bucks. One 16 months, and one that will be a year in Jan.  We only wanted 8, but hubby fell in love as much as I did.


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## savingdogs (Jun 1, 2010)

Well we have day jobs but we are wanna-be goat farmers! Actually I want to make goats milk soap and cheese and I think I'm lactose intolerant and we....well, love animals and fell in love with dairy goats at the county fair. And of course because we want to become self sufficient.

We bought triplets, a wether and two doelings that are still growing up, so we only have three goats. 

When my milk/baby production gets going, I could eventually have a larger herd. I'll need a bigger barn before then!


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## freemotion (Jun 1, 2010)

savingdogs said:
			
		

> and I think I'm lactose intolerant and we....well, love animals and fell in love with dairy goats at the county fair. And of course because we want to become self sufficient.


I am, too, and can use all the dairy products from my goats, including drinking all the raw milk I want!


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## glenolam (Jun 1, 2010)

My husband and I both work full time during the week (1st shift each) but somehow manage to work in 5 goats (2 does, 1 wether and 2 doeling kids who are 8 wks old), 3 bred Hereford cows, a total of 30 adult birds (ducks, guineas and chickens), 11 ducklings and 7 chicks!  Oh, yeah, I can't forget to mention the inside animals - 4 parakeets, 2 dogs and 2 cats, and our precious beloved 5 yr old son 

I got 2 goats over a year ago, a doe and her wether, with plans to make goats milk soap.  Then that wasn't enough as I wanted to have babies, so I got another doe soon after my first two and this year had twins from my eldest doe.  I plan to breed my two oldest does this year and have more babies!!!  I wanted to sell the two does born this year, but my husband says no!

Our farm, I would like to say, is very neat and clean.  We clean out the goat barn every week and pick up the bigger messes daily, our birds are allowed to free range while we're home, and their hen house gets cleaned every few weeks.  We take pride in how our house and yard looks, so we have very little down time for TV or relaxing inside.  But it's all worth it when neighbors or friends come over and compliment us!

Good luck and keep talking to people in your area.  I'm sure you'll find many "backyard" farmers who take pride in their small herds!  I know I do!


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