# Introducing our herd



## DustyBoot (Aug 29, 2017)

I introduced our LGDs and slipped a picture of the goats in there too, but figured I should formally introduce them where they belong. We were looking for a starter herd of Kiko or Kiko-cross does and got in touch with a lady who was getting out of the small ruminant business. My understanding is that she lost most of her goats to parasites a while back, but these three made it and so she'd kept them around even though she'd switched to sheep. I figured that sort of hardiness is as good a recommendation as any, especially because she was willing to sell us these three does and the two trained LGDs at a very reasonable price. I know there's a lot to be said for high-quality stock from breeders who keep careful records and everything, but we figured there's also something to inexpensive but hardy starter goats and we'll work on improving from here.





This is Ginger, who's about 3 years old. Kiko-Boer cross. Ginger isn't super friendly, but she's starting to come around to me.




This is Waffles. Not sure of her exact age, but she's Ginger's mother. Not clear on her exact ancestry, but supposed to be mostly Kiko with some Boer. Waffles is definitely the friendliest of the three, and the easiest to lead on a halter. If I'm in the goat pen for long, Waffles will be hanging around waiting for me to scratch her ears.




And this is Vanilla Cupcake (we let the kids name them; my youngest chose this one). She's unrelated to the other two, I believe, but also Kiko-Boer and about 3 years old. She seems to get picked on a little if they end up crowded at all, so we try to avoid that situation.

As best I can tell, they seem to be healthy and settling in well. They're getting a lot of browse here as we have some overgrown woods we want cleaned out. We're still waiting on our perimeter fencing to be finished, although they're finally making some progress. We're using temporary electric fencing to manage grazing anyway so it's not a huge deal, but I'll sure feel better once it's done.

They aren't bred, and we'd like to change that by the end of next month. Barring some sort of crisis, the fences should be done by then -- I haven't wanted to add a buck to the mix without that. I'm hoping we can find some way to rent a buck just long enough to get our girls bred this year, then next year we'd like to invest in a keeper buck. We'll see what ends up happening.


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## Baymule (Aug 29, 2017)

I have what I call my "learner" sheep. I think you are wise to start with inexpensive goats to learn on. You can always buy better ones once you get the hang of things. As far as a buck goes, renting one might be hard to do, good breeders are particular about bringing back a buck that might be exposed to who knows what. Not saying that your goats have disease, but you know what I mean. at least I hope you do.... 

You could buy a young buck, use him to breed your does, then send him to slaughter.


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## DustyBoot (Aug 29, 2017)

That's been one of my concerns -- I don't figure a good breeder would be impressed with the credentials of my starter goats, which is that they seem pretty healthy but I don't know for sure and certainly can't prove it. And the whole point of starter goats is not to sink too much money early on, which means that paying for all the various tests would defeat the purpose. At the same time, I don't really want a buck from someone who will lend him to any yahoo with some starter goats. 

Is there any real downside to using a young buck? What's the ideal age range if that's the goal? A less expensive young buck had crossed my mind, but I didn't think as far as the obvious solution of sending him to slaughter afterward rather than keeping him around indefinitely.


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## babsbag (Aug 29, 2017)

The only downside is that it might take them a little longer to figure it out. I have some Alpines that are quite capable by 5 months.


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## DustyBoot (Aug 30, 2017)

Well then, we'll see what we can do -- there's a 6-month-old available for sale near us and he just might do the trick.


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## DustyBoot (Sep 1, 2017)

Going to look at the 6 (7?)-month-old buckling this weekend and probably buy him. Seller says he's Kiko-Boer, and it seems believable based on pictures. I figure we're just looking for an overall healthy goat. This won't be our most lucrative year in goat-raising (goat-raising... lucrative... I'm so funny), but if we can learn the ropes at a low cost we'll call it a success. (Must remind myself not to get distracted by all the pretty papered goats out there!) I'll track performance data on the kids just for kicks, and if any of the doelings are worthwhile we'll keep them to add to our herd. If not, no worries. Next year we'll get ourselves a good commercial herd sire and see what we can do with a year of experience under our belts. 

Aside from asking about deworming history (don't want anything that has much of a history at only 6 months!) and making sure he looks generally healthy and has all his parts (ahem), any tips?


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## Mike CHS (Sep 3, 2017)

I think you are smart to start small as you are learning. Pretty goats by the way.


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## Mini Horses (Sep 3, 2017)

Your goats look nice!  Don't apologize for them.  Remember this....if you are raising for the butcher -- he does NOT care about papers, only the health & carcass. 

As to the 6=mo old, he is capable.   Look at the herd of goats he has.  Are they well fed, active, attentive to strangers being on site, no nasty butts, no open wounds (esp at neck) the general body type that you want to raise -- because that is what you are buying with this buck.

Beyond that, worm him as soon as you get him, give CDT booster, quarantine him for about 3 weeks to be sure no snots or runs.   Then put him on a fence line with the girls for a few days.   They will soon cycle and he will do his job.   Give them plenty of room when you put them together -- to be able to get away from one another.  Or intro each doe to his pen.


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## LocoYokel (Sep 3, 2017)

Beautiful goats you have there.  Good Luck with your adventure!


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## Simpleterrier (Sep 3, 2017)

Just a heads up u don't need registered stock at all. I have none registered Tennessee fainting goats and a co-worker has registered boar goats at the end of the year we turn close to the same profit per a head.  The difference is what we pay for bucks or other does and what we feed. He has a lot bigger heard then I do close to ten times bigger. But most years doesn't bring in ten times the profit.


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## DustyBoot (Nov 7, 2017)

Realized it's been a while and thought I might pop back in to update this. We did buy the buckling as planned, although he seemed awfully small. Brought him home and after making sure he was healthy we put him in with the does. Nothing. They pushed him around, and he meekly accepted it. Any masculine behavior (peeing on himself, etc.) stopped after the first few days. We gave him a couple of months and decided it wasn't working out, so he left for freezer camp this week. It's possible the meat will taste bucky, I suppose, but he certainly didn't act or smell in a way that would incline me to be concerned about it. 
We found a quality Kiko buckling a little older from a fairly local breeder. More money, of course, but the difference between him and our first attempt is night and day and I think his progeny will reflect that. I guess sometimes you just don't take shortcuts. Based on the new guy's attitude and behavior, I'm feeling pretty confident we'll have kids in about 5 months. And given the does' interest in him and vice versa, it seems pretty clear that the first buckling didn't do the job. Not sure what the problem was, but I guess we've got it worked out now.
We named the first buckling Curry when we brought him home, since we never intended to keep him longer than a couple of months. He was a sweet little guy, and if we were just in this for pets I'd have kept him around. But I'm looking forward to trying goat burgers and other goat recipes. Also, he had the softest hair -- felt more like petting a cat than a goat. So I asked the butcher to save his skin for us, and I'm in the process of tanning it. Never done that before so I'm not sure how it'll work out, but so far so good.


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## Baymule (Nov 7, 2017)

Take pictures and tell us how you are tanning the hide! It sucks that the first buck couldn't do what you bought him for, but at least you realized that and did what needed to be done. Goat burgers sound good!


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## Latestarter (Nov 7, 2017)

Hind sight but might have been worthwhile to keep that first buck and wether him to be a companion for the new buck so he doesn't get lonely when you separate him  from the does. Good to hear the second boy is doing the deed for you.


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## DustyBoot (Nov 7, 2017)

We did think about wethering Curry, especially since everyone was fond of him, but we're five months out from needing to separate the buck from the does and I think it's likely we'll buy a second buckling, maybe younger, rather than keeping a wether. It's not unlikely we'll want to keep some doelings from the new buck, so having a second buck by the time they're of breeding age would be a good idea. 

I haven't taken any pictures yet of the hide tanning, but I'll see what I can do. Generally my hands are pretty full and not exactly in a state to be handling the camera.  But this is the method I'm using, after a lot of Googling and YouTubeing: http://www.earthskills.net/hairOn.htm  It came back from the butcher pretty bloody so it took a lot of rinsing, but otherwise seemed to be in good shape. It's been in the solution for about 30 hours now. I got a start at fleshing it this morning -- I was going to wait two days, but the forecast for tomorrow is ugly. It still needs a little work, but it'll be much quicker than what I did this morning. Aside from finishing that, it's just a matter of stirring it a few times a day then working it while it dries. Not completely sure it'll work, but it's not an expensive or terribly difficult process so it seems worth a shot.


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## Baymule (Nov 8, 2017)

Sounds interesting. I've done deer hide chair bottoms with green hides and let them dry and draw up.


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## goats&moregoats (Nov 8, 2017)

Welcome & good luck with your herd. Sounds like your off to a good start. I definitely would like to see pictures of the hide when you are done. Goats a beautiful by the way.


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