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Thanks Ridgetop, that is something I didn't consider (the troubles of selling kids). I did think about having trouble selling them (with there being somewhat of a surplus of goats all the time here, it seems!)...but Goodness, I have enough trouble with trying to give things away on Free cycle! I...

Wow y'all are so sweet and helpful, I truly appreciate all the information and experiences! I decided not to go with the does I mentioned earlier, beautiful as they are. There are just too many red flags with the owner (not very responsive, not answering my questions, saying they come from...

Ok that's good to know that it could vary by goat. I did locate some beautiful doelings about 3 hours away...time to kick fencing construction into high gear, lol! Is there a comprehensive checklist somewhere of what to have before you bring goats home? Or do y'all have any "must have"...

I honestly can't remember the order of chilling as this was the year before last when I observed. I believe her thought process was the higher butterfat in the ND's milk would bring a richness/creaminess to the Lamancha milk and kind of compliment each other--not necessarily mask a bad taste...

This is exactly how I go about purchasing ducks and chickens (well, minus milking them first) :p

wow a lot to respond to here, thanks!! I suppose the reason I am thinking of a dairy animal is because I have the desire to do it. Does that make sense? I want it as a hobby. And I like that this hobby isn't just something I'd do, it's the experience and bonding with animals and providing for...

Do you think a 4 strand wire still wouldn't cut it for a goat? I did find some nice fiberglass posts with 4 strand placement (the two and the bottom being close-ish and graduated spacing to the top strand). This would of course have to have solid corners and some along in the straight runs but...

Thank you SO MUCH everyone for all of your feedback! I'm hard to offend so the brutal honesty is very much appreciated. @Alaskan it seems so obviously but I never considered just harvesting brush to toss in with the goats. That makes completely sense. @Baymule turns out I had an extremely...

LOL!! Yes -- that is definitely a concern; I'll feed 'em hay, but preferably not the crops :P Ok, so if I am to understand...fenced in goats OR cow, I'll ultimately be ending up with dry lots and buying hay...unless perhaps I am willing to move a temporary fence daily throughout the property...

Thanks for asking! So 20ft x 160ft or so, divided to rotate, still wouldn't be enough for 3-4 goats? Grr I just don't know what to do! I have seen people who regularly rotate a 16x16 foot cattle panel fence with 5 goats or so, so thought my set up would be over kill. Ugh back to the drawing...

Right, "20 foot squared" is not the same as "20 square feet"... :)

i.e. 20 feet squared each pen, we have two spaces we could do this -- 20 feet deep, then 80-100 feet wide, split into 4 sections of 20x20+, rotate regularly. That could probably be stretched into 30ft sq -- so 8 to10, 30ft squared pens (EACH) to rotate them through (3-4 mini nubians, in theory)...

Thank you all so much for the replies! I truly appreciate it. I hate to say it but I'm not any closer to deciding which direction to go! I did however find a somewhat local breeder of both Jerseys and Mini Nubians who invited me to her farm to see how she operates. She also has limited acreage...

Thanks so much @Baymule , this is definitely what I'm leaning toward, including kid sharing (especially as these will be my first herd animals and I need back up in case milking is difficult!). The other hesitation with goats is keeping them in the fence (we are very worried about them getting...

Thank you for your thoughtful response! As mentioned in my original post, I get both raw cow and raw goat shares -- or did you mean to sample the milk from the animal I am considering for purchase? That is a really good suggestion, thank you! Also some good food for thought regarding drying of a...

Hi y'all! Long time listener, first time caller. *skip ahead to bypass the back story! I've been wanting a diary animal for years, and only very, very recently has hubby got on board. We've been having a debate about getting dairy cows vs. dairy goats. We are on 9 acres, but most is heavily...