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Me! 1.15 acres inside city limits. Currently: 19 ducks, 5 quail, 2 goats, several indoor critters, three little boys, and my husband & I.

I don't know but... could you have it surgically removed? It cost us about $50 each for our two goats. It was VERY traumatic for them, so I would definitely try the banding the next time instead, but if that failed, I'd probably go with the surgery. I've been around bucks before, and they were...

I have to buy goat's milk when I'm able to get it. And I drive WAY out of my way to get it fresh and raw from the farm (for pet use of course :rolleyes: and then somehow we end up drinking most of it ourselves--stupid laws). It really doesn't taste strongly of anything except MILK and really...

Hate to be a downer but... making money with livestock is very, very difficult, especially on a small scale and if you want the animals treated well and raised healthily. I raise ducks for eggs, quail for meat & eggs, and want a milk goat because I like controlling where my food comes from...

I live in NC with only two ND wethers, and I haven't really had a stink issue. I use a deep litter--just add straw to their floor when it starts to look wet or poopy. Clean it out a couple times a year and use it as mulch on flower beds and fruit trees. Basically, it works like compost--you add...

Thank you, everyone! It's so helpful to hear the experiences of others actually doing this, instead of just what's written in books and articles. Ya'll are going to be a huge help as we progress in this project. Thank you!!

Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear that I'm not doing any harm by being inconsistent in my schedule. I worry that I'm a bad animal mommy because they don't get fed at exactly the same time each day, etc. I have a basic routine, but specific events can occur anywhere from...

Wow, Roll Farms, that's all? Wow. :) Thanks so much for all the feedback! I would definitely not do it often, but it's nice to know that if I'm going to be gone one night or something, I can let the kid nurse & do any milking that's necessary later in the day when I get home. Another...

Ha ha!! Absolutely not. No, I was running a temp & coughing & spending lots of time leaning over a toilet during the holidays, and still out there moving animals around and making sure they got fed. BUT, I do try to minimize the amount of work that is absolutely essential for just such...

Okay, so now I'm thinking about milking and I got to wondering... The biggest obstacle right now to our having a milk goat is the every-day commitment. I already take care of ducks and two wethers & a handful of house animals daily, so I don't mind having morning barn chores. And I LOVE...

I thought I knew the answer to this question--i.e., I thought they could be milked for up to two years. But when I contacted someone about purchasing goat milk, he said his goats are all dry at the moment. He has several dozen goats, so I'm just wondering: Does he have poor quality milkers, am I...

Thanks everyone! I did look through craigslist again and contacted a few people who were offering goat milk products. One said he doesn't have any milk right now, but when he does I could pick it up about a half hour from here (in March or so). jlbpooh--please do give my contact info to your...

Thank you! I really appreciate that. I do check my local craigslist pretty often, and the closest I've found is about an hour drive, unfortunately. I still go get it occasionally, but only really occasionally. I should have been more specific in my location--I'm on the West side of Charlotte...

Thanks to our wonderful legal system, it's incredibly difficult to find goat milk around here. We have a couple wethers, but we are just not ready for milking yet. But I just found out my middle son is probably mildly allergic to cow's milk, and anyway we adore goat milk and would like to find...

Wow! That picture needs a "Got Milk?" caption under it. So sorry you lost the baby, but I'm glad the mama is doing fine... and it looks like you'll be getting plenty of milk over the next few months. Enjoy!

Sounds like you've got great plans! I didn't buy the portable fencing at first either, but very quickly realized how badly I needed it. :) Your set-up sounds perfect. In a natural setting, ruminants and land-birds are a natural fit. A lot of permacultural farms use them together, because they...

Awesome! lol From this angle it looks like a tomb--the sort where the body is interred above ground in a stone sarcophagus. Hope you don't get any unpleasant surprises popping out! :D

Oh, I forgot to add. I don't have chickens, but I have ducks, and my recommendation is to let them pasture together during the day if you like, but give them separate sleeping and feeding accommodations. It's easier to keep the goats out of the chicken feed that way, but also it keeps the...

I'm nowhere near an expert here, but I have a couple nigerian dwarf wethers, so I'll tell you what I do. I have chain link panels (purchased second hand very inexpensively) that form a 10' x 10' pen attached to a 12' x 8' metal shed as the pen they sleep in and sometimes spend a day or two in...

I love chain link for my ND boys. I buy panels off craigslist whenever I see a good deal. The only down sides are appearance (it's pretty ugly), weight (heavy), and... that's about it. It's tough, can be moved around somewhat, and reasonably predator resistant (wouldn't try it against bears...