Am I jumping in too soon?

[torym07]

Hi I'm new to the boards and but have a huge question.
I live on 1/3 of an acre and have always wanted to have my own little backyard farm. Complete with a little garden. Hens for eggs and meat. Dual purpose goats for dairy and meat. Since I was raised up around animals (but not goats-I'm doing my research though!!) I want that for my boys and this is a project that I can do with them. I've read up on it and know it's possible..timing is the thing. I've already got my chickens, and a little garden going but the goats are another question. I know that this project will again only be something between me and my boys as my husband isn't into dealing with animals. He's not opposed to me having my backyard farm but I don't expect him out there working with the animals or anything. I've read that the best time to purchase is sept-october when prices are lower and ppl aren't culling their does but just sell off a few extras so they don't have to feed them thru the winter. That those does would likely have been bred by then and be ready to kid in spring. I'm excited about that idea of having the winter to get to know the does before kidding..selling off the kids or putting some in freezer, and milking one of the does. I don't care to purchase a couple of kid does and go thru having them bred and waiting another so long to get kids..milk..meat for the freezer. Would rather have a couple experienced kidding does.
The thing is am I getting too far over my head by purchasing in October? Or should I wait till spring and hope to get a couple of does then?
Oh and I'm due in September with my 2nd boy so I'm trying to think will it be crazy hard to learn goats with my 3 year old (he helps me already with the chickens and I'm sure will be my sidekick again with the goats) and a newborn? or should I wait till spring to start my little goat farm?
Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[elevan]

First of all - WELCOME TO BYH!

I would have told you to jump right in until I read your last couple of sentences....

Goats are always up for throwing you curve balls and being challenging when you least expect it. Add a brand new (human) baby to the mix and I think you'd be in over your head. Not saying that you couldn't do it but maybe you should adjust your timeline a bit. Get used to the curves that your newborn wants to throw your way before taking on the goats, especially since you won't have spousal support with the animals.

Also make sure that you are purchasing bred does since that is what you want - don't go on the assumption that just because it's Fall that they will likely be bred (or Spring or whenever). Ask lots of questions, ask for references and find a reputable breeder and you won't get the culls.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I would hold off a bit. Take your time and wait until after things settle down for you. I'd hate for you to be overwhelmed with taking on so much at once and then be soured on having goats. You would think that having two children would maybe double the work if that but boy oh boy, it is more than double, LOL!

Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your second child!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Hi and welcome

Goats are the naughty children of the animal world....and that includes when they are on their best behavior!!!!!

Having said that...I am a goat addict and I highly recommend them, but they will try your patience.

I suggest working on your garden and chickens and fences, then find the breed and breeder of the goats you want and go with the flow at that point. You will likely find that goats may come your way sooner than you were expecting even when you have a plan, as the best offers seem to come around when you may not be expecting them. You may want a doe/does that have already kidded and are in milk so you can avoid the hassle of separating and selling the babies right at the beginning of your relationship with your new goats (that is a little difficult for me as a mom to watch/do to my goats), but it has to be done. Not to mention the possible issues with the birth itself or disbudding and wethering....you can jump right in to milking when you buy her already in milk. Just milking them is a good sized commitment on top of your own family. Then the next year you will be an old pro and your girls will know better what to do.

By the way ...I highly recommend Nigerians.... and Boers, and Nubians.....

 

[torym07]

Thank y'all so much for your advice and for not making me sound completely crazy for considering doing it. I'm going to hold off until spring '14 or so to acquire my goats. I'm sure I'll be relieved I'll have had more time to adjust to life with preschooler and newborn. I'll do more research till then and gives me more time to make sure I have everything the way I want it before getting my goats. I appreciate your advice and will continue working with my chickens and gardening with my little sidekick for now!

 

[Citylife]

Believe us all when we say they are the toddlers or the terriers of the animal world. My partner and I have had lots of different types of animals and we totally under-estimated goats! Wow! If we didn't love them............ they drove us crazy crazy for the first 10 months. They, definitely have been a learning experience. I do not have children, but all I can say is wait a year to get goats. They are a lot of work and extremely intelligent............ the advise on work on your fencing was great! Just when we thought the fences were safe............. we would look out and there would be a goat in the wrong area. They will NOT let you do anything without their noses in the middle of it.
I have a friend who's hormones were going crazy with pregnancy and she got goats 5 months before she delivered.......... those goats live at grandpa's house now. They can be quite trying on your patience. And I can not stress how much we love animals but there have been times we have jokingly looked at each other and chimed in unison "dinner........ they will make a good dinner!"
And they will die of old age in the pasture, because we love them so much.

 

[daisyjack]

I have two Nubians, a 5 year old, a 2 year old, and a two week old baby. I suggest waiting to spring just because dragging the kids outside in the cold twice a day is a hassle and you don't want to wake up earlier then you have to when you are taking care of a newborn all night. I also suggest getting kid goats that way they can get used to having children around them and you can train them how to act around children. also make sure you get them from a breeder that has a tested herd, and disbuds.

 

[secuono]

People get rid of rabbits, cages and all, when they are expecting a baby, so goats would be a hundred times more to deal with. I would wait until the next year.

 

[TheBanditQueen]

You're definitely not crazy for considering goats. We got ours as babies and I'm glad for the chance to raise them before starting to breed or milk them. I've learned a lot, and they are SO much fun!! Friendly, playful, companionable, a lot like dogs, if you spend time becoming friends with them.

BUT, they can be incredibly frustrating. It is a definite learning curve. Goats are difficult to keep fenced. They will slip through, squeeze through, go under, over, around, or anything. They can climb fences, too, given sufficient incentive. Any gap, they will find, and get through. They are smart, and can be trained (I trained mine to not jump up on me like dogs will). But they can also get into the craziest accidents. We lost one baby doe who got in the water trough and couldn't climb out. :'( So we stacked cinderblocks in the trough so that anybody else who gets in there can get out. Then, we learned to never, never put a horned goat in with a dehorned one. Even if they are just playing, the dehorned one can get a bloody head. Mainly it's a matter of staying one step ahead of them. (Which I sometimes can't even do, and I don't have children at all!)

Since you have youngsters, have you thought about miniature dairy goats? (Although full sized goats can certainly be very gentle too. Just thinking of general safety.) Also, if you live on a small property, mini goats can live more easily in smaller spaces. They are definitely social animals and shouldn't be alone. (You've probably already read this in your research. )

We got Nigerian Dwarfs. They don't give as much milk in sheer quantity as the larger breeds, but that's ok with me since I don't want to be swimming in extra milk right now, and Nigerian milk is said to have excellent butterfat content (for butter and cheese making, etc). They are short enough that they can't do quite as much damage to the trees as did our previous full size goats.

And for general handling, I find it easier to examine, trim hooves, etc with the mini's rather than the full size. They are about 8 months old now, and the size of a large Cocker Spaniel. They are easy to hold if you need to restrain them. Since we had ours from when they were little bitty, they are perfectly confident now and will gladly sit in our laps to be petted and looked over (not something I'd do with a full size, lol).

Good luck with your chickens and garden!!

 

[torym07]

DaisyJack I didn't think too much about raising the goats around the kids so they know how to act so thank you for that advice!
I hope I don't have to worry about fencing as our property has a maintained wood privacy fence around the whole lot.
I have researched what goats I want and since I have only a small lot to put them on and I do have small kids that I want to be able to handle them I'm actually looking at Kinder goats. Medium size. Less feed needed. Better return. Dual purpose. Cute. But doesn't seem to be very many breeders in my area with them and the closest is 2.5 hours away. Not really an issue as long as the breeder is a good one and I get the quality animals I'm looking for.
Thanks so much for y'alls advice!