Annoying Things Non Goat People Say

[OneFineAcre]

Not sure if it's annoying, but I'm often amazed that some women
who are also mothers don't understand that the goat has to have a baby to make milk.

 

[wolf]

Not sure if it's annoying, but I'm often amazed that some women
who are also mothers don't understand that the goat has to have a baby to make milk.

That's really strange! My children were born "city", and I nursed all five. When I first got goats folks asked me "How did you learn to milk them?" - and I said "It's just like doing me." Yeah - got strange looks!

 

[Heather Law]

You know, this discussion is very educational for someone like me who is just getting started with goats. Now I know exactly what NOT to say

 

[TAH]

Do you have a midwife on call for if something goes wrong during kidding for your doe???

Most of the others have been said already.

 

[wingedshadowwolf]

Do you have a midwife on call for if something goes wrong during kidding for your doe???

Most of the others have been said already.

The goat herders are the midwives!

 

[sheilasanders]

Once I had my goat kid at the vet and a little girl asked if he eats clothes. I laughingly said, "sometimes", thinking of all the times the kids chew on the bottoms of my shirts. She contemplated this a few minutes, then asked "so..do you just feed them all your old clothes when you get new ones?"

 

[Sunset Spring Farm]

I had one person who had never heard of showing a Dairy Wether! They asked me if he was a Boer. I told him that he was a Nubian/Saanen Mix and he then said that you cannot show dairy goats! He kept arguing with me and insisting that I cannot show Dairy Goats, even though that they had their own area of the fair barn! He then went on to win Reserve Champion Dairy Wether when we showed!

Another person told me that I was performing animal cruelty by owning a LaMancha, because "we apparently cut their ears off." No matter how many times I told them, that that is how they are born, the walked off and screamed "CRUELTY!"

 

[Southern by choice]

I had one person who had never heard of showing a Dairy Wether! They asked me if he was a Boer. I told him that he was a Nubian/Saanen Mix and he then said that you cannot show dairy goats! He kept arguing with me and insisting that I cannot show Dairy Goats, even though that they had their own area of the fair barn! He then went on to win Reserve Champion Dairy Wether when we showed!

I heard of this before. I think it is great you can show dairy goat wethers at your fair!
I guess the confusion is because ADGA sactioned shows doesn't allow it and many who show are showing under ADGA or MDGA. Fairs however are different.
Good for you! Pretty boy Congratulations on your win!

We have Lamanchas, yep, amazing how people will argue endlessly.

 

[Gabby]

My father in law is the worst at this! "Goats eat everything, boy I te ll you I seen some goats eat tin cans, bottles, cars! They eat everything they see!" But I know that one's been said! Another thing is "how do you keep them from stabbing you?" Yes, my husband's ENTIRE family asks that every. single. time. No matter how many times I tell them that our goats don't ram or head butt us and definitely don't "stab" us, they ask it every single time without fail. I just imagine the goats running around with knives stabbing everyone like a horror movie

My father in law is also determined that goats "pee on" people. Like, not accidentally, but intentionally. "Boy my friend had a goat and that goat'd cock his leg right on up and pee on 'im!" No. No no no that's not how goats work. And how many times have we all gotten the line "why do goats have such freaky/scary/weird/demonic eyes?" and "what's wrong with that goat's eyes!?" "why are they like that?" UGH
Finally, I have a rather large billy that people tend to find scary? I mean, he's big and dark colored and has long horns, but everyone's always going "that's a scary goat!" or "that goat's the devil!" I have learned to just keep people away from my goats in general.

 

[Mini Horses]

Comments along the line of.....I'm buying them for 50% of asking price is a challenge to my patience but, otherwise, no biggie. I can say no and live nicely with that, especially when I know their purpose is grab & run to next auction.


Oddly, I've never had an "annoying" question or comment about the goats....some funny, some sad, some odd. Maybe my years with the mini horses, donkeys & their shows got me into enough of a teaching mode that I consider most questions & comments a way to educate those who have a lack of fundamentals about animals. When buyers came the first things I asked were if they had other animals and what expectations/uses they had for an animal they wanted to buy.

I consider "do you milk, do you raise for meat", etc., to be that they AT LEAST know goats are used for those purposes. So, unless the person becomes unglued, I find they are receptive to a kindly presented "educational session" City folk sometimes have had no exposure and can only assume the tall tails of some old timers were truth, and not the ornery lies they often were.

I LOVE some of the children's comments & questions ---