Approved!

[Genipher]

Find a cow vet willing to learn about goats. A lot of cow stuff is applicable to goats. One difference is how parasites impact goats much more than cows. For size the goat has a tremendous surface area in digestive tract compared to cow. My vet said like a 150# goat equal to 750# cow for parasites to attach...so goat ends up dead, but cow does not. Since goats evolved in desert and alpine regions they were not subject to parasite pressure and have little resistance. Find a cow vet, a small animal vet will kill your goat!!

I will look around some more. I was thinking it would be convenient to have all our animals go to one vet but I'm seriously doubting this vet, now.


And praying she's not here at backyardherds, "listening" to me go off on her...

 

[Genipher]

Oh, someone asked about the chickens...I'm hoping to get Rhode Island Reds and a few Buff Orpingtons. I also like the Easter Eggers. So, basically, a mixture of breeds.

Ants and spiders are taking over the backyard so I'm especially eager to get some hen assassins out there!

 

[Latestarter]

As to your question about showing and horns... I don't show, but from what I understand, dairy goats must be disbudded (no horns; burned or polled) to be shown, while meat goats are just the opposite... They have to have their horns to be shown. The things is, with dairy goats, generally there is milking involved and you're down at eye level and within striking range every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Not typically the case with meat goats.

 

[Genipher]

As to your question about showing and horns... I don't show, but from what I understand, dairy goats must be disbudded (no horns; burned or polled) to be shown, while meat goats are just the opposite... They have to have their horns to be shown. The things is, with dairy goats, generally there is milking involved and you're down at eye level and within striking range every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Not typically the case with meat goats.

Ok. I was wondering about the difference between horns on a dairy goat vs. meat. I thought meat goats had differently shaped horns that made them less dangerous, or something...

Learned something new!! Love it!

 

[lomine]

Congrats! So exciting!

Before I got my goats I was really on the fence about the whole horn thing. I like the look of goats with horns and the whole idea of disbudding seemed so painful. Then I got my girls from a breeder who disbuds so there were no horns. Now I’m so very glad I didn’t get horned goats. I sit on the ground with the goats to give affection and they are practilly in my lap. There’s no way I could do that if they had horns. One doe accidentally hit me in the leg once with her tiny scur and it hurt, I’d never want to be poked with a full horn.

My NDs are noisy when they want something, usually food or attention. When I’m not out in the barn or yard where they can see, they aren’t normally noisy. I do have some that like to talk more than others and all the does are loud when in heat.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Yes, scout our breeders now. You have to freshen a lot of young does to get a few that are show quality. So, those with very minor cosmetic flaws will make both good family milkers and bred to good buck have genetic potential to produce better than they are themselves. And, sometimes breeders have older doe that has given them better daughters so ready to let them go. I got my start with doelings and a couple of unrelated does.
When you shop for breeder, ask them to tell you the goats faults as well as attributes. At show sit and listen to judge give reasons. ADGA has pamphlets that help you understand how goat is judged in ring. This is different than how Linear Appraisal is done. Learn about LA as good type is part of productivity and longevity. Harvey Considine and George Trimbergers classic book " Modern Dairy Goat Judging Techniques" is worth finding.

 

[Anthony Sr.]

I'm going to chime in on this because I am in a situation with this right now.

I have Tabby a 7-month old kiko mix doe with horns... NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!! She is the only doe in my herd right now with horns and I'm in constant threat of everything I do with her around. I am really regretting letting her stayed horned.

I can't grab her collar without getting poked, I can't bend down without being worried about a poke in the face, I'm always trying to make sure I'm not in her way of running, It is just a none stop threat of being worried.

I do get worried about the children being the pen with her and for there safety and everyone else I will NEVER again owner a horned goat. Unless a meat goat.

And on the fact of people owning goats for thousand of years with horns doesn't mean no one got an missing eye or poke in the shoulder from them... In my mind it is like saying people have been climbing mountains for thousands of year, well, it still doesn't mean many people have gotten hurt and die.

77777

Hello Tah,
"Maybe" that Goat has sensed the fear in you? and is using your fear against ya? I have a 2 horned goats, here in E. Texas. They will not try to horn me..

 

[NDStar]

I have 3 horned mini manchas and love them. We have 2 two year old grandkids that are here a couple of times a week and the goats are super gentle around them, although we don’t leave them alone with the goats. Our goats are bottle babies and that makes a world of difference. We are going to cut pool noodles to size and put them in the goats horns if we ever feel like the horns will be a problem. I have found that it would be impossible to try to move the goats without their horns. Anything around their necks they fight against, but grab onto a horn and they will come in the direction you are pulling.
Good luck with your chickens and goats. That is super exciting!

 

[Latestarter]

I hope you'll consider taking a minute to visit the new member's thread @NDStar and introduce yourself so folks can welcome you properly. https://www.backyardherds.com/forums/new-member-introductions.17/ Greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us, but what took you so long to post? If you read around regarding "horns and goats" you'll see staunch advocates on either side of the "argument" as well as those who are "fence riders". If you plan to show dairy breeds, it's a moot point as they have to be "horn-less" to show. Meat goats, just the opposite. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[BreanneRN]

I will look around some more. I was thinking it would be convenient to have all our animals go to one vet but I'm seriously doubting this vet, now.


And praying she's not here at backyardherds, "listening" to me go off on her...

Seems unlikely... She would be a little more knowledgeable if she spent any time on a site like this... and she wouldn't know it was you, anyway... I have sheep and I wouldn't have a breed where the females have horns (there are some), although I do have some that grow little nubs, and they are nowhere near as "in your face" as goats. Don't know too much about goats, but know they can be dehorned, can it only be done while they are young or something?