Considering getting goats- need advice, wisdom and help!

[oppida]

Hello!

We recently moved and now have 10 acres of pasture. The previous owners had sheep which kept the pasture down, but now it's overgrown! We are considering goats and I'm wondering if anyone had advice for me...

Couple considerations:

1. I was thinking of getting just bucks/males, as I have 7 chickens, 3 very young kids, 2 dogs, I work full-time from home and my husband is traveling 5 days a week. And we just moved to a very rural area from a very non-rural area, so I have a steep learning curve. To be honest, I'm not ready to commit to milking goats. Eventually, I'd love to have milking goats, I just don't think it's wise for me to dive right in if I can't take care of them properly.

2. We have 2 preexisting shelters that can be used. They were used by the sheep and I believe could be used by the goats. They are 3 walled structures.

3. The pasture is basically grass and "hay" type grass. We are in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We have very cold conditions and crazy winds in winter. (and sometimes in summer too- in fact it's June 4th and it's 35 degrees and snowing!)

So my (many) questions are:

Is it wise to get 2-3 males? Or do i need does in the mix? Is 2-3 enough to mow down 10 acres?

Will they do well on pasture? Or do they need major shrubs, etc.

What kind of shelter do they require?

What do goats need to handle winter? How do I "winterize" their lives/conditions come winter? Does hay work for them?

I read about worming? What does that entail and how often?

Any kind of advice and general knowledge for a beginner you can offer is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you very much!

 

[redtailgal]

If you get any males, you'll need to have the wethered. Nothing wrong with having all does, so long as you dont have an intact male in the bunch.....You dont have to milk the does, even if you breed them.

Generally speaking 3 goats arent gonna be able to keep 10 acres mowed down. But dont worry, goats are like potato chips. start out with 2-3.....they will multiply on you even if you get all the same sex...........you'll see a cute one or a neighbor will need to get rid of one........etc etc.

A three sided structure should be fine, so long as it protects them from the rain, snow and wind.

Many folks have their goats on just pasture and do fine.

In the winter, they will definately need hay, and with harsh weather they may also need a little grain to supplement them thru the winter.

They will need a good loose mineral available year round........NOT a sheep mineral, goats need copper and sheep products dont have copper.

For winter bedding, I just let their waste hay pile up.....it gets deeper as it gets colder and they just nestle right down in it.

For worming, I'd suggest you read the information on the following link and get back to us with any further questions. http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2607-parasite-mgmt

 

[Roll farms]

Well, if you had a doe from heavy producing milk lines, you *might* still have to milk her (sometimes kids can't keep up and you have to relieve pressure and help prevent mastitis) but- that's usually not an issue w/ meat goats. So you could get boer does...or kiko does....or Spanish does...or fainter does.

(And no, you don't *have* to eat 'meat' goats...it's just a classification - meat type vs. dairy type.)

Then there are pygmies....

Or, just some gorgeous dairy does and no buck until you're ready to breed / milk.

 

[tamsflock]

If you get males, you might want to have some wethered. I have had 1 intact male then 3 wethers in the bunch.....You dont have to milk the does, even if you breed them for the most part if you do let them breed the kids will keep the doe taken care of.
I think your structures sound fine but you will have to give hay and minerals in the winter.
2-3 goats wont keep down 10 acres

 

[lilhill]

If you get any males, you'll need to have the wethered. Nothing wrong with having all does, so long as you dont have an intact male in the bunch.....You dont have to milk the does, even if you breed them.

Generally speaking 3 goats arent gonna be able to keep 10 acres mowed down. But dont worry, goats are like potato chips. start out with 2-3.....they will multiply on you even if you get all the same sex...........you'll see a cute one or a neighbor will need to get rid of one........etc etc.

A three sided structure should be fine, so long as it protects them from the rain, snow and wind.

Many folks have their goats on just pasture and do fine.

In the winter, they will definately need hay, and with harsh weather they may also need a little grain to supplement them thru the winter.

They will need a good loose mineral available year round........NOT a sheep mineral, goats need copper and sheep products dont have copper.

For winter bedding, I just let their waste hay pile up.....it gets deeper as it gets colder and they just nestle right down in it.

For worming, I'd suggest you read the information on the following link and get back to us with any further questions. http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2607-parasite-mgmt

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Personally, I would not get bucks as a first goat especially if you are looking for a pet. They tend to be more aggressive and smelly (we just got our first three and while we love them, they are altogether different than our does). Two wethered males would be the least expensive and sweetest choice but after that, I'd say get two does. The only way a doe has milk is if she has given birth so unless you intend to breed them, it isn't really an issue but you always have the option to breed, sell kids, and have fresh milk if you do buy two does.

Your exisiting struture is probably fine (do you have pics?). The need somewhere out of the elements when they need it (rain, sun, snow, and wind). You also probably want something that you can put your hay and water in to keep them dry/clean.

Goats don't really graze so much so like RTG said, a pair won't mow that 10 acres for you. On the other hand, they won't destroy it by ripping up the grass from the roots like other critters that graze sometimes do. Goats like weeds, bushes, trees, and will not do much with grass (mine will nibble it but then move on to find something better like dandelions). You will need to supplement them with hay and if you choose to, grain (but not all people grain their goats either).

And the worming...you will have to find what works for you but I, and many others, will tell you that the practice of just routinely worming your goats is not a very effective method and has lead to resistance in parasites. Doing fecal testing through a vet or through the mail is the best way to determine IF you need to worm and then WHAT to worm with. The tests are not expensice, save money in giving the wrong medications for the wrong parasites or when no meds were needed to begin with, and help to prevent creating resistant strains of parasites. I test 2x a year at this point but we have yet to have a major issue with worms at this point (my vet keeps telling us we are lucky and he is just waiting for the day when we actually have something other than coccidia, which HAVE been a nasty battle for us). I am not sure how often others test...

 

[Catahoula]

Welcome to BYH! We used to backpack in the Sierras every summer for 10+ years...now we are in Colorado up in the mountains.
Anyway, I want to add just a few more things too. One is protection again predators. It would help if you get some kind of guardian animal/s but you may consider locking your goats up in the evenings. If you have a three sided shelter, you may see about adding a wall/door, put cattle panels or something to lock them up.
We have two Boer wethers (fixed male). Boer is a type of meat goat and can get quite big...over 200lbs for males. We don't plan to eat them. We are considering getting couple more later...possible two Nubian does (female). Nubians are standard size dairy goats. I like the idea that I could breed them for milk if I want to. You don't have to get a buck. Many farmers/breeders offer buck service for a fee. Wethers and buck are more prone to getting stones (Urinary Callcui) but you there are practices you can follow to help prevent it. Female does have their behaviors when in heat and special cares if you breed them too.
I do find that my two goats do not eat much of the grass we have here. They like bushes and other woody ground covers as well as the pine trees we have up here. I may end up getting a mower now...left ours back in CA, didn't think we'd need it anymore! But if there are not a lot of other things to eat, they may just start munching on the grass. I give them free choice of hay and alfalfa pellets as well as goat grains (they are only 3 months old). They also get free choice on Kelp meal (shipped from Modesto, CA) and baking soda (some people are against it).
Also, if you want hornless goats, you should either get them already disbudded/dehorned, or find kids young enough to be disbudded. Keep in mind that disbudded kids could grew scurs (deformed or irregular horn growth) if it wasn't done correctly. To me, it is not worth the effort to dehorn an older goat and it would be very traumatic and painful for the goat also. It is more common to find meat goats with horns than without and more common to find disbudded kids in dairy.
Other than worming and vaccinations, learning to trim the hooves is also important. If you have rocky areas, it could help but not necessary.
Hope this helps.

 

[mama24]

Well, if you had a doe from heavy producing milk lines, you *might* still have to milk her (sometimes kids can't keep up and you have to relieve pressure and help prevent mastitis) but- that's usually not an issue w/ meat goats. So you could get boer does...or kiko does....or Spanish does...or fainter does.

(And no, you don't *have* to eat 'meat' goats...it's just a classification - meat type vs. dairy type.)

Then there are pygmies....

Or, just some gorgeous dairy does and no buck until you're ready to breed / milk.

Yep. I got a 50/50 boer/saanen who only had 1 kid. I got her for milking, but wasn't expecting her to produce so much! I left her kid on her and still had to milk twice daily bc she got too full. I had only wanted to milk once a day while the kids was on her. Her kid sadly died last week and I'm now getting about a gallon a day! And it was get first kid, they produce more w second freshening!

I also have a nubian/boer/kiko that I can't milk, but I may keep her as a breeder bc she's gorgeous and a good mama. I had also wanted to milk her, but she's not a milker. I know a lot of people want their goats purebred and papered, but I love my mixed breed girls!

Also people in this area don't disbud their goats, even dairy goats. My goats all have horns and I personally see no reason to pass up a good goat bc it does or doesn't have horns. I was a little leery at first, but now that I have them, I prefer that they have horns. They make good handles for handling.

 

[oppida]

Thank you so much for your replies!

Of course I can get 2-3 females! How silly of me! (you can tell I'm a novice!)

I talked to our local feed store owner and her brother has some goats for sale. I'm going to call and ask some questions...

Our shelters are basically sheep shelters- roof, 3 walls and I have large cattle gates and other type gates lying around that I can use to lock them in at night. I also have a chicken house and large fenced area for the chickens that has an additional sheep shelter in it- I can keep them in that area in the beginning and then move them to other large fenced areas and then maybe the larger pasture. That way a predator would have to go through many fenced and wired areas to get to 'em. The goats I'm going to call about have been living with chickens so I think there won't be a problem with them getting along. And my chicken area is OVER RUN with alfalfa, weeds and pasture grass!

Our pasture is alfalfa type pasture with lots of weeds, clover, etc. It's not lawn grass, but pasture suited for horses, cows, sheep etc. I'm hoping the goats will like that too. We do also have some crazy shrubs growing by a stream that runs by our house- willow, wild roses, etc. Maybe they'd help gnaw that down?

The feed store owner said that goats will charge or buck at my young children. Is that common? My kids are 6, 3 and 20 months (obviously the littlest wouldn't really be out there, but my other two love the livestock and will want to help). I guess I'll have to see how the goats behave and go from there...

Anyway, thank you so much for the advice and wisdom, I'm sure I'll be on here more!

 

[mama24]

My goats have never even come close to hurting one of my kids. Bottle fed goats tend to be overly friendly, so they may be more of a problem with young kids. My kids are in with the goats every day and they love them! My youngest is 3.