Goat Newbie

[enggass]

Hey all, I am planning on getting a couple of goats in the next year or so. They will be homed in a fenced in wooded area on my property that is made up of mostly Oak, Beech, Ash and a few tall Pine trees... large fern and other species in the summer months. They will of course have shelter as well. One of my goals for getting them is to help clean up this part of my land - I am told goats are great for clearing land.
Do any of you have any pictures you could share of land that has been cleared by goats? I am thinking of getting a couple of Nigerian Dwarf, but not set on that - what other breeds would you recommend? Also, any tips on fencing in the woods would be helpful. I'm thinking T-Posts with welded wire and maybe one hotwire at chest hight... ANY tips welcome. Thanks!
Steve

 

[TAH]

I steeled off the inernant. The pics looked a lot like out prop did before and after. Our prop had blackberrys, Ivy, poision oak, fern, ect. the grass was taller then my older sis and I.

 

[Latestarter]

One of the things to consider is how high they can reach... Nigies are small goats and won't be able to reach very high. A mini would reach higher and a full sized higher still. If you browse through some of the goat threads, some folks have published pics in the past showing before and after.

Most everyone here will recommend AGAINST welded wire fencing as the welds break and it just won't last. Get either no climb horse fence or woven goat/sheep fence. You will probably still need to provide them with hay 24/7/365 while back there, and of course goat minerals (don't use a block, get granulated).

You didn't say how much land, or how many goats. You should really plan on at least 2 goats as they are herd animals and do much better wen they have goat companions to chat and hang with. If you don't plan on getting more goats and don't want milk from them, then you might consider just buying wethered goats (neutered males) as it will be less expensive for you to purchase them and you won't have to worry about possible pregnant goats down the road.

Hope you'll share some pics when this happens.

 

[enggass]

Thanks, what are some mini breeds to look in to? I do plan on getting 2 goats. Maybe a 1/2-1acre of land to start...

 

[TAH]

Do you plan on milking them?

 

[Latestarter]

Well, I'm not familiar with any breeders up in Maine, but you can search craigs list for goats for sale, you can internet search for breeders, you can talk around with local folks who own goats, and there are always the various goat societies:
http://www.americangoatsociety.com/
http://www.miniaturedairygoats.net/
http://www.andda.org/ <---American Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association
https://adga.org/ <---American Dairy Goat Association

And there are others for the various breeds... just pick one and search.

Good luck!

 

[Latestarter]

Most of the mini breeds are dairy goats and were created to produce a smaller goat with less food requirements while trying to maintain maximum milk production. So, if you're not in it for the milk, you might consider contacting a mini breeder and asking about a couple of whethers as they will have little use for less than the top quality buck offspring for breeding. In other words, a mini breeder is going to have a LOT of "bad" buck produced which they can't/won't use in their breeding program and need to "get rid of". Typically you can get these substantially cheaper and if all you want is brush mowers, they'll work just fine for your purpose.

There are mini Lamanchas/nubians/alpines/etc. Pick a breed...

If you want milk too, then you obviously need a doe and a functioning buck. The doe needs to get in a motherly way and produce a kid or kids in order to produce milk. The kid(s) will need all the milk or most for the first 2 weeks, after which time you can separate them overnight, milk out momma in the morning, then put them back so the kid(s) can feed all day. The kids can be weaned after 8-16 weeks (some wean early, others don't) and you can collect all the milk from that point on, until next you breed the doe to start the cycle over. Most goats are fall breeders, Nigies come into heat every 21-28 days, so can breed year round.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Welcome , lots of great information and helpful people here!!

 

[NH homesteader]

Welcome from NH. Goats are great at clearing land... Partially anyway. Mine eat all the greenery and then the bark... They will kill trees by girdling them if you're worried about that. We have to go through and clear what's left after they go through.

Agreed with trying to find some wethers if you aren't interested in breeding/milk. They're all over Craigslist or you can contact a breeder. Be careful with Craigslist, particularly if you do want to breed and milk.

I would get pics of what my goats cleared but there's enough snow you can't tell at the moment, lol

 

[Southern by choice]

I have pics on here but I will have to find them. I also have pics I can take to show you what goats are capable of.

Keep in mind the amount you want cleared as well as what you want DEAD killed cleared. Because I do work with Livestock guardians as well as goats I run into issues where people get goats to clear land (and LGD's to protect them) and they think it will take a long time then they realize oh no it's cleared and now I have to feed 24/7 and have no more to clear then they need to get rid of goats and dogs.

Do you have a picture of the area? That would be really helpful.
I raise Nigerian Dwarfs
Miniature Dairy Breeds (mini mancha and mini nubian)
Standard Dairy Goats
and Kiko Meat goats

... I say that because I am very familiar with how much land goats can go through and how long it takes them.

Once the land is cleared what is your plan? This is something to think through as depending on what you have it may take one season and your done.

As I have time I will try and post some pics.

you might consider contacting a mini breeder and asking about a couple of whethers as they will have little use for less than the top quality buck offspring for breeding. In other words, a mini breeder is going to have a LOT of "bad" buck produced which they can't/won't use in their breeding program and need to "get rid of". Typically you can get these substantially cheaper and if all you want is brush mowers, they'll work just fine for your purpose.

I will be honest, MOST mini breeders I know and most Dwarf breeders I know do not just let our goats go as scrub goats.
Most of us would rather our goats get put in the freezer than sold over and over again as many scrub goats are. Usually though we can refer someone that sells scrub goats. Generally if we are selling a wether it is going to a life of luxury home to be doted on.