After just over a year and a half of consideration I finally pulled the trigger and committed to establishing a small herd of Nigerian Dwarf does to be kept as both milk producers and pets. My plan is to start with 4 doelings. Deposits have already been put down and I'll be picking them up when weaned the first week of May. After they reach maturity I will hire a buck to breed them (I'll likely wait until they are ~10-12 months of age) and decide from there what the max size of the herd should be based on how things work out.
I have a 2.5 acre property, of which ~2 acres is a long, slender (110 ft wide) pasture area. This was used by the previous owners to keep a few cows and donkeys on, so there is already a twisted wire fenced perimeter and a stable structure with a pair of 12'x12' stalls and a longer compartment that does not have a front wall. I put a tall wire-filled gate on one of the stalls to use it for the goat's sleeping quarters, and will put another one on the other stall when it comes time to use it for a kidding compartment. I have used part of the pasture area for a large (just over 3,000 sq ft) vegetable garden, and the rear-most 3/4 acre is wooded and borders a deep creek. This area is frequented by all manner of local wildlife, including deer and coyotes, but they never venture across the open pasture toward the house and are only present at night (I monitor the entire area with cameras). Between that and the cost of putting up enough woven wire to enclose the entire pasture area I opted to just partition a smaller area (just over 11,000 sq. ft.) immediate adjacent to the backyard fence for my impending herd. This keeps them well away from the wooded area and is far more affordable in terms of fencing materials required (less than 300 ft of woven fence vs just under 1,400 ft to fence the entire pasture). Plus the size of the job is one that I was able to do by myself, whereas I would have had to hire someone to fence in the whole pasture...at considerable cost. And if the coyotes ever do get brave/hungry enough to make it this far from the creek I'll electrify the enclosure perimeter.
Below is a crude diagram of the ~110'x105' area I've fenced in for this purpose, showing the stable structure (lower left) plus the 2 other outbuildings that are there. The large red one is a hay barn that I keep my subcompact tractor and other goodies in, with the front area (in brown) being a fenced off so the goats can't get into it. The smaller red square in the lower right is a storage shed, and the small white rectangles represent areas that are not open to the goats. Everything in green is the open pasture, which covers just over 9,300 sq. ft., and they will have complete access to all of that. And the color is accurate. If I don't mow it that entire area becomes completely covered in a variety of tall weeds for them to munch on (to be supplemented by hay and other feed as needed). Plus there's the ~450 sq. ft. covered by the stable awning that is shown by the lighter brown rectangle on the right half of the structure. The numbered squares represent the enclosed stable compartments, with #1 being the one that will be their sleeping quarters. #2 is the future kidding stall and #3 is an area to be used for a milking station and whatever other purposes I might need it for.
I'm sure I've forgotten something important, so please feel free to point out any glaring omissions should you notice them. So...what say ye? Tips? Questions? Mercilessly savage criticisms? All welcome and appreciated.
I have a 2.5 acre property, of which ~2 acres is a long, slender (110 ft wide) pasture area. This was used by the previous owners to keep a few cows and donkeys on, so there is already a twisted wire fenced perimeter and a stable structure with a pair of 12'x12' stalls and a longer compartment that does not have a front wall. I put a tall wire-filled gate on one of the stalls to use it for the goat's sleeping quarters, and will put another one on the other stall when it comes time to use it for a kidding compartment. I have used part of the pasture area for a large (just over 3,000 sq ft) vegetable garden, and the rear-most 3/4 acre is wooded and borders a deep creek. This area is frequented by all manner of local wildlife, including deer and coyotes, but they never venture across the open pasture toward the house and are only present at night (I monitor the entire area with cameras). Between that and the cost of putting up enough woven wire to enclose the entire pasture area I opted to just partition a smaller area (just over 11,000 sq. ft.) immediate adjacent to the backyard fence for my impending herd. This keeps them well away from the wooded area and is far more affordable in terms of fencing materials required (less than 300 ft of woven fence vs just under 1,400 ft to fence the entire pasture). Plus the size of the job is one that I was able to do by myself, whereas I would have had to hire someone to fence in the whole pasture...at considerable cost. And if the coyotes ever do get brave/hungry enough to make it this far from the creek I'll electrify the enclosure perimeter.
Below is a crude diagram of the ~110'x105' area I've fenced in for this purpose, showing the stable structure (lower left) plus the 2 other outbuildings that are there. The large red one is a hay barn that I keep my subcompact tractor and other goodies in, with the front area (in brown) being a fenced off so the goats can't get into it. The smaller red square in the lower right is a storage shed, and the small white rectangles represent areas that are not open to the goats. Everything in green is the open pasture, which covers just over 9,300 sq. ft., and they will have complete access to all of that. And the color is accurate. If I don't mow it that entire area becomes completely covered in a variety of tall weeds for them to munch on (to be supplemented by hay and other feed as needed). Plus there's the ~450 sq. ft. covered by the stable awning that is shown by the lighter brown rectangle on the right half of the structure. The numbered squares represent the enclosed stable compartments, with #1 being the one that will be their sleeping quarters. #2 is the future kidding stall and #3 is an area to be used for a milking station and whatever other purposes I might need it for.
I'm sure I've forgotten something important, so please feel free to point out any glaring omissions should you notice them. So...what say ye? Tips? Questions? Mercilessly savage criticisms? All welcome and appreciated.
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yes, I milk several.
