- Thread starter
- #11
Thanks. Here's a better aerial view from the front. The property line extends a little way into the trees in the back, and there's a small creek that cuts across it through those trees.
Greetings from (soon to be) Azle, TX.
- Thread starter DParker
- Start date
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Great! No preconceived notions. I, like most everyone here, am always happy to share. We're family! Other things to know -- we love pictures, are enablers. Yep, all in go for it!
Goats love weeds! And gardens...fair warning.
the milk is good for you...let your friends go "ooohhh" an skrinch their nose, while you get healthy. Cheese and soap, easy. Butter best if you have separator but can be done without. Tell us when you get to that stage...you just get more of the butterfat from the milk with.
That's an impressive place! Congrats!
Goats love weeds! And gardens...fair warning.
the milk is good for you...let your friends go "ooohhh" an skrinch their nose, while you get healthy. Cheese and soap, easy. Butter best if you have separator but can be done without. Tell us when you get to that stage...you just get more of the butterfat from the milk with.That's an impressive place! Congrats!
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- Thread starter
- #13
I'm pretty committed at this point. Or maybe I just should be committed.
Yeah, fortunately the section I want to plow up is separated from the pasture by a fence and gate...and a hot wire, at least partially. Though I'm not sure what good that's supposed to do without also extending across the gate.Goats love weeds! And gardens...fair warning.
Yeah, I'm already looking at separators. Decent ones aren't cheap, but they seem worth it if we end up making cream-based stuff to any real extent.
Thanks. I think we're going to be happy there. At least, we'd better be after all this.
Baymule
Herd Master
You will be so happy and glad you are doing this.
animalmom
Herd Master
Howdy! We're about 90 minutes from Azle and have Nigerian Dwarfs, rabbits, dogs, ducks, geese, and chickens.
Just another resource for you.
Just another resource for you.
Baymule
Herd Master
@DParker you can’t find a better mentor than @animalmom AND she has Nigerian Dwarfs!
- Thread starter
- #17
Excellent, thanks!
Alaskan
Herd Master
I found the using someone else's buck the easiest thing.
Each year before breeding we would get blood samples from the girls to test for the big 3. (CL, Johnes, and CAE) Not too hard to do, and you mail off the blood. Then when you get the results you can find a clean buck and make "dates". You do want to make sure the girls you buy are clean, and always use a clean buck.
Dates are fast and easy... you drive up, put the girl in the pen.... wait 20 minutes to an hour, just to be sure... and done.
My Nubian and mini Saanan were obvious when they were in heat. My pure Saanan was very difficult to tell.
But... I found someone that let me drop her off (the pure Saanan) to live in their buck pen for a full month. And, that pure Saanan only needed the one breeding. She stayed in milk for years after being bred.
My nubian only stayed in milk for about 9 months.
I wasn't impressed with my super fancy expensive pedigree with milk lines mini-Saanan either.
Anyway...
As to kids and goats.... my full sized goats were less bouncy, but none were problems for the kids. Though... if a full sized goats does not want to go where you ask... well... difficult for a kid to redirect the goat.
But, they never hurt my kids. I think if you have a buck that learns to head butt is where you can run into trouble. None of my girls were into head butting, and as already stated, I never owned a buck. I would think that "child safety factors" would probably be much more an individual goat personality thing than a size of the goat thing.
Clearly, from my experience, I am very pro full sized Saanan. One Saanan in milk can easily give you a gallon a day. Also, she had super easy to milk teats! So nice! Of course you could have one Saanan, milk her only once a day so you only get a more manageable 1/2 gallon, and then have a friend for her that gives high butter fat milk for you to play with. I would suggest though NOT a Nubian since Nubians are crazy louder than other goat breeds.
I know people say the Saanan have lower fat milk... but with a separator you can still get cream to make ice cream, and the lower fat milk means it tastes more "normal" when you are drinking it straight. But then, when we buy store milk we buy 2%. (We would on occasion separate out the cream, but we never tried to make butter)
In Texas I don't see why you would need to close anything up on that shed.... except for predators. I would think that closing up the shed would cook the goats.
I would guess that your biggest goat predator would be dogs. So, whatever you have needs to keep out dogs.
Here in Alaska my barn is always at least partly open.
My barn is a drive through... big sliding door front and back. For the ten or so years we had horses the back was always open and front always closed (but they were only on the barn in the winter). When we had goats the back was usually closed and front usually open. The goats were in there all year round.
My sister in Texas only uses shelters and a barn for when they are kidding. She however has a bunch of live oak for shade.
In Texas you will need shade.
Each year before breeding we would get blood samples from the girls to test for the big 3. (CL, Johnes, and CAE) Not too hard to do, and you mail off the blood. Then when you get the results you can find a clean buck and make "dates". You do want to make sure the girls you buy are clean, and always use a clean buck.
Dates are fast and easy... you drive up, put the girl in the pen.... wait 20 minutes to an hour, just to be sure... and done.
My Nubian and mini Saanan were obvious when they were in heat. My pure Saanan was very difficult to tell.
But... I found someone that let me drop her off (the pure Saanan) to live in their buck pen for a full month. And, that pure Saanan only needed the one breeding. She stayed in milk for years after being bred.
My nubian only stayed in milk for about 9 months.
I wasn't impressed with my super fancy expensive pedigree with milk lines mini-Saanan either.
Anyway...
As to kids and goats.... my full sized goats were less bouncy, but none were problems for the kids. Though... if a full sized goats does not want to go where you ask... well... difficult for a kid to redirect the goat.
But, they never hurt my kids. I think if you have a buck that learns to head butt is where you can run into trouble. None of my girls were into head butting, and as already stated, I never owned a buck. I would think that "child safety factors" would probably be much more an individual goat personality thing than a size of the goat thing.
Clearly, from my experience, I am very pro full sized Saanan. One Saanan in milk can easily give you a gallon a day. Also, she had super easy to milk teats! So nice! Of course you could have one Saanan, milk her only once a day so you only get a more manageable 1/2 gallon, and then have a friend for her that gives high butter fat milk for you to play with. I would suggest though NOT a Nubian since Nubians are crazy louder than other goat breeds.
I know people say the Saanan have lower fat milk... but with a separator you can still get cream to make ice cream, and the lower fat milk means it tastes more "normal" when you are drinking it straight. But then, when we buy store milk we buy 2%. (We would on occasion separate out the cream, but we never tried to make butter)
In Texas I don't see why you would need to close anything up on that shed.... except for predators. I would think that closing up the shed would cook the goats.
I would guess that your biggest goat predator would be dogs. So, whatever you have needs to keep out dogs.
Here in Alaska my barn is always at least partly open.
My barn is a drive through... big sliding door front and back. For the ten or so years we had horses the back was always open and front always closed (but they were only on the barn in the winter). When we had goats the back was usually closed and front usually open. The goats were in there all year round.
My sister in Texas only uses shelters and a barn for when they are kidding. She however has a bunch of live oak for shade.
In Texas you will need shade.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
You can help determine when your doe is in heat with a "buck rag" which you can obtain from buck owner. This will pinpoint when the doe is ready for that date! They are only in the mood a very short time.
misfitmorgan
Herd Master
