hello from Mississippi

[M.L. McKnight]

Ten foot high fencing may be a bit much. I'd opt for something between 48-60". Most folks make sure that their pastures are clear of night shade, I have watched my goats munching nightshade with no problem; it probably has more to do with the maturity level of the plant. Morning glory is pretty to look at but it has caused the deaths of three of my goats. Call MS State and ask for Dr. Fleming in their Food Animal Department, that lady can tell you more about goats than you can shake a stick at and will probably be able to rattle off a list of publications concerning plants that are known to be toxic to goats.
You don't have to keep your buck separate from your does, I run my adult goats together. I do keep those rascals away from my younger does. IF you are milking your goats having your buck run with them can cause a pronounced 'goaty' flavor in your milk, some folks don't like it.

 

[kinder]

Well hello there , and welcome.!!! It all seemed a bit over whelming to me at first also, but once you get the big picture it just all makes sense and not so scary. Good luck with your venture with goats.

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

You guys are great.
I have started researching my plant life. The easiest to identify is the wisteria lining my property, climbing the trunks of my trees. I found where it says online that the leaves, fruit (flowers I guess) and seeds are toxic. Oh no! It is in the woods.. there is no possible way I could clear it out.
is this a deal breaker?
I dont plan on letting them scamper through the woods, but I can't guarantee they won't get some. When the flowers drop, I get lots of purple petals in my backyard.

 

[M.L. McKnight]

I have wisteria in a portion of my front yard and my wandering goats (the escape artists that now roam the yard and orchard) don't seem to even give them a second look.

 

[Kassaundra]

Hello, from a fellow noob. I do not have goats now, but growing up we had a herd of milk goats. A couple of things you may not be aware of, 1- goats are escape artists!!!!!!!!!!!! that cannot be overstated they can breach nearly any fence you can imagine, it is a game to them, and one they are good at!!!! 2- they love to eat bushes, flowers, trees, not so much grass at all, but they do not care that it is your peach tree, or your prized roses 3- males STINK, I mean STINK BAD, and are aggressive. If it were me especially w/ such a small "herd" I would get a breed that you have access to "stud" services in your area and not even get a male. You will only need him about once a year or so w/ just 2 females.

 

[Kassaundra]

You guys are great.
I have started researching my plant life. The easiest to identify is the wisteria lining my property, climbing the trunks of my trees. I found where it says online that the leaves, fruit (flowers I guess) and seeds are toxic. Oh no! It is in the woods.. there is no possible way I could clear it out.
is this a deal breaker?
I dont plan on letting them scamper through the woods, but I can't guarantee they won't get some. When the flowers drop, I get lots of purple petals in my backyard.

Unless your animal is starving they generally don't eat what will poison them.

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

thanks for that. I definitely won't starve them - so you saying if I keep their bellies full they'll mostly leave harmful plants alone, makes me feel much better. Their pen won't have any dangerous bushes in it.. but incase they escape, I wouldn't want them nibbling toxic things.
Maybe one little male dwarf goat wouldn't stink TOO bad? With two females? - that sounded like a nice little trio when someone else mentioned it.. I have time to decide.
I am feeling less overwhelmed with all the help and support. Thanks again!

 

[Kassaundra]

I would suggest going to visit a place w/ a male before getting one. The amount of smell acceptable in a field is one thing but up close to a home or neighborhood is another. A dwarf may be less dangerous, ours were full sized. We kept our billy separate so we could decide when the breedings happened both for milk control and so no kids were born in the worst of our winter months. We bottle reared all our goats and still the billies were very aggressive. One beautiful one had to be sold for meat b/c he was so unmanageable he would actually attack w/ mean intent, hurt a couple of people to the point of seeking medical attention. The kids and nannies were an absolute joy, they are very interactive animals and you can tell they think behind their eyes, great personalities, can't say enough good about the kids and nannies. I personally would never keep an intact male.


It has been my experience that given a choice an animal will not eat the poison (short of it being sweet all animals will eat a sweet poison) plant or food. I did see where another person had a different experience.

 

[OneFineAcre]

There are certian plants that are toxic for goats that they will eat, like roddodendrons.

I have 5 Nigerian Dwarf bucks. None are agressive, in fact they are all sweethearts. But, they do smell during the rut. Starting about Sept-Dec.

 

[HobbyFarmerJen]

great information guys! I have googled nightshade and ive never seen that. And roddonendrons (lol thats a mouth full) are gorgeous.. No, none of that on my property. My stuff is all green except the wisteria. Can I just snap some pictures and share with you guys? Or is there a better place here to post that kind of stuff?
I'll sniff a little dwarf buck before I buy him. Haha. My neighbors arent close.