Hi all from WI

[speckled6]

Hi everyone,
I've been lurking here a bit since the byc conversion.
I came back because we are looking at adding rabbits and goats to our little homestead.
I read a ton and I have a lot of information to gather yet before we take the plunge and add more critters. I figured the best place to learn, other than from well written books, is from folks who already own and care for these animals.
So here I am to say hi.
A little background...we moved to the country just over 3 months ago. We started with 15 chickens and currently have 31.
We have a family of 7, that includes 4 teens! So we eat a lot of eggs.
I want rabbits for meat and fur (I love anything with multiple purposes!)
I want goats for milk/fleece or milk/meat. I don't have any overgrown areas, so not looking at brush clearing at this time (I'm almost disappointed about that!)
We're taking it slow though. I think we will add rabbits towards the end of summer if we still feel it's right for us and goats in the spring possibly.
Everyone was pretty welcoming during the conversion, so I hope you'll all accept me coming on over to check things out and gather info from you all here!
Can't wait to get to know everybody here!
jean

 

[CntryBoy777]

Welcome from NW Mississippi!....
We have chickens, ducks, goats, and cats here on our 20acres. Ya can't go wrong by hanging around, there are many Great folks here with tons of knowledge and experience, and more than willing to share opinions, thoughts, and support for most anything that can be faced. Hope ya make yourself welcome and hang around.
Again.....

 

[babsbag]

Welcome to BYH from CA. I see that your chicken math is already at work I'm not sure about rabbits but goat math is really similar to chicken math so if you think you might want two goats you had better plan on 6. When those first kids hit the ground it is really hard to let them go.

How much land are you on?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Welcome from North Carolina.

 

[speckled6]

Hi all,
Thanks so much for the welcome!
@babsbag ...yes, chicken math is bad and I did hear goat math can get pretty tough too!
We are on 1.2 acres so we don't have tons of overgrown pasture for the goats to clear.
I always thought that's all they were for, until I did a little reading.
But since we have limited space, we will see if goats are even a possibility.
I sure don't want them to be unhappy!

Thanks again for the welcome!
jean

 

[babsbag]

You could do a couple on that amount of land. But dual purpose goats are a little tricky as they are pretty much one type or the other. Especially fiber. But look at Pygmy and Kinders for dual purpose meat and milk. The pygmies are smaller too which might be good. You need at least two as they are herd animals and you need to breed them if you want milk. So if you find some talk to the breeder about breeding back to her buck.

 

[speckled6]

You could do a couple on that amount of land. But dual purpose goats are a little tricky as they are pretty much one type or the other. Especially fiber. But look at Pygmy and Kinders for dual purpose meat and milk. The pygmies are smaller too which might be good. You need at least two as they are herd animals and you need to breed them if you want milk. So if you find some talk to the breeder about breeding back to her buck.

Thank you so much!
Yes, I was thinking 2-3 at most. After reading another members experience, I'm leaning towards 3.
I saw the ADGA nat'l show is in Madison WI next month. I hope it's open to the public.
I know there are goat farms around me, but I have no idea how to get in contact with them and some of the Craigslist ads seem sketchy. But that may just be my inexperience.
I'm just taking it slow. I want to be certain I can provide for them before I get them, so plan to have everything set up well before we get any.
Thanks again!
jean

 

[OneFineAcre]

Yes, the ADGA show is open to the public.
My wife and daughter are going. We took animals to PA last year but we aren't taking any to Madison.
My daughter is going to participate in the youth fitting , and hopefully a friend is going to let her use one of his goats for showmanship.
Are you near Madison?
@Hens and Roos is near there.
I flew a buckling up to her a few weeks ago.

 

[speckled6]

Oooh, yay
I'm going to have to convince DH we should go!
Yes, I'm only 45 minutes Southwest of Madison. I was hoping if we could go to the show I could get a look at some different breeds and get to meet some breeders in my area.
I know shows are a good place to see what an animal should look like so felt it would be a good place to start.
Yay. I can't wait now!
Thanks for the amazing info!!!
jean

 

[OneFineAcre]

Maybe when @Hens and Roos checks in she'll make contact.
She would be a good source, she may have some kids available.