Turtle Rock Farm: First Goat Experience

[Turtle Rock Farm]

Patience and persistence... You'll both win the day! Great looking doe!

I managed to save a bit for consumption today. It all ended up as, er, 'chocolate milk' previously. It's definitely coming along well, and I'm figuring out ways around her tendencies to perform an elaborate tap dance on the milkstand. The only thing I've ever milked before was a cow so docile you could probably lay on your back and squirt it straight into your mouth without issue.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

If your shelter has a wood floor? you may want to use stall mats so you don't get wood urine soaked.
Goats are so much fun, glad you took the plunge and enjoy!

 

[Turtle Rock Farm]

If your shelter has a wood floor? you may want to use stall mats so you don't get wood urine soaked.
Goats are so much fun, glad you took the plunge and enjoy!

Nope, dirt floor. Thank you!

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Good deal! Do you have a milk stand? That sure makes it easier. My experience has been either they hold stock still or throw fits for about two weeks, then settle down. Currently I am breaking a wild two year old 'rope goat' .....she trails a long rope on a halter so I can catch her. Never offered to move while milking her, just can't get near her to catch. She is coming around and not so hard to catch. That is one of disadvantages of dam raising, kids can be wild.

 

[Latestarter]

Not sure if it's a fluke, and I don't have decades of experience, but I've had dam raised and bottle raised equally friendly. I find the trick is to handle the babies as soon as possible after birth. Put fingers in ears, mouth, on butt, all over just like mom does. Make sure to pick them up and hold them for a short time. Then make sure to spend a little time in their presence daily. After feeding the group this morning (7 adults, 8 dam raised kids ~10-11 weeks), I moved a folding chair into the shade out in the pasture and had a seat for a while. My LGD came over and got his loving. My buck and adult wether made sure they got their scratches then went off to graze/browse, then most of the kids spent some time with me and got their scratches and petting. One actually climbed up in my lap as she wanted some intensive attention Like humans, some crave more attention than others, but all of them, including the bucklings come up looking for attention and are very friendly (even after shots and bandings etc.).

In actuality, I only have really one goat who rarely comes to me or near me and that's my one mean girl/herd queen. She has never really been friendly, but that may be because I chase her around when she's being just plain mean to the others.

 

[goats4us]

Congratulations! We just got our first goats 3 weeks ago (meat goats) so we're right there with you. This group is awesome, full of good advice and lots of encouragement! We had an injury right off the bat, blood everywhere, but we and the goat survived and doing great. We get quite a kick out of them. Enjoy!

 

[Turtle Rock Farm]

Good deal! Do you have a milk stand? That sure makes it easier. My experience has been either they hold stock still or throw fits for about two weeks, then settle down. Currently I am breaking a wild two year old 'rope goat' .....she trails a long rope on a halter so I can catch her. Never offered to move while milking her, just can't get near her to catch. She is coming around and not so hard to catch. That is one of disadvantages of dam raising, kids can be wild.

I sure do. I'd have given up already if I didn't have that lovely thing. She is improving exponentially in behaviour and now throws only about two short fits per milking and sits quietly for the rest.

The first milk of hers I tasted was rather like a smoothie that would have been good if some nut hadn't stuck lettuce or artichokes or something in it. I ended up feeding it to the chickens. Then I took her off pasture for a day---and now it's absolutely delicious. I'm not sure how I'm going to work pasture to keep the milk edible, but I have a few ideas and we'll see how it works.

 

[Turtle Rock Farm]

Congratulations! We just got our first goats 3 weeks ago (meat goats) so we're right there with you. This group is awesome, full of good advice and lots of encouragement! We had an injury right off the bat, blood everywhere, but we and the goat survived and doing great. We get quite a kick out of them. Enjoy!

Oh my, sounds scary. I'm glad it went okay! I'm running into a bit of difficulty too: I found out last night that the doe has a case of lice. Sigh. Anyone know what I can use on a doe in milk without wrecking the milk? I have Permethrin spray and powder that was mixed up for the chickens, but I don't know if that's okay to use or not.

 

[Latestarter]

The permethrin is perfect for the task, but I have not been able to find or verify any milk withholding requirement for it. Perhaps @Goat Whisperer or @Southern by choice or maybe @babsbag would know for sure? Maybe someone else? I can't find it listed at FARAD http://www.farad.org/WDIlookup/
Since it is a man made substance designed to mimic a natural substance, I should think that a 5-7 day withdrawal (just to be safe) should be more than adequate.
http://www.livingwithbugs.com/permethrin_pyrethrum.html

 

[Southern by choice]

There is none. We skip the milking following anyway.
The livestock concentrates should have this in their labeling.