# New goat farmer starting up - Whitewright TX



## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

New Goat owner checklist wanted:

I’ve got our new farm (39 acres about 1/3 wooded brush near Sherman TX) and culvert, road, power and water drops going in this month. I’m planning to have chickens, goats, honey bees and farmed catfish in totes.

For the goats I am forming my rough checklist of items and could use all the help I can get to try to ensure the best results most success and fewest lost or sick goats.
First off the land is probably a bit on the moist side which is not I am reading ideal for goats which prefer dry climates. It is mostly hot and dry during summer but Whitewright TX can be a bit further east in Texas to be dry enough for goats to really thrive.

My Current early checklist:

Barn, Mobile fencing/gates, feeders, troughs, 

Feed (which feeds do you recommend would simple oat grains also work as feed supplement like the 10 LB bags from walmart for $15)

Medicines (which medicines should be kept first? Antibiotics, hydrators, thermometers)

Anything else you can think of please share all of your starter kit ideas.

Maybe - Flea/Tick collars? Perhaps Borax to clear a forage area of biting insects?

Grooming items brushes, shears, clippers, files?

Being in North East Texas we have slightly elevated humidity most of the year and wild pigs are a threat. So would a guard dog be advisable?
Which weeds would likely be the greatest threat which I should search for to scout the proposed forage area?
What time of year is best to acquire goats and which type would you recommend starting with a young breeding pair of just one buck and one doe? Two older goats better or less likely to adjust to the change? Which sellers should I look at in my area? Do you think it is worth buying an animal trailer or just pay to ship them have them delivered? I notice weanlings are posting this time of year but I’m nowhere near ready so it will definitely be next year if this is the time they are bought.

Thank you all for your thoughts and any ideas pointers suggestions (don't be shy) and all the best to you!


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

My goats thrive in central Maine where it is very humid and wet when it isn't frozen and icy.

Weeds and such, can't help you there, i don't know what you have in Texas! In fact, several of your questions are more area specific, so I'll let those form your area post for that.

Yes, I would go with a pair of livestock guardian dogs.

Are you talking dairy goats or meat goats? A lot of your question will vary between the 2 types.

I would stay away from Walmart brand grains, I don't trust their quality.


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## Sans Gene Goats (May 15, 2011)

Hi there,

Congratulations on your new property! I have only had goats for a few years, so not nearly experienced like others on this forum. However, as "starting out" is still fresh in my memory, I would recommend the very first things you buy are a couple of books on goatkeeping. Cheryl K Smith's book Raising Goats for Dummies (unfortunate title IMO) seems popular. Also read the GoatKeeping 101 on this forum, then read it again, print it out and review often. 

While you are reading up on goat basic goat care, the next thing I would recommend is look up and join a local goat club. Mentorship is priceless. Do these things before you buy anything to prepare for your goats; it will save you money and wasted effort. Then start putting your start-up kit together, after you have gained some knowledge on what goatkeeping in your locale involves, as you will understand much better what you need and WHY you need it


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## squeak (Jun 21, 2012)

Hi! How exciting for you!!

You've come to the right place to ask these questions  This forum is fantastic.
I'm a bit of a newbie too, but I thought I would welcome you with a suggestion or two.

Being from out of town I'm not sure of your area  Definitely join your local dairy goat society - it's so true what Dixie says above. Mentorship is invaluable.

Buy from a disease free herd, and perhaps don't buy a buck to begin with. I bought a doe in kid and 2 goatlings to start my herd and used a friends buck (they have 3 and live 1 hour away from me) for years and years and years (10 years actually) before I bought my own. Goats are social creatures, and if you buy 1 buck you really need to keep a companion goat with it - plus you need super strong fencing for bucks (I have bolted to star droppers 4 by 2 timbers that allowed me to double the height of my buck fence that joins the doe paddock - it's nice and strong and buck proof. The other 3 sides of his enclosure are standard height - if a doe isn't on the other side then he isn't interested in trying to get out.... even though he probably could!). You would also need to buy another buck when you wanted to breed again to the kids your first buck produced... a lot of hassle for a small herd... plus even though bucks are smelly they can be super sweet and adorable, which makes them hard to part with. 

Attend a couple of shows, meet breeders, and look at different breeds. Enjoy your time researching, and above all realise that a milking doe requires daily attention - holiday in the winter, but your goats still need to be fed. I've always found friends to help me out when I had a just the 3, but even then, it is a big ask.

Have fun and good luck!! 

Kind regards,
Helen.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Welcome from another North Texan! I am west of Fort Worth and although we do have the hot humid climate much of the time, we have never lost a goat to parasites or coccidia. Things tend to dry out with dropping humidity levels for some time in summers which I think helps a lot, but cocci prevention is a must when raising kids and do read on here as much as possible. 
Whole grains are good for your grain ration but you will find things much cheaper by buying in the 50lb bags from the feed store. 
Alfalfa is also essential for dairy goats because its excellent nutrition, especially the calcium which is so important for dairy animals.
For biting insects, specifically fire ants, I found an Amdro product that is ok for pastures. I used it last year (the first time ever using a poison for bugs here). It was awesome! We had been completely overrun with fire ants to the point that we could not garden and were losing chickens because of them or I wouldn't have resorted to that.
For purchasing your goats, absolutely take your time. Research the breeds and go see them in person to find out which ones you like. You will see how Lamanchas are your best bet. (LOL I am totally making a completely biased comment there!) Seriously, there are all breeds raised out here with success. 
Have fun and good luck!


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## Annie (Jun 10, 2012)

Find a vet who knows goats, or one who is willing to learn. 

No need for flea or tick collars on goats, but they can get some skin parasites, you'll learn about this.

Hauling - I've never had a trailer, a pickup truck with a good securely-closing cap works well. We're driving a minivan right now, just have do some cleanup after hauling.

Fencing - when I first got started someone told me this (still makes me laugh): 
"Fence for goats need to be Horse-high, Bull-strong, and water-tight" 
Myself - I have some acreage fenced in with 5 strands of electric wire, keep the goats in and the predators out. Near the barn we have 4' cattle woven-wire fence with an additional upper and lower strand of electric wire. 

Do you want goats for milk or meat or both? I'd recommend Lamanchas too, 'cause I like 'em best  Get some books or do some internet research, there are a lot of choices. 

Definitely read allllll you can, and find a friend/mentor if you can.


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

doublebowgoats said:


> You will see how Lamanchas are your best bet.


There is a good reason LaMancha folks are biased... they're wonderful!! 

Finding a knowledgeable mentor is good advice. And be ready to throw out a lot of what you may know about managing other animals. You'll learn quickly that goats are not dogs, cows, horses, people or anything else when it comes to physiology and management. Nutrition and parasite management are good areas to start your research. Good luck on your new journey!


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## happy vagabonds (Jun 24, 2012)

I have been researching LGDs and you might want to consider 3 dogs. Go with 2 Pyranees and 1 Anatolian. It's a lethal combination of speed and brawn.


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## sherrie (Jul 22, 2008)

Whitewright is fairly close to Quinlan, where I live. So the weather is about the same. I love my nubians.  Like everyone else who has responded, you need to read, research and read some more. I didn't read enough when I first started about 4 years ago and had to get rid of 2 lovely does that tested positive for CAE. :/ So always find out the CAE status of a herd that you are looking at. If they can't show you the testing results on paper, then go on down the road.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

What Sherrie said! Not only do you not want to start with a herd that doesn't test for CAE, but you don't want to start with someone like that as your mentor. Anyone who down plays the disease status of their herd, anyone who talks about monthly wormings, herbal wormings, injecting or pouring on wormers and not giving them orally....you don't want them to mentor you or buy their diseased and filled with super worms, goats. We live where it doesn't freeze, alternatives to chemical wormings with wormers we know from fecal samples doesn't kill adult worms, will kill your goats in the south.

Breed, pick what you love, you won't stay in goats if you don't love to look at them, are intrigued to breed them, and your personality fits with them....you will find most people are very similar to their goats, just like their dogs. Don't get talked into a breed.

Start small, high quality, you want to be able to sell those kids for what it costs to feed the dam, then your milk is all but free. This time of year I would purchase a bred yearling....or simply deposit for kids being born this late winter or spring.

I am south of you, in Cleveland, which is north of Houston. I would visit as many places as you can before I built or started anything, leaving your checkbook at home. I would learn to fecal and pull blood, and use both of these things as a way of buying my goats. Tests in hand, no double talk or enjoy the visit and then don't purchase. I am super biased, but if you want quality Nubian's, I would go north/east to Lousianna (Tim Pruitt) he is on the forum, has a clean high quality herd, sells kids for reasonable, and you couldn't find a better mentor.

In goatkeeping 101 is my paper on From Birth to Kidding, I would follow that with the feed and hay and alfalfa pellets fed by the mentor you are buying from. I very simply can't afford to bring in the alfalfa hay some can, living close to the gulf the quality of this expensive hay, is lost, so I feed the best grass hays I can find and my girls get nearly free choice alfalfa pellets. I also, other than to growing kids and my bucks, don't feed my milkers byproduct feeds, I mix oats/rice bran for fat and calories, they get enough protein in their alfalfa pellets. If you live in an area with goats and something like Nobel goat etc. is used alot, than use it, but marking the bags at my two Tractor Supplies I use, bags sit for 2 or 3 months before they are refilled on the racks, which means it's old feed and at home out of the airconditioned store, it's bugy feed.

It depends on the age of the goats you buy what meds you will want to keep on hand, we buy most of the basics from jefferslivestock.com If you deposit kids for sale in the spring, this would be an ongoing conversation you would have with your mentor, on what to get on hand and what not waste your money on.

Your first decision is your goal.....meat, milk, showing, and be honest with yourself are you just wanting some lawn ornaments to pet now and then? Are you really up to milking twice a day for months?

I would start with a simple hoop house and fence around them with cattle panels, t posts and a gate. As you can afford to increase the size of their area, simple add more cattle panels. Then AFTER visiting several places to see how a goat barn works, then build a barn. Perimiter fence your property with field fence, mostly to keep in the dogs, and I wouldn't be without dogs either (we use Rhodesian Ridgebacks for our farm and goat dogs).....but having cattle panels as your goat fence, your stock is much safer and although eventually when your pups are older, they can patrol and guard all your acerage, it's nice having sturdy fencing where the goats will be the most, in and around their barn. My first barn I built in about the only cleared place on our very heavily wooded property, well duh, it was cleared because it was low  it was mistake number one of many mistakes I made  So go slow, I was living without electricity, building our house out of pocket with a travel trailer for me and the 3 kids to live in, husband worked in Houston.....but I raised goats in that nasty barn that was always flooding....how the goats lived through me being new was a miracle  Good luck with this. Vicki


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## KJFarm (Oct 26, 2007)

There is a vet in your "neck of the woods". She raises Alpines.......I think she lives at Ivanhoe, but have been told her clinic is in Bonham, so pretty close to you. Her name is Eve Gerome.


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

Thank you so much for all of the responses - it was more than hoped for and will be quite useful. I had figured (against most advice) and intended to simply let them mix with target breeds of alpine, boer, kiko (maybe one of those Tennessee Meat Goats) and let nature take its course. Milk the ones with good milk and eat the ones with good meat. I assume the weaker ones that don't adapt to the land will wither and the ones with the best genes for the Whitewright area will hopefully thrive given enough attention and clean food, water, housing, oversight, fresh air and a little luck.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Letting nature take it's course is of course a style of management. But do make sure those who are selling you dairy animals know, that you plan on simply letting kids nurse, and only milking some.....most well bred dairy animals have more colostrum and milk than 2 or 3 or 6 kids need, which will leave you with congested udders, mastitis, starving kids. Milking out the colostrum after the kids have nursed, milking at least once a day while kids do nurse, is pretty common dairy goat management. Boers and other meat goats of course only have enough milk for 2, sometimes 3 kids, and still can be milked, they may be the best option. Vicki


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

I raise disease free tested Registered Boers and am 2 hours from you .
I hope he starts right ,a lot of people think it's easy to raise good goats,especially Boers :sigh


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

I don't think it will be easy. I don't intend to be deficient in any respect to care and maintenance, but I do expect to allow the herd to evolve some. People who expect to overcome weak genes by driving themselves crazy with worry, frequent costly tests and overwhelming investments in fighting nature will fail more quickly than those that understand that sometimes all the money and work in the world cannot bend nature to their will. 

Making use of evolutionary forces does not mean picking the prettiest goat or the largest meatiest goats or the best milker but figuring out which ones are thriving in the local environment and encouraging their numbers to grow and worry about the meat and milk later. That's not so much letting nature take its course, but letting nature have a say now and then - so I suppose that is a management style - I'd call it more of a philosophy. 

I expect them all to be happy and healthy.

Thanks for the encouragement!


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## squeak (Jun 21, 2012)

I'm super curious what the evolutionary forces will choose for you, I do hope you post a photo or two. 
Happy regards,
Helen.

p.s. there is no reason why you can't start with what you want, be it the meatiest goat, or best milker.... saves time and money too


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Ray, why not start with Spanish goats? As a landrace, they have already let nature do its work and come up with the best goats for this environment. You could get a boer or dairy goat to mix in for extra meat or milk.


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

Are Lamancha goats and Spanish goats the same thing?


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

based on this web site looks like my answer is no. They list Lamancha as milking and Spanish as meat goats.
http://lamanchagoats.blogspot.com/


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

No, they are different. LaManchas are best known for their ear deficiency... or maybe the other breeds have an excess?  They are certainly my favorite, but Vicki hit the nail on the head that you have to find which breed best suits your needs and preferences. What one person finds endearing another will find abhorrent.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Yes, Spanish goats are different from Lamanchas and sometimes mixed or unknown breeds are mistakenly called Spanish. I loved my Spanish goats. So hardy and more playful and clownish than my Lamanchas. Lamanchas are known to be quite hardy and adaptive too but I have never had one that I could get away with not milking twice a day, even with their kids on them 24/7.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I agree that spanish or boer goats might be better suited to what you are wanting. Dairy goats, at least good dairy goats, have been bred and selected for milking quality and quantity, for a body structure that will support a heavy lactation beyond just what their kids need, etc. They are truly a result of modern breeding and needs...letting nature select which to survive out of a given herd is kind of going backwards. Good dairy goats, if well fed with appropriate feeds will require once or even twice a day milkings, even if raising their own kids. Feeding a poorer diet might result in doe and kid loses....kids that can't be caught can't be treated easily for worms and coccidia, which may or may not be a problem in your herd. If your goats are like mine, they will only rarely venture out beyond the barnyard to forage, so live on infested ground even though they are not forced to. 

I doubt I would want to use the milk of a doe that I wasn't milking daily and keeping an eye on the quality and flavor. Just sayin.


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

I have no intention of directly "letting nature select which to survive". My intention is to figure out which goats are struggling more, perhaps getting sickly more often - breed those to the happier goats say as some suggest a good spanish goat and the hopes would be some of their offspring might retain both the tasty milk (maybe a bit less of it) but upgrade their ability to be slightly reduced maintenance. 

By reduced maintenance I don't mean not milking them daily but not having to spend as much time puzzling over ailments and so on.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I have heard that Kiko goats are pretty hardy as well, and they are a dual purpose meat/milk. A lot of people cross dairy and meat goats as well. I don't know how hardy the crosses are, but I would bet they have some good hybrid vigor.


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## Annie (Jun 10, 2012)

I've had a few boer crosses here and they were fair milkers, not too much milk, just enough for me. My 2-legged kids are grown, just me here to use the milk (hubby's not a milk drinker), so a quart or two a day is fine for us.
And dairy/boer cross wethers are ok as meat goats too, butchered a few of those too. 

Just starting out - you might want to consider boers and one of the dairy breeds to experiment with. But I would DEFINITELY get CAE neg. goats, this is important for the current AND future health of your herd. It's really not that hard to keep a healthy herd, seriously, but you really should start (and only keep) CAE negative goats. It'll save you a LOT of heartache later


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## shawhee (Jun 28, 2008)

> Are Lamancha goats and Spanish goats the same thing?


Absolutely NOT!!! I think your best bet would also be the dual purpose kiko. At least until you get a better understanding of dairy goats and their management, I would start with Kiko or boer as they are not quite as labor intensive as dairy breeds. Many breeds are hardy and can "handle the environment" here in North Texas, but a good breeder will cull things that are not desirable - not just for an area, but for the overall good of the goats and the breeds. Letting nature take its course - with a breed is a little un-nerving to me, as I work very hard as a breeder to improve with every breeding, through culling hard, scouring genetics, looking very close at the traits of each goat I have and matching that to the absolute best buck I can for that doe to make improvements. Improvements in body, improvements in milking ability overall everything!! My Lamanchas could not go into your environment and not be milked - just not happening.



> By reduced maintenance I don't mean not milking them daily but not having to spend as much time puzzling over ailments and so on.


What makes you think that you will be dealing with many "ailments"? Just wondering where you are heading? So you will milk? Once a day? twice? 
I'm wondering because I don't deal with many ailments either. If I had sickly goats - they are culled, goats that harbor overloaded worm burdens - culled, goats with improper structure - culled, goats with improper mammary systems - culled. Fortunately, I had some great help when I started. I have not had to "cull heavily", but I have had to cut some goats from my herd. Overall I feel like I have some nice goats, I do presentable at the shows, and being on DHIA (milk test), as well as doing LA has given me guidance as to wear my herd is going.

So all this to say - I am not so sure the "land" is taking care of my goats, or if education, desire to better the breed I have picked, and hard work and dedication are the better option. I hope this makes sense.

Shawna


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Just a comment..................... because we answer questions for new folks on this forum, who did purchase diseased stock, who do not have good basic management, does not mean that our herds are unhealthy or high maintenence. Maintenence here is foot trimming which we bring on ourselves by making goats live on pine straw in the national forest, no goat would choose to live in the south, their feet don't naturally pare down and without freeze the parasite issues kill their young. Milking and kidding season are the most labor intensive, mostly because my kids are a cash crop and nature taking it's course would have me go broke. 

We had this conversation several weeks ago, but I haven't wormed my herd since March when the adults kidded, the kids have not been wormed since they were weaned, I have not opened a bottle of antibiotics to use on my farm.

We cause the sickness in our herds, with a little homework by you, following the threads of those asking the illness questions, paring it up with their management posts, you can quickly see that it is not a sickly goat, it is a goat on management that causes it to become sickly.

To breed mongrels that won't make meat or milk in any kind of capacity to make their kids saleable, to sell kids off your farm that won't allow you to pay yourself back the cost of keeping their dam and sire, to use family money to float a livestock hobby....nope not here. So my advice is always colored by that 4 letter word to some, profit. Vicki


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

shawhee said:


> What makes you think that you will be dealing with many "ailments"? Just wondering where you are heading? So you will milk? Once a day? twice?
> 
> So all this to say - I am not so sure the "land" is taking care of my goats, or if education, desire to better the breed I have picked, and hard work and dedication are the better option. I hope this makes sense.
> Shawna


Well the land is partly moist and the creek area is wet most (all) of the year, the treed areas are very rough and overgrown with lots of thorns vines biting insects of various kinds and even pigs. All of that sounds like a chance to introduce disease if allowing animals to forage through that scary forest. From what I read goats prefer dry colder climates to my Whitewright area partly because there is less disease and more frost to kill insects and worms.

Bettering the breed I have selected is bettering someone else's breed. I realize now it was presumptuous and perhaps foolish of me (in my very first post) to suggest I might wish to make a new local hardy breed all my own but I guess that was what I was suggesting in 20/20 hindsight. The idea may have come to me when I explored the bottom of an old well that had been closed off for who knows how many decades. The critters down there were all albino and it struck me what a powerful force evolution and nature can be - none of those critters needed constant antibiotics, wormings or tests. Just a thought. Did not intend to upset anyone.


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

I would also suggest you look into kikos. Seems they might work out for you. As a side note, I have some boer goats that I crossed with my sable and saanen bucks. They produced some really nice healthy hearty kids. I have one of the kids in my herd and she milks well and throws nice kids also.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

After reading through all the comments here I would suggest that unless you are really looking for milk and are willing to dedicate sometime every day and every 12 hours to milking and caring for the goats you should start with either kiko, Spanish or boers. Not suggesting that they dont require management or commitment but it is far less than is needed for a quality dairy goat.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

For awhile I raised Nigerian Dwarfs and Mini Nubians at the same time. I found the Mini Nubians to have alot more hybrid vigor. I think Mini Manchas may be even better at feed conversion, although I do not think they are as marketable.

Wet land will not be as problematic as long as they can browse high. Once they are down to picking off the ground, parasites will be a problem. However, like Vicki said, once you get in the right system, parasites really aren't that hard to control. I moved from East Texas to Indiana last fall. My goats have been dry lotted, as we had to plant pasture. I haven't wormed since kidding. Eyelids are still bright pink. Coccidia prevention is probably the most labor intensive aspect for dam raising, but well worth the effort.

I like those Spanish goats too. If I were to get out of dairy goats, I would get Spanish goats selected for cashmere.


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## Annie (Jun 10, 2012)

You are getting a lot of good advice here, but it all is up to you what you will want and decide to do 

I had a great mentor here in my neighborhood when I started, but now that I look back I DO wish I hadn't followed ALL of her advice, I made a few costly mistakes doing that. 

Read/research, listen, and do what feels right to YOU 

As for any thorny bushes, my goats LOVE thorny brambles. We bought a rundown farm with a lot of 6 -8 ft high multifloral rose areas, and my goats destroyed them. I didn't know what breed I liked, so I was buying a little of everything, and "gasp" at local auctions too. Lamanchas are what I decided on, just LOVE them. After a few years, I discovered the importance of testing for CAE and starting toward a CAE-free herd. Still experiencing a few difficulties with that, but it's still fun and I hope I never have to live without a goat or two, ever.

As for illnesses, you'll learn the most firsthand. Most important will be keeping parasites at bay. Kidding season will make ya bit crazy, but you'll learn a lot the first few years.

So don't let us turn you away, take what you can from suggested advice and go for it  And know there will always be folks here to help out as you go along.


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## Qz Sioux (Feb 21, 2009)

In my "neighborhood" there are a few people who keep goats. I have to say that I am probably the most "anal" of them all. I am still not up to "snuff" like most of the breeders here, but I am working my way towards that goal. You can have goats that you put out in a pasture. If you are worried about predators, get a couple of Pyrenees or Pyrenees/Anatolian crosses. I have a neighbor that never tests for CAE or CL and they eat their goats all the time. He doesn't milk any of his goats on a regular basis, but has tied up a doe on occasion to milk for one reason or another. I know he doesn't fecal test for worms and I doubt that he even does worm. Do his goats survive? Sure they do, most of the time until they are butchered. I just won't eat any of his barbecue because he doesn't test, especially for CL.

Another neighbor has pygmies, or maybe I should say, mini goats since none are registered except one Nigerian. She doesn't test for disease either, she does sell her kids to some of the Middle-Eastern people to butcher and she doesn't milk hers. She will squirt some Safeguard in their mouths every couple of months or so "just in case", and if she remembers, she will give them a CD&T shot, maybe yearly, maybe not. She also has a fairly "healthy" herd, though she does have a doe that is copper deficient (though she doesn't believe me or the pictures I have shown her). Most of her goats have a "scraggly" coat, but they are all FAT.

Do choose a breed that suits you. A dairy breed will require more management than a Boer, Kiko, or Spanish, but decide what you want your goats to do for you. If you want to milk on occasion and have meat, go with a Boer or Boer crossed with a dairy breed. All breeds of goats will milk or they wouldn't be able to feed their young and surely you can eat any breed of goat as well, some breeds will just have more meat on their bones than others.

I, like others have said, like the Spanish breed also. I had one that was wilder than a March hare when I got her. After having her just a few months, she turned out to be as friendly as bottle babies I have raised.

I understand where you are coming from, though I'm not an "Evolutionist", I can empathize with what you are saying. You want to raise some goats, you are not sure what you really want out of them as of yet, but you don't want to have to work 24/7 to make sure they are all in upright positions when you go out to the pasture.

I have lost some goats to ???? before I found this board and started learning more and more. I invested in Nubians because that is the breed that I have loved for a long time. I got lucky and bought the best I could. I bottle fed them, followed the advice given here on this board and have been pretty successful so far. My management is getting tweaked more and more. I am now a fecaler (is that a word?) and only worm for what I find on the slides. My DH would love for me to raise my goats the way our neighbors do, but I am not going to do that to my babies.

Good luck, you can do this. Just remember, the people here really want to help you as well as the goats that you choose. If you do have a goat that comes up with an ailment, everyone here will do what they can to help you and your goat get through it.

Just my 2 cents =D


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

I just received an email from a medical doctor's family in Shreveport who were wanting to purchase some kids. They have 2 1/2 acres of land and were planning on using rotational grazing with electric fencing. I enquired as to what they were looking for: pets, dairy animals that you have to milk daily or meat. Well, they wanted pets. 
While I love for people to get involved in dairy goats, if they are wanting pets, then they need to find something more suitable than a kid that will grow into 200 pounds or more. I suggested that they look at another farm who raises, dwarf goats, miniature horses and donkeys. They have now decided on miniature donkeys for their pets. 


The dairy breeds are more labor intensive as they require milking 7 days a week. Even if you dam raise your kids, they can not just be left alone but need to be milked out once or twice each day. 

I think what you are looking for would be found in the meat goat department of a mix breed of dairy/spanish/kinko, or Boer type animals. Those who are looking for a hardy breed of goats who require little or no maintenance might consider the spanish goats like others have suggested. While they are not a milking breed, they will certainly thrive on brambles and brush. They will provide meat and possibly enough extra milk for your coffee creamer.


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## KJFarm (Oct 26, 2007)

We raised meat goats for a 6 years. Purchased Kiko goats first, later got into Boers. The Kikos are very hardy, kids were so growthy and vigorous. A big plus with the Kiko is, you do a whole lot less feet trimming with them. Their feet just don't grow out fast like Boers or dairy breeds. If we ever decided to raise meat goats again, I would want to raise Kiko over Boers any day.


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## informative (Aug 24, 2012)

I've had one person (friend from Chile) suggest that for fencing my grazing areas for goats it might be simpler at first to just put 50 ft cord leashes on the goats to restrict them to a certain circular area. Anyone here tried that? What success or problems with this inexpensive method versus putting movable fencing to create penned areas?


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

Not a good idea. They can get tangled up, choked and have no way to even try to get away from predators. goats need good fencing and an LGD or other guardian/protection.


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## KJFarm (Oct 26, 2007)

:nooo :nooo :nooo NEVER tie goats out.........you will have tangled up, injured animals, strangled animals, and leave them vunerable to dog and predator attacks. Please don't give this idea a second thought.


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## Qz Sioux (Feb 21, 2009)

I have to agree. DON'T tie them out like that, for the reasons already listed. It is never a nice thing when you go out to feed or water and all you find is a collar with maybe part of a head attached to it (if that). One of my neighbors did that very thing. If you really want inexpensive fencing, put up hot wire using fiberglass rods. It is cheap, and you can get pretty good, high shocking chargers that are solar, so no need for electricity. BUT I will add, that if this is the route you go, DO get an LGD! You would be surprised at what will go thru the fence, but once in, won't want to go back out! My goats respect electric fencing, and I now only use it when I'm putting them in an area for a short time that isn't already fenced. But, I have found skunks, possums, and even a neighbor dog (dead) inside the fence. My LGD doesn't mess around with intruders. 

Just my $0.02 worth


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I use electric net fencing in some areas to let my goats out to browse. You must be sure it is working well, and not sagging though, because they WILL test it. I would suggest just putting up a perimeter fence, then if you want to rotate them between areas/rotate through pasture, you can use an electric fence. Fencing is one of the biggest expenses in owning goats, but it is an important one.


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