Damummis'- Auf wiedersehen

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Just breathe! You'll be fine. Take it day by day and it will get easy. Hay, minerals, water every day. Remember to love on them and enjoy them. That makes up for it.
Milking will probably make you cry and/or curse. That's normal. You will figure it out. Keep your expectations low to start off. Your hands will hurt, your back might hurt until you find a good position.
Read OFG's blog about milking and it will help. She lays it out how it really is :D

If you live close to a feed store/tractor supply, don't run out and buy a bunch of stuff...you may not need it and rarely is anything such an emergency that you can't run out and get meds. I went way overboard with supplies and I haven't used 90% of it yet :lol:

edit to add - I went back and found you are getting Saanens. That'll be a ton of milk! Woot! I don't envy your hands though :P
 
Had to take a goat break for a few.

went brain dead and made this....
29708_fisherman_hat_002.jpg


crocheted fisherman hat and boots.
 
breathe!

you'll be just fine

here is more info -
http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/p/what-i-know-about-goats.html

but of course, read the fiasco farm site, as Free says

do you have a pen to put them in? do you have hay? a bucket for water? some kind of bucket to milk into? an upside down 5 gallon bucket to sit on or a regular little foot stool to sit on while you milk?

if you dont have a milk stand then have a kid or your hubby hold a bucket of food at goat-head-height with one hand and by the collar (loosely!) with the other. sit on the bucket or footstool on one side of the goat. reach out, give a squeeze (after you read the fiasco farm site) into the milking bucket. milk her until she's empty then give it to the chickens so you arent stressed out by the whole thing. goat should stand there quietly. if she doesnt go ahead and cry but dont give up. have a laugh, give her a pat on the head... and start again tomorrow.

relax

get the goats there and settled. get them on a schedule. and take each day one step as a time.

:-)
 
goats are very easy to take care of in my mind. much easier then dogs. by this i mean you are working but it is fun, and fun isnt work ;) and you do work but its all worth it. and goats wont pee on the new living room carpet, eat the legs of the table, or shred the couch :D

you need hay. mine eat about one of my square bales a week. i use the pieces from old bunkbeds as hay feeders. just hang them on the wall securely and high enough that the goats cant or hopefully wont try to get in the top.

i have a feed trough in the barn. it is a piece of rain gutter (like from a house) nailed to the wall. of course the goats like to put there front hooves in it to get a higher bite from the hay feeder, so they need wipe out every once in a while and replaced sooner then a "real trough".

as for books i recommend "raising goats for milk and meat" by rosalee sinn. its an older book but very straightforward, has lots of details, has step by step drawings for learning to milk. very very good especially for newbies.

good luck!!! :thumbsup
 
You'll be fine, the goats will be fine! Breathe! If I can do it anyone can! I use a lot of the advice from Fiasco (at least what I didn't get from Free and others here!) I hope you're able to relax and enjoy them soon!
 
I have:

Big black rubber tub-waterer
square heavy plastic feeder to hang on the wall or over stall partition, maybe the milking stand
stainless pail (ouch) for milking
tub of wipes
bag of minerals
baking soda, if needed

What I need:
finish cleaning out the garage
milking stand
straw
hay


I did get a couple more books at the library, read the info at Fiasco -thanks Free- So other than having no place yet for them and no food, I think I am doing OK :P Things seem to fall into place when needed.

Thanks again for everyone's tips.
 
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