savingdogs
Queen Filksinger
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2009
- Messages
- 5,478
- Reaction score
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- Points
- 221
1. How much square footage in a stall for a doe? I wanna be able to move around and such. This partially depends on what size goats you are getting. We have mini goats, so we used a large preexisting dog run and dog lean-to, probably 8 x 15 it was easy to adapt into their "barn". However, we milk in a different area altogether. When kidding time came, we erected a little hut (6 x 8) within the same pen and that is our kidding stall. We have this penned area for the winter and evening times, but we move them about to where we wish to have plants removed. We don't have portable fencing, but there are areas they can free range, areas where I can take them and supervise what they eat, and days when we just feed them more hay, depending on our needs.
2. How big should a corn crib for a (5) 90 foot rows of corn be? We are not growing enough corn here to need one.
3. What breed or crosses do I need? I want a heavy milker and lots of cream. I love my mini-nubians. My two does are producing a gallon a day, and they are first fresheners, so they may have better milk production next year. As far as cream goes, we have not been able to separate it. However, the milk is so rich and good, it is almost like cream. While we have mini nubians, which are basically a cross between nubians and nigerian dwarfs, we bred them to the (smaller) nigerian dwarf this first breeding, partially because I read that nigerian dwarfs have one of the highest amounts of butterfat in their milk. I was hoping to use Emilee's milk when she is eventually being milked for things like ice cream. Most "mini" goats were created by mixing with nigerian dwarf, mini-manchas are created that way. If you want minis you might talk to Javamama, she has them as well as me.
4. What are the feed requirements for milking does? It depends on their size and a lot of other factors. We buy bagged feed, and were normally giving our does about one cup a day each as a nighttime snack, along with their free choice hay, free choice minerals and free choice fresh (very clean) water. Now that they are lactating, they each eat about SIX cups a day, which is a very significant increase in the price of feed. Your "free" milk will not be free unless you have a way to create their diet at home. We cannot, at this point, do that. We just don't have enough open space to grow what we need for them to have prime health and maximum amount of milk, so at this point we are just having to bite the bullet and buy bagged feed. Freemotion has a lot of good advice over at BYH that she has already shared about saving money feeding her goats using sprouting grains, which I believe you already do for your poultry? My goats are very particular however and will eat very few new foods that I've introduced to them. It is NOT true that goats will eat anything. There is plenty they will not eat. I think you need to get them started when they are young with what you want them to eat. A lot of folks here were buying those alfalfa cubes and soaking them and putting them in the grain bucket at milking time. I tried that and WASTED my money, my goats looked at me like I had put a TURD in their grain bucket and wouldn't eat any of it. I've tried re-introducing them about 10 times and NO way. So if you want to try some of the more inventive ways to feed your goats, my advice would be to raise them from youngsters and get them to develop a taste for your self-sufficient foods. I looked into mixing my own grains, but I would have to buy in such bulk that it would go bad before I could use it. So if you could network with neighbors or such.....
5. What should be in a basic vet kit? Over at BYH there are tons of threads about this. They range from people who want to have a flippin' pharmacy to people like me who have really the bare minimum required to do a good job, and a willingness to run to the store for what I need. We had no choice but to buy things as we went along, and getting our does as kids really helped, because we bought things for young goats first, then bought things for kidding, then the things for kids, and then later the stuff for milking (while the kids are nursing, there may not be very much milk left). But to get STARTED, I think you better have baking soda, a big old syringe without a needle on it for forcing stuff down them, wormer (I like herbal), molasses, hoof trimmers, selenium supplement (I use herbal, but there is a kind you inject as well, called Bose), DE, and buckets you can hang so that they cannot be knocked over. I guess that isn't a vet kit but more like what I have as a "health" kit.
6. Tell me about a milking room? I live in the land of many rains, so walking to and fro with the milk sloshing through the mud just didn't sound like the thing I'd be able to do. So instead, we built a ramp to the LAUNDRY room of our house, which is a rather large laundry room, with a sink and counter in there. It is PERFECT. The goats have never EVER gone to the bathroom in there while being milked. I have a sink handy for hand washing (or anything washing) and a counter to set everything on that I can sanitize, and I can mop the floor, etc. You also want to cool the milk quickly, and my fridge is literally a few steps from this room, so I can just use my regular fridge (just not the door part). It is so awesome, I love it. The goats quickly learned to come up the ramp at milking time, and it makes it really easy to check them out in good lighting when I need to trim hooves or whatever. I could not possibly build a room as good as this one for milking in a barn setting, just because the barn isn't in the house. But remember, it is usually pouring rain here and so I live in the land of mud, and everything must be mop-able here because of that. It is easier to deal with a muddy goat in that room than for me to walk through the mud to the muddy area where the barn lives, so that whole idea of milking in the barn is not really feasible here. I would love to some day have a goat barn like glenolam, she built one recently, you might look through her journal at the photos or ask her for advice.
7. What are must have "basic" supplies? I kind of gave you that answer under "vet" supplies. There are threads devoted to this topic at BYH, you should really read them. It tends to be contentious over there, so just read, don't post. If you post something like "what is the best goat food?" they will get their panties in a wad and have a fight because they just can't agree on what it best. I think the reason is because there are MANY good ways to feed a goat, and many good things to have if you own them. There are regional differences, and a difference in style. I personally like the "goat style" of OFG and glenolam and Javamama as my "goat" role models, and Freemotion of course, because they all have a more SS idea of how to do things and don't necessarily want to run to the vet or the feed store for the latest every time the goat burps. Over at BYH there are some EXTREMELY intelligent and thoughtful folks, but there are also some high and mighty goat "experts" that make you feel like a weenie if you say the wrong thing, so just READ over there. When you get more familiar with the characters and topics, you will see what I mean. Threads like how to disbud a kid can cause a riot. So if you have a question, ask it HERE, but when you want to study, read THERE, if you are confused, ask us. That is how I "learn" about goats on here.
Regarding keeping two does and a buck, I plan to have SIX does eventually and no buck. I did what Freemotion mentioned, I bought a buck before breeding season and then sold him afterward for the same amount. I liked the offspring so much, I'm actually breeding my does BACK to him this year, of course not free this time. But bucks REALLY stink. I mean baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. We were toying with the idea of keeping him until he went into rut.
It is such a gross odor, we had friends come to visit who LEFT. It lingers on the does even and fences, EVERYWHERE. Even after he left, we could smell him for a month. We had planned to keep him with our wether, as goats CANNOT be alone. If you have your own buck, you need to have a friend for him. You can't have just two does and one buck, you don't have a friend for him then. And the does and he CANNOT run together. You cannot control breeding that way and also your milk would stink like him. So you need a totally separate pen and barn or shelter, whatever, for your buck and friend. Some people keep two bucks, I guess they can get along okay. But bucks can be harder to handle as well. Freemotion is talking about using the real young males, and I was planning on doing that exact thing next year, when I want to breed my mini-nubians back to a mini-nubian. I am going to use the nigerian dwarf stud again this year because his offspring were SO cool, but I don't want all my does to be 3/4 nigerian dwarf, I wanted them to be more like my original two, the mini-nubians. But if you are only going to keep two does, I would not have a buck on the premises full-time if I were you. You kinda only need them for about one week of the year, and the rest of the time they can cause problems, like breeding at the wrong time, breaking through the fence, getting a youngster pregnant, etc. They are really disgusting too, bucks PEE on their faces and all over themselves to make them have that LOVELY smell. It was almost enough to turn my family off of goats completely. Bucks are like a WHOLE nother creature compared to does and wethers. Does and wethers smell sweet and wonderful.
So glad to see you are finally getting goats, I know you have been wanting them for a long time!
2. How big should a corn crib for a (5) 90 foot rows of corn be? We are not growing enough corn here to need one.
3. What breed or crosses do I need? I want a heavy milker and lots of cream. I love my mini-nubians. My two does are producing a gallon a day, and they are first fresheners, so they may have better milk production next year. As far as cream goes, we have not been able to separate it. However, the milk is so rich and good, it is almost like cream. While we have mini nubians, which are basically a cross between nubians and nigerian dwarfs, we bred them to the (smaller) nigerian dwarf this first breeding, partially because I read that nigerian dwarfs have one of the highest amounts of butterfat in their milk. I was hoping to use Emilee's milk when she is eventually being milked for things like ice cream. Most "mini" goats were created by mixing with nigerian dwarf, mini-manchas are created that way. If you want minis you might talk to Javamama, she has them as well as me.
4. What are the feed requirements for milking does? It depends on their size and a lot of other factors. We buy bagged feed, and were normally giving our does about one cup a day each as a nighttime snack, along with their free choice hay, free choice minerals and free choice fresh (very clean) water. Now that they are lactating, they each eat about SIX cups a day, which is a very significant increase in the price of feed. Your "free" milk will not be free unless you have a way to create their diet at home. We cannot, at this point, do that. We just don't have enough open space to grow what we need for them to have prime health and maximum amount of milk, so at this point we are just having to bite the bullet and buy bagged feed. Freemotion has a lot of good advice over at BYH that she has already shared about saving money feeding her goats using sprouting grains, which I believe you already do for your poultry? My goats are very particular however and will eat very few new foods that I've introduced to them. It is NOT true that goats will eat anything. There is plenty they will not eat. I think you need to get them started when they are young with what you want them to eat. A lot of folks here were buying those alfalfa cubes and soaking them and putting them in the grain bucket at milking time. I tried that and WASTED my money, my goats looked at me like I had put a TURD in their grain bucket and wouldn't eat any of it. I've tried re-introducing them about 10 times and NO way. So if you want to try some of the more inventive ways to feed your goats, my advice would be to raise them from youngsters and get them to develop a taste for your self-sufficient foods. I looked into mixing my own grains, but I would have to buy in such bulk that it would go bad before I could use it. So if you could network with neighbors or such.....
5. What should be in a basic vet kit? Over at BYH there are tons of threads about this. They range from people who want to have a flippin' pharmacy to people like me who have really the bare minimum required to do a good job, and a willingness to run to the store for what I need. We had no choice but to buy things as we went along, and getting our does as kids really helped, because we bought things for young goats first, then bought things for kidding, then the things for kids, and then later the stuff for milking (while the kids are nursing, there may not be very much milk left). But to get STARTED, I think you better have baking soda, a big old syringe without a needle on it for forcing stuff down them, wormer (I like herbal), molasses, hoof trimmers, selenium supplement (I use herbal, but there is a kind you inject as well, called Bose), DE, and buckets you can hang so that they cannot be knocked over. I guess that isn't a vet kit but more like what I have as a "health" kit.
6. Tell me about a milking room? I live in the land of many rains, so walking to and fro with the milk sloshing through the mud just didn't sound like the thing I'd be able to do. So instead, we built a ramp to the LAUNDRY room of our house, which is a rather large laundry room, with a sink and counter in there. It is PERFECT. The goats have never EVER gone to the bathroom in there while being milked. I have a sink handy for hand washing (or anything washing) and a counter to set everything on that I can sanitize, and I can mop the floor, etc. You also want to cool the milk quickly, and my fridge is literally a few steps from this room, so I can just use my regular fridge (just not the door part). It is so awesome, I love it. The goats quickly learned to come up the ramp at milking time, and it makes it really easy to check them out in good lighting when I need to trim hooves or whatever. I could not possibly build a room as good as this one for milking in a barn setting, just because the barn isn't in the house. But remember, it is usually pouring rain here and so I live in the land of mud, and everything must be mop-able here because of that. It is easier to deal with a muddy goat in that room than for me to walk through the mud to the muddy area where the barn lives, so that whole idea of milking in the barn is not really feasible here. I would love to some day have a goat barn like glenolam, she built one recently, you might look through her journal at the photos or ask her for advice.
7. What are must have "basic" supplies? I kind of gave you that answer under "vet" supplies. There are threads devoted to this topic at BYH, you should really read them. It tends to be contentious over there, so just read, don't post. If you post something like "what is the best goat food?" they will get their panties in a wad and have a fight because they just can't agree on what it best. I think the reason is because there are MANY good ways to feed a goat, and many good things to have if you own them. There are regional differences, and a difference in style. I personally like the "goat style" of OFG and glenolam and Javamama as my "goat" role models, and Freemotion of course, because they all have a more SS idea of how to do things and don't necessarily want to run to the vet or the feed store for the latest every time the goat burps. Over at BYH there are some EXTREMELY intelligent and thoughtful folks, but there are also some high and mighty goat "experts" that make you feel like a weenie if you say the wrong thing, so just READ over there. When you get more familiar with the characters and topics, you will see what I mean. Threads like how to disbud a kid can cause a riot. So if you have a question, ask it HERE, but when you want to study, read THERE, if you are confused, ask us. That is how I "learn" about goats on here.
Regarding keeping two does and a buck, I plan to have SIX does eventually and no buck. I did what Freemotion mentioned, I bought a buck before breeding season and then sold him afterward for the same amount. I liked the offspring so much, I'm actually breeding my does BACK to him this year, of course not free this time. But bucks REALLY stink. I mean baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. We were toying with the idea of keeping him until he went into rut.
It is such a gross odor, we had friends come to visit who LEFT. It lingers on the does even and fences, EVERYWHERE. Even after he left, we could smell him for a month. We had planned to keep him with our wether, as goats CANNOT be alone. If you have your own buck, you need to have a friend for him. You can't have just two does and one buck, you don't have a friend for him then. And the does and he CANNOT run together. You cannot control breeding that way and also your milk would stink like him. So you need a totally separate pen and barn or shelter, whatever, for your buck and friend. Some people keep two bucks, I guess they can get along okay. But bucks can be harder to handle as well. Freemotion is talking about using the real young males, and I was planning on doing that exact thing next year, when I want to breed my mini-nubians back to a mini-nubian. I am going to use the nigerian dwarf stud again this year because his offspring were SO cool, but I don't want all my does to be 3/4 nigerian dwarf, I wanted them to be more like my original two, the mini-nubians. But if you are only going to keep two does, I would not have a buck on the premises full-time if I were you. You kinda only need them for about one week of the year, and the rest of the time they can cause problems, like breeding at the wrong time, breaking through the fence, getting a youngster pregnant, etc. They are really disgusting too, bucks PEE on their faces and all over themselves to make them have that LOVELY smell. It was almost enough to turn my family off of goats completely. Bucks are like a WHOLE nother creature compared to does and wethers. Does and wethers smell sweet and wonderful. So glad to see you are finally getting goats, I know you have been wanting them for a long time!
