Goat people......Should I buy it??? Should I????

[FarmerChick]

Talk about horrible luck with your herd....yikes!

I have been breeding Boers for over 10 years and never had one of your problems....knock wood of course.

Yea they butt and hook and do some stuff, but nothing like you described thank goodness.

Everyone's experiences are so varied...but with those examples I would have no horns also. I don't blame you after those accounts.

 

[big brown horse]

smell of buck never bothers us either, except my DIL--she almost pukes when she smells a buck. I am really careful to be sure that the goats I buy now are CAE and CL free--to me that is very important and NO HORNS!!!!!! Carolyn

Yes, this is very important!! CAE and CL free is an absolute must.

 

[Blackbird]

I agree with Carolyn about no horns on dairy breeds, but I see horns as a must for fibre breeds or else they overheat. I've also had a problem with horns getting caught in the cattle panels, we always need the bolt cutter handy.
I've also seen a neighbor's doe die from heat because her head was stuck in a fence and she couldn't get to shade.

I have mild allergies to buck smell myself, but I deal with it, I try not to handle them much when they're in season, but we almost always have a buck.. too hard to run a doe wherever when she's in heat.

Another good site for goat info is:
http://thegoatspot.net/phpbb/index.php

 

[Beekissed]

Do any of you tape a length of PVC to their horns to prevent fence tangling?

 

[Carolyn]

yep, did the pvc or stick thing taped to the horns--turned into another weapon---don't know why the horned goats in this area are soo darn crazy, healthy goats just agressive with horns. I have heard that horns should be left on fiber goats, mine had the horns on, but the big black cashmere buck (Satan) jumped his cattle panel and jumped the cattle panel into the dairy goats pen, He hooked my dairy goat bucks front leg at the knee and twisted, he was wild, so he would run, dragging poor Cappie with him. It was not fun!! His name was Satan because he was completely black, even his tongue and the roof of his mouth. Beautiful, but nasty. $8/oz for black cashmere wasn't worth it. Well maybe I would have to leave the horns on the fiber goats, but I will have to look for CAE and Cl free fiber goats--there is a call for Santa hair and beards and doll wigs--Mohair is beautiful for doll hair. Have felted it into lambs wool also, doesn't felt by itself, but soaks up dyes and just a bit into white lambs wool -ohh beautiful. Carolyn

 

[FarmerChick]

Do any of you tape a length of PVC to their horns to prevent fence tangling?

Sure do and it works fabulous!

I have a young doe out there now with PVC taped to her horns. I leave it on about 1-2 mos. and then it changes their behavior and they grow bigger and their horns then won't get thru the fence as their horns spread wider.

Never used as a weapon in all the years I have been using this method.

I never have problems with horns to the level I have read about. I am a lucky gal here with her horned herd..HA HA HA

 

[freemotion]

Whew. So much drama in my life in just three days....

 

[Carolyn]

LOL Have you decided to get the Togg buckling? When I started out with Dairy goats, I grabbed every Dariy goat I could find and sometimes I would come home and there would be extra goats in my pen . I probably got all the "bad eggs" = result, all these problems. I now watch what I get--well I only get goats that have milking records or check milking records of dams, go and watch a little before I buy. I could tell more stories and all of you would absolutley die and I would embarrass myself, but another day. I was a real NEWBIE--I would definitely make sure I had a buck of my own if I were you-just look out for yourself and someone that just wants to make money on you. Good Luck. Carolyn

 

[freemotion]

I am actually hoping to take a drive this evening to look at a young doe in milk or her doeling, Nubian/Boer cross. If I take one of them home, I will strongly consider the Togg buckling. Then I don't have to worry about the inbreeding or linebreeding at all. If I later keep a couple of doelings to replace my does, I will just sell or trade the buck.

Don't forget, I am not looking for a modern dairy goat at all. I prefer that the output be in the gallon a day range, three quarts is fine, too. Then feeding is not such an issue. It is just me and dh, and some cheese and soap making. I hope to be able to provide most of the feed myself, and just buy a little grain for sprouting to add protein. The only products I want to sell eventually are some soap and maybe some milk for dog breeders. Just to offset my grain and hay purchases and the occasional vet bill.

As for selling offspring, it seems like well-raised doelings and bucklings sell at a pretty good pace here, in the lower price range. I also don't need to get $300-400, I am doing this for us, on our little haven here in the 'burbs. If you don't call within an hour or two of the ad being posted on craigslist, you miss out, so I'm confident that I can move the babies and not be overrun with goats, even though they will be quite the mixture.

So.....answer quickly, I have to leave by noon.....should I consider the year-old first freshener who is in milk, or her month-old doeling? I am leaning towards the mom, since she is now "experienced" and I am not yet comfortable with the idea of training a youngster to be milked, or worrying about the first litter. On the other hand, the baby is CUTE

By the way, I looked at this guy's website, and his way of doing things is right in line with mine. Small farm, hens, turkeys, goats, sheep, and the picture of the baby was of her on her knees nursing....so not bottle raised.

 

[FarmerChick]

remember Free---there is no milk until the doe has a kid.

so the doeling will have to have a kid first----and that is at least age 8 mos. and up.

just like a cow.

so if you want milk NOW.....get the momma and if she is in milk right now then great....if she is bred etc. great.

you know the drill.

and get what your gut tells you to get!!! You'll know!!