As many farmers consider how many livestock they want to continue to feed through the winter, and in light of the devastating drought that most of this nation has experienced this year, this is an excellent time to consider acquiring a goat!
Goats also make wonderful pets!
Many questions that you may have will be answered in this video:
* How to buy a goat
* What to look for when buying a goat
* Dairy or meat?
* How to milk a goat
* Breeding
* Are goats right for you?
* What to expect…..and much more!
Enjoy and feel free to ask questions!
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About kmorris
We have 4 goats. I am milking one now. We get more milk than we can drink so I make cheese and other stuff. Goats are so much fun. never a dull moment.
I loved this video on dairy goats! My husband and I are super excited to own dairy goats soon (if everything goes right, in the next 2 years!), so I have been eagerly reading and watching everything I can about them. Thanks for all the information and the real-life clips about goats and goat behavior!
This was a great video, thanks! A couple of questions.
1. You mentioned 28 day rotation on pasture – have you tried following your goats with chickens to eat the larvae, similar to Joel Salatin’s method of following cattle with chickens?
2. I’m considering getting started with dairy goats, but was wondering how much capital you put into your dairy shed, fencing, equipment, etc. and how much you spend annually after the initial setup on feed, dewormer, bedding, etc.
David,
I love Joel Salatin but I’m not familiar with the method you describe precisely. However, since my chickens are free range, they love to scratch through the donkey, goat and rabbit manure for bugs and larvae. The chickens especially love the couple of hours I give them after cleaning out the stalls to forage in there for goodies as well. I look for any opportunity to feel my chickens free!
Ah, infrastructure. That’s always the most expensive part. It’s like the “free” hamster or bunny from the pet store that costs a mint in cages, food and toys!
To be honest, your best bet is to build your own, if you are handy. There are oodles of DIY plans for run-ins, made from wood palates and just about anything else you can rummage up! My husband is not particularly handy with a hammer and nails, and so we bought a modified run-in from a carport kind of place (we have a lot of those in Ohio). A run-in is generally 3 sided, but we wanted to be able to close the door in the winter/protect babies, etc. and also created a small milking room. We bought a 12×24 run in, had a front put on it, creating 2 stalls and a milking room. I LOVE the way we did it, very functional for us. That said, it is made of wood and we’re already seeing a lot of wear in it’s third year. Winter winds are very damaging out here, peels the paint right off your front door every few years.
Also, being “portable” and able to drag and relocate the run-in, we don’t have to pay additional property taxes by having it. Here’s the link where we bought it from to give you some idea on prices, this is about standard pricing for our area…http://www.lerchsbarnlotltd.com/livestock.html
With our donkey barn, we went another direction and got a metal barn from barns.com (picture here, scroll down http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/03/09/friday-wrap-up-chaos-and-progress/ and here as well
http://www.themorristribe.com/2011/10/28/friday-wrap-up-yarns-barns-and-fall-preparation/) and had a local carpenter come over and put in the stalls. Metal is definitely going to wear better….live and learn. However, this will add value to the property and taxes follow. Permanent structures can be amortized and used as a write off, but check with your tax person.
Fencing is expensive, but hopefully you’ll only have to do it once. We have used cattle panels and t-poles, but I wish we had gone with wood posts and cheaper wire. We’ll do that in the future pastures.
Feed can be expensive, especially with the drought this year. We purchase bulk from a local feed store and save a lot that way. We’re not big dewormer fans, and prefer to use DE (see here if you are unfamiliar with it) and herbal dewormer, but I am telling you that deworming isn’t always necessary, fecal tests will indicate the need. Too much dewormer causes a resistant parasite, so read up on that before you spend a lot fo money.
I’ve gone back and forth on bedding. Sometimes I use it for the goats, sometimes not. In the summer, they love the cool of the dirt floors and I’ll scatter just a bit of straw or wood shavings. Wintertime calls for more straw as it keeps them warm. I am always on the cheap side with those things.
I hope I’ve answered most of your questions, they are very good ones.
