Is there anything I need to know about raising goats?
Image by uberculture
After walking through the goat pens at the fair, we decided our retirement plan should definitely involve raising goats and making Feta and Chevre.
Question by Coraline: Is there anything I need to know about raising goats?
I want to raise some friendly type of milk goat (which type would be best?) and pygmy goats. Is there anything I need to know, like a specific way to milk a goat, any specific fencing material/ height for keeping the goats in, what they eat. You get my point.
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
2 Responses to Is there anything I need to know about raising goats?
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I would get Nubians with the large droopy ears. Second choice would be Alpines. Those are your two best dairy goats. I would never get pygmy goats, they are not dairy goats and are only good pets. Nubians and Alpines produce alot of milk. They need a large pen with alot of huge rocks/boulders, the more the better because they like to climb on them. I would have the pen made of chain link fence that is atleast 6 foot tall and secure to the ground if not buried a little in it. I would feed them alfalfa hay or alfalfa hay pellets (which are like giant rabbit pellets) If they get any moldy hay they will get really sick, only give them a little bit of grain when they are in milk but not too much it will make them get really sick. Milking is tricky for begginers so I would have the people who you are buying your goat from show you a quick demonstration. First you grasp them closeing your thumb and first finger to your palm traping the milk from going back up into the udder. Then close your middle finger and next down. It is hard to explain but easy to show. It will take awhile to get used to it, new people seem to have a hard time catching on at first which is a little funny. There are several things you can do with the milk, we have made ice cream and milkshakes during the summer. However I would talk to their owners if you have any questions, they should be able to help you out.
Best of Luck.
razgriz
December 21, 2011 at 4:44 am
The fence should be atleast 4 ft. tall, but maybe even taller bc milk goats are pretty large. Goat&Sheep fencing should work.
You should have a small shelter that all of them will have room to stand in when it rains, when its cold, when they need shade in the Summer. My friends didn’t build a barn and two of their goats died last Winter.
They should have 1cup+ each of goat feed a day, if not more. We sometimes get sweet feed. Also, in the Winter, they need to eat lots of hay to store fat.
And, I didn’t know if you realized this, but just in case you didn’t know already, you will have to breed your doe in order to get milk. Dairy goats can be agressive, especially males, so try finding a stud nearby or, if you get your own, try finding one without horns.
wutupwitu
December 21, 2011 at 5:01 am