goats (Winthrop, Readfield: live, garden, licensed)

[Submariner]

Goats are wonderful, and milking is okay.

It was simply our personal preference not to milk again. I apologize for implying that anyone else should avoid milking. You can use milking machines to milk your goats.

There is a local 'demand' for goat cheese.

We live in a forest, with thick brush and scrub trees. Our goats make an effort to knock down that brush for us. They provide fertilizer for our gardens, and the chickens like following them around. [Chickens eat bugs, a little bit of grass and goat poo. Goats eat trees, bushes and a little bit of grass. So I think that the goats process the trees into a form that the chickens can digest]

Goat meat goes into making gyros or herbed sausages.

[msina]

There's also a growing demand for goat meat. Many nations raise meat goats and as our population becomes more diverse, people from "away" look for familiar foods. I worked with a man from Barbados once. One of his favorite meals was rice, yams and, goat meat.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by msina

There's also a growing demand for goat meat. Many nations raise meat goats and as our population becomes more diverse, people from "away" look for familiar foods. I worked with a man from Barbados once. One of his favorite meals was rice, yams and, goat meat.

We have been approached for goat meat.

We have debated going into that business. The expense of the USDA meat inspections and butcher are the primary prohibitive factor.

KAF has sold goats to a goat meat processor.

[AliceT]

Goats can be trained to harness and will pull a cart or wagon. There was a story about a man who crossed the country in a wagon pulled by goats. Wish I had hung onto it, but I didn't. They can be taught to carry packs and are often the beast of burden of choice for hikers as they are very sure footed, not as temperamental as a donkey and require less feed than most any other hooved animal that can carry his own supplies as well as most of yours.

Unless tethered, good luck keeping a goat contained in a pasture or barn. Goats have nothing better to do than think of ways to make their owners look and feel foolish. If a goat knows you don't want him in or near a certain place or thing, they will work overtime to figure out how to get to it.

As long they have an area that is sheltered from elements and wind, with dry and thick bedding as previously mentioned they will fare well through the winter months. Give them a prepared goat feed along with roughage like a good quality hay and plenty of water and they should do very well. Keeping their water in liquid form will be your greatest challenge. Individual bucket heaters will take care of that - if the goats don't go out of their way to destroy it.

[starwalker]

We built our "goat proof fence" out of poles set in the ground, 2x4 cross beams and sawmill slabs (free for the taking in CO in the 70s) for verticals. They did not get free access to the wild area, though we would take them on "Heidi hikes" and that would follow us out and back, no problem.

I, personally, would not tether an animal... it is too easy for them to get tangled, knock over their water, etc. We pretty much wrecked a small car once when a horse that had been tethered all day in the hot sun in western CO (and had knocked over its water bucket) finally broke free at night and -- crazed with thirst -- bolted into the road out of the darkness, directly in front of our car. We were not cited. The horse had to be put down and the owners were cited for animal issues (I do not recall now if it was cruelty or "just" neglect). We were just glad we came by first, and not the next vehicle, which was two folks on a motorcycle!

Originally Posted by AliceT

Goats can be trained to harness and will pull a cart or wagon. There was a story about a man who crossed the country in a wagon pulled by goats. Wish I had hung onto it, but I didn't. They can be taught to carry packs and are often the beast of burden of choice for hikers as they are very sure footed, not as temperamental as a donkey and require less feed than most any other hooved animal that can carry his own supplies as well as most of yours.

Unless tethered, good luck keeping a goat contained in a pasture or barn. Goats have nothing better to do than think of ways to make their owners look and feel foolish. If a goat knows you don't want him in or near a certain place or thing, they will work overtime to figure out how to get to it.

As long they have an area that is sheltered from elements and wind, with dry and thick bedding as previously mentioned they will fare well through the winter months. Give them a prepared goat feed along with roughage like a good quality hay and plenty of water and they should do very well. Keeping their water in liquid form will be your greatest challenge. Individual bucket heaters will take care of that - if the goats don't go out of their way to destroy it.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by KiddinAroundFarm

Cape Codder,

Goats are a subject that I love! Very near and dear to my heart. Sorry I wasn't here earlier, as I've been well, goating all day, since about 3 am actually. lol We had a doe give birth at about 4:30 am to 2 bucklings. Both are now bottle babies, inside the house. The cold was just too much for them. Very precious. In fact, they came shopping and errand running w/us today as we had to feed them every couple hours.

Goat are interesting creatures... Forest is right in that they can be trained to stay home. What he didn't mention is that he lives about 200 feet down into the forest, and they goats have LOTS of room on his good acreage. Our goats are another story... we have about 5.5 acres, and 12 goats right now. (We normally run about 20-30 head, but we thin down for winter.) Our goats are fenced, and the fencing is being expanded and changed to electric this summer. Our goats do GREAT in cattle panel fencing. This runs us about $22 per panel, at about 4 feet high, and 16 feet long. The bucks will ALWAYS stay in cattle panel, as they can't get out, and I can control breeding this way. The does will run the electric. Our goats do get out sometimes, the does that is, and they have never gone in the road, although we do live about 75 feet from it. They stay and browse the grass and trees on the edge of the forest. When we get home and find them out we simply holler "time to get in girls" and off they go, right back in the fence. No problems. They ARE easily trained.

They do like to go on walks, and as long as they've been leash trained they will do great on a leash. We take ours on walks w/out a leash, and they love it. They've been trained to stay w/us. Training took us about a week, holding out a marshmallow each time to get them to follow, then periodically during the walk to hold their attention. Very rarely now do we use these, they get them at the end of the walk as a treat.

Goats will do well in the snow, as long as you clear a path if they are pygmys. We've had pygmys, and they did fine, as long as the other goats had already cleared the area. lol They don't like to get their bellies wet.

I need to actually go and feed the babies, but if you'd like to DM me I can give you a TON of information!

Oh thank you so much!! I'm going to take you up on that offer when I get closer to getting the goats. I don't even know what to ask yet

So, if we were to go away for the weekend we would need someone to check on the goats for us then...just incase they got out. I hadn't thought of that.

Do most vets around here treat farm animals too? We have a vet in Winthrop that we have seen regularly when we got our puppy. I'm going to ask if they take care of goats as well. If not I'll be looking for references in the Readfield area

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

I think the best thing you can do to be prepared is start a working relationship with a vet. You'll have a much better chance of getting help when you need it if you're not a stranger. Pay very close attention to what the vet tells you and ask to do as much as possible. You might become best friends with your vet but if s/he's on another emergency you're going to have to figure out what to do next. I have a goat book coming back from a loan soon. If you'd like it I'll send it to you when it gets here. I won't be having goats again.


That should be plenty. This is a selenium deficient area. I'd do some research on selenium deficiency so that you know what to watch for. There are options such as minerals and BoSe injections.


Other species have slitted eyes too. It's probably partially due to needing excellent peripheral vision to aid in protection from predators, and to aid in the rough terrain non-domestic goats live on.

Other thoughts - leashing is great when the goats are with you. Many goats have strangled because they were tied out, got tangled and died when there wasn't anyone to watch them. Goats that are tied up can't run from predators.

Manners matter. Biting and butting people isn't ok. Goats have teeth that are designed to strip leaves from trees. They're sharp. I have scars from a biter. Even as small as the pygmy doe was, those horns hurt. If ill mannered goats catch people off guard someone could be hurt.

If you buy kids and want them disbudded have it done for you before you take them home. I disbud with an iron after they've had a tetnus shot. It's not as horrible as it sounds. They could go back to the herd immediately and be banging heads 30 minutes after it's done. (I think I still have a disbudding iron, a clamp and bands I'll never need again. They're free to anyone who can use them.)

Goats are precocious breeders. I didn't know this in the beginning and lost a doe because she was bred at four months. At nine months she was still too small to deliver the huge singleton. Twins would have been better because they'd have been smaller but it wasn't. I had no ideas babies could reproduce so young.

If you opt for wethers as pets you should have them neutered. They can be banded or (sorry guys) have the vessels leading to the testicles crushed with a Burdizzo. I banded with one exception. My first goat was well endowed and couldn't be banded when I got him at five months.

Goats are herd animals. Herd animals get lonely without companions. They're like Lays, you can't have just one. Two is company, three's a lot of fun and what the heck, 16 was fun too (most of the time).

Wow...I never expected this much generosity or information. Thank you so much.
I don't know if I could trim their hooves myself...I'm a tad wimpy. I can't even trim my dogs toenails I think I would have to have the vet do that. I have had German Shepards that I've trained well...so I'm hoping I feel confident that I would be able to train the goats to come. Although my little mutt puppy is suddenly forgetting all her training

We'll be looking to get the goats in the late spring (hopefully they'll be kids available?)...that will give us time to set the area up with the shade area and the fence. I'll be DM'ing all you goat experts!

I love it here. Thank you all.

[jenkaye]

I love goats milk soap! I paid $5.oo a bar in any scent you want from a lady that makes it in New Mexico. She use to make it in Az but moved. She promises she kisses the goats after every milking.

I would love to learn how to make it and save myself some money

[Maine Writer]

jenkaye, how far apart are we? I can teach you. I have everything here but the milk.

[jenkaye]

Oh let's see.... I am on the other side of the country Darn it!
I want to learn so I guess I will have to research it more.