# Ask the next person a question



## Suzanne_Tyler

So you basically just ask a question, the next person answers it and asks another question, and so on. 

I'll start.

How many goats do you have?


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## CrazyDogLady

I am up to 29. Do you have a favorite goat in your herd?


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## spidy1

Diesel, my FB Boer buck, and Letty his LaBoer daughter. What color is your fave goat?


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## groovyoldlady

She's a gorgeous mixed up brown and black and white. What month do you prefer to have your goats kid in?


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## ArborGoats

Late March-April =) Warm enough for me to not worry as much, but less parasites...

What is your favorite part of goat ownership?


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## Damfino

My favorite part of goat ownership:









Do you prefer twins or triplets?


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## CrazyDogLady

I like twins, I don't have to watch as carefully to make sure everyone gets enough milk.

What's your favorite goat story or occurrence with your herd?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

The goats' favorite is the time Pinky had me sure she was kidding the next day for 2.5 months :haha:

What was the name of your first goat?


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## CrazyDogLady

Oh my gosh, I was sure with Carina for a month, lol. My first goat was Princess.

What is your most indispensable product used for your goats?


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## Goat_Scout

I would say that right now the most indispensable product we have is Prohibit, used to treat Barber Pole worms. BP worms swept through our whole herd this summer, and we'd have lost more than just the one goat to it if it hadn't been for Prohibit, and of course our great vet(s).  

What is your favorite breed of goat, and why?


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## wifeof1

Golden Guernsey and Togs. Because they are so cool looking, and I am partial to dairy breeds for the milk and cheese making.
What is your noisiest goat breed, sex, and name?


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## Goat_Scout

I want a Golden Guernsey so badly! They sure are beautiful.

Most of our goats are pretty mellow and quiet, even our Nubians. We do have two that are pretty loud, but one I attribute most of her noisiness to the fact that, first of all, she had to get used to being away from her mama 24/7 (with the exception of being in with her for about 5 minutes after I would milk), and secondly, when she still wasn't even used to being separated from her mama (though it had been moooonths!!) her mama started drying off.

All that to say, the loudest goat we have besides Nebs - mentioned above - is probably Sage. She is a Saanen doe, pictured below and to the left.


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## catharina

What is your favorite goat book?


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## Goat_Scout

I forgot about adding a question until it was too late...

My favorite goat book is probably the only one that I've read cover to cover (besides the cheese making section), The Backyard Goat, by Sue Weaver.

Who (and what breed) is your naughtiest goat?


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## CrazyDogLady

My naughtiest goat is Cookie. She's a ND, she's my mean herd queen, she does what she pleases and makes no apologies. And she can give some mad stink eye.

What do you remember about your first kidding?


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## Damfino

It was raining and it was magical! I was by myself. The doe waited all day until I got home, and the minute I sat down with her in the shed she started to push. We had a single beautiful doeling who is now my herd queen. 

How much money do you spend on goats each year?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Buying new goats, or feed, supplies etc? Probably $600-700 on new goats and $4000 on feed, supplies, etc. 

What is your favorite goat breed?


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## CrazyDogLady

I love my Nigerians. They're pretty, and their milk is fantastic.

Why is your favorite goat your favorite?


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## Ranger1

I don't know, honestly. Her calm, sweet temperament, I guess I'd have to say.

What is your main reason for selling any goat?


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## Madgoat

To give someone else the pleasure of being owned by a goat. How many time do you breed your does before "retiring" them?


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## spidy1

It depends, I watch them closely to determine that, Mama almost didnt make it this last time, it was only her 3rd, she had triplets, so I retired her early.

What is your silliest goat antic?


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## greenbtree

Cashmere, because they are the only goats I have! I just got them in July, they are my first goats. Have you ever had a runaway goat?


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## groovyoldlady

Mindy, our 1st goat, was a Nubian with lots of personality. We were at a state fair and she bolted away from us. She stopped just short of crashing into a very large dairy cow. Mindy screamed and the cow bellowed. Mindy turned around and ran back to me and tucked her nose under my armpit and just stood there shaking while I laughed. Silly goat!

I've also had a couple of ND kids who decided to visit the neighbors while I was raking the pen. It took me most of a panicked hour to find them. Brats!

What steps do you take to sell your goats. (i.e.. List them on Craigslist, etc.)


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## Suzanne_Tyler

List them on craigslist
List them on Facebook (farm page, all the various local livestock pages, etc)
Put up a flyer at the library 

How many goats do you have in milk right now?


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## mariarose

6, in varying stages of being dried off. Did you start with crossbreds, or purebreds, and have you changed from that starting position?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Purebred, all registered Alpines. I now have all registered Alpine except one Mini Alpine whether.

What is your buck to doe ratio?


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## CrazyDogLady

I have four bucks that I'm using. I have 15 does.


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## CrazyDogLady

And my question is what are your goals in breeding?


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## goatblessings

My goals are to continue to improve upon what I currently have - conformation for show, milk production. Also parasite resistant, healthy goats!

My question : - Is there a type of buyer that you would NOT sell to?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

People that are definitely going to use them for meat, or don't already have goats. Though I did just sell a kid to a guy that sometimes butchers, but he was really nice to the goats and seemed to have a good setup. 

What is the highest number of goats you have had at one time?


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## spidy1

10, 8 does 2 bucks, now I have 4 2 does, 2 bucks, I want to keep a wether for Diesel, but it is taking a wile to have the right one born, so he gets a young buck for now.

what other animals do you have?


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## Ranger1

Chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, rabbits and cows.

Are goats your favorite animals?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Definitely 

How long have you had goats?


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## mariarose

Off and on for 30 years. Suzanne, I recently subscribed to a youtube channel that has your avatar. I have to say that if that is you, those goats are gorgeous.

For those of you that have other livestock, what animals do you have strictly and only because of your goats? For instance, our LGDs are only because of my goats, and my ducks are only because of all the snails that carry parasites for my goats. What animals do you have ONLY because you have goats?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Aw, thank you! Yes, that is my YouTube channel 

We only have the LGDs because of the goats.

How old is your oldest goat?


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## LSRR

My oldest goat as of right now is 10 months. I'm waiting on my buck to be delivered this evening and he is 2  Registered ND buck!

What got you in to goats?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

We want to be somewhat self sufficient and goats seemed a good way to go for the milk production. And we don't really have enough pasture space for cows or other large animals. 

Are your goats pets or livestock?


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## Goat_Scout

Both. But if they didn't give us milk (and someday maybe meat) then we would only have a couple goats, certainly not the amount we have now... we can't afford to keep them as just pets. 

How do you decide which kids to keep, and which ones to sell?


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## mariarose

That is such an awesome question. I'll answer then back off to allow others on this thread.

I cull for many reasons. Conformation (of course) kidding ease, meat or milk production, mothering ability, parasite tolerance...

My most current filter is....How well do they keep condition without expensive inputs? Who loses condition soonest when I run out of minerals?

That sort of thing. I am developing a herd that will do well here on my particular bit of land.

Those of you who have been in goats for a long while, do you still like them?


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## goat girls

giving this a bump


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## goat girls

what is the most you would pay for a good goat


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## loggyacreslivestock

I would pay up to $5,000.00 For a donor quality boer doe. 

What is the best goat name you have ever heard of?


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## mariarose

Mischief, here on this site. I am totally going to have a Mischief born this year.

If you've had goats for a while now, do you still like them?


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## Goatzrule

Ive had goats for 8 years. I love them but I dont always like them. As Im still growing being a junior in high school. Im excited to finish out my 4H years with them and will be sad when they go to Katrina but I am excited to start a new chapter and not have that weight of chores. Maybe someday Ill pick up where I left off. So yes I like them but sometimes I wish I could do something different. 

Why did you choose goats?


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## Rion828

I'm lactose intolerance and I love the idea of raising my own animals.

What's your favorite female goat name?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Bluebell. Not outlandish, not overused, not a human name, works well on both kids and adults. 

What is the highest number of goats you have had at one time?


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## Goatzrule

Ive had 30

Does your family support your hobby?


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## Goat_Scout

Yes, in a way.  Two of my younger sisters like the goats and help out some. My dad likes goats because they are less dangerous for us (we have cows, too) and are smaller, yet still give a decent amount of milk. There are times when he desperately wants to sell them though, like when they devoured some pretty plants by our pool (I was glad that the goat kids hadn't accidentally fallen IN the pool!). My mom supports me, but she definitely likes cows better... And she thinks I spoil my goats. (What?! Noooooo....)

What are all the different breeds/cross breeds of goats you have had?


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## mariarose

Ooh, I love this one. Since I am breeding for my own homestead type, I have a really mixed herd. I have at least one of every available breed close enough for me to buy (so sorry San Clemente) except for Spanish. Bringing in the Spanish had been the plan for 2017, but life exploded and got all over everything. Euww... Now I have almost every imaginable cross of those, which are my breeding does for this year. I have only a few purebred does left. I have loved mixing and matching, and when I sell, I'm very honest about what is what and why. I have found something amazing about every breed.

Did you make any horrible mistakes when you first started? My worst mistake was no minerals. My second worse mistake was unsupervised tethering.


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## Goat_Scout

One of my biggest mistakes was that I never dewormed/ran fecals, etc, nor even knew that goats are - generally speaking - highly susceptible to parasites. In my second year I almost lost a post-kidding doe to worms, because I had NO idea of what was happening! And for a while after that, for some reason I thought SafeGuard was a cure-it-all dewormer. Boy, did I (and do I still) have a lot to learn!

If you do, do you train your goat kids to lead at a certain age, or does it vary depending on the goat?


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## Goatzrule

We dont really train them (which is bad because they are shown so often) The ones that I am keeping to show I walk them to their out door play field. Takes a while but ive learned that I cant trust them to walk them selves because they get very distracted. So they all get walked at least once everyday. Occasionally ive had to tie a younger one to a stubborn older wether to get them to be respectful of the collar. If they are too difficult to train and are hard to show. (Jumping up on the handler, doesnt like being touched, and just wont learn) they get sold.

Whos your oldest goat in your herd?


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## Madgoat

Bella, she’s the herd queen. No one messes with her, of course it may be she’s my only goat with horns. Lol

We’re seriously thinking about neutering my buck, he’s 3. Will he become more wether like after he loses his testicles as far as behavior, or will he stay “buckish”?


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## mariarose

At 3, he'll retain some buckish behaviour. That is not all bad. His urethra will be fully developed, and he should be a great heat detector. 

Now, how buckish he'll be, no one can tell.


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## goat girls

my oldest is 5
What is your favorite color pattern?


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## CrazyDogLady

I love a nice solid chocolate brown. I had a buckling that color this year, but his brother had a little bit better conformation so I sold him. Maybe his dam will give me a chocolate doeling this year, I wouldn't mind that.

Do you have a goat you regret selling?


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## Goat_Scout

YES!! Almost two years ago I sold my beloved Fainting goat, Magnolia. At the time I had wanted to go in a different direction = dairy goats. But I really, really miss her and would love to get her back. Only problem is, her new owners love her too!

What would be the perfect number of goats for your herd? Are you at that goal (or above it, lol!)?


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## goat girls

I'm above the goal at 8 I'm hoping to get down to 4 but they are all really good goaties so no one is going anywhere at the moment
What is your favorite breed?


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## Goat_Scout

That is a really hard question. Probably Nubians, although I love Lamanchas and any kind of meat breed (besides Pygmys, but they sure are cute!). 

Do you like meat or dairy goats better? And why?


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## goat girls

Dairy- my mom will only eat meat from animals we raise our self and I get to attached and because of that I refuse to eat goat meat
I do enjoy the loving personality of the Boers
Horns or no horns


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## ArborGoats

Depends on the goat. But no horns is easier in the long term. I'm still keeping all of my horned girls though. 

Favorite treat to give your goats?


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## Goatzrule

I like giving my goats a carrot peels, kinda reminds me of a ticket machine

What other species do you have?


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## Goat_Scout

Just dairy or dairy cross cattle, chickens, dogs and cats at the moment. We just butchered the turkey yesterday (yum!), and a couple lambs are on the "wanted-but-not-right-now" list!

Have you eaten any "home grown" (by you) goats before? If not, would you?


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## goat girls

No I would not eat them I can't bear to eat an animal I raised 
large goats or small goats


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## ArborGoats

I like my large goats, then again my large goats are under height so... (shrug) 

Solid colors or patterns for your goat colors?


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## Goatzrule

I like both but solid. 
Whyd you get into goats


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## goat girls

When I moved here my neighbors had these cute little .........goats?
I always heard that goat are awful and when their "open" Doe had triplets three weeks later. I fell in love with the Doelings when they where weaned I "had space" for two and she gave them to me!
What are your breeding goals?


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## Goat_Scout

A few of my goals for my herd:

Hardiness (towards parasites/the need for grain)
Great udder/teats (almost everyone has a different opinion on what type of udder they want to see on their goats, so I'll just stop there )
Great, or at least good conformation
Good mothering instincts
No split scrotums/extra teats!

This is kind of a silly one (doesn't matter much is what I mean) - what type of goat ears is your preference? Erect, "no" ears, etc...


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## ArborGoats

Airplane - I am happiest when I a long ear is straight out to the side and flaps as the canter up. It just makes me grin! 

Best time of year for chores?


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## spidy1

I LOVE the LaMancha ears, but also the Boer ears, so it is a toss up. we posted at the same time... I like spring early summer, thats when I get baby's to play with


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## goat girls

Early summer it's warm and doe watch season


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## CrazyDogLady

Next question one of you two?


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## CrazyDogLady

Ok, I'm answering the last question. I like fall for chores. Spring can bring rain, and I'm not a fan. Also, milking in the rain is not a plus for any of my girls.

Do you have a favorite goat in your herd?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

No. Blue says she's my favorite though 

Do you like bucks, does or wethers better?


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## CrazyDogLady

I like does. They don't pee on themselves. They get a bit moody, but they usually don't stink.

Which breeding are you most excited about this season and why?


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## ArborGoats

Kauri x Malachite is mine. I'm really wanting my American Alpine babies! 

What is the limit to the number of bucks you will own and why?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

One. I have one breed (Alpine) and only a couple does to breed each year. I did used to have Nigerians and got a Nigerian buck. But I got outta those quick 

What is you favorite meat breed?


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## mariarose

I really like Pygmies as a meat breed. Small enough for me to easily butcher and fit in the freezer. Large enough to feed several dogs for a while. There is a lot of meat on them.

I don't have purebred Pygmies any more though.

How old were you when you first got a goat?


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## CrazyDogLady

48. I'm sure glad I didn't wait longer!

What's your favorite goat recipe?


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## catharina

My favorite recipe to make for my goats is copper bolus bon-bons. I mix ground flax seeds &/or wheat germ with corn &/or coconut oil & molasses so it's like clay. I mix some with each goat's dose of bolus (empty the capsules & mix in the wire bits) & make balls. Then I roll the balls in wheat germ or ground flax so they aren't sticky & sometimes I freeze them too. The goats love them but the sound of their teeth crunching metal makes me cringe!

My question is, what is your secret to shiny coats?


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## CrazyDogLady

Copper bolus, Replamin gel, and BOSS all help my goats to look their best I think. A well nourished goat is going to be healthy, and that's reflected in their coats, right?

Did your goats get a holiday treat?


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## catharina

No mine GAVE me a holiday treat!


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## catharina

I can't think of another question so maybe use the last one?


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## Goat_Scout

I don't give mine holiday treats... because then they seem to think that they get one EVERY DAY! I just gave 'em all extra rubs, although it isn't really because of the holidays.... :cooldude:

At what age do you like to sell kids?


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## Sweet_Song

Those are some seriously cute Christmas kids!!

All of our kids are bottle raised, so they're available at about a month old, with the understanding that they have to continue on the bottle. We do offer the option of us keeping kids until weaned, so it really varies depending on the situation. Then there are those that we justify keeping in our herd...

What is your farm name, and how did you decide on it?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Green T Homestead
Green for green thumb
T for Tyler
Plus green tea isn't too bad 

How many social media platforms do you have your farm on?


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## groovyoldlady

Oooo, bad question for me. NONE. I dropped Facebook and don't play on any of the others. This is currently my only social site.

What's the best/worst thing about winter goat care where you live?


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## wifeof1

Power outages are the worst along with the fear of fires. The best is the tolerable temperatures. Not too many freezes.
Do you have an emergency evacuation plan?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

No 

How cold is it currently where you live?


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## Goatzrule

its around 0
Why did you choose to live where you live?


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## Rion828

So I could have Chickens and goats.

Funniest mistake you have made with goats.


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## Mercys_Edge_Farm

Standing next to a buck that was on a shelf when he decided to pee in my direction.

What do you love most about your goats?


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## mariarose

Their intelligence. That is also what I dislike most about my goats.

What do you see as your next step in improving your herd?


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## Goatzrule

Having more does milk tested
Do you see yourself always having goats?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Definitely.

What is your current doe to buck ratio?


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## Goatzrule

12:2 and one wether
What kind of set up does your goats have


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## goat girls

My goat have a metal building as their barn with their pen surrounding it hay feeder on three sides. The bucks have two igloos surrounded by their pen hay feeder on two sides. they all have a little water bucket in the shelters and big ones next to the barn. 
Do you show your goats?


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## Goat_Scout

No. I have a tested herd and don't want to expose them to diseases, plus I just have no interest in that sort of thing. 

Random question that came to mind: Would you like to have a rat for a pet?


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## goat girls

NO WAY 
Nubians or Alpines


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## mariarose

I would raise rodents if I had large reptiles to feed them to. Otherwise, no, not willingly.

Are you asking if we have Nubians or Alpines, do we know of the benefits of Nubians or Alpines, or if we prefer Nubians or Alpines, or...???


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## goat girls

prefer


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## mariarose

I have both, I prefer Alpines. If I were to choose between Nubians and Boers, I would choose Boers. Sweeter, calmer, quieter, meatier, better milk but less of it, and they still have the long ears.

Alpines are a different story altogether.

What breeds are common around you?


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## goat girls

Saanens, Alpines, Nubians, Nigerian, Lamanchas and Boers 
Do yo prefer meat breeds or dairy breeds


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## Goat_Scout

Nigerians are a dime a dozen around here. (Not literally, but well, you know) Pygmies and Boers are pretty common too, although the latter are mostly not well bred at all. 
Large breeds of dairy goats aren't too easy to find, especially if you want quality. 


Do you dis-bud your own goat kids, or have someone do it for you?


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## goat girls

We don't currently disbud (mom says) But she said once i'm a little older I can chose what I do with by own herd as far dis budding vaccinating etc.
prefer ears or no ears


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## Goatzrule

No ears, i love my manchies
How many goats do you have


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## goat girls

8 about 4 over the limit


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## goat girls

What's your preferred color?


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## Goat_Scout

Oops, goat girls we were accidentally typing at the same time! In answer to your question, probably the floppy Nubian ears. I love my Lamancha and Mini-Lamancha does' ears though, so that's a hard one!

Do you prefer burning hot or super cold weather? (Anything in between is not an option, lol!)


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## Goat_Scout

Oops. I did it again!


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## groovyoldlady

I choose cold over hot because it's easier to warm up than it is to cool down. And being too hot makes me SUPER cranky.

Oh - and for colors (I assume you mean in goats) - I like anything but white!

Have you ever worn your pajamas out to do chores? (I do in the winter because I have so many layers on over top of them!)


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## Goat_Scout

Yes, I did on Christmas Eve actually because I was sick and just wanted to get chores over with (plus, the idea of getting dressed totally slipped my mind)!

Have you ever worn pajamas all day long?


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## Goatzrule

I always wear my pjs. When im home im in my pjs. They are worn in the barn with muck boots
Does your barn have electricity


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## mariarose

I sleep nude, and yes, I'll do chores in my in my pajamas and I'll be in my "pajamas" all day if the weather allows. Which it is not allowing now.


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## mariarose

Posted same time, Sorry.


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## catharina

*My set up is a small dry lot (otherwise known as my back yard) & my goats "commute" to a brush eating job in my neighborhood several times a week. The back yard has one 3 sided shed, 3 plastic dogloos for private shelter & climbing, a plastic garden shed elevated so they can hang out underneath it as well, 2 tires for climbing & a dog house converted into a hay feeder that they can also lie down underneath. And there is a fake hill I built out of concrete rubble.
























































*


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## catharina

Sorry about the duplicates I can't figure out how to delete. One last picture of the dry lot.


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## catharina

My question....How many have had problems with UC & how many have not?


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## catharina

mariarose said:


> I sleep nude, and yes, I'll do chores in my in my pajamas and I'll be in my "pajamas" all day if the weather allows. Which it is not allowing now.


Hmmmm...interesting answer for sure but I can't find the question! Sounds a lot more interesting than my question!


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## mariarose

My computer is really acting up. My question was is your land private or more exposed. Mine is pretty private, obviously. But the computer kept freezing up so I stopped trying to play.

Ours is a clothing optional farm, and since I don't welcome drop in visitors, it works out fine. Not in this freeze though...


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Our house is right on the road, but it’s a dead end with only 7 houses past us. The cars we do get driving by drive crazy fast though ☹

How many does do you have kidding this year?


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## goat girls

5
do you feed grass hay or alfalfa


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## catharina

I like to buy mixed grass & alfalfa hay whenever I can. Seems like a varied diet should be good for goats too.

Back to my old question, how many of you have had to deal with UC & how many not? I have not but have only had goats 6 or 7 years I think.


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## Goatzrule

I had someone who bought a wether from me deal with it but not me personally 
what do you use as animal transportation?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

A lot of times they go in the back of the van. But bigger animals go in the back of the truck. We put a cap on it. 

I have not dealt with UC. I have everyone on a free choice alfalfa diet which seems to prevent it pretty well. 

Do you dam raise or bottle raise?


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## Goat_Scout

I have bought a couple bottle babies before (and love them!) but here I strictly dam raise if possible. 

In a perfect world, how old would you like your goat kids (both dam raised and bottle raised) to be when weaned?


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## Goat_Scout

@catharina - to answer your question, I haven't dealt with UC either, and to my understanding neither has anyone I know around here.


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## loggyacreslivestock

I like my kids to be about 12 weeks old when weaned.

If money and age were no object, what would be your optimal goat habitat/ farm?


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## Goat_Scout

I would like multiple 2-3 acre pastures/wooded areas fenced in so that I could rotationally graze/have new forage for the goats (right now during the summer I do that in a way, but constantly have to set up and take down electric fencing). 
A smallish "goat-only" barn with a couple kidding pens w/ little runs attached would be nice and convenient. 
We plant rye grass for the goats to have during the winter months, but right now since we only have one solid goat pasture I can't plant as much as I'd like to. 

I'm interested in what others would say to this question!


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## loggyacreslivestock

I'd like about 30 acres with a centrally located barn in which the pastures all go out in spokes like a wheel. A heated kidding/ washing area with cot and sleeping zone for me. Heated installed automatic waterers, and big exhaust fans for summer.
I won't add another question until some others have a chance to answer you.


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## Suzanne_Tyler

I would have a couple hundred acres on which the goats could free range with unlimited browse. A barn somewhere in the middle.


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## wifeof1

Well if money was no object, I would buy the Budwiser Clydesdale ranch. Give away the horses. And invite all of you to come for a goat holiday.


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## Goat_Scout

wifeof1 said:


> Well if money was no object, I would buy the Budwiser Clydesdale ranch. Give away the horses. And invite all of you to come for a goat holiday.


Wow, that would be great!!


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## capracreek

We have 18 pygmies, Nigerians and pygmy/nigerian crosses


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## Old Post Farm

I would want over 7 acres to attain farm status, and a dairy heifer a beef animal dairy goats and a meat weather and a mule

what time do you do chores in the morning


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Depends. Usually around 7:30 - 8.

What kind of hay do you give, and do you give it free choice or a fixed amount?


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## CrazyDogLady

I give alfalfa, free choice. Better quality definitely means less waste for me.

What has been your hardest loss?


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## wifeof1

My Mom. She passed at 92. The most incredible person in my life. Funny, loving, and thoughtful. 

What is the birth weight of the biggest kid born on your farm?


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## Honey21

wifeof1 said:


> My Mom. She passed at 92. The most incredible person in my life. Funny, loving, and thoughtful.
> 
> What is the birth weight of the biggest kid born on your farm?


I don't know bc I don't have a scale

How do u get color into your herd?


Goat_Scout said:


> One of my biggest mistakes was that I never dewormed/ran fecals, etc, nor even knew that goats are - generally speaking - highly susceptible to parasites. In my second year I almost lost a post-kidding doe to worms, because I had NO idea of what was happening! And for a while after that, for some reason I thought SafeGuard was a cure-it-all dewormer. Boy, did I (and do I still) have a lot to learn!
> 
> If you do, do you train your goat kids to lead at a certain age, or does it vary depending on the goat?





Goatzrule said:


> We dont really train them (which is bad because they are shown so often) The ones that I am keeping to show I walk them to their out door play field. Takes a while but ive learned that I cant trust them to walk them selves because they get very distracted. So they all get walked at least once everyday. Occasionally ive had to tie a younger one to a stubborn older wether to get them to be respectful of the collar. If they are too difficult to train and are hard to show. (Jumping up on the handler, doesnt like being touched, and just wont learn) they get sold.
> 
> Whos your oldest goat in your herd?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

Get some colorful goats! I have ND, and my gold buck and a black and white pinto doe gave me the splashiest kid I had.

What is your favorite color of goat?


----------



## Honey21

Red 
Do u have to have a colored buck to have colored kids


----------



## Goat_Scout

No, not all of the time - I had a fairly plain colored buck (w/ one or two small moonspots) that threw beautiful multicolored moonspotted kids, the color came from his dam. 

How often do you typically have to trim hooves?


----------



## goat girls

usually every 6-8 weeks.
What is your favorite goat care book?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

That is tough. I think I have like 7 total. Probably Natural Goat Care. 

What is you favorite goat resource (other than TGS)?


----------



## Honey21

Tennessee meat goats for sure

Have I ever owned a dappled boer?


----------



## Honey21

U


----------



## Goat_Scout

No, but I am on the doeling lists of two people who breed fullblood dapple Boer goats.  

How much milk does your highest producing goat give per day? Do you milk her once or twice a day?


----------



## Old Post Farm

1/2 a gallon. twice.

where did you find your milk pail


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Amazon

What is your favorite online goat supply store?


----------



## spidy1

tractor supply 

how old is your oldest goat, is she/he retired?


----------



## Ranger1

She is almost eight, and kidding this year-with twins, according to ultrasound.

Do you keep "useless" goats around as pets?


----------



## Goat_Scout

No, it just wouldn't be economical. Any animals that don't produce or won't eventually produce have to go.  
I may be able to get away with "retiring" and keeping an older doe or two, but probably only if she doesn't require very much (if any) grain, and is happy and healthy. 

What is your favorite breed of dog, and why?


----------



## Honey21

German shepard very loyal very big and can b used for cuddles or watch dog


----------



## Honey21

My dog atlas he's 10 months old


----------



## Honey21

Which do u prefer big breeds of goats or small and why


----------



## goat girls

That's a hard one. I really like having tiny babies but prefer bigger goats, mainly because I really like Saanen's and Alpines, But I also raise pack goats so I need big goats for that. 
Do you train your goats to walk on a lead?


----------



## Goatzrule

My biggest concern isnt color, its temperament and conformation. Not really it could be the doe who has colorful kids. 
Whats your goal amount of goats?


----------



## goat girls

My goals is 4. And I'm 4 over that


----------



## Honey21

I don't really have a goal I just wanna keep them all lol


----------



## Honey21

Yes I like mine to b trained to walk on a leash although not all of them r


----------



## Goat_Scout

My goal is to have about 10 goats: 7 does and 3 bucks. Right now we have 12 including one kid, but I am planning on selling a few doe/kid(s) pairs and all or most of the kids born this year. 

Goat girls, yes, training to lead is a vital part of our setup! All of our cows and goats are trained to lead at a young age if possible. 

What types of books do you to like to read?


----------



## goat girls

Books..... that's a mile long list but right now i'm reading Twilight. I try to train all of my goats to lead as well. It would be a bit easier if I had my goal of 4 instead of 8.
How long have you had goats?


----------



## Honey21

5 years best decision I ever made 

Have u ever had any deformities like extra legs two heads?


----------



## goat girls

Nope. Have had kids with extra teats.
What is the most snow you've had in one day?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I think a foot. And then another 1/2 - 1 foot the next day. 

Have you ever butchered any goats?


----------



## Honey21

No but I would love to try goat.

What's your favorite wild meat?


----------



## Ranger1

I've had venison, elk and bear,(besides ocean fish-I don't like fish) and out of those, I'd say venison.

If you suddenly received a $1,000,000, what would you do with it?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Ah, I get the money question! I'd love to just tell you what an awesome barn I'd build and how many goats I'd buy. But truth be told, if I won $1,000,000 I would have to confer with my hubby. We'd probably give a good chuck to our church and some ministries/charities we support. We'd pay off our house and set aside some to take care of our moms. And then we'd probably invest the rest.


----------



## groovyoldlady

Oh...and here's my question: Do you show your goats?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No. I used to want to, but the stress on the goats and the possibility of disease has made me change my mind. 

How many does do you have kidding this year?


----------



## groovyoldlady

It's still up in the air, but I think I have 4 pregnant does - God willing. 

Is your goat habit self supporting?

(Mine is not. It's just a VERY expensive 4-H hobby!)


----------



## Old Post Farm

i have two kidding
what brand of pellets do you feed


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I don't feed pellets 

And in answer to @groovyoldlady's question, not at all lol.

Do you feed your bucks grain?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Alas, I have no bucks. :-( But If I did I'd probably give them a wee bit of pellets with AC in it along with grass hay and a bit of alfalfa.

I don't use pellets for my does, I give them a high protein (18%) goat sweet feed when they are in milk and a low protein horse feed when they are not lactating.

What's one super groovy farm tool that you don't have, but wish you did?


----------



## Honey21

A robot that cleans out the shed lol


----------



## Honey21

At wat age do bucks get their beards


----------



## goat girls

It depends on the buck I've had one that had had a decent sized beard my the time he was 5 months. 
But then my Lamancha bucking is 10 months and his beard is only 3 inches or so.
Do you give your goats warm water in the morning or do you just break up the ice?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Warm water? No, no, no...We give them HOT water (2-3 times a day depending on the temps) with apple cider vinegar in it. We call it goat tea. ;-) Of course, I only have 4 goats, so I'm not doing big troughs. When I goat sat for a larger goat dairy I just broke ice and added more water.

Who is your most notorious trouble maker? (and tell us one of his/her exploits!)


----------



## goat girls

Hope, my Saanen Doe is notorious for chewing on the hay feeder strap that holds it to the fence. The strap has been replaced with wire. She is now doing her best to get to the hose on the other side of the fence.


----------



## goat girls

Oh question, What time do you usually do chores in the morning?


----------



## Goatzrule

I usually do chores at 6:30 but now that it gets lighter later it doesnt end up happening until 7:00
Do you have a radio in the barn?


----------



## Old Post Farm

depends what time of year and if work is being done

what is the lowest temperature so far this winter


----------



## Honey21

19 degrees

What is something u feed to put weight on your goats


----------



## Goatzrule

Black oil sunflower seeds
How was your new years?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Great, although we did nothing out of the ordinary! 

How do you teach your goat kids to respect you/not jump up on you? I know that you shouldn't let an 8 pound kid do what you wouldn't want a 150+ pound goat to do, but I am trying to figure out how to best go about it without making them dislike me.


----------



## Goatzrule

At first I would just push them off, if thats not working push them off then walk away

Has anyone tried to use a stethoscope on a pregnant doe?


----------



## goat girls

Interesting question, no I haven't tried.
Do you have/raise working goats?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No. Well, not as in pack/working goats. But technically all the goats are livestock.

Have you ever trick trained a goat?


----------



## goat girls

Oh yah my young weather Mufasa is train to:
Dance:walk on hind legs
Load up: get in to the truck
Down: get out of the truck or off the stump.
Shake hands: self explanatory
Jump: Jump on to whatever I point to
Over: jump over the log
And we're working on Repent: go down on both knees.
Have you ever brought home goats in a car? (I brought my Alpine Doe home in a Lincoln town car)


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Oh yeah. Tons of times. Probably the most memorably was bringing Jenny and Honey (full sized Alpines) home in the minivan. 

Do you have a trailer for goat transportation?


----------



## goat girls

A stock trailer. the most time memorably time was when we brought home a full grown Boer Doe and her 3 month old kids in the back of the Subaru.
What is your favorite goat in your herd?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I don't really have one. All of my goats are so special in their own ways 

How often do you trim hooves?


----------



## catharina

Not often enough!

How important do you think natural browse is for healthy goats?


----------



## spidy1

depends on the goat Diesel can go 8-10 weeks Mama can only go about 4-6
pic of your goat with the biggest horns-scurs


----------



## catharina

Horny guy.


----------



## spidy1

Me like!!


----------



## catharina

spidy1 said:


> Me like!!


Thank you! His son is for sale--purebred registered San Clemente Island Goat, $300 or best offer.


----------



## groovyoldlady

I have registered dairy goats, so no horns and I strive for no scurs. However, we've sold all our boys, so I'm not sure how successful I've been!

That San Clemente buck looks amazing!

Do you sing to your goats? My 18 year-old has a lovely voice and sings non-stop when she's doing chores. My hubby and I LOVE it!


----------



## spidy1

sometimes, but I sound like Buddy on Elf when I sing LOL!
what is your fave goat color?


----------



## groovyoldlady

I have a solid golden red LaMancha that's gorgeous. I've not run into any other goats around here that are her color.

Are you a fan of blue eyes in goats?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I'm ok either way. Blue eyes really don't move me. I like the dark blue baby eyes though. 

Have you ever had a doe have quads?


----------



## Honey21

No but I have had a doe throw trips. 

What is the biggest goat u have now ?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Dance, my full sized Alpine doe. 

How old is your youngest goat?


----------



## Ranger1

Well, I have close to 20 negative babies, LOL! My youngest doeling is almost 8 months old. 

Do you have dogs?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Yes. 2 Pyrs, 1 Aussie. 

Do you prefer dam raised or bottle raised kids?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Dam raised kids because they seem bigger/healthier, although it is not as big of a difference as I've seen in cattle. I also like dam raised kids because I don't want to be tied down to milking and/or bottle feeding every single day. 

I LOVE having bottle babies though, so that is a hard question. 

Do you prefer doing morning or evening/afternoon chores?


----------



## Ranger1

Morning-getting up before everyone else is, the smell of the new day, no noises except song birds and meadow larks, and watching the sunrise. I love it. 

How long do your chores take to complete?


----------



## Madgoat

It takes me about 20 minutes to feed, water and clean stalls, and blow out the barn aisle if needed.

Leather collar or nylon for your goats?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

Plastic chain with a quick release link, from Hamby I think I bought it.

What improvement or change have you made that is most helpful?


----------



## catharina

Expanding my pen & putting a garden shed up on cinder blocks so the goats can go under it as well as in it.

What is the worst thing your buck has ever done?


----------



## Ranger1

Started jumping fences and bred 7 out of 9 does(we had two other bucks we wanted to use!), and two babies that we had to abort. He was sold.

How far have you ever had a doe go over her due date?


----------



## goat girls

160 days.
Do you feed your goats grain?


----------



## catharina

Yes I do & tried giving extra to get more twins & girls. I think it helped.

Who has heirloom breed goats?


----------



## goat girls

Not me.
What book are you currently reading?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy 

Do you have any hobbies other than raising goats?


----------



## goat girls

That's a good book!
I really like to read too.
Do you put collars on your goats?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Yes, collars are a must! I don’t put collars on unsupervised goat kids until they are 4-5 months old though. 

How many siblings do you have?


----------



## goat girls

Two younger brothers.
Do you have sheep?


----------



## Goat_Scout

No, but we are hoping to get a few bottle lambs soon. A friend who raises sheep (80+) always has some lambs that get rejected, and she usually gives them away because she doesn’t have the time to bottle feed. 

What was/is your favorite subject in school?


----------



## catharina

I love all kinds of science & any classes pertaining to plants.

What is an animal that you have never had but would like to have?


----------



## goat girls

I would really like to have a donkey.
If you could have as many goats as you wanted how many would you have?


----------



## groovyoldlady

At least 4 LaMancha and 4 Nigerian does and 2 bucks. Then later we'd need MORE bucks! ;-)

Have you ever had surgery?


----------



## catharina

Ugh yes! Inguinal hernia repair, 2 cesareans, & a tonsilectomy as an adult, which was the worst of all BY FAR!

What's you favorite TV show?


----------



## Honey21

The good doctor comes on every Monday night

Have u ever had frothy bloat? How can u tell the difference


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

What's frothy bloat??


----------



## Honey21

Bloat where the gas is trapped in bubbles and is more of a froth it's deadly


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I have not dealt with frothy bloat yet. I've had normal bloat once though. 

What is your most detested goat sickness?


----------



## goat girls

I've never had to deal with it (thankfully) but I think I dread MW the most.
What is the "perfect" breed for you?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

The breed I have, Nigerian Dwarf. I love their size, their personality, and that yummy milk!

How do you name your goats?


----------



## goat girls

Most of the time their named after a character in a book but sometimes I name them by their personalty.
Have you ever seen a goat and said that is my goat no mater what?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No. My sister hasn't though. It's why I got into NDs lol. 
So, my whether dies, and I need a companion for the buck quick. I don't care what breed. So I find this farm that has a ND whether, decide to get him. Then the breeder says, "oh, and by the way, he has a sister he's really attached to. I'll give you a deal on both. Their names are Pinky and Binky." She sends the cutest photo ever. 
I think "cute, too bad we can't get her"
You know, because I'm thinking about future goals for my herd, and sticking to the game plan, and so on and so forth. 
My sister walks by and reads the email over my shoulder and says, we are getting her. No buts. 
Lololol. We got her. 

What was the name of your first goat?


----------



## goat girls

That's how I got my second and third goat, "well my new (first goat) bottle baby needs a buddy" this started GAA at my house.
The name of my first goat is Red Willow.
What breed was your first goat?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

The breed of my first dairy goats were nigerian and nubian mixes

Do you have a guard animal for your goats?


----------



## wifeof1

Yes. My husband and a 410.
Do you see yourself with goats when you are 70+ years old?


----------



## Korita

I’m still in my first year of having goats but boy I hope so. If my health allows it, I’d love to still have my little farm going with at least a few goats by 70 years old. That’s a lot of milk to come in 40 years lol 

What breed goat do you think gives the best milk for soap? Or taste?


----------



## spidy1

I love Boer milk, best taste IMO.
what is your fave goat color/pattern? mine is black and white, or just black.


----------



## Lstein

spidy1 said:


> I love Boer milk, best taste IMO.
> what is your fave goat color/pattern? mine is black and white, or just black.


Even though I raise Boers, I've always loved the pattern of Toggs. They are just the coolest, I don't know why.

If you could live in any state, where would you live?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Illinois because thats where the rest of my family lives

Do u pasturise your goat milk or drink it raw


----------



## New-goat-mom

wifeof1 said:


> Yes. My husband and a 410.
> Do you see yourself with goats when you are 70+ years old?


I am sorry, I just had to laugh about your "guard animal".


----------



## Goat_Scout

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> Illinois because thats where the rest of my family lives
> 
> Do u pasturise your goat milk or drink it raw


We drink it raw (fresh), whether it is from the goats or the cows.

Is there a color pattern for goats that you don't really care for?


----------



## spidy1

Nubian red
how old is your oldest buck/goat?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I think she's almost 3. Lol. 

What would your ideal fencing situation be?


----------



## goat girls

I would love to have an acre of land surrounded by cattle panels with a big barn in the corner
Do you dairy clip your goats before kidding?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Our Annika will be 8 this March. Do you do your own blood draws.


----------



## Lstein

I have not, and am a bit of wimp about it. I would probably have one of the nurses in my family do it lol. Realistically if I had to I'm sure I could, I just haven't had to.

What other livestock would you like to own?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Alpacas. We're planning on getting 2 this spring 

Has kidding season begun at your farm yet?


----------



## goat girls

No, not until May
What do you use for treats?


----------



## Lstein

goat girls said:


> No, not until May
> What do you use for treats?


Marshmallows and BOSS.

How many does do you have going into kidding season?


----------



## goat girls

4
How many different breeds do you have?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

1 and a half (Alp & Mini Alp)

What do you do to prevent hoof rot?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

I only worried when it was unseasonably wet here in Arizona. I kept putting dry bedding down for them. 

What is the name of your favorite goat?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Geoffrey Charles, he’s our 9 month old buck. We’ve had him since he was 5 days old and I just LOVE him! Except now he is getting kind of mischievous so it has turned into a love/hate relationship but oh well.  

How long do you wait until you name your newborn goat kids?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

At most an hour. Maybe 2. We usually have a short list of names in mind, so we just have to match each kid to a name. 

Do you do a naming theme or just do random names?


----------



## wifeof1

Naming Themes. This year is dead rock stars.
If you could potty train goats, would you let them in the house?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

For sure. I do already anyways... lol

Have you ever diapered a goat?


----------



## Honey21

No but I think it would be cute 

Wat is the best bedding u can use?


----------



## goat girls

I use straw, the only downside (in my opinion) is that they eat some of it.
Do you feed grain?


----------



## Korita

Honey21 said:


> No but I think it would be cute
> 
> Wat is the best bedding u can use?


Just throwing this out there because it made me giggle. I just had our 3.5 week old bottle buckling in the house for a few days until his new buddy got here to keep him company. If it's a doeling, easy..... buckling, one diaper for the rear and another around the waist with pajamas to keep them in place or they WILL slide them off and/or pee everywhere. And no, a maxi pad lined up in the pajamas/onesie won't work ha ha :haha: Maybe suspenders? Hhhmmmmm


----------



## goat girls

__
http://instagr.am/p/BeYfmbLgQBG/


----------



## New-goat-mom

@Korita now THAT is an adorable picture!!!


----------



## Korita

New-goat-mom said:


> @Korita now THAT is an adorable picture!!!


Awe thanks! One of my daughter's friends just had to come visit the goats the other night. Zeus was more than happy to give her attention.


----------



## goathiker

The last question was do you feed grain... I do feed a homemade mix of locally sourced grains.

Are pack goats going out of style or are there still people interested in them?


----------



## goat girls

I raise and train them. I think they are going to slowly become popular unfortunate not out here
Have you ever hosted a goat event? Show, obstacle course etc.


----------



## goathiker

I once hosted the pack goat beach clean-up event by default. The leader didn't show up. It was fun.

What is your favorite color/pattern?


----------



## Ranger1

Ooh, that’s hard because I like them all... I might have to say a very bold marked two tone chamoisee. My future goals are to produce a Cou Noir and a solid Black.

Do you enjoy teaching in a group?


----------



## goathiker

The secret to breeding Alpines is to have a pure black buck. The colored does will throw their color patterns but, the kids will be much more richly colored.
If your buck is patterned it can fight with the pattern of the doe and cause diluted colors.
Black is hard to achieve though you have to breed a goat that has a black parent. You then have a 1 in 4 chance of a black. Breeding two goats that both have black parents gives you a better chance.

I don't like teaching in large groups. I think people were meant to taught one on one.

Does anyone think that a Guernsey would be a okay pack goat for not so fast anymore and light?


----------



## wifeof1

I absolutely think the Guernsy would be a great pack goat. Everyone loves my boy Guernseys. They are so calm. Hardy boys with incredibly good feet. Easy keepers. I would be all Guernsey if my husband and kids would let me.


----------



## spidy1

there is still 1 question no one has answered...


goat girls said:


> Do you dairy clip your goats before kidding?


----------



## goathiker

Nope, my goats are ala natural at all times. 
I kid out as early as possible to have milk fed kids for Cinco de mayo every year. There's no point in feeding kids I'm not going to keep.

Do your know that African goats and European goats digest differently and need completely different care?


----------



## Ranger1

goathiker said:


> The secret to breeding Alpines is to have a pure black buck. The colored does will throw their color patterns but, the kids will be much more richly colored.
> If your buck is patterned it can fight with the pattern of the doe and cause diluted colors.
> Black is hard to achieve though you have to breed a goat that has a black parent. You then have a 1 in 4 chance of a black. Breeding two goats that both have black parents gives you a better chance.


I had a broken(small white patch on side and belly)black doe that I lost but I have a replication buck from her, who is bred to his half sister by the same dam. That's the closest I have to solid black, and the doe is due tomorrow, so we'll see what I get. However, in my experience, broken is very dominant and often throws broken in the same places on the kids, so I'm not holding my breath.

No. I hate Nubians, don't own any, and don't really care about their digestion. Just hope I haven't been taught the African way for feeding my Alpines!

Do you enjoy photography?


----------



## goathiker

I love photography, unfortunately my camera is in as storage units across snowy mountains right now. Long story. I especially enjoy the "cookie face" even on as bad phone camera. 









Do you ever think about creating your own breed?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No. If I though of a good purpose a new breed could meet, maybe, but I really don't want anything else from the breed I have (Alpines)

Why do you have goats?


----------



## wifeof1

Oh. I'm going to a twoferone here.
My question that didn't get answered was...
What is the biggest birth weight of a kid born on your farm?
And....
I have goats because they are incredibly versatile creatures.
Milk, Meat, Fur, brush clearing, fertilizing, income producing. 

If you could eliminate one goat health problem, what would that be?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Biggest birth weight, maybe 8-9 lb? My only single ever. 

Mineral deficiency. If that's too general, I guess coccidia. 

What location related issues have you run into while keeping goats?


----------



## Korita

The only issue my herd has shown so far is my one doe showed a bit of copper deficiency recently. If that’s not what you were referring to I’d say keeping them in the fence lol

If you use collars on your goats, what kind do you use?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I use rope collars. I have maybe 3 different kinds of rope for different sized goats. 

Do you test for CAE?


----------



## groovyoldlady

I do now, but only every other year.

Do you prefer reading on a "device" or from a good old fashioned book?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I definitely like reading from a “real” book better than on a device. And I like writing/sending letters way more than I do texting, which is unfortunate in that most of my friends prefer the latter... :/

Roughly how many acres of pasture/browse do you have fenced in for your goats?


----------



## Ranger1

0, though I wish we lived in the nearby mountains where our goats could run free and browse at wish.

Have you ever had an abortion disease run through your herd?


----------



## groovyoldlady

No. We lost one pregnancy last year due to a ramming situation. Other than that we've only ever lost 1 of our goats. We had a kid who was never right. She died at about 10 months of age.

What is your #1 go-to med/treatment for a goat who's acting "off".


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

B complex all the way

How and where do you store your goat items?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I have a medium sized plastic box with a lid, and I keep most of my stuff in there. For my kidding kit supplies I have a small, round metal “can” with a handle. Everything fits well and I still have some extra space in each. 

What do you do when a goat won’t let down her milk? 
One of my does has started do this - I milk out about 2 cups and she looks and feels completely empty so I put her in with her goat kid, he starts nursing and viola! her udder/teats are pretty full again. :/ I now have her kid tied up near her (with alfalfa hay to eat) during milking time, and whenever she holds up I let the kid nurse for a few seconds and then milk, then I repeat the whole process until she’s truly empty. Both know the routine now and everything’s working well.


----------



## spidy1

I have never had that isue, I probably would do the same thing you do.
what is your fave dog breed other than a LGD?


----------



## Old Post Farm

great dane

what was the name of your first goat


----------



## Goat_Scout

Magnolia.  I miss her so much!

Is there an animal that you really want to own but just don’t have the means to care for it?


----------



## goat girls

Horses
Do you have Angora goats?


----------



## Goat_Scout

No, but I adore the breed! They are sooooo cute and fluffy (for lack of a better word)!

If you could have one meat goat doe, which breed would you choose and why?


----------



## goat girls

I would go with a Boer because.......well I have a soft spot for them.I you had the chance would you get a Oberhasli?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Obies are sweet. I HAVE had the chance and passed them up because I have limited space. Our goats are mostly for our girls to show for 4-H, so they get to pick who we own. We have 2 LaManchas and 2 Nigerians.

Do you like wattles?


----------



## goat girls

I love my wattle goats! My Togg and my wether have wattles.
Do you register your goats?
Wattles!


----------



## groovyoldlady

We register our goats with ADGA. When your goats are close to kidding, do you go out at night to check on them?


----------



## goat girls

Every four hours, unless they are acting like they're going to kid then it's more often.
What is your favorite goat care book?


----------



## NyGoatMom

I just started reading Pat Coleby's book on Nook. I also have Storey's guide and Goats Produce too! But not sure on favorite.
How did you get your first goat, and why?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

I got my first goat when i was a kid and we decided to get boer goats! We ended up with more than 30! Now i have nigerian dwarf goats!

What grain do you feed your goats?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

A local mix. Non GMO. It's called Hiland Naturals. 

Do you feed alfalfa?


----------



## NyGoatMom

Yes, I use alfalfa pellets because it's hard to get the hay here.
Do you have pasture or do you drylot your goats?


----------



## Goat_Scout

In the spring/summer we rotationally pasture our goats in electric fencing. I try to make it so that there are different plants/trees for them in it, and they usually eat a paddock down every few days (depending on how big I make it). 
Yesterday, I put up 4 strands of wire running between our pond and the goats’ wood fenced pasture. They have a big, open pasture and lots of brush to clear out. They can get to our barn, but that would mean traveling all the way around the chicken pasture (it covers about 2 acres), and don’t think they’ll do it that often - they don’t like going too far in the woods. 
And they shouldn’t go around the pond because that is a completely new place to them and they don’t like going far from their original pasture.  The only heartache now is training the little kids to respect the electric wire. :/

Do you keep a buck (or more) year round?


----------



## Korita

We have our Oberhasli buck and just got 2 new bucklings (Saanen and Alpine). I’m currently struggling with who I want to keep for breeding and who to wether or sell. I want at least one of the new boys for breeding any doeling we get this year from our girls. 

Do you put coats/sweaters on new kids?


----------



## Lstein

I have not in the past, but it's been strongly hinted that my fiancee is going to change that.  It'll be more for fun though, not actually warmth I think she's thinking more like pajamas. 

Do you have chickens?


----------



## Korita

We have had chickens, ducks and geese since moving to our acreage. But now I’m down to only my gander, Duke  After butchering our turkey, the ***** decided to break in and have a feeding frenzy. My fiancé and I had a couple “date nights” with the guns and took out a lot of ***** but almost all our birds (especially my good laying hens) were already gone. Along with my beautiful duck hen and the 20+ eggs she was sitting on. I’m waiting to build Fort Knox this Spring for my girls before restocking. I miss my fresh eggs!

Do you have a donkey?


----------



## Mack Woodie

No, and interestingly enough, they're practically given away here.
How do you keep your dog from digging?


----------



## Ranger1

I put his poop in the hole and fill it back in. 

What are some ways your farm generates a little extra cash?


----------



## Goat_Scout

One way is when our cows have bull calves which are eventually castrated and are later sold as 100% grass fed beef. Bull calves are (almost) always welcome here!

We used to sell eggs (we had more than 100 chickens at the time, and they were fed organic grain and were free range), but don’t anymore since the goats are taking over.  At one point we were even selling them to a restaurant in town!

Do you (or have you in the past) raised pigs for meat?
We had red wattle pigs once, we rotationally grazed them and they were delicious! The only problem was that they dug holes wherever they went. Most of those are filled up now though...


----------



## Ranger1

Not since I was somewhere around 3 years old.

How do you dispose of all the animal manure on your farm?


----------



## groovyoldlady

My husband cut a cross country ski trail through our woods. In the summer we haul the muck out and spread it on the trail. In the winter it all gets deposited on the back side of our yard. In summer we use a wheelbarrow and in winter we haul our yuckies in a sled. 

What's one achievable goal you have for your farm in the next year?


----------



## Lstein

Updating our infrastructure to accommodate more goats. I'd like to add on about 1/2 an acre to our pasture, it just sits there pretty much. Build a hay fence/manger, on the outside of my fence feeders... to set round bales in; so that the hay doesn't get all over the yard...and to keep escaped cows from getting them. 

Also want to fabricate some sort of alley way/sorting gate, for sorting and giving shots etc.

Build better buck facilities.

Build another corral/pasture for wintering the yearling does, so they aren't out on my hill in the pasture during winter or with my pregger does like they are now. 

I guess that's goal(s)....lol


How big is your barn?


----------



## spidy1

about 100ish feet by 18ish feet, the bucks have an about 18 by 9 ish feet stall, then 2 9ish by 9ish stalls for girls, then 9ish by 18ish walk way then 2 more stalls the same size for more girls/storage.

what is your fave animal movie?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

8 below
Or maybe big red

Do you have an air conditioned milking parlor?


----------



## Old Post Farm

nope, wish i did though

what is your favorite goat pattern


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Broken sundgau 
I also have a soft spot for broken chamoisee

What is your favorite goat eye color?


----------



## Korita

I really want to add a dapple to my little herd!
I would also like to add a blue-eyed. That’s my favorite. 


How many goats did you start out with versus how many you have now?


----------



## goat girls

I started with two, now I'm at eight. About four over my limit! And my moms take on eight goats is this: Plus her one and my brother each have a useless weather but so do I! So really it's eleven.

Do you keep a Buck on your property or do you take your Does somewhere to get bred?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I keep a buck. I don't have one currently, but I'm going to get a buckling this spring.

Do you offer stud services (if you keep a buck)?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

No, and I'm a buck hoarder. I have five bucks. 

What do you think of LGDs?


----------



## Goat_Scout

We have one and we love her! She takes great care of the goats and chickens, and - without us teaching her to - she makes sure that the cows/calves keep a good distance from us people (if we aren’t purposely trying to mess with them, she knows the difference) and the goats as well. 

I know this is kind of like Suzanne’s question, but how many does do you have per buck, or will you have come breeding season?
If all goes as planned, this fall we may have 4 bucks to my 9-10 does... NO, I am not becoming a buck hoarder...! The reason for getting a 4th buck is becuase I have two mini girls, and if I don’t sell them, I’d have to buy them their own lil’ buck.


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I'll have 2 does and 1 buck. 

Do you rely on graze/browse for part of your goats' diets, when it is available?


----------



## Einhorn

Yes, and weeds from the garden that we pull. Mostly it's elms and bracken. 

Why did all the dairy goat prices suddenly go up? Am alpine place in the next start used to be 300 a doeloing! Now is 600!


----------



## goathiker

Because the price of hay sky rocketed when fuel prices went up even people who cut their own must buy fuel for the equipment.

Why does it always storm and/or snow when I need to go put up my portable doe shelter?


----------



## Einhorn

Because the weather gods have been watching you....

How do i select a good buck for a doe i wouldn't change?


----------



## Kitkat0532

I would find one that has the same traits you like as she does if you think all hers are exactly the way you want them.(If there is just a little something you would change go for a buck to promote that change for the better) Improvement can always be made  It would be hard for any buck not to have some impact on the kids

Why is selling Nigerians in Arkansas so darn hard?

(Prices have been super low for months! It took me weeks to sell a papered doeling with great lines for $200! Took me 3 months to sell a wether for $50)


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

I know that this isn't a selling page but I have a little buckling named tucker and he's for sale. His mom has blue eyes and threw 2 blue eyed kids this year. This is her first time kidding. He's 2 1/2 months old and grey with blue eyes.


Korita said:


> I would also like to add a blue-eyed. That's my favorite.


Not very good pics


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Kitkat0532 said:


> I would find one that has the same traits you like as she does if you think all hers are exactly the way you want them.(If there is just a little something you would change go for a buck to promote that change for the better) Improvement can always be made  It would be hard for any buck not to have some impact on the kids
> 
> Why is selling Nigerians in Arkansas so darn hard?
> 
> (Prices have been super low for months! It took me weeks to sell a papered doeling with great lines for $200! Took me 3 months to sell a wether for $50)


Too many available and people don't value registration/quality?

What was your favorite goat resource when starting out?


----------



## Korita

TGS of course  Along with some other sources such as the vet and other reliable sources. But TGS has been my favorite as I can read on about any topic I need, interact, ask my own questions and get valuable opinions and help from experienced goat owners. 

What’s your preferred method of whethering a buckling?


----------



## Old Post Farm

banding
when did you get your fist goat?


----------



## Kitkat0532

In 2007 - she was a black and white Nubian. We got her to milk for our bottle baby deer :happygoat:

Do you prefer dairy or meat goats and why?


----------



## spidy1

Boers, I love there size and personality
do you shave your goats for not show reasons?


----------



## Ranger1

Yes. I don't show, but shave my goats every year to get good conformation pictures of them for my website.

Do you like beards on does?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I like them a lot! They make them look older and more refined.  
The only downside is that most visitors think that my bearded and/or horned does are “billy goats”. 

What is one major(ish) conformational flaw that you see in most of your goats and want to correct?


----------



## Goatzrule

Thats hard because most of my goats are bought from different farms as they are still foundation does so they are really constant but i would have to say short rumps

why did you start the breed(s) you have


----------



## catharina

We started with San Clemente Island Goats because 1) disbudding is too traumatizing 2) we were drowning in milk from 2 Alpine does 3) our favorite part of goats is BABY GOATS & when you have an endangered breed lots of baby goats is a good thing 4) smaller size 5) Beautiful!

What is your least favorite goat chore & how do you make it more pleasant or easier for yourself?


----------



## groovyoldlady

My least favorite goat chore is definitely disbudding. Blech! However, we just realized that 2 of our new doelings are polled. Huzzah!

WE make disbudding easier by always being prepared to cool the kids' heads as needed and by "doing it right" the first time so we don't have to do any do-overs!

What's your favorite thing to make with goat milk?


----------



## ETgoatygirl

Cheese! I like making Paneer. It's super easy, and delicious. Do you think it is easier to "breed up" with your current goats, or start all over with new goats? Pros and cons?


----------



## wifeof1

Cheeses. All kinds. Soft and hard.
Who do you think has it easier, goat farmers or crop farmers?


----------



## Goat_Scout

ETgoatygirl said:


> Cheese! I like making Paneer. It's super easy, and delicious. Do you think it is easier to "breed up" with your current goats, or start all over with new goats? Pros and cons?


For me, it'd be easier to "breed up" with my goats, because I have a couple does that I am really attached to, so getting rid of them wouldn't be easy. That is what I am doing right now actually.
Sometimes, buying top quality goats costs a lot of money, so you buy the best you can possibly afford, breed up and retain the best of your kid crop. Buying a nice buck is especially important to me, since he will be fathering a whole crop of kids...



wifeof1 said:


> Cheeses. All kinds. Soft and hard.
> Who do you think has it easier, goat farmers or crop farmers?


I think crop farmers, because for us goat owners it's really hard not to get too emotionally involved sometimes.... But in a way that can also be true for crop farmers I guess. That is a hard question, I'll let someone else answer it as well!


----------



## yankeedoodle

It depends on whether you are a big time industrial farmer or just a backyard home stead.
Industrial farming crops: harder. there is alot of managing, testing and checking the weather and everything you can think of. One day of not paying attention and everything is down the toilet and you lost thousands of dollars.

Backyard goat farming is harder than backyard crops because your small flock means everything to you. one goat dies and it is half your flock! But your two little raised beds with spinach and carrots in them are not that big a loss when it hails and flattens them. 
Any ways, I 've done both. 

Do you rotate pasture? Why?


----------



## Rondo's ridge

I don't rotate because I don't have enough room I just worm more often. Do you have a LGD ?why


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Yes, I have 2 actually  
There are a lot of coyotes and bears in the area, and GPs seemed like a good choice in addition to the electric fence. They also help keep raccoons away from the chickens. 

What is your favorite dog breed and why?


----------



## Rondo's ridge

My favorite dog breed in general is Australian shepherd but for LGD GPs are my favorite. What's your favorite goat in your herd??


----------



## spidy1

Letty- LaBoer
I would like everybody to answer the previous dog question from Suzanne_Tyler.


----------



## ISmellLikeGoats

Favorite dog breed - australian cattle dogs. They're so smart and helpful, sometimes too helpful though!

Favorite goat I have would probably be Missy, my lone Alpine in a herd of Nubians and Boers. I also like Spoiled (Boer doe) a lot, and both my bucks because even though they stink, they are loving guys.

This has probably been asked, but "why did you pick the breed you chose for goats?"


----------



## yankeedoodle

Hmm, that Question could spark quite the controversy! I have alpine with a tad nubian bcz I am looking for the best milk quality with the most volume with the least amount of animals. (I would love to have more but my property won't permit.) I am considering getting some boers for meat, though.

Which do you like more, raising meat goats or dairy goats or show goats?


----------



## ISmellLikeGoats

I raise both meat and dairy goats. I like goats milk and making cheese even though I'm lactose intolerant and can't really drink the milk without paying for it later, cheese doesn't bother me as bad. Milking is very therapeutic for my hand that has nerve damage as well, it helps keep my fingers strong. I also like to eat them, and dairy boys just don't grow out fast enough to suit me. I also like experimenting with the crosses, for meat and dairy. 
If I had to choose just one, it would probably be the dairy goats, because you can grow the boys out to eat, it just takes longer, but the short milking span of most Boers wouldn't suit me for the dairy products, though their milk is pretty rich. I am keeping back a Boer/Nubian doe this year I hadn't planned on keeping and will give milking her a shot. Her mother is a great milker so she has some potential. 

If you show goats, how did you get into it? Did you have a mentor or just wing it?


----------



## Miller'sLostGoat

I joined 4-h as cloverbud (7years old), entered a "win a dairy goat essay contest". The little brown Nubian doeling was my first show goat.
I have both Meat and dairy and my kids now show in 4-h. We typically focus on club market goats. If I could do one thing over again, I would make my barn bigger.

What would you have changed from your goat journey?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

I guess I would take stuff more seriously. I didn't think CAE was that big an issue, I thought they could fight out their diseases themselves, etc, etc. 

Has your focus with goats changed since you first started out?


----------



## wifeof1

Answer to favorite dog breed question. 
Golden Doodle


----------



## Damfino

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Has your focus with goats changed since you first started out?


YES, and then at the same time a huge, resounding NO.

We bought a goat with the intention that he would be a companion for an only colt. That worked out well for a couple of years, but then the goat became more of a people companion to my husband and I. He also grew enormous so we trained him to pack stuff on hikes and pull a cart. When our first goat was ten years old I and saw the beginning of the end, I decided to plan ahead by purchasing some breeding does. Now we breed goats. I NEVER saw that one coming.

However, the main focus all along has been FUN! That focus has not changed one bit since the very first day. 

Question: 
What was the original "max number of goats" you claimed you would ever have? And what is the number you _actually_ ended up with?


----------



## Nudanud

Ha! That's easy. I told my husband let's just get two wethers to help with reclaiming the shelter belt and 4 bottle babies and two milkers later....we now have 7 adults and 4 babies.  We don't even put a number on how many we will stop at now. Time will tell us when enough is enough. 

Do you cry when a goat dies/gets put down, or do you stiff upper lip it cuz "that's farming?"


----------



## ISmellLikeGoats

I cry. It's always sad and it happens, but that doesn't make it feel any better. I had to put 2 horses down in the last 4 years, I shot them both because one was suffering horribly and the vet wouldn't be out soon, and the other didn't have vet access. I was numb for a few hours and then it really hit me. 

Max number of goats I said we'd have was like 4...with babies right now, we have 17.

What was your original goal for goats and how did it change after actually getting into goats?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Original goal was to have goat for self-sufficient milk production. Now, well, un-self-sefficient milk production lol  

Have you ever moved with goats?


----------



## groovyoldlady

No, but I housed a Nigerian buck for 3 months for a friend when she moved. She had space for her does at her new house, but needed time to build "The Man Cave" and put up fencing for her bucks.

Do you have a good goat vet in your area?


----------



## lhorning

Ugg... no. This is one of the many reasons I want to leave California. And when I say many, I mean many! Livestock vets around here are mostly for horses. And to top it off, we can no longer get antibiotics or crucial things to treat our own animals. 

If you could purchase one item off your goat wishlist, what would it be?


----------



## Ranger1

Lots of more semen for my AI project!

If you could go back and fix one mistake you have made with raising goats, would you? What was the mistake?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

My favorite dog breed is either a veesla or a lab! My veesla died about three years ago and I have two labs, Lucy and Gator. I have a dachshund named Dilbert too


----------



## spidy1

my fave is in this order, Chinese Crested, toy Poodle, German Shepherd. If I had to pick just 1 it would be Chinese Crested.


----------



## Ashlynn

spidy1 said:


> my fave is in this order, Chinese Crested, toy Poodle, German Shepherd. If I had to pick just 1 it would be Chinese Crested.


You didn't ask a question


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

This is the next question:


Ranger1 said:


> Lots of more semen for my AI project!
> 
> If you could go back and fix one mistake you have made with raising goats, would you? What was the mistake?


----------



## Lstein

Ranger1 said:


> Lots of more semen for my AI project!
> 
> If you could go back and fix one mistake you have made with raising goats, would you? What was the mistake?


My answer is kind of two-part. First, I would have found this site a few years earlier; preferably before I had goats instead of "in crisis mode"....which is how it really went down.

Assuming I found this site and did more research, I would have liked to start with higher quality registered stock vs the the ones I started with. I've been playing % catch up every since.

What other livestock type animal would you like to have someday?


----------



## yankeedoodle

I would give my eye teeth to have horses! Hoping that when I get a bigger property I can integrate some horses, cows, and maybe a few burros! As well as getting a more diverse goat herd and expanding my sheepfold, to name a few things.


How many of you would jump at the chance to go "off the grid", homestead-type farming?
Why or why not?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Hmm... I'd like to SEE "off the grid" fully-self-sufficient homestead-type farming, maybe vacation there for a week to experience it and learn a few tips and tricks to prepare better for outages and maintenance events, but it depends what LEVEL of "off the grid" it is. I like modern conveniences like running water I don't have to monitor for cleanliness myself, and electricity for refrigeration (ice cream any time I want it) and online entertainment and communications like TGS and FaceTiming family across the country. I've been without for up to a week before due to a massive storm and it was annoying. We were cheerful and made it fun (after all, we love camping, this is the same, right?) but it was cold, we were worried about the pipes freezing, we were worried about the baby freezing, and if we had needed medical care, it wouldn't have gone well without electricity running the diagnostic equipment. I love the IDEA of not relying on others, but there's a reason people rely on each other. Differentiation and specialization is a great thing. Even our homesteading ancestors shared in the work. One person had a cow, and people traded chores, produce, or meat to get their share of the milk. One person had an apple orchard, and people helped can, dehydrate, and otherwise "put up" the harvest in exchange for taking some home, and also bartering fore more apples. When it was harvest season, extended family and neighbors worked together to get everything stored up and rotated whose farm needed the community help that day. Also, they just dealt with going without certain things. I like getting fresh produce in winter. Sure, it had to be shipped in and isn't quite as fresh, but it's a LOT better than only dried fruits and half-wilted veggies in early spring when the root cellar is running thin.

That was longer-winded than I planned it.

Most embarassing thing that has happened on your farm?


----------



## ISmellLikeGoats

My oldest son is 14. He came in the house and said our buck was mounting one of the does. Ok, no biggie, but then he said "and Clara has cobwebs all over her back end now...is something wrong with her?" Explaining what the "cobwebs" were to him as his face grew more and more horrified, he's had the sex talk already, but it did not occur to him. He was horribly embarrassed.

What are some of the best goat books in your opinion?


----------



## Lstein

ISmellLikeGoats said:


> My oldest son is 14. He came in the house and said our buck was mounting one of the does. Ok, no biggie, but then he said "and Clara has cobwebs all over her back end now...is something wrong with her?" Explaining what the "cobwebs" were to him as his face grew more and more horrified, he's had the sex talk already, but it did not occur to him. He was horribly embarrassed.
> 
> What are some of the best goat books in your opinion?


Both of the Storey's books, Meat Goats and Dairy Goats. They're nice intro to goat books and cover pretty much all the basics.

Whats the weirdest thing to happen to one of your animals?


----------



## Caity

I don't really have anything out of the ordinary weird.... But everyday when we leave for work we give my dog a treat and will carry it around in his mouth while we finish getting ready and right before we leave he drops it and just watches us go out the door... When we get home from work the treat will be in the same place untouched and he will be so happy to see us he grabs the treat and throws it around and eats it. 
Idk if this is normal or not but I have never seen it before him.

What all animals do you have? And which is your favorite?


----------



## spidy1

I have goats, chickens, and a little dog the dog is my baby.

do you have babies due in the next few days?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Nope. And my goats aren't due either.  Not breeding them until at least late fall to kid next year.

Do you grow food for your goats, or buy it?


----------



## Ranger1

Grow hay, buy grain.

If you could only keep one of your goat, which one would it be and why?


----------



## Damfino

I'd have to keep this guy because, well... just look at him! And he's friendly, fun, and smart to boot. But, I would never want to keep an "only goat". I'd have to keep two--Finn and his buddy Sputnik. And that way I could still have my driving team. 










Have you ever trained a goat to do tricks? If so, which tricks? If not, why not?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I trained my first doe to give me hugs.  If I crouched on the ground and opened my arms and said “give me a hug” she’d “hug” me by coming into my arms and putting her head over my shoulder. She’d stay that way too, until I got up. She was a very special, smart goat. I also taught her to “shake” which she did very well. 
I haven’t taught any of my other goats tricks though. 

From where did you buy your first goat(s)? An auction, private breeder/seller, large scale breeder etc.?


----------



## Lstein

From a private seller that may as well have been a sales barn. They bought and sold goats continuously, in addition to keeping their own does.

Do you keep poultry? Is so what types and breeds?


----------



## Einhorn

We have chickens and have just been adopted by a peacock. Pete, as my son called him, came into the yard and refuses to leave. Even when chased out the gate, he flies back in. I guess we are deserving of something?

Have you ever hosted a nomad animal?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

If a stray dog counts, then, yes. There were lots and lots of stray dogs on the rez, and I'd host the gentle ones that were starving, then take them to a rescue organization when I went into town. 

What is your favorite memory of your goats?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

well this wasn't funny at the time (quite scary actually) i was in 4-h and i had 2 boer goats in the back of the ranger to run them and my sister was holding hers and mom was holding mine i was driving.my goat kept wiggling so mom let him go. he fell out the back and tumbled around. He got away with only a few scratches.he acted like nothing happened after that! few!I ended placing 5th of twelve goats with him

do you want a new setup for your goats milking shed or do you like it the way it is?


----------



## Ashlynn

I want a new setup right now my milking area is very far from the pasture and stubborn does make it a trip. 


Do you have any enrichment items in your goat's pen/pasture? If so describe and explain.


----------



## catharina

I have 3 dogloos they can go in or on, & hills of broken up sidewalk chunks to climb. Since they are dry lotted I try to cut big tree limbs for them to munch on.

Do you brush your goats?


----------



## Ashlynn

Yes but not frequently, I have certain goats that love to brushed and some of mine are show goats so they get brushed a little more often than the others. 

What was the last goat item you purchased?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I have a boring answer: Albon for coccidia

Do you have farming, non-farming country, or city neighbors?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

both of my neighbors grew up in the country. both have cows.but i have gone over to get antibiotics for my goats

whats your favorite song?


----------



## ISmellLikeGoats

"You never even called me by my name" - David Allen Coe for old school country. I also really like Johnny Cash.
Newer country...Jason Aldean, burning it down

What is the one thing you couldn't go without, aside from feed, for your goats?


----------



## Lstein

My barn . 

Have you always been a "country" person or are you originally from town (or maybe still in town?)?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I’m originally from the city, although before I was seven we did live on a mountain in CO for 2 years. We bought 53 acres of land in 2011 and have been here ever since.  It feels like we’re pretty far into the country but then town is just 10 minutes away, which is very convenient. 
I don’t plan on having a farm after college though - I LOVE my animals, but God has placed orphans on my heart and I will probably move to some other country. 

How much land do you currently have? And how much of it are your livestock (specially goats) on?


----------



## Ashlynn

I have a little over 4 acres and the goat are on a little less than 2.


What made you get goats?


----------



## wifeof1

The desire for my own home grown milk to make my own milk products.
What is the most one of your goats milked in one day?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Close to 1.5 gallons I believe. 2 milkings. 

Do you prefer to milk once or twice a day?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

I'm not finding doing twice a day right now. I have a gazelle preserve getting milk from me, I have the girls on DHI, and it's my relaxation.

What's your favorite use for goats milk?


----------



## Goatzrule

I like making soaps

What is your favorite cross breed and why


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

nigerian dwarfs and mini nubians! what cuties!

whats your favorite candy... (sorry, im eating chocolate at the moment, so thats about the only question i can think of)


----------



## ETgoatygirl

Sour patch kids! 
What’s the silliest blunder you ever made at a goat show? 
I’m thinking about showing my goats for the first time next year


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I've been waiting for someone else to answer, but I've never showed a goat. 

What is your favorite dessert?


----------



## goathiker

My husband's grandmother made about wonderful spice cake with sliced apples in it. I have never been able to find the recipe. 
If all the electrical power in the world went out tomorrow would you know how to survive?


----------



## lhorning

Man.... you ask a difficult questions @goathiker . Simple answer, yes. I would know HOW to servive. However, in Southern California, I don't think it would be possible. Biggest issues would be security and water. There are more stupid unprepared people here than could be numbered. So those who have prepared are at great risk of having to defend themselves. I think the crazy people exceeds the amount of ammo we have. This is one of the many reasons we want to get out of this place.

What is your favorite childhood memory?


----------



## lhorning

And if you can tell me what you remember about that cake, I might be able to help you out! @goathiker


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

lhorning said:


> Man.... you ask a difficult questions @goathiker . Simple answer, yes. I would know HOW to servive. However, in Southern California, I don't think it would be possible. Biggest issues would be security and water. There are more stupid unprepared people here than could be numbered. So those who have prepared are at great risk of having to defend themselves. I think the crazy people exceeds the amount of ammo we have. This is one of the many reasons we want to get out of this place.
> 
> What is your favorite childhood memory?


Hmm.. That's a tuff one!!! probably when my sisters goat had two kids and and I was told I could bottle feed them all by my self!

Who's the loudest goat you've ever had?


----------



## spidy1

Scarlet a Boer doe.
what is your fave dish to cook if you cook?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Made-from-scratch "butter braids." It's a braided sweet bread with butter slathered over the top before cooking it, and with a cinnamon or cream cheese and fruit filling. Soooooo good!

I want to hear other peoples answers to this. What is your favorite thing to cook, if you cook?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

singinggoatgirl said:


> Made-from-scratch "butter braids." It's a braided sweet bread with butter slathered over the top before cooking it, and with a cinnamon or cream cheese and fruit filling. Soooooo good!
> 
> I want to hear other peoples answers to this. What is your favorite thing to cook, if you cook?


Astronaut granola bars!

Do you like to do your chores in the evening, or In the morning?


----------



## HJoy

singinggoatgirl said:


> Made-from-scratch "butter braids." It's a braided sweet bread with butter slathered over the top before cooking it, and with a cinnamon or cream cheese and fruit filling. Soooooo good!
> 
> I want to hear other peoples answers to this. What is your favorite thing to cook, if you cook?


My favorite is to cook soups, especially a cheesy brocoli and potato soup and I love to bake cookies.

I love morning chores, and even when I go to once a day milking prefer to do it at 5am. The (2 legged) kids are still asleep, the world is quiet and the goats are just getting up for the day and pretty mellow. It's my me time compared to evening when I have all my "help" whom I love and adore, but...

What is your favorite goat story you like to tell?


----------



## gaelkofarmgirl

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> So you basically just ask a question, the next person answers it and asks another question, and so on.
> 
> I'll start.
> 
> How many goats do you have?


I know this is probably a different question but how do I make a forum? I'm
trying to look for a Nubian breeding buck and not having any luck locally. Thank you in advance!


----------



## spidy1

first go to forums find the subject that fits, then "make a new thred" it is quit easy!


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

HJoy said:


> My favorite is to cook soups, especially a cheesy brocoli and potato soup and I love to bake cookies.
> 
> I love morning chores, and even when I go to once a day milking prefer to do it at 5am. The (2 legged) kids are still asleep, the world is quiet and the goats are just getting up for the day and pretty mellow. It's my me time compared to evening when I have all my "help" whom I love and adore, but...
> 
> What is your favorite goat story you like to tell?


My sister and I had 3 show goats, one was hers one was mine, then an extra for Just in case. We went on vacation for three days and had someone taking care of them. She forgot to close the gate on the last day, last visit. We came home and I went to go and check on all of my animals, including the goats. They were gone!!!! We called the pound, our neighbors and a lot of other people. We couldn't find them. About a day later, the pound called us, and said that someone in the subdivision about three miles away called us...
They're house looked EXACTLY like ours! I can't believe they went to that house. I wonder if they thought that they were home, or that it was just a coincidence

Or it's the one when I was little and I ate goat poop because I thought they were coco puffs!


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Oops, forgot a question,

Do you have a garden this year?


----------



## Crazy Little Goat

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> Oops, forgot a question,
> 
> Do you have a garden this year?


I do have a garden this year, but it is PITIFUL!

How many times, your first year, did you want to sell all your goats and just give up?


----------



## Goat_Scout

I never did my first year, and I still haven’t. My first year was SUPER easy, my two Myotonics didn’t have any illnesses or cause any problems at all. And they were sweet as can be. 

I HAVE, however, thought about just selling until I have only 2-3 goats left, but I always change my mind not even a couple hours later.  

If you’ve had more than one breed of goat, which one was the easiest to manage and gave you few problems?


----------



## spidy1

I'v had Alpines, Kikos, Nubians, NDs, LaManchas and Boers, I LOVE the Boers and Manchas, not so much the other breeds.

would you cook dog treats?


----------



## goathiker

I'd be more likely to dry dog treats since my dogs are raw fed and, in fact, I have many times. 

Given the choice to start over again at age 12, but still remember this timeline, would you do it?


----------



## wifeof1

Absolutely. I would actually pay attention in class, then go to college. Cause if I had, I could do more in my goat world.
Have you ever had an oops breeding and what became of that?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

Ugh yes. ND doe to Alpine buck  She delivered just fine, and I gave her to a friend right after to prevent her jumping the fence again and repeating the process. 

What is your favorite animal other than goats?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Llamas! I really want one! Hey are so cute and funny looking! 
Do you show your goats, what are the pros? The cons? If not, do you want to show your goats? Why, why not?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No. I manage my herd primarily using natural techniques, focusing on minerals, their environment, etc. Plus, my herd is for dairy and I'm not really attempting to breed up to ideal conformation (though conformation plays a big role in herd decisions). Showing really just doesn't go with how I've structured my herd. 

Do you sell goats for meat/eat your own goats? Why/why not?


----------



## LillyRoseGal

I haven’t ever sold a goat for meat, but we have eaten goat meat. 

Why do you think many people are polarized towards certain breeds? For example, I have found that when I tell people I keep Nubians they either go “Oh! Me too.” *uncontrollably excited grin* 
Or, “Ohhh…” *knowing nod as if to say, ‘yeah… I’ve been THERE before’*
Why do you think that is?


----------



## carrotsnranch

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Close to 1.5 gallons I believe. 2 milkings.
> 
> Do you prefer to milk once or twice a day?


Twice. If you could have any other animal in the world what would it be.


----------



## goathiker

LillyRoseGal said:


> Why do you think many people are polarized towards certain breeds? For example, I have found that when I tell people I keep Nubians they either go "Oh! Me too." *uncontrollably excited grin*
> Or, "Ohhh&#8230;" *knowing nod as if to say, 'yeah&#8230; I've been THERE before'*
> Why do you think that is?


I think it has to do with personality mostly. Every breed has distinctive physical and temperamental characteristics that can be taken as pluses OR flaws depending on the personal likes and dislikes of the owner.


----------



## singinggoatgirl

carrotsnranch said:


> If you could have any other animal in the world what would it be.


I would get a chinchilla.


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Oops, forgot a question. What did you do last time there was a power outage that lasted more than a couple minutes?


----------



## goathiker

We had an impromptu neighborhood party by our mail box while watching the race between the threatening brush fire and the electrical company. 

Do you use a worming pen and ovicide to reduce pen/pasture contamination?


----------



## Ranger1

Nope. I’ve heard of it in classes by Dr. Susan Kerr, but she does not recommend it. She is super big on breeding for resistance, not trying to kill every last parasite on the property. 

What is the worst injury or illness you have ever had to deal with?


----------



## 15WildTurkey

My boxer popped his eyeball out of his head by banging into a t post at top speed. Not fun. 
How long do your mosquito bites itch for?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

24 hrs.

Were goats your first livestock venture (other than chickens)? If not, what was?


----------



## Ranger1

24 hrs? Lucky duck! Mine itch for 3-6 days! 

Yes, they were, even before chickens.

Did you dive into goats, with little to no research, and buy the first ones you saw for sale, instead of researching a good breeder?


----------



## 15WildTurkey

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> 24 hrs.
> 
> Were goats your first livestock venture (other than chickens)? If not, what was?


Seriously??? I'm the same 3-6 days.


----------



## spidy1

yes, that was the first time I had CAE NEVER AGAIN!

what was the worst injury/disease/illness you faced with goats?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

spidy1 said:


> yes, that was the first time I had CAE NEVER AGAIN!
> 
> what was the worst injury/disease/illness you faced with goats?


I have lost two does kidding. One was my sweetest funniest little first freshener. I still miss her, and I'm pretty sure it was my fault.

Do you try your individual goat's milk to see who tastes best?


----------



## spidy1

of course!!! the more Boer in the milkin' mama the better (IMO)!!!

what age is your fave for a goat to freshen? what age was the youngest you have had? oldest?


----------



## Sfgwife

goathiker said:


> I think it has to do with personality mostly. Every breed has distinctive physical and temperamental characteristics that can be taken as pluses OR flaws depending on the personal likes and dislikes of the owner.


I lol at your answer... the first time we saw manchas i was like no no way (the no ears freaked me out)...now.... i kinda think if i wouldn't need find a different buck for a mancha (have nd and mini nub does) i would SO get one! As it is a mini nub buck would work for both my does... cause people round here are more into pure breds and workin to pure breds like the nd and mini nub not mutts. ;(. For sellin purposes of the kids. But i have since read a ton on munchies and their personalities that i wanna try one.

Sorry for derailin... here is the last question posted by @spidy1 .....what age is your fav for a goat to freshen? What age was the youngest? Oldest?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

I really like the does kidding at two years, they are just mature and almost full grown. 
The youngest doe that I've had kid is 11 months, the buck got out.
The oldest doe I've had kid was a 12 year old that i got after she was bred.
What is your ideal herd number?


----------



## Lstein

37-38. 25 does, 2-3 bucks, and 10 replacement doelings. 

Did you ever think you would be a goat person?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

No way, never ever 

What is your favorite type of goat ear?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

I love the crossbred ears that alpine/nubians have are super cute. 
What breed of goat did you start with?


----------



## spidy1

I love Boer ears, and Mancha ears

how old was the oldest goat you have ever herd of and is still alive?

we posted at the same time, my first goat was a disbuded Boer with a B A D attitude


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

The oldest goat I've ever had was 13 the oldest I have now is 5.
How did you hear about goats?


----------



## carrotsnranch

Pack Goat Girl said:


> The oldest goat I've ever had was 13 the oldest I have now is 5.
> How did you hear about goats?


NCSU vet school. Been going to the open house since I was little. May have heard before then who knows. But when did I actually think about getting them? When we moved to 15acres and there was a goat barn already there!

What is the best name you have ever named a goat or other animal?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I was living on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona and most people around me were shepherds. They taught me how to milk, butcher, and shear sheep/goats. They don't have a separate word for sheep and goat in their native language, so the old grandma who taught me just called them all sheep (she had goats).

Oops, posted at the same time as @carrotsnranch. answer her question.


----------



## carrotsnranch

singinggoatgirl said:


> I was living on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona and most people around me were shepherds. They taught me how to milk, butcher, and shear sheep/goats. They don't have a separate word for sheep and goat in their native language, so the old grandma who taught me just called them all sheep (she had goats).
> 
> Oops, posted at the same time as @carrotsnranch. answer her question.


Cool!


----------



## spidy1

oh, I dont know... I love ALL there names... I did have one buck, he was a NOT HEAD, his name was Brunswick

whats your fave snack? (I'm hungry right now!)


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Peanut m&ms! 
When you sell a goat, do you make sure it goes to a good home or just sell it to whoever wants it


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

Good homes are a must! If the home is less than ideal I refuse to sell.
What is your favorite goat color/color combo?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

I love a solid chocolate brown. 

What is your least favorite color combo?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

plain white. or weird patches of pale color around the eyes that make the optical illusion that their face is misshapen.

Do you like crafts?


----------



## Karen Kuntz

Love to crochet and knit but the more animals we have the less time for "hobbies"! 

Does anyone have a parent/relative with dementia? It is heartbreaking.


----------



## GoatKids

No, but I do know someone who has dementia, and it is very heartbreaking 

Would you rather have meat goats or dairy goats, why?


----------



## Crazy Little Goat

GoatKids said:


> No, but I do know someone who has dementia, and it is very heartbreaking
> 
> Would you rather have meat goats or dairy goats, why?


My grandmother had Alzheimer's. It was very hard to watch her slip away. In the end her body even forgot how to swallow; she basically starved to death.

I would LOVE milk goats, if I still stayed home all day, but I love my Boers.

Are you (or your kids) involved in 4-H or something similar?


----------



## carrotsnranch

Crazy Little Goat said:


> My grandmother had Alzheimer's. It was very hard to watch her slip away. In the end her body even forgot how to swallow; she basically starved to death.
> 
> I would LOVE milk goats, if I still stayed home all day, but I love my Boers.
> 
> Are you (or your kids) involved in 4-H or something similar?


I was with horses, but now in a
New county, can't figure out if there'a one here, and if so how to join...

Do you play music at the barn? If so, what's your favorite thing to listen to out there?


----------



## TheDreamingGoat

carrotsnranch said:


> I was with horses, but now in a
> New county, can't figure out if there'a one here, and if so how to join...
> 
> Do you play music at the barn? If so, what's your favorite thing to listen to out there?


I don't really have a 'barn', but I play music when I'm cleaning out the goats bedding. I like things like imagine dragons, the Chainsmokers, Coldplay, train, and twenty one pilots. It changes a lot though lol.

How many different kinds of animals do you have?


----------



## HJoy

I have cows, goats, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits and the occasional lamb

How much do you worry about biosecurity on your farm?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I worry a lot about biosecurity on my farm, and in my house. However, I feel like I don't DO much about it. I don't have a separate quarantine pen for new animals because I just don't have space and fencing for that. I also don't have them in a sealed barn 24/7 with perfectly filtered air and water so air contamination, water contamination, mice, birds, rats, etc. can't bring in disease. That'd be a miserable existence to never see the sun.

I believe in immune systems and in management to prevent preventable diseases. Vaccines, feeding off the ground, and keeping them as healthy as possible are my biggest allies so that if disease strikes they can fight it off. I also have no problem with anti-biotics and dewormers to help them fight it off, though I won't use them unless I KNOW they are infected with something it's effective against. I also only buy from tested herds so I hopefully never get one of the BIG ones, like CAE, CL, Johnnes, etc. I rarely buy goats, too.

What were your best and worst kidding experiences?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Ill do best first
The last kidding i had went PERFECTLY! i had my ff piper kidding! i went out in the afternoon to feed (about 5) and she was lying on the ground pushing , so i fed the other does separletly, and was watching her. it was n january, so it was cold-ish. i left to get shavings at tsc ( by this time her water broke so i was speeding to tsc lol) and came back and she was just pushing out cricket and had already had her son tucker. i let out Delta who i could tell was gonna kid soon too and she was helping lick pipers babies off and i figured it was alright since she was a ff! then all of a sudden deltas water broke! she had twin girls! poptart and cheerio! the end

the worst kidding is when we had meat goats when i was a kid.
My sisters went out to feed and saw a doe on the ground pushing so went to tell mom. mom and me came out to watch but nothing was happening so my sister went in to pull the kid(s). she couldnt get them so we called the vet and he came out and pulled babies. twins. mamma couldnt get up to nurse them so we had to bottle feed them. she passed her placenta but still couldnt get up. we gave her electrolytes and vet gave her shots but the next morning she had died , so we had to bottle feed the babies, buttercup and lucky. the end

do you cry when a goat dies or just say "its part of living on a farm." (i cry)


----------



## carrotsnranch

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> Ill do best first
> The last kidding i had went PERFECTLY! i had my ff piper kidding! i went out in the afternoon to feed (about 5) and she was lying on the ground pushing , so i fed the other does separletly, and was watching her. it was n january, so it was cold-ish. i left to get shavings at tsc ( by this time her water broke so i was speeding to tsc lol) and came back and she was just pushing out cricket and had already had her son tucker. i let out Delta who i could tell was gonna kid soon too and she was helping lick pipers babies off and i figured it was alright since she was a ff! then all of a sudden deltas water broke! she had twin girls! poptart and cheerio! the end
> 
> the worst kidding is when we had meat goats when i was a kid.
> My sisters went out to feed and saw a doe on the ground pushing so went to tell mom. mom and me came out to watch but nothing was happening so my sister went in to pull the kid(s). she couldnt get them so we called the vet and he came out and pulled babies. twins. mamma couldnt get up to nurse them so we had to bottle feed them. she passed her placenta but still couldnt get up. we gave her electrolytes and vet gave her shots but the next morning she had died , so we had to bottle feed the babies, buttercup and lucky. the end
> 
> do you cry when a goat dies or just say "its part of living on a farm." (i cry)


Omg the first kidding sounds so amazing! Wow!!

The last one is  so sad....
I cry and say that....because it is, but it's still so sad.

What time do you milk?


----------



## spidy1

OOoo imagine dragons my fave, I have just goats, chickens and a dog

what is your fave music?
we all post at the same time!


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I cry when they die.

I milk after lunch during my human baby's nap, so between 1pm and 3pm. It's my "quiet" time.

Fave music like genre or individual song?
Genre: A capella men's covers of folk or pop music.
Individual song: that's a tough one. There's too many good ones. The song that is currently stuck in my head is Daddy Sang Bass covered by VoicePlay

Editted to add a question:
Do you prefer people or animals' company?


----------



## Crazy Little Goat

singinggoatgirl said:


> I cry when they die.
> 
> Editted to add a question:
> Do you prefer people or animals' company?


Animal company; hands down!

Do you copper bolus? if so, why (is it something that ALL goats should get or is there a certain time/place; how do you KNOW you should bolus)? 
(I don't know anyone local to me that does this for their goats. I have the stuff to do mine, but no one to help/show me how.)


----------



## singinggoatgirl

I do copper bolus when they need it. It is not something all goats need, although many do. I'm hoping mine won't need boluses as often now, which I'll explain in a second. It totally depends on how much copper they are getting in their total diet including levels of copper in their browse, hay (different levels depending on where it grew), water source, grain/concentrates, and of course the minerals you put out for them. If they are getting enough copper in their diet, they don't need copper bolus. If their diet is deficient, you need to up their copper intake somehow. One way is to copper bolus.

We just changed hay type and supplier. Different species of plants take up different amounts of certain minerals. My goats are showing fewer signs of copper deficiency now that they are on a different hay.

My goats show copper deficiency with color fading in their coats and/or exhibiting a fishtail, depending on the individual. Black goats turn rusty colored, brown goats turn white, etc. Also, their milk gets musky and/or grassy tasting when they are low on copper. I look at the base of the hair shaft to know how they are doing with copper right now, rather than at the visible tips, which tell me how they were doing a couple weeks/months ago.

I tried hiding copper boluses by opening the pill and pouring into wet or sticky snacks. My goats don't like wet or sticky snacks. I have to just shove the pill as far back in their mouth as possible, try not to get bitten, hold their mouth closed, and stroke their throat to encourage swallowing. its a pain, but it's effective. I used to do this every other month. I haven't had to this time around. I'm keeping a close watch on them though, and will bolus again as soon as they need it. There are lots of good, creative ideas on this site of how to administer copper boluses.

Favorite goat name?


----------



## Goat_Scout

My favorite goat name that I've used was Magnolia (for my first goat), but one that I love but haven't used yet is "Kilmeny" from the book _Kilmeny of the Orchard, _by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

What was your worst experience when selling a goat?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

Right now we have dogs, cats bunnies,goats and ducks.
And by the way I always have music in the barn, my favorite is Lindsey Stirling.
Do you have collars on your goats?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

Pack Goat Girl said:


> Right now we have dogs, cats bunnies,goats and ducks.
> And by the way I always have music in the barn, my favorite is Lindsey Stirling.
> Do you have collars on your goats?


Yes, I just use the inexpensive plastic chain with a quick release link.

What is the most expensive goat you have?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

The one I didn't want. I bought Snickers as a companion to Blondie when her half sister died in a freak accident. I didn't want to buy another goat, but I couldn't leave Blondie completely alone. I spent $250 on her. She was the cheapest doeling available from a disease tested herd. She's been treated us surprisingly well, considering.

What is your best goat, genetically?


----------



## spidy1

Diesel, from Max Boer Goats line
$250 thats expensive? wow 
whats your fave dog breed (not LGD)?


----------



## Goat_Scout

The most I've spent on a single goat was $600. She comes from great, well-known lines and is overall a very nice doe. I actually bought her as a FF with a 5 day old buckling on her, and payed $700 for the pair, but for the doe alone the owner was wanting $600 (what she payed for her as a 1 week old kid). 

My favorite dog breed.... I'm not completely sure, but if I could I would get a Brittany Spaniel pup. I love the breed, but have never owned one. 

When's the last time you bought a new goat?


----------



## spidy1

Diesel was the last I bought he was $500 at 10 weeks (he is about 5-6 now)
Brittneys they are cute! anyone else?
whats your fave dog breed (not LGD)?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

My favorite dog is a Borzoi! They are a Russian bred dog meant to hunt smaller game.
www.gettyimages.com/photos/borzoi?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=borzoi
Do you like to take your goats on walks?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Yes, I love to! We used to take a walk almost every day, but now, not so much (because with more than 2-3 goats and just myself to manage them, it's become hard to keep them away from the house/pool/apple trees that are off limits to them!). I need to start up again though.

Even when you don't *want* another goat, do you still kind of maybe slightly...... search CL, haunt FB goat sale groups, etc.... when you have time on your hands? (And can you see where this seemingly innocent question is going?)


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

Time on hand !? What are these words Okay I will have no extra time in the next three weeks, my step-brother and sister are visiting so I'm spending as much time with them as possible, then there is feeding goats, dogs, cats, bunny and keeping up on dogs manners, cart training two of the goats, chatting on TGS (no that does not count as extra time, it is a must have.) Oh and then I have to remember to feed myself, seriously guys this has been a chore lately.
 But I'm sure you know the feeling.
What is your favorite book11?


----------



## Goat_Scout

LOL! I don't _usually _have much time to spare. And in the last couple weeks I've been super busy trying to prepare for the school year which came upon us so suddenly, I don't know where this summer has gone! It still feels like May to me. 

I just finished reading (correction: listening to on Audible, while milking the goats, cows, or while mowing or doing just about anything really) Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers. It was inspired by the Book of Hosea from the Bible. It is GREAT book, definitely one of my favorites. Another favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo, and then also I love all of L.M. Montgomery's books, especially the lesser known ones such as Kilmeny of the Orchard, The Blue Castle, etc... There are many, many more books I love.

Which is your favorite breed of chicken and why?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

I love The Count of Monte Cristo!!?
I really enjoy The House of Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and The Dragon Jousters also Mercedes Lackey.
My favorite chicken breed is Icelandics and this is why......
www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-chickens/icelandic-chickens-zm0z14onzkin
The on thing this article doesn't mention is that they can go broody 2-4 times a year.
Do you bring your baby goats in the house when you watch a movie? ( not extra time, just baby goat snuggle time.)


----------



## BoerKids121

Haven't bred any goats yet, as I just started with goats this year  I don't see me doing that in the future, but I do think I will sit with them in the barn and watch Netflix :lolgoat:

How many animals all together do you have on your farm?


----------



## Pack Goat Girl

24 all together.
How many goats do you have?


----------



## BoerKids121

2 

What are all of your animal's names?


----------



## goathiker

*deep breath* 

Goats: Dexter, Hawk, Jax, Franky, Teddy, Angie, Piper, Lexi, Gracie, Levi, Pinky, and the blue one. 

Dogs: Olive, Sunny, Kayla, Tony, and Shatzi. 

The chickens, the red hen, that stripey one, the broody, the spotted one, the australorps, the leghorns, that freakin ash hole rooster.


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Cat: Nevee
Dog: Pepper
Goats: Blondie, Snickers, Ruby, Nebula, Moonbeam, Prince

$250 was MY most expensive goat, but not expensive at all in my area. I've just been really frugal with my goat buying...

I'm a copycat. What are the names of all your animals?


----------



## Kath G.

Goats: Tallulah, Nutmeg, Spicy Peppercorn, Mabel, Stella, Jasmine, Miley, Bindi, Nicolette, Durwood, Peppermint, Winter, Nira, Corduroy, Ace, Baby Brown, Moonlight, Libby, Lovey, Comet, Beau, Call of Duty, S'mores, Porter, Spiderman, The Lizard

Pigs: Francine, Son of Bacon, Charlotte, Band-Aid, Gilbert, Ice Cream Sundae, Clementine, Davey, Victoria, Mr. Lots'o'Dots, & 6 fresh unnamed babies

Cats: Taffy, Ginger, Penny

Sheep: Molly, Dolly, Red, Sunshine, Rose

Chickens: Patience, Flash, Banana Pancake, Blueberry Pancake, Charlotte, Stardust, Hannah, Barley-corn, Cleopatra, Indigo, Lacey, Lady, Twilight, Smudge, Acorn Lucy, Goldieclucks, Speckles, Caramel

Bunnies: Ninja, Spice

Did you end up staying with the breed you researched/picked out for yourself, B.G. (before goats)? Or did you end up loving another breed better?


----------



## CrazyDogLady

I started with Nigerians, and still have them. I love the breed, and I'm so very happy with my herd.

What do you do with show ribbons?


----------



## cracra4goats

I hang them up over my bed. How do I make a post?


----------



## 21goaties

I've never shown goats. 
What's the largest number of animals you've had in your house at one time?


----------



## Goats Galore

I’ve had 11 baby goats in my home at once. 

What was the name of your first goat?


----------



## spidy1

cracra4goats said:


> I hang them up over my bed. How do I make a post?


go to "forums", find the topic that fits, "new thred" type your thred, "post thred"


----------



## singinggoatgirl

My first goat was Patches, the half-wild, horned ND doe that adopted and protected me from her evil companion, Ebony.

What was your favorite childhood toy?


----------



## 15WildTurkey

My neighbors dog. I sooo wanted a dog I used to lure him into our yard tie a jump rope to his collar and pretend he was all mine. Dear Beano! 
I was old enough to be soo embarrased when he ran home with my jump rope still attached 
Do your chickens try to poach your goats feed?


----------



## LoriH

Every chance they get. I like when they've been in the barn and stirred things up a bit though. The bedding looks fluffier.

What is the craziest thing your goats have done?


----------



## Goats Galore

My goats have made it to the top of my barn by jumping from the top of my truck!

How do you prevent travel sickness and sunken in sides during shows?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler

By not going to shows 

What was the hardest lesson you learned when starting out with goats?


----------



## spidy1

CAE that was a nightmare.

how much did your biggest goat weigh?


----------



## Goat_Scout

Sadly (I know there are WAAAAAY bigger goats out there!) the biggest goat I've ever had is my 17 month old Nubian doe, Demelza (AKA Demmy). She weighed in at 130lbs last week, she hasn't been bred yet but I'm hoping she comes in heat within the next couple weeks so I CAN breed her!

If there was ONE thing you could change about goats, the animal and it's quirks/habits etc., what would it be? For example, I would either choose that bucks did NOT pee all over themselves during rut, or I would choose for goats to be more grazers than browsers, like sheep. It'd be so much easier if they were (it's very hard to set up electric fencing in thick woods, but out on pasture it's easy)! But of course, I love them anyway and would much rather have them than sheep!


----------



## goathiker

I'm would give them male only antlers instead of horns. 

If the SHTF would your herd survive without all it's various supplements?


----------



## Lindan

I would make them all respect electric fencing.
My goats didn't get any supplements until I got them, so yep they would survive no problem

What's your funniest experience with goats?


----------



## goathiker

To clarify, SHTF is a American idiom meaning a civilization ending event, a CME, nuclear war, tsunami, etc. 
So no electricity lol 

Funniest... Probably the time this guy was screaming at me to get my "donkey" off the boat ramp. 

Do you keep a buck companion just to have an excuse to have a wether?


----------



## Ranger1

I’ve tried, LOL, but my buck didn’t like him!

Do you have an education beyond high school?


----------



## spidy1

I use to be a vet tech before my accident so yes,

how much did the smallest goat baby born on your farm weigh?


----------



## elvis&oliver

I never had a baby born here but I have 2 6month old wethers.

What’s your favorite goat breed and why?


----------



## Bree_6293

My favourite breed would have to be my Aussie Miniatures or my Nigerian Dwarfs x Aussie minis. I’m also very fond of our Aussie elf goats. That’s a hard question. 

What’s the most goats you have had at one time?


----------



## Lstein

This year we had 63 when we still had the kids. Will be keeping 40 over the winter.... Next year should be a record breaker for us again, expecting to be around the 75-80ish mark when everyone kids.

If you could make a living raising goats, would you?


----------



## Ranger1

Big, fat yes! That is my dream!

What is your biggest regret in your years of raising goats?


----------



## Lstein

Not starting out with fullblood or nicer stock. I'm just starting to get to the point where I'm getting some nice thick boer looking does after 5 years, even though they are all still only 50% on paper.

Pretty proud of it, considering I started out with 5 old haggard looking dairy does. But I still would have been farther along if I had started out with nicer ones.

It is kind of neat having a great-grandma goat this year, but would still apply if I had nicer stock.

How many bucks do you have?


----------



## Ranger1

I currently have 4, for 9 does.  

How strict are you on biosecurity?


----------



## elvis&oliver

I don’t buy or sell so I can’t answer.

Has any one owned a goat from birth till it’s last day? If so how long did you have it?


----------



## 21goaties

elvis&oliver said:


> I don't buy or sell so I can't answer.
> 
> Has any one owned a goat from birth till it's last day? If so how long did you have it?


Well, we have had some goats born here die from other causes, but they weren't near old age yet. 

Right now our oldest goats that were born here are twin does that are 7yo, hope they make it to at least 10.
We have one 10yo wether that we got when he was less than a year old, but not born here.

What was your scariest/most terrifying moment involving goats?


----------



## groovyoldlady

I've had several. But probably the worst was the time I tried to lance an abscess (non CL) on my Nubian's jaw. I was a novice, it wasn't ripe yet and she was fighting me and I pretty much butchered her.

I. Felt. HORRIBLE.

Fortunately, she forgave me very quickly and healed up nicely. But oh the tears and horror!!

Are you good at drawing blood?


----------



## Goatzrule

Not even close
Do you trust veterinary medicine?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Goatzrule said:


> Do you trust veterinary medicine?


i trust my vet but when i give the goats ANY kind of dewormer, shot etc, i keep a very close eye on them and make SURE they are acting normal/ better

how many dogs do you have? what breed do you have?


----------



## Dwarf Dad

19 dogs. 1 schnauzer, 1 double merle miniature ausralian shepherd, 5 shih-tzu mixes, 3 shih-tzus, 2 chihuahuas, 2 chihuahua mixes, 4 unknown mixes and a standard poodle-golden retriever mix.

How many cats do you have?


----------



## 21goaties

We currently have 8 rescued outdoor cats (all spayed and neutered) ranging from 2-10 years old. They all have different personalities and make me smile every day.  

Have you ever had or known someone who had a house rabbit - a pet rabbit that lives inside and hops around the house like a dog?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Yes, it belonged to their teenager and her mom offered to give it to me for free... I turned her down.

Sweetest experience with your goats?


----------



## groovyoldlady

Taking care of Miss Kitka (aka Kitty-Bit) before she died. She was 10 months old and as sweet as a goat ever could be. She had an enlarged heart. She was precious and cuddly and took all her meds eagerly - she was so funny!

I am chickenless right now. Do you raise chickens? Which breeds?


----------



## Bree_6293

I am also chicken less right now. But I loved my Sussex hens and when I have the set up here I will be getting them from a local that breeds hens that are cross bred that he has been working on for a long time (30+ years) that are good layers as well as good meat on the boys. They are good hardy chooks. 
What’s your go to herb or supplement?


----------



## Lstein

Fresh basil, I love the smell of it and love eating stuff my wife makes with it.

What other types of poultry do you have?


----------



## Goatzrule

Just chickens
What is your go to breed of LGD


----------



## Lstein

We haven't had a LGD yet but would like to get one at some point, and we are leaning towards a Pyrenees. We have a llama now but she's mostly an ornament with occasional perks. She's been seen keeping a coyote at bay and also been seen standing there watching a coyote chase the goats in circles around her.

Do you or would you ever raise turkeys?


----------



## Ranger1

We've tried raising turkeys, but just don't have the facilities to butcher such large birds(i.e. scalding pot, etc.) and the local processor charges too much for it to be worth it for us. I'd like to try again in the future though-turkeys are stupid, but nice birds. 

Do you have a dog that rounds up your goats?


----------



## Goatzrule

No but I wish I did

Whats your goat shelter like?


----------



## Lstein

A 30 x 40 pole barn with a loft over part of it, and has a heated room that's kind of our office/vet lab/tack room/poultry brooder/kid-cicle defroster.

Do you have a family milk cow?


----------



## Sfgwife

Not yet.... maybe hopefully this spring!


What time do your monster start hollarin for their dinner now that the sun goes down earlier?

Mine... ten minutes after i feed breaky of course! Lol. But in reality if we go out anytime after two thirty or three they are dyin of starvation. Absolutely!


----------



## Lstein

The moment my pickup is spotted; the chorus starts, it varies between members but we get some nice baaa's, a few maaaa's, maybe a mhhmm, but it's mostly AHHHHHHHH!!1 

It's funny watching them in the summer, when they are out in the pasture and they see my vehicle (I don't know how they figured out which one is mine, since there's at least 6 others that use that come down that road, but they start stampeding to the barn where they can proceed to shreek at me.

Do you keep sheep?


----------



## Goatzrule

No i dont

What kind of toys do your goats have


----------



## Sfgwife

Lstein said:


> The moment my pickup is spotted; the chorus starts, it varies between members but we get some nice baaa's, a few maaaa's, maybe a mhhmm, but it's mostly AHHHHHHHH!!1
> 
> It's funny watching them in the summer, when they are out in the pasture and they see my vehicle (I don't know how they figured out which one is mine, since there's at least 6 others that use that come down that road, but they start stampeding to the barn where they can proceed to shreek at me.
> 
> Do you keep sheep?


Hahahaha! They know how yours SOUNDS! Ours do that too and the dogs... not a peep but waggy tails when someone they know comes up the drive.... but if they dont know the sound they are mean dog barkin. Our goats start with the gentle noises for a min then it is all out they gonna die now right now.... all seven of them.


----------



## Lstein

Sfgwife said:


> Hahahaha! They know how yours SOUNDS! Ours do that too and the dogs... not a peep but waggy tails when someone they know comes up the drive.... but if they dont know the sound they are mean dog barkin. Our goats start with the gentle noises for a min then it is all out they gonna die now right now.... all seven of them.


Its pretty cute actually, back when we had ducks and let the chickens free range; they would also come running towards the house and surround the car. The ducks were call ducks (they were able to fly rather well) and they would fly along side the vehicle for a moment before passing it and landing on the deck.


----------



## elvis&oliver

Elvis & Oliver have a slide, some heavy duty dog toys attached to ropes to throw around and a large empty water bottle that goes on a water dispenser. It’s hanging from one of their fence posts to butt their head and throw around. They have an exercise ball and 2 soccer balls. Plus 2 hanging balls in their barn that they love to smack with their hooves and push with their heads.


Do you keep health or medical records and do you record all vaccinations, fecal samples. If you do , what do you recommend is the most important to record?


----------



## Lstein

elvis&oliver said:


> If you do , what do you recommend is the most important to record?


DATES!

Lol, there's been way more times than I care to admit that I missed a 2nd round of some shot/wormer/etc for the goats. I now have a reminder set up on the software I use, on my work calendar, and have an alert come up on my phone.

I like to keep track of everything involving the goats, even mundane, so I can look back for a reference.

Do you do your own fecals?


----------



## Goatzrule

No but I am learning

Have you checked your bucks semen under a microscope


----------



## Ranger1

Yes.

Do you have a goat mentor, or do you just rely on online information?


----------



## 21goaties

Ranger1 said:


> Yes.
> 
> Do you have a goat mentor, or do you just rely on online information?


No, I rely on online information (aka here and other sites ). 99% of the spoken info I have heard from people on goats has been wrong.

Do you prefer horned or polled/dehorned goats?


----------



## ETgoatygirl

21goaties said:


> No, I rely on online information (aka here and other sites ). 99% of the spoken info I have heard from people on goats has been wrong.
> 
> Do you prefer horned or polled/dehorned goats?


 Definitely disbudded/polled. Horns scare me 
What is your first memory of being around animals?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

ETgoatygirl said:


> What is your first memory of being around animals?


this one is pretty funny. I was pretty little, probably 2 or so and mom told me to go get eggs from the chicken coop. we normally would pick up some of our hens to get the eggs but the one i lifted up wasnt a hen, it was a rooster!! He got all puffed up and started pecking at me so i picked it up by the feet and brought in the house while it was hoopin and hollerin.I still got the eggs though 

do you like cats?


----------



## Ranger1

I enjoy the ones I have, but I could take them or leave them.

Do you have any allergies?


----------



## JearDOE Ranch

I've been allergic to food preservatives all my life but in the last several years have developed allergies to tomatoes, cedar, and yeast. Unfortunately, I like to cook with tomatoes a LOT.

What's your favorite goat chore?


----------



## Lstein

I actually like kidding season and all the chores involved with it.

I won't promise my answer will be the same after a few nights of hourly checks when that time gets here though and will probably deny saying that. 

How many does do you have that are expecting?


----------



## Goatzrule

About 4 but not all of them are bred yet. Have had a hard time telling when they are in heat
Do you have names for your kids picked out yet


----------



## Lstein

Only three of our 9 we are keeping have names so far. Our first set of twins last year both got nicknames right away because they were trouble making bozo's lol. Knees and Nubs.....lol. Nubs always wanted her head scratched and had nubs right away. With Knees....I really don't know how that happened, mostly by confusion I think. Because Nubs has brown knees while Knees doesn't....that's all I got :shrug: 

And then there's Patches because she has one white side and one brown side on her face, kind of like a patch.

Do you have a theme when naming?


----------



## NigerianDwarfOwner707

For boys, always names that rhyme if they are brothers, for girls, flowers theme!

Wethers, bucks, or does?!


----------



## Goatzrule

I prefer wethers and does over bucks.

If you were to get a rare breed of goat what would you get


----------



## groovyoldlady

None yet. But we'll be breeding 2 in the next 3 weeks or so for April/May babies.

If it's cold where you live: What do you use to keep your feet warm for chores?


----------



## Ranger1

Heavy socks, and steel toe Muck boots. They stay warm a long time-however, once that steel toe gets cold, it STAYS cold for a long time too. 

Do you like ice skating?


----------



## Goatzrule

I used to but havent in awhile so i wouldnt know
How do you keep water buckets warm during the winter?


----------



## Lstein

I caved and bought one of those steel tubs (that they keep chicks in at the store) but a shallow one, and put a stock tank heater in it. That's for my bucks.

The rest of the herd has a Ritchie automatic waterer. 

Why do you keep goats?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

Lstein said:


> Why do you keep goats?


To watch their funny antics, milk, a tax exemption, and because i have always loved goaties

Can goats see good? Are they color blind?


----------



## Goatzrule

Im pretty sure they are color blind. Probably like deer they cant see reds

What are your herd goals


----------



## JearDOE Ranch

100 goats, and we're almost halfway there at 42. Kidding season is going to be an exciting time for us.

What do you have for shelter for your buck(s)?


----------



## Goatzrule

We have a 3 1/2 sided shed and a barn if it gets too cold

What do you feed your goats


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

i feed whole oats and steamed barley free choice loose minerals and alfalfa and hay

what is your favorite thanksgiving dish?


----------



## Dwarf Dad

Oyster/cornbread dressing topped with that canned cranberry jelly stuff.


When leaves are gone off of forage, do you add some extra alfalfa pellets?


----------



## NigerianDwarfOwner707

Just good hay, and the occasional Timothy pellet as treats, but no alfalfa pellets, they seem to make them bloated if they eat too fast. 

Where do you live? Is it the same place as you keep your goats or are they separate?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

i live on a 27.9 acre ranch in tx. my goats live there with me along with many other critters:coolmoves:

how was your thanksgiving? ( sorry im asking so many thanksgiving questions but it is my favorite holiday!)


----------



## singinggoatgirl

My Thanksgiving was lovely, peaceful, and fairly quiet.

Which season do you prefer, summer or winter?


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

summer all the way...it is easier on me and the goats!
do you have back pains? how do you get rid of them?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Ugh. Yes! Lower back radiating down into my hip. One stretch that helps: I stretch by putting the bad side’s ankle on the opposite knee and gently holding the bad side’s knee down, then leaning forward a little into the stretch.
When it’s only lower back with no hip or leg involvement, I ask for a massage and I’m careful to lift things more ergonomically for a week. 

Do you have an emergency plan that’s appropriate for your location? For example, we have tornado season and have a plan in place for what to do to keep my family and critters safe, and are working on supplies to keep life going for at least a few days if the tornado destroys our area.


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

singinggoatgirl said:


> Ugh. Yes! Lower back radiating down into my hip. One stretch that helps: I stretch by putting the bad side's ankle on the opposite knee and gently holding the bad side's knee down, then leaning forward a little into the stretch.
> When it's only lower back with no hip or leg involvement, I ask for a massage and I'm careful to lift things more ergonomically for a week.


omg im having the same back pains too! Thats why i asked! ill have to try that stretch...

no, but i have a fire extinguisher in the barn and in the house

do you like to have one buck more than one or none!


----------



## singinggoatgirl

My wallet prefers one buck. The geneticist in me wants 20 that are all unrelated. Lol. 

That stretch only helps if it’s related to sciatic nerve pain. If it’s just your back, there are other stretches that help...

Do you store all the hay you need to winter or buy as you go?


----------



## NigerianDwarfOwner707

For 2 goats, we get about 7 bales at a time, so technically buy as we go but it we go through it pretty slowly. We always keep an extra reserve of hay thought that is there for emergencies or shortages but it isn't favorable for us to use. Although it is good hay, just not quite up to our goats usual standards!!!!!!!!

I'm actually just gonna recycle the hay question, because I'm curious to see what other people answer to this question.


----------



## bisonviewfarm

We try to buy & store everything we need for the winter. This year I added 2 more goats & we're going to run short bad thing when your area was in a drought and hay is impossible to find. And I will also recycle the question


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

i buy as i go... i buy 2 bales each because where we get hay they are always closed on sundays and that is when i seem to run out!
what is your favorite thing about goats


----------



## groovyoldlady

Oh my goodness - now that we are in our least stressful goat care time I love EVERYTHING about them. They always make me laugh. Well, no. Sometimes one or two make me angry and then one or two will make me laugh - and it depends on hormones as to who is doing which. But the crazy antics, the varying personalities. I am smitten!

Do you enjoy doing your own "vet" work for your goats? (I do!!)


----------



## Nigerian dwarf goat

yes! i love doing my own vet work! i do fecals, help assist a doe in kidding if she is having trouble, help disbud kids (the vet does that, but i do help) and alot more!

i would like to recycle that question


----------



## NigerianDwarfOwner707

I love doing vet work for our goats! A good vet that you trust is very hard to find, I often rely more on this forum, goat breeder friends, and my own instincts, to treat my goats when necessary. When something is out of my hands, of course, it is time to call the vet. As for overall health and management, I plan dewormings etc. all by myself without vet intervention, and when a health issue occurs I will often text or call a vet for advice but rarely do I need them to come in person, only for initial checkups, and once for a coughing issue which we wanted to be sure of was not pneumonia so we had the vet listen to lung sounds. I often disagree with the opinion of vets as I try to follow a holistic and herbal route before anything else... so when a vet meets me it is usually a bit of a shocker to hear that I deworm with herbs and refuse to give antibiotics unless completely necessary. That being said, I have not yet run my own fecals, but when I had a vet do them in the past they did not "care" for the samples in the necessary way, and they were extremely over counted when my goats clearly were not suffering from a strongyle infestation... my vet told me to use all kinds of dewormers, which I then researched to discover that they are ineffective. 

Just realized this has now become a mild rant, lol!!!!!!!! Now returning back to the question, yes, I enjoy doing my own vet work for my goats, I keep track of every ailment that occurs, and treatment for it. I have learned so much by treating them on my own!!!!!!!! 

I'd be interested to know what the scariest/worst/most time consuming/hardest to get rid of, issue was that you have ever had to deal with for a goat(s)?


----------



## NicoleV

Oh! Hardest to get rid of? I have a doe that broke her leg when she was a little kid. The joint ended up getting a bone infection, which spreads really fast in goats into all the other joints. The only way to get rid of it was to amputate her leg! So we have a three legged goat. And she gets around just fine on 3 legs. 

What was the biggest litter size a doe ever had? I heard of one having 5 before. Has anyone ever had 5 kids out of one doe?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

Sarcoptic Mites (mange) it’s horrible. We are finally getting my doe to mend.

Edited to add a recycled question: do you enjoy doing the vet work for your goats?


----------



## Ranger1

The most I’ve heard of is 6.
An old member, who is no longer active, had a doe or two have 5 kids in a single birth. 
Most I’ve had was 4, in our second year of kidding. We lost the last one, as we were so inexperienced that we didn’t realize she had another one in there until two days later. 

Do you use heat lamps on your goats/newborn kids in cold weather?


----------



## singinggoatgirl

The biggest litter I’ve heard of was 7 in a Nigerian dwarf.
I’ve only had twins born here, but only 2 kidding seasons.


----------



## Ranger1

@singinggoatgirl LOL, it looks like we are posting overtop of each other!

Yes, I do. I used to want to be a vet, but abandoned that dream for various reasons. However, I still really love working in the vet field!


----------



## Chloe1233

NicoleV said:


> Oh! Hardest to get rid of? I have a doe that broke her leg when she was a little kid. The joint ended up getting a bone infection, which spreads really fast in goats into all the other joints. The only way to get rid of it was to amputate her leg! So we have a three legged goat. And she gets around just fine on 3 legs.
> 
> What was the biggest litter size a doe ever had? I heard of one having 5 before. Has anyone ever had 5 kids out of one doe?


I've got two doelings out of a set of five and I think the doe was a first freshener too


----------



## Ranger1

Do you use heat lamps on your goats/newborn kids in cold weather?


----------



## Chloe1233

Ranger1 said:


> Do you use heat lamps on your goats/newborn kids in cold weather?


I have one out in my bucks' treehouse. It was for my bottle bucklings but now I also use it as a night light

What's the weirdest place one of your goats has ever got stuck?


----------



## NicoleV

Chloe1233 said:


> I have one out in my bucks' treehouse. It was for my bottle bucklings but now I also use it as a night light
> 
> What's the weirdest place one of your goats has ever got stuck?


The weirdest place! Ha ha! I had a Nigerian dwarf doeling get her body stuck in between the bars that hold hay in a horse feeder. I tried pulling her out but her hips were too wide and her ribs were also too wide. She must have slipped through somehow though and had her waist stuck. I had to get the saw out that can cut through metal and sawed away at one of the bars because that's all I had at the time! The sawing sound was freaking her out, but I eventually cut through and released her.

Lol! Thanks for reminding me of that incidence, it's funny now that it's years later but at the time it wasn't that funny if you know what I mean. 

How old was your oldest goat before they finally passed away?


----------



## Dwarf Dad

Chloe1233 said:


> I have one out in my bucks' treehouse. It was for my bottle bucklings but now I also use it as a night light


This is not in the context of the thread. Where are pictures of the tree house?


----------



## Chloe1233

Dwarf Dad said:


> This is not in the context of the thread. Where are pictures of the tree house?










Here's a side view of it. It has a Porch and awning and is in the middle of two Granny Smith apple trees. It used to have electricity in it and there's a tiny window inside


----------



## Dwarf Dad

Chloe1233 said:


> View attachment 140047
> Here's a side view of it. It has a Porch and awning and is in the middle of two Granny Smith apple trees. It used to have electricity in it and there's a tiny window inside


Love it!


----------



## GoofyGoat

That's a great tree house 

My question is twofold: do you use baby wipes before milking and for after, do you make your own teet dip and how do you make it?


----------



## spidy1

a ? I would realy like to know... 


NicoleV said:


> How old was your oldest goat before they finally passed away?


I have never had one pass of age... but would like to recycle the ?


----------



## goathiker

My Saanen wether, Jeter passed at age 15.

If the electricity all went off forever, would you know how to survive?


----------



## GoofyGoat

I'm so sorry about Jeter. It's hard to loose someone you've had so long. My heat goes out to you.

Yes, mostly.. but it would be a real pain adjusting to the extra manual work and making due without.
My question is, how did you come to own/adopt your first goat?


----------



## Damfino

GoofyGoat said:


> My question is, how did you come to own/adopt your first goat?


This is a long story, but I love telling it. 

I dragged my husband Phil to the Allegany County Fair in western NY state because I wanted to see the demolition derby. He reluctantly humored me and it ended up being one of the best times of our lives. We stopped through the 4-H animal barns and met our first goat. She was straining to reach the blue ribbon she'd won at the fair but couldn't quite get it. We watched fascinated as she finally managed to curl the tip of her tongue around the bottom of that ribbon and yank it down. She devoured it on the spot and Phil and I were in stitches. Phil turned to me and said, "You know, I'm not much into farm animals but goats are funny! I could get into goats."

I had horses all my life and my mare was due to foal in 2002. We had no companion for the baby so we started looking for a goat. They were all too expensive for our budget at the time. The cheapest was $150 and she wasn't that pretty. Then there was Mr. "Free to good home." We decided to pass. We were kind of giving up on the whole goat idea when serendipity hit us. We'd celebrated our 3rd anniversary at Six Flags Darien Lake and were passing through some lovely farm country near Varysburg, NY when a flash of color caught my eye. It was a baby goat--and what a goat! I'd never seen such colors! I almost got us into a wreck as I slammed the brakes and swung an illegal U-turn across traffic into the farmyard. It took me half an hour to find the farmer tending a cow at the back of the last cavernous barn. I asked him if the baby goat was for sale and for how much.

$25. My jaw dropped. We could afford that price! And it included vaccination and banding. I came back a week later with little "Cuzco" in my arms.














We had more adventures with that goat over his 15 years than I can ever recount. He grew into a magnificent 200 lb. beauty that turned heads wherever he went (and he went a LOT of places!). He inspired us to eventually buy some girls and start breeding our own Alpine/Nubian crosses. Cuzco passed away in April 2017 at the ripe old age of 15. One of my proudest moments was at the 2015 NAPgA Rendezvous when John Mionczynski, "Father of goat packing", fixed the then 13-year-old Cuzco in his long gaze and said, "_That_ is a very fine animal."

My question: What is your best Christmas memory involving goats?


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## singinggoatgirl

My Christmas memory involving goats is thus: Snickers decided to go into labor right when my young children woke up Christmas morning. I delayed all gift opening to check on her, decided she was in the early stages of labor and we had plenty of time, and we sped through all the present opening. When I ran out again to check on her, she had 2 dry, energetic bucklings on the ground already. She never made a peep. All I had to do was teach her how to feed them. It was quite the Christmas day!

I want to recycle the question.


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## Lstein

I don't have anything that is specifically goat and Christmas related....other than they usually get extra treats and food. So far it's an uneventful time of year in regards to our goat herd. 

When do you start kidding?


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## Goat_Scout

My first doe for 2019 (bred before I got her) kidded on January 11th with twin bucklings.
The first doe that was bred on my farm is due February 9th.

Are you hoping for bucklings or doelings this year? And will you be keeping any doelings?


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## lhorning

We are having a very late kidding season, and almost wasn't going to have one at all. We are preparing for a cross-country move, and didn't want to have extremely pregnant goats or kids to move, so we held off until the last minute to breed anyone. 

How do you decide what to name your kids?


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## lhorning

You beat me to the punch, lol. 

All doelings and yes, haha. And I'll stick with my above question.


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## Damfino

Bucklings! Bucklings, Bucklings, Bucklings!!! Last year I had people beating down my door for packgoat prospects and I got nearly all does (7 out of 9). Hoping for a much higher male count this year! I do not plan to keep any more does (I already kept way too many from 2018). 

Do you usually milk some does through each year so you can have year-round milk?


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## Damfino

And, lhorning, _you_ beat _me_ to the punch!


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## Lstein

lhorning said:


> How do you decide what to name your kids?


Usually we have a theme, but I have heard so many fun names that right now we just have a list and have been matching up whoever it fits best.

We have a lot of old lady names (sorry if you have one, my wife is one of them (Dorothy)) and food....lol. Also just "baby talk" names that probably won't make sense to anyone else, like Knees and Nubs.

Do you think you will keep any of the kids this year?


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## Goat_Scout

I am hoping to keep at least 2 doelings from my 3 registered Nubian does. And maybe a Kiko doeling as well. 

Using Damfino's question:
Do you usually milk some does through each year so you can have year-round milk?


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## lhorning

I'm so glad you answered @Damfino it makes me excited to hear that you have a niche market for bucklings! I hope pack goats will continue to catch on!


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## NicoleV

For the last 2 winters we've kept a doe milking through the winter. This year we didn't, and I just dried off my one milker and I already miss milking time and the fresh milk! I haven't had to buy milk in years lol! Ugh!

What kind of fencing do you have for your goats and what is its weakest link/did your goats ever escape?


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707

NicoleV said:


> For the last 2 winters we've kept a doe milking through the winter. This year we didn't, and I just dried off my one milker and I already miss milking time and the fresh milk! I haven't had to buy milk in years lol! Ugh!
> 
> What kind of fencing do you have for your goats and what is its weakest link/did your goats ever escape?


We use 5ft welded wire fencing. Goats have never escaped, although groundhogs often dig under it, and I don't love the give that it has when the goats rub against it... seems like it could just bend and fall over!!!! Has done well for now... for dwarf goats that is!!!!

I actually have 2 questions! 
What is your favorite supplement for goats?
What brand of minerals do you feed?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

Favorite supplement: Replamin Plus Gel
Favorite Mineral: Purina Wind and Rain

Do your cats like to cuddle? 
Mine is cuddling right now.


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## SonRise Acres

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> Do your cats like to cuddle?
> Mine is cuddling right now.


With my two kids! Cats have loved me the most all of my life ... until my kids were born. They are the cat whisperers. We have a cat from a friend no one could touch. She hated everyone, until the day she met my boys. She came up to them, they picked her up, she purred like crazy, she's now ours.

Question: what is the craziest thing you've done with a goat?

We took a bottle baby to a re-enactment on a leash and took one bottle baby camping in a cabin with us.


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## Chloe1233

TandK said:


> With my two kids! Cats have loved me the most all of my life ... until my kids were born. They are the cat whisperers. We have a cat from a friend no one could touch. She hated everyone, until the day she met my boys. She came up to them, they picked her up, she purred like crazy, she's now ours.
> 
> Question: what is the craziest thing you've done with a goat?
> 
> We took a bottle baby to a re-enactment on a leash and took one bottle baby camping in a cabin with us.


I put my buck in a dog pageant

What is your absolute limit on number of goats?


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## Chloe1233

TandK said:


> With my two kids! Cats have loved me the most all of my life ... until my kids were born. They are the cat whisperers. We have a cat from a friend no one could touch. She hated everyone, until the day she met my boys. She came up to them, they picked her up, she purred like crazy, she's now ours.
> 
> Question: what is the craziest thing you've done with a goat?
> 
> We took a bottle baby to a re-enactment on a leash and took one bottle baby camping in a cabin with us.


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## elvis&oliver

:up:Love that how cute!! 
My limit is 2 because that’s what I promised my hubs the limit would be. 

Since I’m a fiber goat mama,

Has anyone owned a fiber goat and used the coat for your own spinning, sold the fiber or bought it already spun to knit anything?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

No I haven't, but I went to an ag safety day and they had a part about angora goats, and she spun it using a little "foot pump thingy" I was fascinated! 

who is your herd queen ?


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## Lstein

TandK said:


> Question: what is the craziest thing you've done with a goat?


When I was just old enough to drive, my sister and I drove about an hour away to pick up three fainting goats.....with a Honda. Two of them stood on the back seat and one laid on the floorboards in the passenger seat. Very dumb.


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## Damfino

Oh, that's nothin'! What's the craziest thing I've done with a goat? Strap on your seatbelts, because it's a long one!

When our first goat, Cuzco, was about 8 months old, my husband and I took him with us on a weeklong road trip from western NY to MA and VT in January--in our Buick! There was a nasty blizzard all over the northeast, so we had some loooonngg days of driving through 8" or more of snow on the highways. There were wrecked cars on every side. We ended up having to buy a bag of diapers because our goat wouldn't stop peeing in the back seat. I had a bale of hay for him in the trunk next to our suitcases. Other than peeing he was mostly a good boy. He tried twice to climb over the front bench seat and when I swatted his nose to make him go back, his head flew up and his sharp little horns ripped holes in our headliner.

We showed up at my in-laws' house late at night and unexpectedly. We were supposed to go to my brother's house, but the snowstorm was so bad we barely made it over the Berkshires, and we were exhausted from over 10 hours of driving only 30 mph in blinding, constant snow. We couldn't go another hour to my brother's house so we stopped at my in-law's for a surprise visit (this was in the days before cell phones). And boy where they surprised! My father-in-law stepped out of the house to see who was in the drive, and when he saw the goat climbing out the back door he ran back in the house yelling, "The goat! The goat! They brought the goat!"

I left Cuzco by the front bumper of our car for a few minutes while we took our bags into the house, and my father-in-law decided it would be a great idea to introduce the dog to our goat. So he just opens the back door and lets the dog out before I have a chance to say anything. I hear barking all the way around the house and then a sudden screaming "YELP!" and the dog comes racing straight back in. I rushed out to check on Cuzco and he was standing there with his hair on end. The chain link gate he had been standing near was yanked off its hinges and thrown over the hood of our car. I guess he'd tried to horn the dog through the gate and picked it right up and tossed it. We bedded Cuzco down in the woodshed that night, but the dog would not venture outside again even to pee without a person to accompany him. For years, if my father-in-law made a "baaa" sound that dog would tuck his tail and run from the room.

We traveled to Vermont a few days later to visit my husband's grandmother, aunt and uncle. They were not expecting a goat either so it was quite a hilarious surprise for them. Temperatures were around -20* at night, so Phil and I built an igloo for Cuzco to sleep in. Phil's Uncle Steve adorned it with flags from a car rally. We had fun walking Cuzco around Stowe during the day. 














On our way back home we stopped at K-Mart to buy new windshield wipers and I left Cuzco tied to our Buick while we went in. As we came out there was a crowd of people gathered near the door looking confused. I heard Cuzco baa-ing and realized he'd gotten loose and had trotted up to the store to look for us. It was a good thing it was an old K-Mart without automatic sliding doors or he absolutely _would_ have been in that store!

We stopped to eat at a shopping mall and this time we tied Cuzco to a lamp post next to our Buick, far out in the parking lot away from any bustle or other vehicles. I put hay and water out for him and he had his little blanket on, so he by no means looked abandoned. Well, when we came out there were flashing lights near our car so we raced across the parking lot to see what was up. Mall security had been called and they had called animal control and were wondering what to do with this goat. I explained that he was not abandoned--he was ours, but he simply couldn't be left unattended inside the vehicle and was quite happy with his pile of hay and bowl of water for half an hour while we ate lunch. Security seemed very relieved that they did not have to figure out what to do with an abandoned goat.

Now we're older and can afford a bona fide truck and trailer, so hauling goats on road trips is much less eventful. I'm ok with that, but I kind of miss the odd looks we got at the toll booths when we drove through with a goat in the back seat. (That was also back when toll booths were still manned and you used this thing called cash.)


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## Korita

@Damfino (rofl) I was laughing so hard reading this that my kids are looking at me like I'm nuts. I think it's even more amusing to me because that is something I would certainly do! My first goats got hauled home in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. My new buckling road passenger seat in a tote in a the good vehicle. I've hauled so many animals inside my vehicles. And a road trip with a goat.... I wouldn't even blink if that's what was needed. Thanks for sharing your story!


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## Korita

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> who is your herd queen ?


I don't have one right now. My herd queen, Nelli, crossed the rainbow bridge after a dog attack in August. Watching my herd, they're still just that, a herd. No one has seemed to replace Nelli's spot as head honcho.

This was my Nelli Belly. 









How did you get started in goats?


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## Damfino

The funny thing is that it wasn't needed at all. We just wanted our goat along for company. We didn't have a tote or seat protectors or anything, so our dear '88 Buick Century was never quite the same after that trip. On the other hand, it held up remarkably well, considering. As Cuzco grew, we taught him to lie down as soon as he got in, so that helped with the pottying problem. He loved riding in that car right up to the time I gutted it for the demolition derby in 2011. He was scandalized when he saw his favorite seat lying in the driveway and the once-plush interior stripped to the bare metal. The poor goat stood there baa-ing mournfully and giving me a devastated look. He loved that car.


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## Damfino

Korita said:


> I don't have one right now. My herd queen, Nelli, crossed the rainbow bridge after a dog attack in August. Watching my herd, they're still just that, a herd. No one has seemed to replace Nelli's spot as head honcho.
> 
> This was my Nelli Belly.


Aw, I'm sorry about Nelli.


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## Trollmor

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> ... and she spun it using a little "foot pump thingy" I was fascinated!


Could it have been a spinning wheel?


Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> who is your herd queen ?


 This seems to be the lates question asked. Mine are not among us any longer, but one of my best flock queens was Hei∂rún, named after the fairy tale goat of Valhall.


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## Korita

I can just see a sad goat moarning the loss of his car ha ha

Thank you. It was certainly a terrible day. It all happened so fast and I looked her over and there was no coming out of it. She was so torn up and rasping with blood. My husband was almost an hour away at work that day. I couldn’t be the one to put her down. I held her in my arms, talking to her and petting her until my neighbor (bless his soul) hurried over and put her down for me. My friends (all townies but so so amazing) all came out and helped dig a 6’ deep hole in my pasture by hand because we don’t have a tractor yet and we buried her late at night by headlight on a week night. They all even said sweet things and memories they had of Nelli and sprinkled some peanuts (her favorite treat) by her. 

It broke my heart so much and even more watching her daughters (2 twins that were by her side when I got her and 1 of her twins from last year) look for her. I could tell they were moarning her too. 

We plan to plant a tree on her burial sight in rememberance of her and put a bench around it so I can sit with my other goats there. I thought it would be fitting and be a great way to remember my sweet girl and provide some more shade in the future for my other goats. She was my first goat and really was the herd queen and protector.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

Trollmor said:


> Could it have been a spinning wheel?


Im so ignorant in this concept. I have no idea.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

@Damfino we need a question. Its ok, i forgot it a few times too


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## Korita

Sorry. I got @Damfino off topic and talking



Korita said:


> How did you get started in goats?


I posted the last question


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## goathiker

The last question is 
How did you get started in goats?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

I just wanted milk that wouldn't giv me such a belly ach like cows milk, I Needed to have an ag exemption, I wanted to watch their silly antics, and I had them when I was a kid, so I figured why not bring the memory back?

I would like to recycle the question
How did you get started in goats?


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## singinggoatgirl

A bunch of old, wrinkled, patient Navajo women taught me how they care for goats/sheep, and I got hooked.

I want to recycle the question.


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## Mmhyronimus

Chloe1233 said:


> I put my buck in a dog pageant
> 
> What is your absolute limit on number of goats?


Currently is 80. But that is only until I can get new buildings built. We have reached maximum capacity with our buildings.

What is your thoughts on confinement style animal raising?


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## Trollmor

It earns my wrath! And it could not possibly produce food of really good quality.

And I, too, recycle that very good question:
What are your thoughts on confinement style animal raising?


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## 21goaties

I don't like it, it makes me sad. I wish they would change it so they could live more naturally (pigs, cows, and chickens are the top 3 I'm thinking of, but there are others like rabbits, sheep, etc). However I don't think that is likely to happen. 

I'll recycle the question too. 
What are your thoughts on confinement style animal raising?


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## Trollmor

OK, I add another answer to that same question, then: I try my best to live myself on food that is produced under good conditions, preferably self produced! And urging my friends to think of doing the same.

I think we need a rest from the heavy topic:
What are you doing when not being with your goats?


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## ILoveMyNubians

I am usually at school or doing house chores, but every moment that I can, I want to be with them. So basically the only time I'm away from them is when I have chores, housework, or school.

What is your pen set-up like?


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## Damfino

"What are you doing when not being with your goats?"










Same question...


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## Mmhyronimus

When I'm not with my goats, in either at work (night janitor at the school), cleaning my house (which is still a mess), or trying to unpack from when we moved in Aug/Sept.

My pens:
First is my boys pen. They have a little shack and a small run. Only the 2 bucks in there so they dont need a lot of room.









Then is my big herd pen. This has about 38 in there right now. Plus 2 pigs. And during the day, my sheep that is sleeps and eats in his pen in the barn. There are 2 pictures since it is a big pen. They get the bigger white shed in the picture.
















Then in the barn I have a holding pen for my older doe kids. Ones that are between 6mo and a year. They have a big space there. I sell bucklings so I dont really have an area for them once they are that age.









Then I have my nursery area on the other side of the barn. The 2 pens under the overhang area in the back of this first photo are where I have wean pens. 1 for bucklings and 1 for doelings. Midnite (my sheep) has his own pen on this side of the barn, and I have 2 sick pens there also. I have a bunch empty currently since I just weaned and some are holding supplies since I took these last night while we were putting up insulated walls. We have 12 pens set up for kidding, but I have the fencing to make 4 more, just not the room currently. We need to finish with the insulating before kidding starts this next weekend!
















I'm going to reuse the question- I want to see more pens!


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## Suzanne_Tyler

I have a buck pen with small shelter, doe pen with somewhat large but single-room barn (it's an old tobacco barn), and a small kid pen with small shelter that connects to the doe pen. 

Have you ever taught a goat any tricks? If so, what were they?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

I wish lol!

Favorite dog breed?


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## bisonviewfarm

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> I wish lol!
> 
> Favorite dog breed?


Labrador retriever love mine though I'm also a pretty big fan of my corgis. 
Same question


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## healthyishappy

OOH! Definitely border collie or corgi... they can run all day! 

Hmmm...... favorite wormer


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## Iluvlilly!

healthyishappy said:


> Hmmm...... favorite wormer


Definitely:








Favorite breed of goat?


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Alpines  

Fave mineral supplement?


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## healthyishappy

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Alpines
> 
> Fave mineral supplement?


Me too!

Replamin. Works wonders!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

@bisonviewfarm same!!! I have 2 black labs (or blabs as I like to call my pups) and dauchound... Love my weenie dog, but blabs are the way to go! I also love veeshlas I had one named Rosie, but we lost her 3 years ago to a blood clot in her legs and she could no longer stand.

I guess I will answer the supplement one and give a question: 
Copper bolus!! Love them so so much!!!

Who is your best Milker and why?


----------



## bisonviewfarm

Labs are awesome I missed having them super happy I brought these 2 home. Also a fan of daschunds I don't own one but I love my mom's old girl.
My lamancha/alpine girl. She's patient on the stand and her teats are placed well and a nice size. I can't wait to see what she milks this year her mom was milking 2 gallons a day.
And same question


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## Suzanne_Tyler

Next question: how do you get your does to behave on the stand?


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## Nigerian dwarf goat

Morning Star Farm said:


> How many breeds do you raise, and if one is standard size and one small, how do you manage that?


All of my goats have a nigerian influence, in them whether they are mixed, or full bred. I have 4 full bred, 1 mini alpine buck, 3 50% nigerian/nubian mixes and 1 75% nubian

Im gonna use my old question...
Who is your best milker and why


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## healthyishappy

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> All of my goats have a nigerian influence, in them whether they are mixed, or full bred. I have 4 full bred, 1 mini alpine buck, 3 50% nigerian/nubian mixes and 1 75% nubian
> 
> Im gonna use my old question...
> Who is your best milker and why


Wish I had a best milker. LOL!


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