# newbie in kentucky



## mrgoat (Nov 30, 2012)

hey guys.I don't know if this is the rite place for this post but I am new to goats and was wondering if there is anyone located around henry county kentucky that would be willing to teach me somthing. i would be willing to help out with some work in exchange. I'm 31 year old married with the best daughter anyone could ask for. I am a farrier and horse trainer by trade. I'm looking to get into more of the meat goats than show goats. thanx ya'll.

jeremy


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## NigerianGirl (Jan 30, 2011)

Welcome  from Arkansas


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## mrgoat (Nov 30, 2012)

thank ya!


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## JenVise (Dec 7, 2012)

You are about 2 hours from me


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

WElcome from Indiana.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

:welcome:


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

And welcome from the Pac NW!


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## carolyncerutti (Jan 21, 2012)

I'm in MO but what are you wanting to know? Email me & I will tell you some websites that have really good info to get you started.
[email protected]


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## mrgoat (Nov 30, 2012)

thanx all i read just about everything i can get my hands on. I am looking to get some hands on experiance. and just to get around and see some folks operations so i can get an idea of thing i may need or don't need. LOL!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Welcome, glad you are here


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Welcome! I think your probaby about an hour away from us! We are located in Woodford county, so it's nice to meet another forum member from KY! 

We just have a small backyard herd, we got goats for our kids and they've been a huge part of our lives  We breed them so our kids can have goats to show in 4-H, and to sell so it helps pay for their upkeep. 

IMO it's better to start small and hands on is definitely the best way to go. I've done a lot of reading but nothing can compare to hands on. 
The biggest issue I've found in our neck of the woods is parasites. So if you know anyone in your area with goats I'd check and see what kind of worms they've had to worm for so you get an idea of what you may have to deal with.
For us we have 2 culprits, one is similar to a strongyle, can't remember what it's called, and round worms. 

I know there are several big breeders in the state, I'll have to see if I can find a list of some of them. I know there are some clinics held off and on through the year as well. 
I know there is also a group in northern KY, again I'll look them up.

I'll post more later  Again welcome!


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## mrgoat (Nov 30, 2012)

thats awsome hoosiershadow. i have a ten year old daughter that i would like to get into 4-h. the parasites i have heard alot about. and i hear 10 times more horror stories on these boer's than good ones. i have looking at the kiko or spanish breeds because of the easy maintenance. i have looked up the breeders and there r a few close to me. i really like this sight and will be looking forward to reading more.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

That's great, if your daughter wants to join 4-H now is the time to do it. That away she can start attending meetings, meet some of the other kids, and if there are goat people in your county, you could both learn from them. 

We don't have expensive show quality goats, our does are really 'muttbreds' haha, but we try to breed them to decent fullblood/registered boer bucks, and the result has been, they've had goat kids that have done well in the summer fairs.
Here in KY, there are a few different choices for showing in meat goats. Market wether/Market doe, some fairs have commercial doe classes, then the percentage doe, and fullblood doe classes. Bucks are not a part of 4-H.
Your daughter would have to attend at least 6 meetings or 6 hours of meetings. Our county holds 2 meetings a month so kids have a chance to get all their time in. I think that deadline is by early June.
So if she decides to show and you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask your local 4-H leader/ag agent, or you can ask me, I don't mind.

I think if you can do your own fecals, or just get an idea of what you might be dealing with in your area, then you can go on a regular worming schedule. Most people I know worm every 3 months and usually alternate wormers.
For us, I like using Equimax, it's pretty good stuff. Dosage for those are different for goats than horses though, so make sure you get correct dosages.

Kiko's are really good goats. We have a kiko/cross doe that we absolutely love, she's a big part of our family, just love her so much  She's due on Friday, and we're all on pins and needles waiting! 

If it were me, I'd probably just start off with a few goats, maybe 3-5 does at most. I know some people that got into goats, started out with more than 20 and have had one problem after another, and had recently downsized because they didn't know what they were doing.

Good thing is, you are a horse person, you can use a lot of your knowledge from horses on goats  

What kind of horses do you train? My husband works with horses too, he works on a farm over in Versailles. He's been working with horses for about 16 years now maybe more. I worked with them for a while, but had to give it up when I had my 2nd child, just couldn't do the 6 days/48 hours a week anymore. Instead, I do some photography work at Keeneland during the races & sales, Fasig Tipton, and the Rolex Three Day Event at the horse park. I love it, and gets me around the horses again 

Again, like I said check in on 4-H, because there might be families in your county involved in 4-H that would be willing to help you and your family learn about goats.


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## mrgoat (Nov 30, 2012)

great post! i work mostly with gaited breeds but i like all breeds. we used to have drafts. sounds like u have it made with the picture taking!
As far as 4-h goes i will be looking into it. i was never involved in 4-h as a kid so kinda clueless. i think your rite about only getting a few. i have one fb boer buck and a alpine wether rite now(pet).i have wormed both of them with ivomec plus. wish i could have a full time job at a farm but i need to be home for my daughter when she gets off the bus. still tryin to get my barn together. u know how that goes! thanx for the info. i appreciate it!


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

HIdihoo from MN! Good luck in your search!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

mrgoat said:


> great post! i work mostly with gaited breeds but i like all breeds. we used to have drafts. sounds like u have it made with the picture taking!
> As far as 4-h goes i will be looking into it. i was never involved in 4-h as a kid so kinda clueless. i think your rite about only getting a few. i have one fb boer buck and a alpine wether rite now(pet).i have wormed both of them with ivomec plus. wish i could have a full time job at a farm but i need to be home for my daughter when she gets off the bus. still tryin to get my barn together. u know how that goes! thanx for the info. i appreciate it!


Same here, I was very clueless when I looked into 4-H for my kids. I'd definitely get some information about your county livestock club or if they have a club specifically for goats. There are other things she can get into as well that she might enjoy. A lot of the kids in our state do the Country Ham project. My son will most likely do one next year.

I understand about kids and barns too. We had to install fence, and build our barn. If you go on the barnyard section of this forum you'll see the barn we built. Nothing fancy, but we used pallets and saved us a ton of $$ since pallets are free, but also it's very sturdy too. I use pallets for everything lol 
I have an older topic, building a mini goat barn <mini...ha!>, then the new one goat barn updates. As our little herd of keepers grows...so does the barn lol

I hope you enjoy getting into goats, I'm sure you and your daughter will love it. IMO, biggest thing is making sure they have good grass/browse, loose mineral, that you make sure their feet stay healthy and worm when needed, and hopefully you won't have any problems.
Seems most people I know in this area have issues with goat lice <species specific>, so dusting them with a permectrin based dust, or something similar about once a month is a good idea. Or, what we're going to try is called Cylence, put it down the back on the skin and I've heard great things about it, I can't wait to get all our goats treated, just waiting for the last 2 does to kid.

Oh, and giving selenium e supplement such as Bo-Se or selenium e gel as our area is very deficient in selenium. Bo-Se is vet Rx, but selenium e gel you can get at jeffers.com and it's given orally and not a Rx. 
Neither one is expensive.
The only vaccination we use is cd/t, it's like $5-6.00 at most of the farm stores.
The only medications IMO that you definitely should keep on hand at first is penG <penicillin>, some syringes and needles, because you never know when you'll need it.
LA200 is really good stuff too, we also always keep that on hand.
B1 Thiamine <vet Rx> is another really good one to keep on hand to help with any stomach issues. 
Probios.

Otherwise everything else you'll collect with time.

Don't buy goats from auctions around here IMO unless you check them over thoroughly for bad feet, CL, and scars in locations for CL. You definitely don't want any diseases like that on your property.
I've been to the auction in Lexington a few times, we've sold some bucklings there in the past, and some of the goats I saw were VERY NICE, then there were some really sick looking ones too. 
I remember one time we took a buckling and there was an entire boer herd there. Huge, really nice buck, the does were all nice just skinny from nursing kids. Then they had all the kids in two pens divided by bucks and does. They sold those kids as a 'lot' and I know they didn't sell for too much! If I had the $$ and a place to quarantine them, I would have tried to buy a couple of those baby does off of the people that bought them...nice goats.


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## JenVise (Dec 7, 2012)

I'm in Fleming Co. Ky and my daughter showed goats last year for the first time with 4 H. It is an OUTSTANDING program and we all learned so much. She did really well in most shows and ended up with Reserve Champion for our fall show and sell. My son is getting involved in the novice category this year and he is so excited. I think it's hilarious that my daughter only asked for show and goat things this year for Christmas. We are in the heart of kidding season right now...and I'm usually excited to see what we end up with. This year the most exciting thing is watching the kids and seeing their excitement when they are trying to figure out what ones of these babies are going to be their show goats. 

Our classes here for 4 H start tomorrow. Last year we didn't have a clue what to do or expect! It really is something that you learn as you go, and by watching and talking to other people with more experience in show. I am blessed to live in a community where even though there is an element of competition, everyone is so supportive and congratulatory to each other. 

Good luck!!!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

JenVise said:


> I'm in Fleming Co. Ky and my daughter showed goats last year for the first time with 4 H. It is an OUTSTANDING program and we all learned so much. She did really well in most shows and ended up with Reserve Champion for our fall show and sell. My son is getting involved in the novice category this year and he is so excited. I think it's hilarious that my daughter only asked for show and goat things this year for Christmas. We are in the heart of kidding season right now...and I'm usually excited to see what we end up with. This year the most exciting thing is watching the kids and seeing their excitement when they are trying to figure out what ones of these babies are going to be their show goats.
> 
> Our classes here for 4 H start tomorrow. Last year we didn't have a clue what to do or expect! It really is something that you learn as you go, and by watching and talking to other people with more experience in show. I am blessed to live in a community where even though there is an element of competition, everyone is so supportive and congratulatory to each other.
> 
> Good luck!!!


Your not far from us either  Did your daughter go to the Bourbon co show? That's as far north as we went other than Owen co. 
I agree with everything you said 110%. So many nice goat people at the shows  You always learn a little something at each show too IMO.

My kids are also excited about seeing who they will show. We don't have very many pregnant does, or show quality animals, but they've had so much fun with them and their goats have placed well.
We kept some of the 4-H does from last year, and my kids want to try and show them again this year. They can show does up to 24mo. as breeding goat projects


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## JenVise (Dec 7, 2012)

We didn't make it to Bourbon Co. this year, because I couldn't get off work...but we plan on it this year! We are doing the market class this year, again... The Doe that Bekah used last year is not unexpectedly expecting  so we won't be using her again lol. We did go to the district show in Winchester back in May. That was the biggest learning experience we had. I'm excited! Maybe we will see each other at a show or two!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

JenVise said:


> We didn't make it to Bourbon Co. this year, because I couldn't get off work...but we plan on it this year! We are doing the market class this year, again... The Doe that Bekah used last year is not unexpectedly expecting  so we won't be using her again lol. We did go to the district show in Winchester back in May. That was the biggest learning experience we had. I'm excited! Maybe we will see each other at a show or two!


That would be great!  
The Clark co. district show this year is May 25th <Saturday>, they handed out a flyer at the last 4-H livestock club meeting.
I need to get more information about it as it just had dates for the shows. We've never been to a district show, so I'm not sure if it's just wethers/commercial does or if they also have percentage/fullblood doe classes as well.

We still have 2 does left to kid.
They are planning to show their 75% does that they showed last year.
My son's fullblood lost her babies 3 weeks prematurely  So we bought a baby to graft onto her, and he'll be my son's wether 
He also has a 3 day old 75% doe he is excited about and wants to show.

We're just waiting so that our daughter can each pick out a baby for their projects. My youngest daughter is 6, so she has to show a market project in the novice class.

They aren't big show quality goats, but they've held their own and the kids have had fun with them, so for me that's all that matters. I do know there are some families that are BIG into breeding and showing, but I just can't get into it like that. We're too attached to our mutt bred does to part with them lol

My daughter wanted to show her fullblood doe, but we 'think' she might possibly be bred for late April. So we'll see. I'm kind of hoping and praying she is now that the thought has sunken in. Then she could possibly show her offspring in the younger fullblood classes


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## JenVise (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks for the info!! I wasn't sure when it was and I have to request off of work. So I will be putting that in tomorrow! I just had to pull a HUGE buckling about an hour ago...guess that leaves me with 5 left to kid.. I only have 6 100% boer does right now but I have others that are percentages. The one I delivered tonight is ND and I have another ND/pygmy cross that should go tonight or tomorrow... I LOVE this time of year!! Good luck with your babies. (so sorry for the loss of your son's babies!)


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