# Completely in over my head. Help?



## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

Hello. I am completely new to goats, and with my job just inherited a (semi) feral herd of about 60 goats of an unknown ( to me) breed. The absentee owner of the farm said he will occasionally harvest one for his freezer, but I figure they can be much more beneficial than that. You cannot approach, touch, handle these goats AT ALL. They will, however, follow my gator as I dump a bag of corn in their field.
So, my basic question, where do I start? My concerns:
There has been zero vet care. There will be zero vet care, unless I am willing to pay for it. I get a very small salary, as my home and utilities are provided as part of my pay. Vet care will need to be kept to a minimum, but again, I want a healthy herd.

Since they can't be caught/handled, how do I stop the inbreeding, and prevent it in the future? 

I want to start a "responsible" breeding program, but I am unsure what I need to get started.

I will post pictures of them eventually, and perhaps someone can tell me their breed.

Enough for now. Any help greatly appreciated.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Welcome to TGS! You have quite a daunting task. I'm not even sure where to start with advice. If you could separate males and females, you could stop the inbreeding. Unfortunately when it isn't your herd, it makes it hard.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

See if you can harvest the bucks and buy a new buck you know is unrelated.

Are you thinking meat or eventually dairy?

Post a pic and we can guess breeds for you


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I'd probably harvest the least thrifty in the herd as well.

Collect feces from multiple herd members for a group sample. 

Don't feed corn, get a goat feed. 

Put out some loose mineral stations


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

First you need to get a way to get your hands on them. It will make life so much more easy this way. Start calling them when you feed them. Any call will do. Mine is a simple come on girls! Eventually they will put that and food together and come to you. Food is the best tool! You can make a smaller pen, I’m assuming they are in a big pasture, but make a smaller pen and start feeding them in there. You don’t have to lock them up or mess with them in any way at first just let them see it’s a safe spot they can go into. If ones don’t go in at first that’s fine ignore them and go on with life. Then they will be fooled into not knowing it’s a trap lol. I recently just got my numbers down from 70 to 55 and most of my Goats I can not just walk out and catch but they are manageable! That small catch pen is going to be a life saver. Really all I have is a pen that is simply smaller but you could make laneways that they have to go threw to come out of that pen and a gate to lock them in the laneway and check them over, give shots or what not if they are very “crazy”. Mine are not so a simple small pen works just fine. 
Sell off the boy, or butcher them, whatever you want to do but that will keep them from inbreeding. If you want to keep them to a certain size past when they can breed then band them. If these goats have been pretty much survival of the fittest for awhile you probably won’t run into many health issues since nature has taken out the weak. I know quite a few people who basically manage them like that. I personally do not but there is a bright side to it, I just can’t not do nothing when a animal needs help. 
You bit off a huge chore all at once. I’m not going to lie to you but you will eventually get it. I didn’t get big as fast as you just did but I did bite off a bit more then I could chew at the time and I found my groove and so will you


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Welcome to TGS.


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## Miller'sLostGoat (Apr 26, 2018)

I agree, you need to get them out of the field into a shoot system or small pens. Then I would separate bucks and does. If they are running together, I would look to see if you have any pregnant does. If so, separate them into separate pen. We had a large herd of about 150 non tame goats. We worked them in a shoot system. It is unlikely you will be able to tame 60 of them being new. So separating and focusing on a small group will be more manageable.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Wow! You are either really brave or.......

Welcome to TGS. I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your herd and hearing how you manage to sort out all the goaties.


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

nicolemackenzie said:


> See if you can harvest the bucks and buy a new buck you know is unrelated.
> 
> Are you thinking meat or eventually dairy?
> 
> Post a pic and we can guess breeds for you


I like the idea of dairy, as I could use/sell milk and cheese. I am not as confident in my time constraints, as there are 75 acres for me to maintain, along with the main focus of the horses to be bred, groomed, worked with, etc. Obviously, trying to milk them at this point would be a complete fiasco.


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

nicolemackenzie said:


> I'd probably harvest the least thrifty in the herd as well.
> 
> Collect feces from multiple herd members for a group sample.
> 
> ...


What would I be looking for in a group sample?


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Mr.Doug said:


> What would I be looking for in a group sample?


You'd be looking to see if there was any sort of prevailing parasite issues so you could treat.


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)




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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)




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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)




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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

So, these are some pics, about as close as I could get, and my phone doesn't take the best pics to begin with. I can perhaps get some closer, more detailed shots in the am when I feed them again.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Looks like dairy but not positive. Can't tell what breed. Closer pics would help.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Mr.Doug said:


> I like the idea of dairy, as I could use/sell milk and cheese. I am not as confident in my time constraints, as there are 75 acres for me to maintain, along with the main focus of the horses to be bred, groomed, worked with, etc. Obviously, trying to milk them at this point would be a complete fiasco.


Well if you want to milk you'll need some tame girls. Hehe.

You can set up the chute system as suggested and separate out does that appear pregnant and house them separately. Pull kids and raise them on CAE prevention just in case.

You can create small housing out of pallets etc. start small with just a couple at first.

When they are in the chute pick ones that have healthy bright eyes and shiny coats. I'd choose ones with good feet. I imagine they've never been trimmed, so ones who aren't overgrown probably have naturally slow growing healthy hooves?

I can't tell the breed from so far away. Are they full sized do you think? If Roy could get a pic closer up that would be great.


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

Better pics


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)




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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)




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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Looks like dairy and Boer mix.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

The horns on that big guy! I agree that they look alpine ish and some like the big guy have more boer in them. The kid standing in front of him looks like he has a wormy belly. The really skinny one is either really old or just not very resilient.

What kind of rights do you have to the herd? Setting firm boundaries may be important if they aren't technically yours.


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## Mr.Doug (Jun 9, 2018)

nicolemackenzie said:


> The horns on that big guy! I agree that they look alpine ish and some like the big guy have more boer in them. The kid standing in front of him looks like he has a wormy belly. The really skinny one is either really old or just not very resilient.
> 
> What kind of rights do you have to the herd? Setting firm boundaries may be important if they aren't technically yours.


I technically have no rights to them, their "care" is part of my job. "Care" includes feeding them, and making sure they stay where they are allowed to be. Pretty much it. I'm trying to put together a plan that I can pitch to the owner. Gonna have to be a great plan, where I can show him he's making money from them before he will allow much else. They serve the purpose he intended them for now, which is to just be here when he wants to take one. I'm thinking breeding responsibly, and taking tame, healthy goats to auction, perhaps the milk and or cheese sales, etc.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

They look good and mixed to me lol I defiantly see boer and maybe kiko or Spanish even some myotonic thrown in. Nothing wrong with a bunch of very cross breds  
It’s going to be hard to pitch something money wise, really there isn’t a whole lot of money to be made in Goats. If all your having to do is supplement some grain though he/she has more of a chance of making some money then others. But it’s defiantly going to be a “you have to spend money to make money” thing. Really though it all they are after is a kid a year to butcher he could easily just load up the rest of the kids and take to the sale and make some money. Even if it’s just the buck kids. There’s no point in keeping a bunch of bucks to do what 1 or 2 adult bucks are already doing, they are just being fed to simply stand there.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Mr.Doug said:


> I technically have no rights to them, their "care" is part of my job. "Care" includes feeding them, and making sure they stay where they are allowed to be. Pretty much it. I'm trying to put together a plan that I can pitch to the owner. Gonna have to be a great plan, where I can show him he's making money from them before he will allow much else. They serve the purpose he intended them for now, which is to just be here when he wants to take one. I'm thinking breeding responsibly, and taking tame, healthy goats to auction, perhaps the milk and or cheese sales, etc.


Hmmm.

Milk and cheese is going to take some financial commitment and require buildings and licenses and such... I think that would be a tough sell. With the meat goat in the mix you might not have the best udders for a profitable dairy endeavor.

Now meat should be easier. Is there a halal or other ethnic goat market in your area?

One thing that should be a fairly easy sell id think is that culling/harvesting the bucks and bucklings and introducing some fresh genetics by way of a good buck should bring forth a more hearty, thrifty, growthy kid crop. Eventually inbreeding is going to leave him with less than healthy goats with deformities and such. So if he wants to continue his herd it makes sense to add fresh blood periodically.

Now if he goes for this maybe see if you buy a buck you want with the traits (dairy?) you can have have a couple of his kids ( does ) to bottle raise for your future dairy goals. I'd do something in writing regarding your agreement. Say if you decide to leave do you have any rights to take "your" tame goats with you?


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## Boer86 (Jun 8, 2016)

It looks like the goats are taking care of themselves. I would suggest a mineral feeding program to only enhance their health and reproduction. Also some sort of pen/working facility so you can catch the excess bucks and bucklings and take these to a sale for meat. This would be beneficial to both the farmer and the goats themselves. Keeping back females will increase the herd and adding a new buck will diversify the blood. Start supplemental feeding inside a pen which can later be used to lock the goats inside for sorting and removal to the sale. Keep a few bucks back for the owner to harvest and suggest he not harvest any reproducing females.
Good luck


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Wow. That buck looks Amazing! I am in awe!

And for not having any formal care they look really good and healthy. Though I imagine they'll need some hoof care if there's only grass and sand to walk on.


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Well - Ill say this first of all, get some animal crackers or cheetos, my goats love them and when they hear or see it they go nuts. (Cheap kind from walmart). That may coax them into allowing you to get closer. That big buck doesnt look like he plays around lol keep your eyes on him 

I thought maybe some lamancha or possible nubians in there but like the others said they appear to be used to living on their own and have a dominant herd sire. They look healthy. Maybe some dust to keep bugs off of them, another relatively cheap option, and maybe a mineral block or two, again relatively cheap. Thats a pretty nice herd there though.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

How are things?


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