So you think you want to get a goat

So you think you want to get goats.

I've been running goats for about 5 years now.  In the last few weeks I have been approached by several people about getting goats, so I thought I would set down some of my experiences and thoughts on the subject for y'all.

I feel the first questions you must ask yourself is why do you want goats. Do you want them for brush maintenance, money, milk, meat, fiber, both, as companions for a horse or to eat your grass?  So let me go ahead and answer the first few questions.  Yes your goats will eat your grass, after everything else available to them is gone. If you want grass control - try sheep.  I hear they just love grass.  Goats love brush, small trees, bushes and vines.  I've even seen them go so far as to eat the bark off of trees, before they will eat grass. They are such great clearers of property that in the 1500 the Spanish would turn several out onto an area they wished to "colonize."  Then they would leave and come back a year or two later.  The land and the trees were thinned, and there would be a ready supply of meat.  

If done correctly your goats will never make you money.  Whatever money you make off of them will go back into feed, hay, shelter and of course fences. Goats are great companions for horses.  Most goat people will recommend you get a wethered goat, which is a castrated male.  It is a beneficial relationship for both, as goats are social creatures and must always have a buddy or they get desperately lonely.  I have even heard of lonely goats, busting through fences to get to another goat.

So that leaves us with milk, meat and / or fiber.  If you are interested in what goat meat tastes like try your local Spanish grocery store.  Most stores speak English and are happy to help the epicurious.  If you are interested in fiber goats you must either know someone who can shave, card, and /or spin your fibers, or you must have the equipment yourself.  Again while having your own supply of fiber is fun, it's cheaper to buy.  Fiber goats also do not do well in hot places like Louisiana.  Don't get me wrong it can be done.  You just have to make sure that your goat, usually an Angora, is shaved when it starts to get warm, like in May and their hair needs to remain short (2 inches or less) until October or so. 

If after reading all this you are still dead set on goats here are a few more points to ponder.  Where will the goats be kept?  They must have some kind of shelter to get out of the rain and cold.  Most goats do not like water or being wet, as they were originally desert dwelling creatures. Do you intend to free roam on your land?  If so what are your local laws.  Must they be fences.  If in Louisiana that is a yes.  Good fencing is especially important to goats, because they could freaking careless who's tasty plant is on who's property.  They will eat all your flowers and having a garden is difficult, cause they will find holes in fences or if low enough simply jump them.  I suggest electric fencing.  While I must admit I was squeamish at first, didn't want to hurt my babies, the shocks are not that bad (been shocked myself a few times). It will keep them put.  Oh and don't think that you can be smart and run the electric fence for a while and then turn it off, and the goats will still think it's on.  Nope they will test it and out they go!  Been there and done that.  Nothing like a goat breaking in threw your doggie door at 3 in the morning, to eat dog food, cause you forgot to plug the fence back in!!  When you start birthing babies you will understand what godsend electric fences are.  Not for who they keep in, but what they keep out.  Coyotes can smell blood and have been known to sneak up in the night and take off with a kid (goat babies are called kids).

If you’re still with me and are ready to start your goat farm I suggest reading, "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats."  They also offer one on meat goats as well. This book was like my bible the first few years.  I got mine at Tractor Supply, but it is also available on Amazon.com.  You will want to keep good records.  Who was breed when?  Who was born when? Who the parents were?  Kids that died.  When the buck (male goat) came into rut?  Etc. 

I know little about meat goats.  I know that many people like Spanish Boers.  If you are interested in meat goats I would first check on Craigslist, or attend an auction and see what breeds are available in your area.  You may also want to talk to your local Ag. Agent and see what breeds are popular in your area.  You may even be able to ask at a Spanish grocery to see where they get theirs.  Most importantly once you have picked a breed you like, do your research!  At least look them up on Wikipedia.  The breed you want may not be suited to where you live!  There are lots of goat groups on Facebook, usually typing in the word goat and your area will bring them up.  Check and see if there is a local group or goat farm near you.  Make a buddy.  Life is much easier with a goat buddy to call and talk to.

I started in this business, because I am lactose intolerant. I thought it would be cheaper to buy goats, and have goat milk, then continue to buy it in the store. Boy was I wrong!  Five years on and I am back to buying milk in the store.  You will spend more on feed, then you would just buying the milk.  I don't regret having goats.  They have taught me so much about life and nature.  I was pretty naive going in.  I really didn't understand that in order to have milk you must have a doe(female goat) that has recently given birth.  So to have milk, breeding and birthing goats will become part of your life. 

As for breeds I am partial to Nubians.  That is mainly what I have been raising for the last 5 years.  I find they tolerate the southern heat very well.  Their butterfat content is one of the highest.  Their milk is rich, creamy and sweeter then cow’s milk.  Nubies are very friendly and very vocal.  If they love you, they will follow you around like a dog, whether or not you bottle feed them.  As long as the babies are handled every day they will be friendly and loyal to you, even the males.  Nubies sound like they are talking. Their vocalizations often sound like, "Hey" or "Mommma." They will call to you when they see you, when they want to be let out, a few hours prior to birthing, when they are hungry or when a doe cannot see their kids.  I find it best to talk back to them and tell them what is going on, "No you can't get out, your dad will feed you later, your baby is over that way, Mommy loves you, you’re a good goat, etc."  They usually don't talk back after that.  Nubians are a larger goat.  Does tend to run 80+ lbs and Bucks can be 150-200 lb.  I once had buck who weighed in at 175lb., he was the runt of triplets, and not done growing!  Goats will continue growing until they are about two. Goats will step on your feet, they could freaking careless. I recommend closed toed shoes when working around them.  If you ever have to make a goat move, that will not listen, pull on their ears. They really hate that.  Or spray them with water.  I tend to move them mostly with my knees and my thigh.  Just a gentle push and they will move.

Goats don't have an incredible scene of smell like dogs do.  They depend more on their eyes.  Goats are not color blind, but they don't see the way we do.  They are limited to the yellow-green-blue color spectrum.  This lets them see leaf colors better, and distinguish one plant from another.  Goat’s eyes are also very cool.  Their irises are more square where ours are round, and as the light fades at night you will see their eyes grow to allow more light in.  Another oddity is when they are in danger goats will sneeze to each other.  That is their signal to run!  I once was out with the herd, while they were grazing and I sneezed.  They scattered like the wind.  LOL!

As mentioned above, goat should always be kept in pairs.  Not only because goat are social creatures and they get a bit batty without one another.  When goats lay down to sleep or rest, they lay back to back.  This gives each of them a 180 degree view around them, so a pair can see anything that might be trying to come up and attack them.

In order to have milk you’re going to need a buck.  You are either going to have to get a buck or take your does to a buck who can impregnate them.  Most books will tell you not to keep your buck with your does.  This is said to affect the taste of the milk. I never kept my males separate and the taste of my milk was never affected.  Bucks go into rut.  Rut is a very smelly time in a goat’s life.  Rut begins in the fall, when they boys become horney for the girls, and lasts until all the does are pregnant, or late winter / early spring. They demonstrate their desire to mate by peeing all over themselves, and if you are close enough, you too.  They do this all day long.  They pee on their front legs and face and then curl up their lips to smell it.  They will also taste the doe's pee to check and see if they are fertile yet or not.  Does will come into heat in the fall.  If the buck is run with the does they will do it automatically.  You will see her swing her butt to him or in a few cases, chase him.  I have even seen a doe demand one buck her impregnate her, while keeping another one at bay.  The ladies know what they want and need even if you don't!  If you are squeamish about sex, do not want you kids to see, and / or not ready to answer their questions on the subject in a wise and intelligent matter,  goats may not be for you.

As for who to mate to who, in the goat world it does not matter.  Where we would find a mother and son mating as being incestuous, it is preferred by goats and goat breeders. In other words, that tree don't fork!   My two males were descendants of my first doe, Star.  They gave her and my other girls, who were also sisters and aunts to them, many healthy babies.  While this may be a little unsettling at first, it is something you will have to get use to. 

All that wonderful loving will create babies in around 5 months.  I will cover babies and milk in my next article to you.  Hope I answered many of your questions and look forward to receiving questions and comments from you.

Ilsa