Just finished the first draft of the "raising goats" part of my upcoming book ... I have two weeks now to write all the stuff on dairy products and meat and so on! But I really want this book to have important info in it that you might not have seen or heard or read elsewhere, so I wanted to ask everyone, what was the biggest surprise you had after getting goats? Or what do you wish you had known before you got them? This doesn't necessarily have to be something that was bad. For example, when we started our homestead, we got goats and cows because I didn't realize you can make any type of cheese from goat milk. I thought I needed the cows to make cheddar and mozzarella and butter and so on.
Thanks!
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These are great stories! I can't wait to read your book, Deborah. I can relate so much to Kailyn's hermaphrodite concern. We went through this and ended up taking one of our two pet does to a specialist because she was being so bucky! She's fine - just not too nice when in heat. Here's my terribly naive "wish I had known" story. I have two pet goats because my human children love animals and are highly allergic to dogs and cats. I read many books and visited many farms before getting goats. Because I was getting only two goats I thought the nanny berry load would not be a big deal. I was shocked to find out how much poop two goats can produce! I was also shocked that they would have no problem just sitting right in all of it! I thought they would be somewhat like dogs and not mess in their sleep area. Goats are the most intelligent barnyard animal, after all. Even the "Dummies" goat book doesn't lay it out. I needed a book for the total inexperienced novice! Needless to say, I have learned a great deal.
That is so funny Janel! I LOVE IT! My little boy is reading over my shoulder and wanted to know if he could ask you something... I asked what? He said he wanted to know if your little boy peed on himself! LOL! Gotta love'um! I love my kids...they are so funny...apparently yours are too!
What surprised me the most, was how much bucks pee on themselves. I knew from research, that they did, but didn't realize how often. Also the smell! My kids today were playing and they were pretending they were goats. My daughter tells my son "your the male goat, so go over there and pee on yourself" I was dyeing laughing! Anyways bucks and buck behaviors were really shocking! :0)
Right Kelsie, people really should also know that goats DO Not roam around grazing on grass. So many people still think they do.
I would never tell you to let them into the Cherry Laurel, but FYI we have had a lot of discussion on here that has led many of us to believe that if there is a lot of food options available that they will not eat poisonous plants. So if you also have a lot of safe things there, they may not touch the unsafe plants. This has been my experience anyway. I have azaleas everywhere and they are frequently loose around them. BUT, ONCE when I put up a new pen, where they were within reach through the fence and nothing else was, they all (3 goats) ate them and got very sick. One was so bad we had to put him down.
The old myth that goats will and CAN eat anything....We had hoped our goats could help with some of the under brushing we need to do around here when we got them...but as I started researching I found this was so far from the truth....Sure they will eat it...But some of it will actually kill them...I was downright surprised at just how fickle a goats tummies actually are....Glad I found out before we released our sweet babies into the Cherry Laurel.
Exactly, Margaret! I never intended to have bucks. The breeder I bought my does from promised to provide stud service, and then decided to disperse their herd and breed cows instead. I didn't find out until I was ready to breed the does, and so I had to quickly go buck shopping because so few breeders will offer stud service (I don't blame them - I think it's too risky and I won't do it either). Luckily, I found a wonderful breeder who has been a major source of support and information ever since (she talked me through my first kidding on my cell phone, gave me milk for a bottle baby and is always there to help me through my worries). Now I'm glad I have the bucks because when the does are in heat, I don't have to stress about transporting them and making sure I get them to the buck on the right day. And my boys are so sweet! Smelly and rowdy, but sweet.
You guys are doing great with this. But speaking of bucks, (thankfully this isn't my problem) but let's not forget all the folks that have had problems finding a buck to use. Many of whom, thought they had one (usually from the breeder they bought from) only to to have it fall through, sometimes at the last minute. I think newbies should be warned upfront about this, and try to have a backup ready.
I'm with Kaitlyn on all the mishaps that can befall those kids!
I think the biggest thing that surprised me was how quickly space and fencing became an issue. I'm still often stumped on how to deal with space issues. Perhaps you could share some tips with us on how to manage without a ton of space. This is what's happened to me so far. When I first got my three does, I had a nice spacious stall for them in the barn, and a large outdoor pen. They have access to the barn from their outdoor pen at all times. I thought I'd be fine with that space forever. After all, I had a friend to had goats, and they kidded all together.
As it got closer to kidding time for me, I decided that it didn't seem like a good idea to leave them all together to kid. How would I keep it clean? What if the other goats interfered with the kidding, or distracted a new mom from caring for the kids? What if a doe hurt another does new kids? So, I built two kidding pens, and used the other stall for one of them. Now I'm dividing one of the kidding pens into two for this season. It's easy to outgrow your space, and it happened a lot faster than I'd thought it would. There are so many things that you can't foresee when planning to get goats.Oh, and of course, as so many others have found out, it was much harder that I'd expected to not keep a buck, and one buck would be lonely, so I kept two. I had to put together a shelter and fencing for them too. :)
Honestly, what really surprised me most was when my first set of kids, who were twin doelings, started displaying bucky behavior towards each other as they came into season. One acted more bucky than the other and, being completely new to goats, I was afraid I had a hermaphrodite on my hands, though I had no other reason to think so aside from the strange behavior she displayed when in season. I did as much research as I could before I got into goats and continued to research how to raise kids and such after they were born, but I don’t remember reading much warning signs about this. It really worried me, though I now know she’s fine, fortunately. In fact, she's due Feb. 7th and her udder is starting to form. Although it isn’t exactly pleasant, a little more warning out there of the possibility of this happening would probably be really appreciated by newbies to the goat world.
I was also surprised by what kids can find to get stuck in. I had one doeling who probably found every possible place to get stuck. She got a hoof caught and twisted in the slats of a bench seat and wouldn’t walk on it for several hours, but thank goodness she’s ok. It was probably just bruised. She also got her body caught in between the slats on a porch railing, as well as numerous other places. She could also jump over or on things I would never imagine she could because of the height. She went over, under, and through things I never thought possible. Yep, she decided it was her duty to keep me on my toes and show me where I needed to further kid-proof. :) Fortunately, her herd mates just stood back, watched her antics and didn’t follow… and she’s chosen to live a quieter lifestyle these days.
Another thing that surprised me was the amount of comical relief young kids can provide. They are such a joy to watch and way smarter than I expected.
That's really interesting!
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