Greetings,
My name is Tom and I live about 15 miles or so east of Kingman AZ. I live just off old Route 66 to the point where I can watch the traffic on there. MANY tourists. My wife and I went to visit a friend about 10 miles east of us that have a few goats. Two had given birth recently so my wife was able to hold one. The mother was gone so it was being hand fed which she enjoyed. We are now looking at goats . Nigerian Dwarf to be specific since that is what our friend has and will be able to guide us through the difficult "learning curve" we are sure to encounter. We are retired so we will have the time to attend to them as we should. I will be exploring ALL the housing options available since I really think it is better to do it right at first than to pick up my slack later. Our winter temps will reach 15 degrees at worst and 110 in summer. I currently raise Red Wiggler worms on a relatively small scale and the temp difference is a challenge with them so I don't want to be chasing my tail on two fronts. I'm thinking hard as to how I can combine both in one area yet separate enough to avoid any problems. The worms will thrive at 75 degrees and I thing goats would also. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Any experiences would be GREATLY appreciated as well.
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I was suprised to find another "wormer" on this forum. It seems that I have problems on both sides of the spectrum. In the summer we have high temps which require ice bottles to keep the bins cool along with very low humidity so several times a day I must sprinkle water. In the winter I try to keep the heat up with covering the bins with a blanket. I keep them in plastic bins which is often a no-no due to the moisture holding qualities which in an area with low humidity is actually a good thing. But, back to goats. I spoke tonight with my friend and the information that I have been given here matches completely so I'm in good hands at both ends. I will be planning a 3 sided shelter with an addition of some sort which will allow me a bit of a respite from the cold. There must be secure fencing and an electrical outlet nearby to insure that the water will not freeze on our infrequent but still existant colder nights. I have a lot to plan out so I will probably be rife with questions in the future. Thank you and I look forward to your help in the future.
That was my thought too... that the needs of the two are so different... I think it would be hard to make a good space for both of them in one area without one or the other having to have compromised space for their needs.
Welcome to the group!
I'm sure some more people will chime in about your housing situation, but goats don't need the type of coddling that red wigglers do. I have a couple of worm bins myself, so I understand they don't handle cold very well. Goats grow a lovely coat of thick cashmere to keep them warm in winter, and they do not do well in an insulated space because of the ammonia build-up. There are some great housing pictures in the "Photo" section of our site. (Link at the top of the page.)