I will be heading to New Brunswick from British Columbia in a month or two. I have an acre of land and am possibly eyeing more adjoining land but I'd like to see if we survive a winter there first :P
I'll be living there full time and my brother will be with me part time.
I am planning to raise a tiny herd of Nigerian Dwarfs and possibly a Nubian or two. I'm interested in the dairy rather than the meat aspect and hope to have lots of milk and cheese for personal consumption and make some goatmilk soap too.
I am interested in raising goats naturally (which is why I bought the book :P) and hoping to find alternatives to grain supplementation since I don't plan to grow grain. I don't need to wring every possibly ounce of extra milk out of my does but I do want to breed for good milk production since I know that's going to be important to people who might like to buy kids from me in future.
In the book (Raising Goats Naturally) there was brief mention of some people switching goats to a more grass based diet as opposed to supplementing with grain, and I am hoping maybe I can learn more about that here.
I'm also interested to meet any other goat people who may be in the maritimes and especially if they can recommend any good places to obtain supplies or goat vets, etc. I will be in the Campbellton area.
In addition to goats I plan to raise chickens (trying to arrange to get some from Grade Eh Farms before I'm too far away) for eggs and meat, and have a couple of ponies/small horses. I'll be growing vegetables as well and I have pet rabbits that supply my garden fertilizer... the goats and chickens will help a lot there, too :)
I'll be using the rotating pasture method, dividing my bit of land up into 1/8 acre paddocks to start with. I know I am going to need more land :P
Replies
Thanks Everyone!
@Donna Peck thanks for the info on Caprine Supply! I feel I probably won't have much like finding supplies in my local area either. We are close to the Maine border though, so I guess it's possible to go to Maine for supplies once I have my passport. Though I don't think there are any large towns very close, we're going to be pretty far out in the middle of nowhere.
@Deborah Niemann-Boehle that's good to hear! And I am enjoying the book so far :) If I can just get my kindle app to load it again... >_>
@Julieanne Cook I actually will be purposely avoiding the double-purpose breeds xD I plan to keep my layers as pets as well as laying hens, I know it will be easier for me if I choose a meat breed where they are all as bland looking as possible and all identical or I'll end up getting attached xD I am currently looking at Swedish Flowers and Bielefelders for eggs and Canadian Bresse for meat. I only need eggs for personal consumption for myself, brother and I also feed eggs to my large number of finches, canaries and small-medium Australian parrots. So I don't particularly need crazy egg-laying machines.
Welcome!!
Hello, nice to meet you! I'm still new to goats, but may I suggest a couple of possible breeds of chickens that are good for both eggs and meat? I've experimented with several. :)
Welcome to the group! The person I quoted in Raising Goats Naturally is in this group. You could message her to get more details about switching her goats to a grain-free diet.
Hello, and welcome! I'm also in the Maritimes, in Nova Scotia. We've had a hard time trying to find goat supplies in any of the maritime provinces, so we just order on line, mostly from Caprine Supply. We have a good relationship with our vet as well, and they've ordered in things we needed for our goats which we couldn't find locally, too. Sorry I can't offer any specific advice, but that's what we've found we've had to do. Best wishes to you on your venture!
Welcome to the message board, Kitty, and welcome to eastern Canada! :)