Hi Everyone,
We are just starting our herd and will have 2 wethers (being banded today) and a doeling. The doeling has a free breeding when she's old enough. We are trying to figure out should we consider purchasing a yearling doe or a buckling to grow our herd? Is it really difficult to catch a doe in heat and get them to a farm to be bred or should we consider buying our own buckling to use? Or, should we consider a yearling doe that we breed to someone else's buck? I have a few options available but curious which choice would be the smartest move for us newbies. Thanks everyone!
Replies
The book will be out in September, and it's not nearly as comprehensive as I would have liked. My contract said 80,000 words, and I can't believe how quickly I wrote that much! I'm trying to fill in the cracks with a website companion, and you've just given me an idea for another article on there -- how to choose a dairy goat!
ND bucks don't smell too terrible. Still, I'd put his pen as far away from your house as possible -- and upwind! :) The stink is worse in fall. This time of year it's not too bad. When you go to visit breeders, ask to visit the bucks, and just keep in mind that fall is when it's the worst.
Oh my goodness Deborah! Thank you so very much for all this amazing information...I had no idea!! Wow...it must take literally years to learn all of this well. Your information is priceless!! How soon before you finish your book?? It will be worth its weight in gold I can tell you that for sure. : ) Ok - so I now have the information needed to buy a doe for milking with the correct questions in place. I will concentrate on that and put the showing on hold. The doeling we have now has the very best personality - so playful, engaging, bold and curious - I love it! Although I can already tell some of those same qualities are going to keep us on our toes...lol!
Ok - so buying a couple of females might the a good choice and if a buck then they need to be in seperate areas. Will the smell of a buck be really bad?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
"Freshening" is when a dairy animal gives birth. If a goat is two months fresh, it means she gave birth two months ago.
Check out the posts on here about using a movable pen made of four livestock panels. WG4 posted pictures about a year ago. You can easily move them, and they're ideal on small acreage when you only have a couple of goats. You could have one for the buck and a wether and one for a couple does or one doe and a wether.
Having a second doe would be good so you can get an idea of what you like and don't like about a doe. They're all different. If you want milk, be sure to buy from someone who milks their goats and keep records. The average for NDs is a quart a day, but it's not unusual for one to peak at 3 to 6 pounds (1 1/2 to 3 quarts) per day around six weeks of age, and then production gradually decreases over six to ten months. A few (very few) have even hit a gallon at their peak. If someone doesn't milk or they don't keep records, they can't really tell you much about their goat. NOT every ND is a good milker or has good teats, good udder texture, or good orifices. If you can find someone on DHI milk test, that's even better because the milk records are verified by a milk tester and you have butterfat info, which is important for cheesemaking. Higher butterfat is better.
If you want a goat that excels in milk and the show ring, be prepared to pay $500 and up. It is a rare goat that is good in both. One of my pet peeves is people who claim their goats are "great for show or milk" without having the show wins and milk records to back that up. Honestly, very few people show, so if you're brand new, I suggest concentrating on milking because if you show, you have to milk. If you decide you don't like milking, then showing isn't realistic because senior does must be shown in milk. If you just want to show, you could get any type of animal.
Thanks so much! Here's another question. When looking for a high quality doe for breeding/milking - what exactly should I be looking for? I am assuming a yearling or older? Would having a buck be a lot more work to have on our property? We only have a couple of acres so are just trying to be very strategic in how we plan it all out with limited funds. The goal is to be able to learn how to milk and try my hand at making lotion and soaps as well as showing. We are trying to start our herd and currently have 2 wethers and a doeling but are thinking we should purchase another doe? Can you explain what "freshening" means?