New Goat keeper

[moana]

Hello dear goat keepers.

I have wanted to keep goats for many years and it now looks like a possibility this year. I have two excellent goat breeders who have met me and agreed to sell me some kids. I am not sure which to go for yet. However, I do not feel I know enough about goat keeping yet, so could I please have some recommendations for good books for the new goat keeper please.

many thanks

 

[s4sugar]

What do you want to do with this goat?

If you want milk work out what you will do with six pints a day (possibly more) and how you will always have someone to milk.
Goats need company, secure fencing & good shelter and they are as good as sheep at finding interesting ways to kill themselves. I had one hang herself in a hayrack.

 

[moana]

THESE goats, I would not have just one. I know they can be a bit suicidal!!

I have plenty of people who want milk and cheese, and I am a great goat cheese fan. Just want one in milk plus a 'pet'
I never go away but should anything happen I have a good friend and a partner who will care for them along with my horses and ponies.

 

[Alexart]

As above - good fencing and a good dry shelter are a must as they hate the rain and mud or drafts for that matter and prefer to be kept in in winter or at least have their own waterproof coat!!!
They are pretty common sense things to keep and are not too different to sheep or horses care wise ie. worming, feet, feed etc. I think Katie Thear does a goat book they are usually pretty good so worth reading.
Have a chat with the breeders and feed what they are feeding and change anything gradually, if you want to change anything, I'm sure they'll be on hand if you get stuck.
Just make sure if you get hand reared ones, which alot of dairy breeders do, they can be very vocal and clingy!!! I got a couple of toggenburg weanlings last year to keep my old fart of a golden guernsey company and they never shut up if they hear you or see you! Sadly I lost one over winter to liver fluke as it was so wet last year despite weeks in front of the aga and tons of vet visits, so I just have the oldie and the yougster who is into everything and can squeeze into the chicken house through the pop hole and she likes to oooze out the paddock if she finds the smallest hole in the fence so they're in the chicken run as it has a 6ft fence!!!

If you want to milk them in the future it is a big tie as they need milking twice a day, it's great fun to have your own milk though, we used to milk the guernseys but I had to go away for a day once and my sister was off somewhere too and my mum had to milk them - they'd run if they saw her coming with the milking bucket or just sit down as she never managed to get the hang of milking!! - so it can be a faff if you want to go away!!! - not to mention what to do with the kids produced especially if they are billy kids!!
They are good fun though and do make lovely pets, mine will walk on a lead, and I used to tether them for a few hours for hedge control along our drive so do make good hedge trimmers!! They're not as daft as a sheep, but do have the sheep death wish and zero pain threshold so for wormer jabs they scream the place down as if they were being murdered!!!

 

[moana]

thank you Alexart.
Shelter and fencing has long since been sorted, would always start feeding whatever the breeder uses, and none are hand reared. All systems go then!