goats

[fenwoman]

Now that I've made the decision to go back into goats isn't it typical that F&M rears it's ugly head along with this blue tongue thing?I'm anjoying the research though, planning where to site the shed, how big, how to fence, what breed to keep if I should change from the previous British Saanens. I can't wait

[Clara]

I love my goats. What I particularly love about them is that they are the only animal that we don´t have to buy or carry (we live 1km from car access) food for. Just tether and watch ´em eat. In summer we are obliged to keep our grass short to minimise wild fire risk, so they save us many days of strimming... and fertilise the land while they´re at it.

Sadly I don´t think they are a breed - just Andalucian mongrel goats we picked up from the passing shepherd.

hapy planning!

[fenwoman]

I love my goats. What I particularly love about them is that they are the only animal that we don´t have to buy or carry (we live 1km from car access) food for. Just tether and watch ´em eat. In summer we are obliged to keep our grass short to minimise wild fire risk, so they save us many days of strimming... and fertilise the land while they´re at it.

Sadly I don´t think they are a breed - just Andalucian mongrel goats we picked up from the passing shepherd.

hapy planning!

In all the years I kept goats I still had to mow the lawn since they are browsers not grazers. Point them at a patch of brambles or scrub bushes or trees and they were in heaven but grass? Not a chance lol. I must admit I wouldn't tether mine, purely on welfare grounds. But if you have no fences and have to move them daily, I can see where tethers might be used. I see too many tangled around objects, with water buckets kicked over so they go thirsty until someone comes to see them, chains or ropes tangled around legs and in one case I actually had to trespass onto someone's land to release a goatling which had been tethered and went round and round the stake until it was stuck fast head tied up right close to the stake unable to move and in real danger of strangling itself. I still have no idea how I, wil my arthritis, managed to leap a dyke and climb the fence (sheep netting), in order to detangle it. I did bang on the house door too as I was so mad I would have blasted their ears from the sides of their head had the owners answered but nobody was home. Tethering a goat them simply going out and leaving it is sheer lunacy. I really was tempted to steal it but I was worried that I had been noticed by anyone working in the fields or living nearby as my car is known locally. I did leave a note though. When I went past a couple of weeks later they goat was no longer there so either did eventually manage to strangle itself, or they got rid of it.

[Clara]

Unfortunately we don´t have a lawn, just lots of green stuff that the goats seems to like because between them and the horse they keep it down - but I know what you mean about being picky eaters!

We use a running tether system and they don´t tend to get tangled, we move them every other day and so far they have been perfectly healthy like this. We don´t want to leave them free as that way the little girl gets all the milk, and we want to keep the little girl for breeding next year. And its helpful to have her around if we are busy and don´t have time to milk, we let her off and keep mama tethered.

[fenwoman]

Unfortunately we don´t have a lawn, just lots of green stuff that the goats seems to like because between them and the horse they keep it down - but I know what you mean about being picky eaters!

We use a running tether system and they don´t tend to get tangled, we move them every other day and so far they have been perfectly healthy like this. We don´t want to leave them free as that way the little girl gets all the milk, and we want to keep the little girl for breeding next year. And its helpful to have her around if we are busy and don´t have time to milk, we let her off and keep mama tethered.

I have a useful tip for keeping kids.
I am afraid I am far too sentimental to remove the kids at birth and bottle feed like you are recommended to do. So, When I shut the goat in their shed for the night, I place a sheep hurdle between mama and baby. The I milk in the morning as usual and then let the kid run with mama and get the rest of the day's milk. I used to get a good 4 or 5 pints per morning even though I didn't strip her right out, so that the kid can have some breakfast. The kids always grew really well and I got enough milk and mama still kept condition so everyone was happy.
I must hunt out some of my photos of my goats and see if I can scan them.

[Clara]

This is what we used to do, but right now the goats are out 24 hours as the climate is good and the new horse needed the stable! We have built an extension for them and just need to put in a partition wall and then they can have a bed for the night when it starts to get chilly.

Here´s a question that you could answer for me.....at 7 or 8 months old does the kid need to have any milk at all?

[fenwoman]

This is what we used to do, but right now the goats are out 24 hours as the climate is good and the new horse needed the stable! We have built an extension for them and just need to put in a partition wall and then they can have a bed for the night when it starts to get chilly.

Here´s a question that you could answer for me.....at 7 or 8 months old does the kid need to have any milk at all?

No, by this age it should be weaned although may still suckle for comfort. I've seen big fully grown horned billy goats trying to suckle on their smaller mum .

[jinglejoys]

Before F&M 2001 I used to suckle calves on goats that had difficult udders to milk.I had one goat with huge bottle udders which dragged on the floor,tiny teats and small orafaces for the milk to come out there was no way you could milk her so she would stand on a bale and suckle a calf.Woe betide if the wrong calf tried to suckle on her she knew exactly which calf was hers.
When F&M arrived her calf was ready to be weaned but I could not buy any more in so had to leave it on her to suckle her milk.Nine months later she had a huge calf still suckling on her,how it managed was a miracle because it towered over her and had to put its head on the floor but she would jump up on a bale to make it easier for it and call it to her

[Justinian]

Love that story Jingles. We had a girl with such enormous udders that they touched the floor and she kept tripping over them but she did milk OK and we didn't have a handy calf.