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Goats
Goats
"Goat Life" is a different kind of living. Dedicated goat owners forgo sleep during kidding season to feed newborn goats every few hours for the first days of their lives. For the better part of the year, milk is an everyday chore, no matter the weather or personal circumstances.
The joy goats bring to the homestead comes with a heavy workload.
Goats: Services
Goat kids will win your heart. That is why they are called kids.
Goat kids can get into all kinds of trouble in the house, just like human kids, if left unattended.
Goat kids will imprint on who feeds them in a day or two. You become the surrogate momma. I practiced raising goat kids in the house until I had to go through the pain of putting them out on pasture when they got big enough. They would stand at the fence and scream-cry until they were hoarse because they wanted to be in the house with me. It was heartbreaking.
They didn't understand the unexpected change in their surroundings and the sudden disowning of them behind a fence. The posh life of blankets and pillows abruptly changes to fence and hay, and they don't understand why they have been abandoned, so they scream for their human mommas. They feel left behind. This teaches them to scream for attention, which becomes problematic when they are fully grown. Goats that learn to call for attention will scream each time they see you. I couldn't let the dogs outside to go to the bathroom, bring in groceries, or mow the lawn without the goats seeing me and screaming for attention.
I started raising the kids in the barn with a lot less human interaction- about an hour a day, the time needed for milking adults. They became more independent from me and grew closer to each other. They no longer needed the constant human coddling to be comfortable and, for me, the most important, quiet.
It was hard not to love them so much as adorable kids, but it made for a more pleasant day outside every day when they were grown. Goats will expect the same kind of treatment they get as kids for the rest of their lives. (Dogs also expect the same treatment for the rest of their lives they get as puppies.) So hold them often if you plan on doing it for the rest of their lives daily, no matter how big or old they get.
They didn't understand the unexpected change in their surroundings and the sudden disowning of them behind a fence. The posh life of blankets and pillows abruptly changes to fence and hay, and they don't understand why they have been abandoned, so they scream for their human mommas. They feel left behind. This teaches them to scream for attention, which becomes problematic when they are fully grown. Goats that learn to call for attention will scream each time they see you. I couldn't let the dogs outside to go to the bathroom, bring in groceries, or mow the lawn without the goats seeing me and screaming for attention.
I started raising the kids in the barn with a lot less human interaction- about an hour a day, the time needed for milking adults. They became more independent from me and grew closer to each other. They no longer needed the constant human coddling to be comfortable and, for me, the most important, quiet.
It was hard not to love them so much as adorable kids, but it made for a more pleasant day outside every day when they were grown. Goats will expect the same kind of treatment they get as kids for the rest of their lives. (Dogs also expect the same treatment for the rest of their lives they get as puppies.) So hold them often if you plan on doing it for the rest of their lives daily, no matter how big or old they get.
Goats are herd animals, and they need each other to feel safe. One goat will not thrive and may escape trying to find a herd to join.
Goats are incredibly agile. They can quickly scale a four-foot fence. Hot-wire was necessary to keep them from climbing the fence and from walking along it leaning into it for a scratch, which dilapidates the fence.
Female goats grow horns just like males. These two were my first kids. One was sick with pneumonia, and the other I didn't have the heart to disbud (remove) the horns at a few days old. The horns were a problem. Goats get moody with each other and their caretakers. I kept the horn tips trimmed and filed dull to help prevent injury, but it was another time burning chore that I didn't need on top of so many hooves to keep trimmed. Goats need their hooves trimmed monthly. That is a lot of feet to trim if you have eight goats.
There is a lot of information available on dairy goat does but only a few mentions about billy goats. Why? Billygoats are about the filthiest and sexually horniest animals on earth and must be separated from the does. Billygoats housing with does gets their "musk" or scent on their fur. Their musk comes from ejaculating on their faces all day, where it festers in the heat, creating a stench. A doe only needs to lay where a billygoat sleeps to get the funk on the does bag. It is tough to remove even with special dairy washes. It can easily contaminate and ruin your milk.
Bucks also need company but will fight when the does are in season. The photo is of the first little buck we brought home. He isn't covered with dirt. That is his sexual attractant for the does. He was disbudded improperly and grew "scurs". Scurs are defectively grown horns from remnants of the horn being left to grow from poor disbudding attempts.
Billys are hard to handle because you will smell like them for days, no matter your washing routine. Bleach or oven cleaner will not even remove it from the skin. I did my best to keep his scurs trimmed with PVC pipe wire cutters, yet each year he would battle until bloody for his chance to mate even though they were housed separately.
Billy goats can also get mastitis. They have nipples that must be checked for infection. I have had to treat billygoats for mastitis (teat infections), which is about the most unpleasant job on the planet. They won't stand for it, but the infection must be drained, and medicine must be infused into the teat for several days in a row.
Nothing will make you feel tougher on a farm than milking a full-size billygoat or giving one a pedicure.
Bucks also need company but will fight when the does are in season. The photo is of the first little buck we brought home. He isn't covered with dirt. That is his sexual attractant for the does. He was disbudded improperly and grew "scurs". Scurs are defectively grown horns from remnants of the horn being left to grow from poor disbudding attempts.
Billys are hard to handle because you will smell like them for days, no matter your washing routine. Bleach or oven cleaner will not even remove it from the skin. I did my best to keep his scurs trimmed with PVC pipe wire cutters, yet each year he would battle until bloody for his chance to mate even though they were housed separately.
Billy goats can also get mastitis. They have nipples that must be checked for infection. I have had to treat billygoats for mastitis (teat infections), which is about the most unpleasant job on the planet. They won't stand for it, but the infection must be drained, and medicine must be infused into the teat for several days in a row.
Nothing will make you feel tougher on a farm than milking a full-size billygoat or giving one a pedicure.
Disbudding takes an iron will and some time to get used to doing it. After a few years, it got a little more comfortable for me to do, and I could find spray burn medications to numb and heal the areas.
A figure 8 branding needed to be done to get all of the horn areas done correctly to disbud the bucks.
The goat kids were only in pain for a few minutes. I applied the burn medications a few times a day until the hair returned.
While the kid's bottle feed, I spent time touching them, so the sudden attention on the milking stanchion isn't uncomfortable. Touching them while they feed helps remove first-timer's jitters when milking. It is also the most effortless time to band bucks for wethering. They often don't know it has been done.
A figure 8 branding needed to be done to get all of the horn areas done correctly to disbud the bucks.
The goat kids were only in pain for a few minutes. I applied the burn medications a few times a day until the hair returned.
While the kid's bottle feed, I spent time touching them, so the sudden attention on the milking stanchion isn't uncomfortable. Touching them while they feed helps remove first-timer's jitters when milking. It is also the most effortless time to band bucks for wethering. They often don't know it has been done.
Goats will browse heavily on long walks. A word of advice is to take them before feeding time. A full goat has little interest in pasturing back up unless there is grain involved.
I liked to walk our does for fresh brows to make us healthier milk from the abundance of grasses and weeds here in Kansas.
I liked to walk our does for fresh brows to make us healthier milk from the abundance of grasses and weeds here in Kansas.
Goats love to climb and enjoy a high vantage point to see. Each morning the does would hang out on the old dead locust tree. They didn't like to get their hooves wet in the morning dew and would wait for the grass to dry.
We had to wrap all of the trees in their pasture with four-foot tall chicken wire to keep them from stripping the bark off and killing them all.
Left to right: Angel, Buttons, Smiley, Winnie, Sippsy, and Gypsy.
We had to wrap all of the trees in their pasture with four-foot tall chicken wire to keep them from stripping the bark off and killing them all.
Left to right: Angel, Buttons, Smiley, Winnie, Sippsy, and Gypsy.
Milk can be easily contaminated. If you are selling your milk, you should provide your clients with a view of your milking parlor. I have bought milk from farms to friend them later to find they were miking in plywood shanties with dirt floors and using dirty bag washing equipment. Your milking parlor should be kitchen clean, free of bugs and pests.
The surroundings where you do your milking should be clean, easy to use to prevent frustration, and a pleasant environment making it an enjoyable experience for you and your goats. Goats are in milk a minimum of five months a year, and you can not skip a day. The everyday commitment needs to be kept from getting old by having suitable surroundings.
The surroundings where you do your milking should be clean, easy to use to prevent frustration, and a pleasant environment making it an enjoyable experience for you and your goats. Goats are in milk a minimum of five months a year, and you can not skip a day. The everyday commitment needs to be kept from getting old by having suitable surroundings.
I liked to get the doe kids used to the parlor at an early age. This way, it wasn't scary to them being in the parlor for their first time milking.
Milking should be an enjoyable experience. If you feel frustrated, take a break. Relax. It's not your agenda running the show. It is a blend of your goals and the animals. You have to tune into the moment with the animals to keep things running smoothly.
Even grown goats can get into places they shouldn't be. Angel got stuck under the manger. I have no idea how she got under there, and I couldn't get her out.
Ronnie came to the rescue to save my stuck goat. You can tell by the look on her face she thought the extra attention was pretty awesome.
Did you know goats discovered coffee?
After all, it is just a roasted berry.
On this subzero night, we were waiting on goat kids to arrive, and I shared a little bit of my coffee.
After all, it is just a roasted berry.
On this subzero night, we were waiting on goat kids to arrive, and I shared a little bit of my coffee.
Goats: Portfolio
Early Morning Goat Kids on the Homestead
A nasty winter storm morning with the day-old kids as they learn to use their legs. I am getting ready for the day, making coffee, Ronnie's lunch for work, and getting milk bottles ready for the kid's breakfast while Ronnie is still in bed.
Goats: Video
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