[johny]

Hi found this site while looking for pygmy goat breeders in France we have been here a year on 12 12 2011 up in the Montagne Noir with our 4 Old English Sheepdogs trying to renovate the house get the garden sorted, 1001 jobs to do now we have two very young pygmy goats and looking for more we have found them so intellegent and  amusing with handling and having to bottle fed they have become so tame its touch and go who is closest on my heels the dogs or the goats

[Lesley Silvester]

  Hi and welcome from wet and windy Shropshire.   

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome from Carnoustie 

[lill]

Hi Johny,
Welcome to the site, look forward to your questions 

[MAK]

Hi.
welcome from Central France.
Try Angloinfo.com if you want more goats. People give them away here.
If you open your Angloinfo/France/ ( your region) then go to Classified/Giveaways you often see people giving away goats and cockera ls.
If you are after a special kind of goat then a trip up to the big market at Les Heroiles on the 29th of each month will be rewarding. Take a truck though as they sell pretty much any type of livestock - the list is endless but a great day out but I would suggest giving the Tete de Veau a miss - actually the andouettes are pretty rough too. The same market is great for the gardener and sells all farm tools etc etc - take cash as there is no ATM for many miles!
Enjoy the mild winter down there - we are getting ready for the COLD !
Cheers Martin

[johny]

Mild winter !!!! i suppose compared to Antarctica it is mild we were snowed in for 4 days twice last year without electricity on and off for over a week lucky we have a wood burner cooker  icicles hanging off the roof over 12 inch long then flooded in March  if its as cold this year may think about bringing the goats inside to the old barn under the house

[johny]

Thanks for the welcome all , does anyone know what the procedure is for registering goats here in france they are tagged in both ears by the previous owner, what should i be doing or not be doing have asked the vet and he suggests keeping my mouth shut as i shall be asking for a load of trouble and paperwork

[MAK]

As far as I can tell breeders need to tag animals but if you are keeping animals just for meat etc then you do not need to do anything. We have just converted a room once used by animals into a utility room and our bedroom was used to mill flour up until 2 years ago. So taking the goats in the house is not such a strange thing here.
Some English pig breeders hang on to UK regs but we live in la Creuse ( VERY rural) and everyone seems happy to " keep mouth shut approach". Slaughtering is done in the road with a fire to tidy up after. Not many regs regarding movement or slaughter of animals then!
Rich and Jan have been here some time - try a PM and they can probably give you a definitive answer to your question.
I agree winters are pretty severe here and trying to warm our house on one of those wood burning cookers was impossible. Last winter we lived in one room with a bucket at night ( it was so cold). Our neighbours said it was mild with little snow but days of -8 to -11 was cold for us.
Got a woodburning central heating system now !  Somehow managed to forget a radiator in the new bathroom but we only wash once a week so no problem 

[PetiteGalette]

Hi Johny,
It is not a matter of English breeders hanging onto UK  regs;  from July 2010 all sheep and goats need an electronic tag in one ear to match the conventional numbered tag in their other ear to facilitate movement traceability. without these it is illegal to sell, move, or send your animals (or their offspring) to slaughter. This is to become compulsory from 2013 and, even now, can attract a 450€ fine if not complied with.
It is easy enough to apply to your Chambre Regionale D'Agriculture for a cheptel (holding) number. and nominate a local vet.
If you are in Brittany you apply to EDE (Service Identification Ovine Caprine) in Plerin.
Following our registration we had to have our sheep tested for brucellosis (they all passed); the ram we had bought had not been previously registered or tagged; this caused no problems or extra paperwork.
If you want any further info please don't hesitate to ask.

[chrismahon]

Hi Johny. Welcome to the forum, of which I am a brand new member as well. We hope to move to Lot in September with all our chickens. Sorted the paperwork out this end -will there be any problems at the other?

[NormandyMary]

Hi.
welcome from Central France.
Try Angloinfo.com if you want more goats. People give them away here.
If you open your Angloinfo/France/ ( your region) then go to Classified/Giveaways you often see people giving away goats and cockera ls.
If you are after a special kind of goat then a trip up to the big market at Les Heroiles on the 29th of each month will be rewarding. Take a truck though as they sell pretty much any type of livestock - the list is endless but a great day out but I would suggest giving the Tete de Veau a miss - actually the andouettes are pretty rough too. The same market is great for the gardener and sells all farm tools etc etc - take cash as there is no ATM for many miles!
Enjoy the mild winter down there - we are getting ready for the COLD !
Cheers Martin

Also for livestock, have you heard of www.leboncoin.fr ? We got our 2 pygmy billys from a breeder on there. I just love my boys to bits, though not tonight. They have been playing me up not going to bed. Naughty little tykes!!!
So good to have new french members. Vive la France!!

[MAK]

Yes we keep an eye on leboncoin too. I often look at the giveaways on angloinfo but frankly don't need a donkey or goats. A free coq for the pot is OK though!
As Johnny said - winters are severe but we have only had one light frost so far.
Pigs escaped 2 days ago as we enlarged their paddock area to give them more grass land. We ran around like headless chickens to catch them but then our two elderly neighbours ( ladies over 80) came out with their sticks and calmly heard ed the pigs back to our plot. By this time we had discarded our jumpers and were in T shirts. My daughter said it was 17 degrees - so not exactly a "severe winter".
Happy New Year to all living in France ( and everyone else of course)
Martin
 

[Rich/Jan]

Hi welcome to France.  We are in Poitou Charente.  As others have said register at the Chambre d'agriculture and get a cheptel number which is, in effect, a holding number.  Ear tagging is essential for any new goats you breed.  You do not need to change tags from goats you have purchased as these are the cheptel number of the previous owner and shows traceability if it is needed.  Worming at certain times of the year is adviseable but you could arrange for a worm count at your vets.  Dont hesitate to pm or ask on here for advice - everyone is very helpful.  We used to keep pygmy goats but had to let them go when they kept leading our 100+ sheep astray   We did enjoy their antics though.  Jan

[NormandyMary]

We really are quite spread out around France aren't we? I didnt realise there were so many of us on this board. Great news. (Up early and posting this morning, had to get up early for the nurse who arrived at 8am to give hubby his antibiotic and cortisone injections. You should have seen the size of the needle. Oooooh!)

[MAK]

Ouch ! The french do like giving drugs AND by invasive routes.

Any idea how many Brits live in France? I read that there 8000 in the Limousin.
My guess is that there is an even distribution of those who work here with young families and those who no longer work but live the "town" life and then those who try their hand at growing their own and keeping animals. ( Then there are the very serious smallholders who have 100 sheep !!    and breed animals).

We just live on a meagre income and try and get what we can off our bit of land whilst enjoying France.

Each to their own and I would never knock those we have met who appear not to speak ( or try) French but enjoy sitting at the same bar enjoying their retirement.

It would be very easy to live in a bubble here and just use UK trademen and buy animals from Brits. I guess that the weekly Tesco delievery, Argos and Do It All deliveries are a great help too.

Bubble or not I think it is much easier having a go at  a "smallholding" here in France given that land is so cheap and that so many people live so much closer to the land compared to the UK.

Did you guys move here specifically to start a smallholding or find that living here presented the opportunity to start?

Cheers Martin