[PIGBOY]

Hello everyone,
Im looking into goats so i was just wondering if any of you can give me any advice, anything revolving around goats will be useful! I'm in no rush but i just want to gather as much info as possible before i make the decision to do it. I'm looking ino Anglo Nubians for milking, so any info on these will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a lot 

[Lesley Silvester]

Best advice - go for it.  Goats are great.

Seriously, you're doing the right thing by finding out all you can.  I would recommend visiting someone who keeps goats if you can.  Mine are Sanaans, which are good dairy goats and very placid, but you are welcome to come and see them if you are near to Shropshire.  I would also suggest reading through the old posts on here.  Basically, they neeed shelter - they hate getting wet - with bedding which needs mucking out when it gets wet and dirty.  Suitable food including ad lib hay.  Water at all times.  Company - goats are herd animals and prefer to have other goats around.  Although I started off with one, now I would always have at least two.  You also need to be prepared to spend on vet's bills as with any animals.

Do ask any specific questions as well.

[PIGBOY]

Hi thanks a lot for the reply!

I have a few main questions,

1. Would it be best to start of with two doe kids and build a bond?
2.In the paddock because it is just grass what else could i put in to make it that much more interesting?
3.How high should the fencing be?
4.In you opinion when the doe kids is it best to hand rear the kids and take all the milk, or leave them on and milk her once a day?

Thanks a lot!

[wytsend]

I breed Anglo Nubians ..............   done so for well over 35 years. !!!
Be very selective about the Health Status of herds you buy stock from....... there are many people who willclaim theirs are the best in health but not have the official current certifcates to back up there claims.
Always buy registered pedigree stock if you want to breed properly in the future.   As in all livestock, see the dam... sire isn't always possible to see but you should at least check out his pedigree.
Remember......IT COST THE SAME THE FEED MEDIOCRE STOCK  as it does to feed top quality.
After 12 mths old, goats require blood testin g for CAE and this has to be done annually.   No stud goat owner will accept a female who does not have a current clean certificate.
Lots to be thought about........do your research and most things will be OK.
Whereabouts are you ?

[plumseverywhere]

Hello Pigboy, I keep a mix of pure Toggenburgs and a saanenX.  My goats are for milk for my soap business but also pets. We live in Worcestershire if you are anywhere near there and would like to see our set up. I can also highly recommend joining a local goat club if there is one - we have the Worcester goat society that meets monthly.  Everyones' views will differ with regard to your questions, but here are my personal responses based partly on what I've learnt through experience but also from WGS advice.

1. Would it be best to start of with two doe kids and build a bond?
I started with one nanny, her 2 kids and an outside kid. no problems building bonds with any  I then bought in a pregnant doe and have an equally good bond with her (and her kid) as I do the others. As a first timer though you might feel more confident growing with the kids just make sure they are as healthy as possible and have all the vaccinations/worming etc neccessary and are CAE tested
2.In the paddock because it is just grass what else could i put in to make it that much more interesting?
We have over hanging willow which the goats love and also tables and ramps as playthings. Deliveries of fresh browsings each day will help keep them happy
3.How high should the fencing be?
High as possible    ours is about 5ft with electric fencing above and at shoulder height to the goats
4.In you opinion when the doe kids is it best to hand rear the kids and take all the milk, or leave them on and milk her once a day?
I chose to leave kids on mum. Already milking a maiden and getting 9pts a day from her, it seemed with my lifestyle (4 young children, livestock, disabled mum to care for) the best idea not to add to my work! Kid is now weaned and is as tame as any other kid you'll meet despite not being on a bottle. Some breeders prefer to bottle feed so you can be sure how much they are taking but it was clear from minutes after his birth that he would guzzle happily  a breeder friend came out a few days after his birth and said how well he was doing to put my mind at rest. This really is down to the individual though and I don't think there is a hard and fast right or wrong. In some cases you will have no choice but to bottle feed eg if mum rejects her kid, udder problems, triplets or quads (esp if you are looking at ANs!!)

Do lots of reading, ask lots of questions, visit lots of goat  places. Wouldn't be without mine now 

[Carl f k]

Hi pig boy check out my old posts,I've just become a goat owner and asked lots of questions for a few months before taking the plunge 

[Lesley Silvester]

I, too, leave kids on mum as I feel it is more natural for them.  I can see the logic behind bottle feeding that the kids are tamer but I bottle fed a bought in kid and she was less friendly than one born here who fed from his mum.  If you handle them often they will be friendly with you.  Buying two together will usually mean that they are already bonded but they do learn to get one quite quickly once they've sorted out who is boss.

[goosepimple]

Goats are very fond of their house Pigboy, no draughts or leaks, and make sure you have a good quality hay supplier, they like lots of it and WARM water in winter - don't just smash the frozen bucket.  Oh, and a mineral lick. 
 
You'll find a goat milking stand (goat crush) invaluable as you have to trim their hooves monthly (much more often than sheep) and it's good to get someone to show you how to do this properly and use the correct cutters for it, or use a 'lamb adoptor' which is a gate with a moveable head/neck opening, they're about £16plus from your local fencing supplier or fleabay. 
 
Goats are pretty much all superjumpers so fencing is important - we raised ours as our last goats were pertic talented, we put 2 straight tension wires running along the top - unfortunately one of them did try to jump and got her foot stuck in the wires and was left dangling, lucky I was there, so we made it higher and put a timber rail to stop that. 
 
You shouldn't get goats with horns and some without, get either/or, people do but it's not recommended.
 
Suss out a good goat vet, there aren't that many around.

[Penninehillbilly]

I like the 'Goats are Great' phrase - MGM, could do with a car sticker for that 
 
Come on pigboy, don't be shy, whereabouts are you, you may find one of us local who are happy to show you their system of management.
Fence - I use normal stock fence (1metre?) + a wire along the top, with an electric fence (single wire) runing about 12-18" round the inside. once they respect the wire you don't need it on all the time.
I just tie my goats up to trim their feet, they are used to it, no problem, lift the the feet like a farrier would, but not too high. once used to a milking bench it's even easier to stand them on there.
Weaned kids later in summer would be nice to start with, or in-kid goatlings (looking at about 20months old). Or even an older steady milker with a female kid. that would give you chance to practise your milking on a steady older milker, hopfully having had a few 'lessons' first off the seller. remember first time kidders can be a bit skittish at milking.
I leave the kids on the mums, starting to take them off for a few hours while the mum is out at grass, gradually extending to a day, then milking the mum before the kid gets in there, though some don't let their milk down, holding it back for baby.
Make sure goats are CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis) negative. seller should have an annual certificate to prove this. This is a disease which I believe is now quite rare in Britain, thanks to responsible goatkeepers keeping their stock checked.
Housing doesn't need to be warm (probably better not warm if goats are to be let out in winter), but main thing is dry and draughtproof. Mine are out for exercise now and temperature is 2c.
Check out they wouldn't be able to get to poisonous plants (Rhododendon, Laurel, Yew, + more), sadly they will eat certain poisonous plants, but they don't just eat anything, despite what the common myths are :-).
Mine do get cold water, but prefer warm, they always get slightly warm when its freezing weather.
It may sound like a lot of information to take in but most is just common sense and caring about your animals.
AND Well done in asking before wondering what to do when it's too late  .

[PIGBOY]

Thanks for all the positive feed back guys, i really appreciate it!
The field that i think would be best for goats (If i do eventually get some) is about 4 acres with one acre taken up by my pigs who are kept back by a two strand electric wire fence, and all this is surrounded by normal stock fence. Would this be substantial?
With the housing side of things would it be good to create a hard standing which will enable a small yard and the house to be part of the yard type thing? I like the idea of an experienced milker and a doe kid, so what size would you think would be best for these?
And last of all what should i build or whats best for a place to milk? Would a lean-to coming off the house be good or a separate building built?

Oh and i'm in Wiltshire!
Thanks again for all the feedback 

[ScotsGirl]

Where abouts in Wiltshire are you? I am a newbie to goats although experienced with sheep but you are welcome to come look at my Boer x's and AN x.

[goosepimple]

I'd keep their house away from yours but not too far    if you're milking and yes, hard standing area of a few metres square would be good and some benches inside (cut up pallets is fine) as they like ledges to sleep on.

[colliewoman]

I'm near Glastonbury and I have goats if you want to come meet them? 

[ballingall]

Hi Pigboy,


I breed AN's as well and they are definitely the best breed! It could be that I am a little biased perhaps.


It terms of developing a bond, AN's are the friendliest breed, they are very human orientated. So I wouldn't worry too much about what age you get, as they should bond with you anyway.


I would just point out about your choice of breed- have you picked them because they are your favourite, or because you have been told their milk is the best?
The reason I ask is that, AN's have the highest quality milk (butterfat and proteins) , but they do not always give as much milk as other dairy breeds. Also, other dairy breeds, Saanen's Toggenburg types, will milk right though the winter, and can need to only have kids every 2nd year. AN's, although some will milk through a whole winter, not all of them will. So do bear this in mind if you are looking for a year round supply of milk.


Fencing- I actually find standard stock fencing is fine, and ours don't escape. I would say AN adults are less of escape artists some unkind people (like my mother) would say they are more stupid than some breeds!.


We take our kids away from the mums and hand rear them. This is for a couple of reasons, we can monitor how much milk they are taking, also how much milk mum is producing. AN's have more multiple births then other breeds, so triplets is more the normal for them- therefore it is also useful to make sure each kid gets enough milk.
I also find AN kids are quite weak for the first few days, I swear that if they were born in the wild in the UK, they wouldn't survive.


Let us know how you get on, and keep asking questions!


Beth

[PIGBOY]

Thanks everyone, i'm about 17 miles from Salisbury if this helps!
Well the Anglo Nubians are the ones that hooked most because like you stated they have high quality milk, they seem so docile and friendly, they put on a bit of meat and they are just lovely to look at!
My plan is to wait until i'm 16 (This September) so that i can ride a scooter, therefore my dad wont have to take me to milk  the goats in the morning as we live about 5 minutes drive from our smallholding.
I'm hoping to purchase a experienced milker and a young weaned doe kid and start from there. I read that i could let the kids run with mum in the day, then in the afternoon/evening strip her down and separate her from the kids and then milk her in the morning, then let the kids out in the filed with her, would this work? I'm not too worried about a constant supply of milk but i would like to have a good supply of it, maybe freezing it to stretch out the amount we get.