[WildWelshShepherdess]

Hello,
am looking for a goat to help rear pet lambs as we're due for a few too many triplets this year.
Must be in the West Wales area, but will travel a little further.
Will take more than 1 if needed. thanks

[Lesley Silvester]

It wouldn't be kind to just take one as goats are herd animals.

[tizaala]

And what happens after lambing? just chucked out onto pre-loved for £20 , or Hallal ? Just buy some dried lamb milk and plenty of bottles.

[Anke]

And what happens after lambing? just chucked out onto pre-loved for £20 , or Hallal ? Just buy some dried lamb milk and plenty of bottles.

I was thinking along the same lines.... but haven't got the time to put in a proper reply. I have done it previously 

[bloomer]

whilst i understand wanting to ensure quality homes for all livestock, i feel all responses so far are a bit harsh with no opportunity to put forward any supportive evidence of their ability to care for goats.


please desist until the OP replies as their original question maybe genuine and valid. 

[ScotsGirl]

Apart from goats being herd animals, by the time you have to feed it, milk it and have housing for it, surely it would be cheaper and less time consuming to buy milk powder?


I have one milker who had triplets last year but one died.  I had plans to use excess milk for lambs but in reality she didn't give me enough and I still had to buy powder! Eventually I got the hang of milking and she let it down so the pigs and pups got it! We would have drunk it but tasted horrible.

[Anke]

We would have drunk it but tasted horrible.

A mineral drench with Copper and Cobalt would probably have sorted it.... fresh raw goatsmilk tastes not "goaty" at all....

[WildWelshShepherdess]

And what happens after lambing? just chucked out onto pre-loved for £20 , or Hallal ? Just buy some dried lamb milk and plenty of bottles.

Hallal?... This year we have had a sheep shot and skinned whilst carrying twins in a field by the house!!! So no she will not be sold to Hallal or anything if the kind!!

Yes buying powdered milk for lambs would most probs be cheaper but it's not as good for lambs as "real milk"
Housing and feed wont be an issue as she'll spend a lot of time with our show sheep.

We're kept goats in the past, our last one lived being with my pony, she used to jump up onto his back and nibble the hay out of his mane, she sadly died last march
We therefore understand how much effort etc goats require!!

And in future don't jump down peoples throats, you don't know me or know how i treat my stock, but if you came onto this site asking for help about sheep etc i'd be more than willing to give it to you!!!
So if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say it at all!!!

[Lesley Silvester]

I hope I didn't come over as jumping down your throat and if I did, I'm sorry.

Hallal?... This year we have had a sheep shot and skinned whilst carrying twins in a field by the house!!! So no she will not be sold to Hallal or anything if the kind!!

How horrendous. That's something that always worries me with my goats, ever since a local pub had their pet wether killed and stolen.

[devonlad]

And in future don't jump down peoples throats, you don't know me or know how i treat my stock, but if you came onto this site asking for help about sheep etc i'd be more than willing to give it to you!!!
So if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say it at all!!!
[/quote]

seems to be far too much of this on here at present. beginning to really bug me. didn't used to happen and not sure why it does now. sorry I cant help but good luck and sorry for the response you got- not bloomin necessary

[tizaala]

The reason for my harsh reply  : 2 years ago we had someone who we knew come and by a milker off us , 2 months later we had to go and rescue her after she  had served her purpose , she was just cast out to look after herself , no shelter no feed , no care and attention. that will never happen to us again.

[Anke]

Anybody looking for "a goat" (notice the Singular!) has in all probability not got much of an idea a of how to look after goats (notice the plural!) properly. Chucking your goat (singular) in with your "show" sheep is actually amounting to animal cruelty. No goat is happy without any mates of her own kind, and that is even worse if you buy a single adult milker (taken out of a herd) and then just "chuck her in with sheep" - which she may have never encountered before.

There is still wide-spread misconception that a goat is an easy animal, produces milk out of nothing and doesn't need proper looking after. What about worm-control (if she is living with sheep she will soon be riddled with them), proper goat food (branches, hay even in summer, goat mix or better dairy cattle mix, lots of vegetables), milking her twice a day (or was she just have to have two lambs fostered onto her directly?)?

Please go and do your sums - and buying a sack of Lamlac is much cheaper.

Of course, you will get people to sell you a goat - but please don't ask serious goatbreeder to sell you (probably cheaply?) one of the quality milkers.

[WildWelshShepherdess]

The lambs would be put onto her directly,
We worm out sheep regualary so she will not be riddled with worms!
I have said i'll take more than one if needed as a neighbour has one for sale i was looking for another one for company!!
And i didnt say any thing about buying one cheaply, yet again people making presumtions!!!
And as for "chucking her in with sheep" as i didnt say the first place i said she'd spend a lot of time with them, as they are the ones that have adeqaute shelter in both winter and summer!!!

[sokel]

 lambs will ruin a goats udder  so not a good idea

[WildWelshShepherdess]

lambs will ruin a goats udder  so not a good idea

Thank you for the advice
So it'd be best to milk them out twice and day and bottle feed them the milk?