[Flump74]

Hi there,

New to the forum and goat keeping!

Wondering if there might be someone within visiting distance? I'm near Ponterwyd, Ceredigion. Thinking about 50 miles as a reasonable max!

Love my girls but having a bit of a stressful time and would really appreciate someone to ask silly questions and learn from

[Beeducked]

Hi and welcome to the forum.


I'm a bit far at 57 miles and they are not nice miles given google directions says its almost and hour and a half! If you do ever come to Shropshire (I'm near Oswestry) you can always come visit. Alternatively feel free to ask on the forum. I'm not an expert having only had mine for a few years but feel free to PM me if you like.
Don't let the stressful times get you down, chatting to others definitely helps, especially when you find out how many others are in the same boat.

[Lesley Silvester]

HI and I'm even further than Beeducked although always happy to be visited and to give advice. I've been keeping goats for about 14 years. There's probably someone nearer to you though. Have you tried your local goat-keeping association?

[Dogwalker]

Hello yes I'm about half hour from you, near Llanidloes.
Not an expert , just a few years further down the slippery slope than you.

What kind of goats do you have?
What's the problems?

Bit busy this week getting ready for Wonderwool but after that come and visit if you'd like to.

[Flump74]

Thank you for your responses

My story is a little complicated but basically I moved here last July, and as I had always wanted to keep goats and now have the space, I decided to go for it!

I bought two Toggenburg Boer cross girls about 18 months old and as the intention was to milk them, I took them to meet a gorgeous Golden Guernsey billy in the autumn.

Only one of the girls fell pregnant and in a way, I am relieved as due to a change in my circumstances, I am not sure I could have coped with two goats kidding!

 Molly had two lovely little ginger nuts, one boy and one girl, but as I said, due to some stressful changes here, I haven't so far been able tothink about milking her. I have left both kids with her, and all is well. I however am suddenly feeling a little out of my depth and wondering if I can actually do all this!

I adore my girls, and really want to settle my nerves and make a go of this rather than give up at the first hurdle!

Dogwalker....I would love to visit when you are less busy

I think I just really need some reassurance that what I'm doing is ok! And how to move forward from here!

 My eldest son (he doesn't live with me) has been doing the hoof trimming with me as helper as he has had experience with sheep. Just wish he was here all the time!

[Anke]

You hopefully had the wee man castrated? If not, he will be active on any female he can get near to by the time he is three months old...

Other than that, a few goat books should also help, and there are other goat specific forums available too.

[Flump74]

Yes Anke,

this I know, butnhad read that ringing them too early can cause issues with theirnurethra later on in life? So had decoded to leave it a few weeks as reccomended by the site that I read it on.
Not sure how true that is?

Also was undecided as to what to do with the wee fellow....we had originally decided to rear any males for meat, but as I said I've had a stressful few months with other stuff and having since read other articles about that being rubbish, am now worried about ringing him this late? My son hasn't been up for a few weeks, and is supposed to be doing it tomorrow, but I'm now considering a trip to the vets instead. Any advice, however blunt, gratefully received. Don't be too hard on me though, I am a little fragile right now!

[devonlady]

How old is the male kid?

[Beeducked]

There is evidence that early castration leads to a smaller urethra so if they form stones it can be more of a problem but it's all a balance.
I didn't castrate my 2 boys last year, a little because of that small risk but also as I was planning on breeding from them their first year before they became pets. It was a bit stressful having to wean them from mum before they were really ready as obviously couldn't leave them with her and risk them impregnating her. They will now be castrated by the vet (it is illegal to castrate after 7 days if you are not a vet). I guess it depends on how old your boy is as to what method your vet will recommend but unless you have somewhere you can separate him to (and company) to keep him away from his mum and sister best get the vet out and get him sorted before 3 months.


Don't beat yourself up about not milking! Happy, healthy goats is the only really important thing and no point stressing yourself out if that's what you've got. Sounds like you have a lot of stress already. You have a choice now, you can chose to accept that this year has been stressful but you have a little experience of kidding and 2 lovely new additions to your herd  and milking is something for future years or you can try to get into it this year. It depends a bit if you or the goats have been milked before and all know what you're doing and how old her kids are as to whether she will let you start now I guess. You could always start feeding her on a milking stand and seeing if she will let you handle her udder and take things from there. I have a first timer who is as good as gold (I keep all my kids on their mums) and will happily let me milk from day 1 (although I did start on Day 1) and an older girl who is a madam who I've milked for a couple of years but still trys to get away with whatever she can! It depends on the goat to a degree!

[Dogwalker]

I don't usually start milking mine for a few weeks after kidding any way.
At about 4 weeks I separate them at night and have the morning milk then put the kids back with their mums for the daytime.

I know it's always said that they can be sexually mature at 3-4 months but twice now I've tried to use buck kids to mate my goats and they've failed.  One a very well bred angora with the girls from October to Christmas and all 5 still coming in season, went back to the breeder and borrowed his dad, the does all kidded within 5 days of each other.

[Flump74]

The kids will be 4 weeks old on Monday

So will approach the vet regarding castration.....i have a lot of old sheep farmers around me that keep saying it'll be fine to ring him but I don't much like the idea anyway!

Going to try and get Molly on the milking stand later on and see how much she'll let me touch her. She picks her legs up a bit if I run my hand down her tummy and onto her udder without her head in a feed bucket, but generally she is quite an amenable girl!

Thanks for the reaassurance....the girls seem happy and healthy to me! Its just me that is stressing about how much hay they should be having and trying to get them out in their paddock enough for exercise and pasture. The fence we put up last year for them isn't Lily proof as she is always far more concerned about where I am than what she is eating! Going to need a bit of a redesign.

You guys have been just what I needed to find....friendly goaty people that understand why I want to keep such capricious beasts!

Going to PM you Dogwalker if thats ok about visiting sometime, thank you!

[Lesley Silvester]

I would take it slowly when introducing Molly to the concept of being milked. Just try to get her up on the stand to start with, then try sitting next to her a few times before actually touching her udder.

[JedM]

The kids will be 4 weeks old on Monday

So will approach the vet regarding castration.....

I spoke to my vet about castrating a billy kid which I couldn't do with a band.  They said they couldn't do castrate him until he was 6 months old! 
Has your vet said the same thing?

[Flump74]

My little billy is booked in tomorrow to be castrated at just about 4 weeks old. They have said they won't do it under local anaesthetic because of goats being such sensitive creatures, so they will be putting him out for it.They did a couple last week apparently....must be someone else keeping goats near me then!

Cost seems reasonable, as I will be taking him there and waiting, so we'll only be about half an hour hopefully!

[Dogwalker]

Perhaps the vet will put you in touch with the other local goat keeper.  Or pass your phone number to them.
The feed store is also a good place to ask as well.
I asked around for about 18months, kept being told no-one had goats till I chatted to the postman, Oh yes he says N's wife keeps goats I often have to herd them back to the yard.  About a mile away just over the hill opposite.