Looking for advise on goat farming

[wildwoods]

I've got a little .5 acre area on my property near Sherwood Park. My wife and I want to raise a handful of meat goats this summer. The kids would love it. We have good grass back there and a pond in the enclosure. looking for any advise from anyone that's raised them before. Do's and donts, breeds, feed etc...
thanks

Just adding a thought here: I have not fenced the area yet. I'm planning on going about 48 inches high with 4 x 4 page wire or something similar.

[Travco1]

A good fence is #1 , make sure it is tight too the ground as they slip under and through stuff you will only believe it if you see it for yourself what they are capable of . and go for the heavy duty page wire not the cheep stuff. Make sure there is nothing near fence they can climb on and then jump over the fence. They are great for weed control as they eat them .
good luck

[wildwoods]

Awesome thanks. I just measured it and it's almost a full acre back there. Any issues having a pond in the goat pasture? Are they smart enough to not drown?

[Au revoir, Gopher]

I'm glad you said 'meat' because if you had said 'milk' I would have said you were out of your *$()(&$ mind! I took care of some milk goats for a weekend... I would rather milk 20 cows than one goat! Meat is the only thing they are good for!

ARG

[223MB]

We always had a donkey or two with our goats/sheep for added coyote protection.

[urban rednek]

This thread had some good points on the topic: http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=goat

Originally Posted by Badgerbadger

You have your over goats, your under goats, and your magic goats.

Your over goats go over your fence. They jump it, climb it, crush it, whatever. They go over. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch. They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your under goats go under your fence. They'll find the low spots and slip, squirm, wriggle, or struggle through. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your magic goats. There's no way they could have gotten out of the pasture! Not over, not under, not around. There's no freaking way!! But, they're magic, and.... They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

You will never see a goat give birth. You'll know she's pregnant. You'll be aware she's in labour. You'll be watching. A bird will chirp, you'll look away for a second, and there'll be 3 goats where before there was 1.

A buck can get a very large number of does pregnant within 10 minutes. If he is an over/under/magic goat, it's best to sell him, and rent a male for breeding purposes. If you don't, all your goats will be pregnant and their kids will be over/under/magic goats, and the cycle will just repeat and get worse.

A doe over/under/magic goat will always be pregnant, as will all her kids, all the time. They will all give birth to more over/under/magic goats. You will be swamped with goats. They will eat all the trees and bushes. They will eat every garden. They will eat all the treats. They will eat all the dog/cat/chicken food. They will eat all your bread and crackers. They will know when you are angry at them, and good luck getting within a couple hundred yards at that time, as goats are quick.

Eventually, you will realize that if goats had thumbs, we would not be the dominant species on the planet.

I'd recommend you pursue sheep ranching instead.

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by urban rednek

This thread had some good points on the topic: http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=goat

Histarical Thanks uh oh

[doublehaul]

A friend who had goats said " if you can throw a pail of water at the fence and it goes through , the goats will get out"
And they have a weak immune system
A vet told me they get sick easily , more so when there are larger numbers together

[Red Bullets]

I would suggest that the fence be sunk into the ground a foot or so. Even a strand or two of wire in the ground under the fence. We had sunken page wire fences for the pigs and never had one pig root their way out. Would keep goats in for sure.

There is a good market for goat now a days. I used to work with some new canadians and they were begging me to raise goats. They drove a couple hours every couple weeks to find and get meat goats.

Goats are prone to foot problems so that acre of land might need some landscaping so there are higher places not prone to mud and manure.

Penn State University has an online course on meat goats. Might be worth taking.
https://extension.psu.edu/courses/meat-goat

[wildwoods]

Awesome Red. Good info!

[trophybook]

May want to look into how many head of livestock per acre in strathcona country. Neighbors can be a issue

[arrow dog]

Originally Posted by urban rednek

This thread had some good points on the topic: http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=goat

This is exactly what it is like living next to an acreage goat farmer!!! Nothing smells worse than a randy billy goat Trees are all stripped of leaves and broken down to the ground. Goats seem to get sick frequently with some kind of goat pneumonia. Best check with your neighbours before embarking on your goat adventure. Goats appear to be a lot of work and you wouldn't believe the fences they get through or get their horns stuck in over and over and over again.

[JonWalter]

Hi !
I'm newbie .
My uncle had several goats when I was a wee lad. Those things were fun to watch. Once my uncle put several large apple bins in their pasture to give them something climb on and sure enough up the went. My aunt used to move them from pasture to pasture by having them follow her with a pail of feed. Very easy animals to take care of, no real drama involved at all. Well providing nothing major goes wrong.. or at least that's how it looks to me.. could be wrong.

[CBintheNorth]

Do not, under any circumstances, name them.
It'll be much easier on the kids when it's time for "the fat one" to go...trust me.

[Badgerbadger]

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

Do not, under any circumstances, name them.
It'll be much easier on the kids when it's time for "the fat one" to go...trust me.

Shish-ka-BOB, DONair, Stew, Curry, Barry-Becue, HeyYou!!, Getouttathere! Friggin, and Jeez

are all good goat names.

[223MB]

Originally Posted by badgerbadger

shish-ka-bob, donair, stew, curry, barry-becue, heyyou!!, getouttathere! Friggin, and jeez

are all good goat names.

gold! Hahaaha

[35 whelen]

Probably be a good time to get into the goat yoga fad

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[Okotok]

Don't turn your back on the little buggers either. They like to butt.

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

Do not, under any circumstances, name them.
It'll be much easier on the kids when it's time for "the fat one" to go...trust me.

Thread revival.

CB, I should have listend to you. "Bambi", my castrated whether buck simply eats all my winter feed and I can't bring myself to sell him. Maybe in the summer when the two Does give birth.

So far it's been a learning curve but lots and lots of fun. Goats have hilarious personalities and are very smart. We have 3 + a borrowed Buck to tend the Does.

They always make you feel like you are never doing enough for them. Full food and water bins, playground to climb on, scratching behind the ears.... it doesn't matter. They always bleat out their frantic "frustration". Our oldest mother Doe says her own name, "Ahhhhhhhnnnne". Ole Anne is pretty demanding but she's super cute. Who knew raising these guys would be so much fun?!
I'll posts pics when they birth this spring.

[josey]

I really do want all the livestock... horses (check), cows (check), chickens, ducks, sheep (maybe), alpacas, llamas, donkey, pigs but one thing is for sure... never, never do I want goats.

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by urban rednek

This thread had some good points on the topic: http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=goat

This is hilarious

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Okotok

Don't turn your back on the little buggers either. They like to butt.

Yes you are correct and they eat everything, ball caps ,gloves tee shirts,underwear etc etc.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by josey

I really do want all the livestock... horses (check), cows (check), chickens, ducks, sheep (maybe), alpacas, llamas, donkey, pigs but one thing is for sure... never, never do I want goats.

A person never feels more important and in need as when you have farm animals. The barnyard sounds were so nice to wake up to. Except for that damn rooster yodeling at 5:30 in the morn.