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Post by guest on Feb 21, 2008 13:52:38 GMT -5
First off.. Thank You Alisa for making this new section. I have goats for sale. First off I have two yearling does for sale. Registered nubians. Both are black with brown trim and a white top spot. One has a white spot on her side. They are extremely friendly. They are ready to be bred. If I have no takers this week, they will be put in with a buck to be bred on Mar. 1st. I'm asking $150 for each as open does. Or $200 each bred. Would make a package deal for both. They come from excellent milk lines. (Pics will come later today after I get a chance to take some more of the girls). I have one yearling buck for sale. Brother to the girls above. He's a registered nubian. He is a reddish brown with lighter tan spots and black trim. I'll get pics of him later as well. I'm asking $100 for him. All of the above are disbudded (no horns), tatooed, and registered. I also have the 5 new bucklings for sale. They will be disbudded and tatooed hopefully this weekend. Polar, Stretch, and Denim are registerable. Cotton and Velcro are not. As bucks I'm asking $100 each (includes registration applications on the registerable ones). I'm going to see if they can be wethered while they get the horns done as well. If they do get wethered the price drops to $50 each (no registration app at this price). I will make package deals. You can take them now and bottle feed them or a deposit will hold them until weaning time (beginning of April). All of these goats listed are sired by my buck Prince. A deposit will hold any of these goats for up to one month. I am also open to bartering. I love to trade. So, if you don't have cash but want a goat, make me an offer. *Pics will come later.
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Post by Christa on Feb 21, 2008 17:03:29 GMT -5
Okay so I sent this to my mom as she is looking for goats but I know she is gonna want pictures of what you have so when you get some time...please post some for me
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Post by Flying Cowgirl on Feb 21, 2008 19:58:33 GMT -5
Thank you for posting your goats to it. I moved a few other livestock ads to this section so your ad wouldn't be lonely. Questions about goats... How long do they live? How long is gestation after breeding? What is involved in their care besides giving them hay and water? What kind of pasture/enclosure do you recommend? What is the process to start collecting dairy from them (I know they'll need kids first, of course)? Do you and your family drink/use their milk? What is it like? Ok... next questions, I hope you don't get offended by them. I'm just curious and learning here. So, some of the boys go to "freezer camp".... Is it hard to let them go knowing their fate? Do you eat goat meat? What's it like? I am not sure how well I can handle sending my critter to the butcher, even though I am a meat eater. Have you been raised with raising animals for food? If not, how did you learn to not get emotional about it? *LOL* TONS of questions, huh? Sorry... I'm just curious, I love those little goat babies of yours and think that a dairy goat might be something in my future.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 21, 2008 20:40:10 GMT -5
Oh I am sure Rachelle would be happy to answer your questions. I do know that she does use the milk because her kids are lactose intolorent. I KNOW that much. As for the rest of the questions, I have no idea. LOL!
This is very interesting and I am glad you asked all those questions Alisa, I am interested too!
As for eating your own meat. I don't know why but I don't think I'd have a problem with it. I mean you know EXACTLY what's going into your meat and you know exactly how it was raised. So I can't wait to get my own land so I can start stacking up on the farm, eating animals. Although I don't think I'll be eating the goats, or lamb. The thought of it makes me want to gag. Cows, chicken, pigs, oh yes! lol.
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Post by guest on Feb 21, 2008 20:47:12 GMT -5
Okay goats can live up to 12 years or so, though some live longer, does tend to live longest, bucks tend not to live as long as does or wethers. The average is about 8 to 9 years for goats. Gestation is 147 to 155 days. Again, some go longer, some will go a shorter time. I base my due dates on 155 days. Most of the time they kid right about when they are 'due'. For feed, it's alfalfa not grass hay. They need the calcium/phosforus ratio supplied in the alfafla hay. Though you can substitute the alfalfa pellets instead of hay, but then you would need to supply some grass hay for roughage. Or allow them out for grazing. The does all get grain when in milk or pregnant. We mix our own though you can buy commercial goat chow. They really only need a couple cups each a day. They also need minerals and vitamins. For some reason black goats need extra copper. You can buy mineral mixes and copper boluses online. You can give the minerals free choice, so they eat what they need, or add it to thier grain mix. I give my boys a bit of grain each night too just so they can get the minerals they need. The boys don't really need grain. I also give pure Apple Cider Vinegar in thier water, just a table spoon or two a day. It's not necessary though. They do need shots every year - if you choose to. I don't give shots, but I also have a closed herd. Once someone leaves they don't come back. The only shot I do give is tetanus simply because goats get into everything lol. They do need regular hoof trims just like horses do, but it is really easy to do yourself. And a good rocky area or cement blocks for them to play on keeps the hooves wore down fairly well. As for fencing, we have the hogwire in the goats pasture and it keeps them in - umm for the most part lol. I know a few people who have trained thier goats to respect hotwire. I haven't tried it, but they say they have great success with it. They just put it down low on the horse fencing so the goats hit the wire if they try to escape. They do need a 'house' that is free from drafts and moisture. When goats get wet, they stay wet. They are very suseptible (sp?) to colds and pnuemonia if they're wet or really drafty. Bedding for them is best to be straw or hay. We only change the bedding a couple times a year. Just keep adding new stuff ontop of the old. The old stuff will start to compost and will produce heat which helps keep the goats warm. We change it in Spring and Fall. The only time we take any out during the rest of the time is during kidding and that's just to get the birthing mess out to keep the predators from coming in. The bedding will get to be a couple of feet deep but it cuts up really easy and then you just roll it up and toss it out. It does make excellent mulch for your garden too. We train our does to walk on a leash, that's why they all wear collars. I buy the break away safety dog collars. Kissy is really good at training them and they learn really fast. Bribes help lol. For milking, you need a stanchion. They're easy to build. I have plans. Hubby built mine from a free pallet in about 30 minutes. Once the doe has kidded, you let the babies nurse for about 2 to 3 weeks. If there's only one baby you'll have to start milking right away or the udder can be ruined. Kids tend to find a 'side' and nurse only on that side. Let's just say the doe had twins and go from there. After 2 to 3 weeks, you start locking the babies seperate from the does at night. It's easy to do, they usually bed down by a certain time and sleep til morning. Then first thing in the morning, you pull the doe out and put her on the stanchion and milk her out then return her to her kids for the day. I usually will milk each doe the first day after kidding and freeze the colostrom for emergencies. Training a doe for the stand is sometimes very difficult and other times a total breeze. Just put some grain in the dish, a bucket under her chest (so she can't lay down lol) and then talk to her, pet her, and milk. You'll get kicked and end up with hooves in the bucket a few times until she settles down and gets used to it. IT usually only takes a few days of milking for them to get used to it. My doe Rosie hates to be milked, going on 3 years now and she still fights it lol. Some do. Though her daughter Silver I have milked twice now in the goat shed with no restraints and she stood there like a champ and let me. The milk is usually much thicker and creamier than any you can buy so for some it takes a bit of getting used to. Once you have a bucket of milk, you take it in, strain/filter it, and immediately put it in the fridge. You want it to cool fast and very soon after you're done milking. We have one fridge set a bit colder than normal to cool the milk. If it doesn't get cooled fast it can taste a bit wierd. Otherwise I really prefer it to any other milk I've ever tasted. You can also seperate the cream and make butter with it (yummy) or make cheese or soaps. There are many uses for the goats milk. Some people will pasturize their milk before drinking it. We don't. Raw milk is better for you, but that's a personal choice. I tend to get very attached to all my critters. But I know I can't keep them all, so I try to figure a use for them that will benefit everyone and that does include freezer camp. I can't butcher them myself and I have a good cry the day the butcher does come. But it's life you know?? I do have a few sources that I 'know' what they will use the goat for, I just tell them NOT to tell me lol. I was raised on a farm, we butchered chickens and cattle and pigs, so I knew very well where all the meat came from. I guess it's all in how you view it. The does are my pets. I really try not to get attached to the boys because I know where they will end up. Sometimes I get lucky and someone wants a new herd sire and off they go to live the good life lol. It seems that every year I sell one at least for a herd sire. The rest of the boys well... I just try not to think about it much and enjoy them while I can. Goats meat tastes really good. It does have a taste all it's own but a few people have told me they think it tastes somewhat like venison. Buck meat tastes 'gamier' than wether meat, but some really prefer the buck meat. I think I answered everything. Any more questions? Feel free to ask more, I'll answer them if I can. I will get pics of the girls and the buck up soon. I have to go find a patch for my photo program, it's giving me fits now for some reason. *Sigh.. sometimes I hate technology.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 21, 2008 21:07:41 GMT -5
Okay lets start with saying that I know NOTHING about goats, lol. So what's the difference between a whether and a buck. I mean I know that doe is a female and a buck is a male right?! So is a buck an intact male and a whether is a castrated male?! That would be my guess. It's about the only one I have. LOL. Kind of like geldings and stallions. Yeah. You can call me dumb now. I have no clue when it comes to goats.
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Post by guest on Feb 21, 2008 21:17:07 GMT -5
Hey that's okay Stephanie, I didn't know either when I first got my goats. And you're right. A wether is a nuetered male goat. It's like this: Adult female : Doe Adult intact male: Buck Adult/baby neutered male : Wether Baby goat: kid Female kid: Doeling Male intact kid: Buckling Disbudded: means the horns were taken off when they were just nubs, they shouldnt' grow back Scurs: horns that grow all weird from an improperly done disbudding. Keep asking, remember there are no stupid questions.
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Post by cabinfever on Feb 22, 2008 2:11:14 GMT -5
You forgot Billy and Nanny lol
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 11:20:09 GMT -5
LOL Yeah well Billy and Nanny aren't the proper terms, so anytime you look up something about goats on the internet or in a book, those terms won't be used. I just kept it simple for that reason.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 22, 2008 13:02:41 GMT -5
Okay I know that there's another term for cutting off their horns. I've seen it on CL but can't remember what it is. Any suggestions?!
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 13:05:43 GMT -5
I've only ever heard it referred to as disbudding. It's called horn removal when you're trying to get rid of scurs on an adult goat after a bad disbudding attempt or when you just get a goat with horns and you want them removed. If you figure out what term you saw let me know.
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Post by Flying Cowgirl on Feb 22, 2008 13:12:34 GMT -5
Wow! Thank you for the great post answering my questions. I thought afterwards that I probably should of just found a website to answer my questions rather than put you through the 20 questions. *LOL* It's fun to learn about different animals.
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 13:21:44 GMT -5
A good website to visit for goat info is www.fiascofarm.com It's got hundreds of pages on there packed full of goat information. Another great goat source is a book by Pat Coleby, "Natural Goat Care" she also has "Natural Horse Care" too. Very good books.
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 13:48:17 GMT -5
Okay I just got off the phone with Allison (she does the disbudding and tatooing) and she will band (wether) the boys for me. So if anyone wants a buck, now is the time to tell me. They go get it all done tomorrow at noon. She offered me a great deal on it too. If done when the disbudding and tattoeing are done, the banding is free. I like that price. I'll get pics up of the yearlings for sale when I get back from the feed store. I think I have the problem with the photo software fixed now.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 22, 2008 15:25:32 GMT -5
Yeah, I'll have to look back and see what it was, if I can find it.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 22, 2008 15:27:10 GMT -5
So what does it mean when their coming into 'bloom' does that mean their coming into season?!
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 15:50:08 GMT -5
LOL another term I have never heard before. Must be some quirky way of saying that, I don't know.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 22, 2008 15:59:08 GMT -5
yeah I've heard it a couple times around here so I have no idea. Maybe I should email them and ask.
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Post by smackey0112 on Feb 22, 2008 16:05:01 GMT -5
I am so confused. I just looked up bunch of stuff online and it says that when they say that a goat's in bloom it means that they're ready to be showed.. but it has to do with their coat. THey want the coat of the goat to be in full bloom, meaning that it has the correct length and texture to it.
For example if you wash your goat on the day of a show it says that it takes all the oils off their skin (obviously) so it creates dry, coarse hair, so they said wash the goat about a week before the show and keep them in a stall with a goat blanket on and that will help keep them clean and shiny and in 'bloom'.
Yeah okay. I don't want to show a goat, I just wanna have a pet goat.
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Post by guest on Feb 22, 2008 18:15:13 GMT -5
Well that might be why I've never heard of it before. I don't show goats. I just can't see clipping the whole goat, which is what they do, then they let it grow just a little before the show. I think my does would stage a major revolt if I brought out the clippers and went for them. ;D
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