Advice on keeping goats.

[Goatcurious]

I've name changed for this post!

I'm completely clueless, but very keen on the idea of keeping a pair of goats as pets, but also as a source of milk & potentially cheese.
Is there anyone out there who keeps goats that produce milk?

I'm wondering how much space they need.
What they eat - and how much their feed & straw would cost.
Could they live outdoors with just a field shelter?

Do they need their hooves/feet (?) trimming and if so, how often?
Are there any other costs involved? Regular vet checks or vaccinations?

YABU

There's no question here...nothing that asks "am I being unreasonable?"

If you want to ask about rural life...there's a *Rural Life" board!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/rural_living

I know they need pajamas.

They need dry, draft proof housing for winter. Goats are not outdoor animals in cold weather (tend towards arthriticky knees). They are browsers rather than grazes but will do both. Need a diet of low nutrient food but will eat anything and then get bloat and run up a huge vet's bill). They are very smart and escape artists. The smaller the goat, the better at escaping it will be. Uncastrated bullies stink.

^^And that is pretty much the whole stock of my goat knowledge (I can milk them and treat mastitis too).

GinDaddy good point. I was so absorbed by the thought of goats that I didn't even realise.

Thanks for the link to rural living. Was unaware of that.

HMArsey

BarbariansMum do you reckon if I put them in a stable, they would just chew and eat the stable? What do you keep yours in?

Very impressive credentials.

Thank you everyone.

I grew up with dairy goats, and they aren't easy pets tbh. First and foremost, you have to register as a smallholding, keep movement records (even to go for a walk), and abide by DEFRA rules.

They won't live outside - they need to be inside at night all year and access to warm dry shelter in the day.
They are actually very picky eaters, though they will chew things with enthusiasm. And the more you don't want them to chew it, or the worse it will be for them the more they will chew it.
Depending on the breed, they can be awful escapers. We had one who could undo bolts and had to have a security chain on all the doors as she would let herself out.
They need their hooves trimming every few weeks, and annual vaccinations and blood tests. Also worming of course

If you want milk you will need to get them in kid every two years, and milk them twice a day, everyday at the same time. It is almost impossible to get anyone else to do this.

Have you kept livestock before?

Do be aware of the paperwork requirements (CPH number etc etc etc). Check the deeds of your house for restrictions on livestock keeping, and any byelaws.

What will you do when you go on holiday? Goat sitters aren't bountiful in number.

They don't eat straw - straw is a waste product from grain production and used for bedding. They eat hay (dried grass) plus other supplementary foods.

If you want milk and cheese you'll need to breed from them annually. What do you plan to do with the male kids? (Hint: sooner or later they'll end up going to slaughter - there's no market for male kids from milk breeds). Will you be comfortable with the idea of having the males killed?

They're lovely, but headstrong and not for the faint hearted or those with zero experience of farm animals.

Go and find some books in the library on goat keeping. Starting with Goats by Katie Thear wouldn't be a bad starting point.

One of my friends has goats. She said they are like dogs in that they follow her around and want her attention a lot. She says they are a lot harder to keep than people realise.

Goats are a real challenge to keep and you have to be really committed to want to do it. They are lively, curious, eat everything in sight and need quite a bit of space.

Yes. Don't ! There are MUCH easier animals around. I have had pigs, sheep, chicken, horses, alpacas, ducks, quail etc. I looked into dairy goats and decided I was not up to the task !

They are absolutely delightful as a stock animal, as above they don’t like the cold or rain and a lot of energy will be devoted to keeping them on your own land, but they are such cheery lovely naughty things you let them off... don’t ever get a goat with horns though, particularly if you have young children. They know they have them and they’re at an ideal height to get under a kids rib cage, so dehorned only. If you breed them the vet will cauterise the horn bud offs and they’ll be no danger. We loved the milk, and the meat, made goats cheese which we put in fancy jars with oil and herbs, but never made butter. I was told it’s very white which can be off putting but people colour it with marigold petals. Goats are great. If naughty.

Thank you everyone.

I would not be keen on breeding them just to keep us in milk, only for the male kids to be slaughtered.

I'm very embarrassed to say that I was completely ignorant on this, and assumed it would be like breast feeding - keep extracting milk, and they would keep producing it.

Holidays - also hadn't thought of this. Thank goodness for Mumsnetters for pointing out the glaringly obvious .

Straw - I was thinking what they would use in bedding, not as feed. But was also ignorant that they ate hay.

We are on a small holding and have horses. I appreciate that they are worlds apart, though. It's not difficult to get people to look after the horses.

Thank you for the book suggestion. I think just from these few posts, it would be impossible for me to keep them as I'd never be able to find someone for holiday cover.

Thank you everyone.

We looked after goats as a family when I was a kid. They are wonderful characters- really playful and affectionate- but they are prone to lots of ailments - stomach and foot related often. Plus as someone has said, there is very little market for goat meat so unless yopu are going to have a field of none productive and difficult billy goat gruffs, will be superfluous- most are killed after the birth. Dairy breeding is hard on the boys

It's OK OP, horses can wear pajamas too.

Oh God, they weren't mine, I only keep tortoises. Were part of a kids petting zoo where I used to work.

Will they eat the stable? Depends on the construction (and the goat). Ours were a bugger for eating anything rope like (esp baling twine, stupid animals) and would chew chains but the woodwork was ok.

Goat meat is delicious and widely sold in/to the Afro-Caribbean, African and Middle Eastern communities.

I would love to have pet goats, but you have to be defra registered. But that might be ok for you if you have a small holding? A goat keeping friend tells me that they have to be milked twice daily which is quite tying.

You’ve goat to be kidding

We ate the male kids - but this is dependent on having a local abattoir (and being of the mindset to do so). Like a less fatty lamb.

Mum made cream, butter (it is white, but you can easily colour it), soft cheese and yogurt (very badly, now it would be referred to as drinking yogurt). My parents were very self sufficient types so even the skins got tanned at home and nothing was wasted.

BTW, ours didn't need pyjamas but did have show coats to keep them clean.

This is one of our goats!

Tbf my pony has eaten his stable, my sheep has chewed the bottom out if all my Haynets (hung at pony height) and my alpaca chewed off the light sensor on my chicken door closer so maybe they wouldnt be too different ???

Aw I've loved reading all these posts.

CMOTDibbler that's sounds the best of both worlds. Sounds like a fascinating childhood.

My friend keeps goats and i keep sheep.

I have the easier life. So she says, and my flock is more than enough! Id not keep them, unless it was a pygmy.

I found this thread in my Google feed, so I thought I'll jump in with my 2p.

I've been keeping goats for 4 years now, as pets and for meat, and overall they're fairly low maintenance pets.

Every day they get fresh water, and some feed, and they always have plenty of hay. In truth, if they have enough hay and water, you could leave them to their own devices for a few days.

As far as holidays, it's not too hard to find someone to come in and change water, add hay etc.

For fencing, if all you're keeping is goats the best and cheapest is an electric fence. The only somewhat costly item will be the energiser, but the whole thing shouldn't set you back more than 2-3 hundred quid.

For their dry shelter I used a cheapish shed, on a base of concrete slabs. Also, most of the enclosure is paved with slabs. This reduces the amount of mud in the winter, and helps wear down their hooves.