Anyone Keep Goats?

  • Thread starter The Hemp Goddess
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The Hemp Goddess

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I am thinking of getting 2-3 smaller breed goats to keep the back part of the property "weeded". I already have a small animal barn and fencing. The previous owners kept goats, chickens, and bunnies. The fencing at the back of the property will need to be worked on a bit, but I have a good 6' wood fence that will keep the goats separated from the backyard and anything I don't want them to eat. Not looking for dairy or meat goats--just brush goats that are also friendly. I don't want to be saddled with milking and I could never eat anything I name, so they would be pets and weedeaters.
 
THG -- I had a Billy goat once and have been around them !--My little brother showed up at my house with a half dead Billy goat that his Chow had attacked !-- D.D. and I performed surgery and I fixed things best I could but Billy lost his test tickles-- Repaired him best I could and gave him a round of antibiotics !--- It was touch and go for a few days but Bill lived !-- He spent the rest of his life on a farm as a pet !--- Goats have twins about 3 times a year !-- It is an almost perfect food animal !-- Goat herders keep the girls to build the herd and eat the boys !-- Don't name them or name them for the holiday U plan to eat them !--- Or trade them for something else !--- The perfect "Watchdog" for a herd of goats is a male and female donkey !-- When a predator threatens the herd the Jill rounds up the herd and acts as close security ---The Jack goes out to face the threat !-- A Jackass is a coyotes worst nightmare !-- I mean they will stomp a mud hole in a coyote !-- It ain't 't pretty !
 
Tons of my neighbors have goats. There's a store where you can buy baby critters around here. My dogs would just go nuts and try to eat them.
 
their great for keeping like that. we use ours for the blackberry brush. they keep it all clear.
 
We ate all our pets as children.... LMAO (might explain a few things about my personality).

Every year at Easter, we would go to the farm and buy pet chickens and ducks (Easter tradition back then). We would keep them all Spring and Summer but when Winter would start, Mom would say that she took them to the zoo where they lived for the Winter.

However, you have to remember that my Mom came from the old country and when it was time for fresh chicken for dinner, she simply went outside on the patio, grabbed a chicken by the neck and..... bingo, dinner is served. LOL So, for her, it was just something she had done all her life, growing up.

It wasn't until we were all older adults and grown up that we all learned Mom's destiny for our chicken and ducks.

I can't believe I ate Fluffy and Donald. LOL
 
Hack, I grew up on a farm in the hills. We ate our 'pets' too. My daughter has goats. They make pretty good pets, not very good weedeaters. My problem with them is that you just can't keep them from climbing on everything.
 
I know that's true !-- Goats can climb a tree sometimes !--They also escape artist !-Growing up we hunted fished or grew our own meat and veggies !--- I knew what we were eating I never had goat when young but chickens , calves and rabbit! --- I don't eat animals I knew anymore !--
 
Yeah, well, I did not grow up on a farm and I am not raising goats for meat. My grandparents were farmers, so I am familiar with butchering animals for food--I just cannot and do not wan do it. I am getting where I don't eat a whole lot of meat and I want these to be more pets. I am thinking of them for weedeaters as the previous owners had goats and according to the next door neighbors (who ran a brush hog over the back area this last weekend) they did a great job. This is not a grassy pasture--this is a weedy pasture and has the kind of things that goats love to eat. The alternative is a riding mower and a lot of weedwhacking around the fence and trees.

Although i do have dogs, mine are herding dogs--a border collie and a border collie/heeler cross--and will not hurt the animals. They have been around "livestock" with no problems. My sis's dogs are smaller and will be contained within the back yard area...and I am not sure they would be a match for a goat, which as St. Nick noted can really climb. I am in farm country and I have found that there are a lot of goats for sale around here--tons of different breeds and crosses. The pygmy and dwarf breeds are just so cute.

Keef, bless you for taking in an injured goat and nursing it back to health. I really don't want to raise meat goats, so willmost likely get all one sex or castrated males (called wethers I have discovered). I love donkeys, but do not really have the room for one. I am not sure that coyotes are a problem out here, but I can find out. I imagne that my male border collie would be a great guard dog for them.
 
THG -Nursing Bill back to health was just the right thing to do !--- U remind me of the lady we gave Bill to -- I could tell right away that he was going to be precious to her !-- She beamed when I led him around to the truck on a leash !-- I just know he had a great life !

I think it was selfish of me !--- I did it because it made me feel good inside !
 
THG, how will you keep them out of your pot? Do you have a good fence? I love goats.. I love how they stand on tables and each other.. They would be great keeping your pasture down.
 
I would suggest a big chicken pen !-- Big market for free range chicken eggs I hear ! --
 
In high school I raised a big Hereford calf for a big livestock show !-- One day in Ag. Class the teacher said U boys raising steers for the livestock show !--- I told U that the steer needed to walk about 4 miles a day !---He produced a picture of me riding Rebel down the side of the road and said --This is not what I meant !
 
THG, the little pygmies are pretty nice pets. About a year ago I stayed with a couple who had little miniature ponies. They were great little lawnmowers!
 
I snapped a pic of the back of the backyard from the deck so you could see what I have. Unfortunately the big beautiful steel building on the right of the second picture is not mine, but the neighbors next door. Good neighbors--they came over last Sunday and ran a brush hog over the back area. I am not sure I have enough room to justify renting goats--my sis did do that with her 2 acres in Idaho, but here the entire property is just .62 acres. And not all of that will be "goat habitat". There is a decent sized piece fenced off for plants.

We had a chance to pick up a couple of free goats, but I could just not get a gate made and the fence repaired in a timely manner. I had a bunch of inside stuff to do. After going with no kitchen for 3 weeks, we are getting the kitchen cabinets and countertop installed tomorrow! So, by the end of this week, we should have a functioning kitchen again. I am going to do the backsplash tile, the flooring, and (of course) the plumbing. Other than the plumbing, I can do the other things at my leisure.

I am loving living in a legal state so much. It is scary being in your mid 60s and risking incarceration every day of your life, just because you choose to grow your own medicine. Half the states have seen the wisdom of legalizing MMJ, let's hope the rest of them see the folly of their ways and follow suit. Congrats to you in Ohio.

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That's a beautiful view you have there. Looks like the perfect spot for relaxing with a smoke.

I had a goat when I was a kid. I loved that goat, even though she was a stubborn sob. I wish I could see her again. I live in the city so it's probable I'll never get a goat again, but if I could I'd get another one in a heart beat.
 
I lived in the mountains before and was surrounded with trees. While I loved it, I couldn''t actually see the sky out my windows and missed that. It is kind of nice to look out my windows and see sky and land again. I love the mountains, but grew up in high desert farmland and appreciate the beauty of the desert, too.

High, you may not live in the city the rest of your life. I am not one for a lot of traffic and crowds. Living in a big city would be my worst nightmare. Even though we moved to a very small town--around 12,000 people, we specifically looked for a place in the country so we could have all our dogs (5) and other animals should be want. I can't wait to start working on the yard...tright after we get the kitchen put back together.....
 
Yeah I'm living in the nightmare now. My wife loves the city and I hate it, but I love her more than I hate the city. I've tried to convince her to move to the country to no avail :joint4:

I know what you mean about the trees blocking the sky. When I was young I had the best of both worlds. I was surrounded by wide open farm land, but there were trees in my yard and trees surrounding the woods. It was awesome. I'll try to find a picture.

Our kitchen is in shambles too. As soon as my car is paid off at the end of this year we're going ours. Sucks because that money would be a good start to buying a couple acres in the country. Oh well. I have to be grateful for all that I have right?
 

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