Rural Gardening: Toying with the idea of getting goats... any advice?, 1 by daylilydaddy

daylilydaddy wrote:
I was the one who attaches a 40 foot cable lead to concrete blocks during the day and puts them up at night. They are not in full sun as I live in the woods and they have shade whenever they desire. They always have water in their bucket and they do a great job of keeping all briar's and unwanted trees trimmed. I just don't put them in places where they can get tangled. I have had the same pair for 5 years and they are fat and sassy goats. I move their blocks about every 2-3 days all summer. In the winter they stay in their pen with their barn in there and I only take them with me on walks.(mine are pygmies and very tame. I raised them from unwanted pets when they were babies) If your pasture has been mowed every year. You shouldn't have a problem with them getting tangled. Mine are browsers, but also eat grass.(also gardens if they escape, which they will. Its a goat fact. They are escape artist) There are companies that lease their goats out to clean up over grown areas. I think the biggest problem with people getting goats are they go and get too many. The male does have an odor. Not only in the rut,(which a goat is always in rut. They will breed all season. There is no "heat" phase for goats.) Mine are in a pen away from my house, so the odor is not a big deal. All animals have some type of odor. My little doxie hiking his leg on every bush/plant he sees is more of a odor problem then my goat. Another problem I have is babies. If you get a male and female you will have to decide how you will handle this. You can castrate males and solve that problem. I am very picky who gets my babies and most time I give them to people who I know will care for them properly. That said. I love having my goats. They are as tame as a dog and act like them also. I will always have mine until they die. They clean up my unwanted wild areas and cost little to keep. Some good hay in winter and grain. In summer I feed only grain, since they browse on their leads. My vet always tells me my goats are too fat. I do worm them and provide mineral salt blocks. Make sure the salt block has trace minerals in them. They need zinc for proper hoof health. I also don't have a rocky environment to allow their hooves to naturally trim themselves, so I also have to trim hooves. The hoof is thin and easy to trim. I use plant snips and do it at beginning of winter and beginning of spring. I hope this helps with your decision. One more thing. Add fresh cut pine greens in winter. Pine only! They also need vitamin C which the pine contains in the winter month. In the summer they get it from browsing. Add the pine greens to their diet in the winter about once a month.
George
Here is my little nanny Izzy last fall. She is due to kid any day now.