Goats

tough451 · Oct 2, 2004

Anyone on here raising goats as your primary farm product. Im leaning towards raising goats and cows together. I have raised goats in the past and find them enjoyable to watch and for me easy to raise.
Just looking to see what other's are doing and how they do it.
They will be meat goats, to go along with a few Angus cows. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

RichZ · Oct 2, 2004

My wife and I are raising Nubian goats, and are in the process of establishing a goat diary. Goats are great. They're extremely intelligent, effectionate and funny. I could never do meat goats myself, I get way too attached to them. You need a large ethnic market to be able to sell meat goats.

fireshawn · Oct 3, 2004

I am raising meat goats here in TX. The money is good, $100 plus per hundred weight. TX does have a large ethnic market but so does the east coast. The US imports hundreds of thousands of pounds of goat meat every year. The more US producers we have the more of that money we can keep here. Check out boers and kiko's. You should be able to get good commercial breeding stock at reasonable prices, and like w/ any livestock venture, good breeding stock is where you make your money. Better birth weights, weaning weights, ...... Just my two cents worth. Also, goats are great companion animals to cattle. The two compliment each others eating habits.

tough451 · Oct 3, 2004

Thanks for the replies Im now in the process of rebuilding my pastures. I really enjoy watching goats myself. We do have a large ethnic group in NC so I should do ok.. Do you use donkeys or any other type of guard animal for protection from predators.

RichZ · Oct 3, 2004

Around here, our only predators are coyotes, and there's so much small game around here, I've never heard of them bothering livestock. So we don't use guard animals.

slowrev · Oct 4, 2004

Goats are an up and coming market in the US. The bring over 1.00/lb here in KY. They are more maintenance than you apparently think. Various iullnesses, trimming of hooves, etc...
I would like to recommend the following books if you are serious about raising them.
The New Goat handbook - by Ulrich Jaundas
Raising Meat Goats for Profit - Gail Bowman

Both are avilable from Barnes and Noble.

Work on the Fences well, goats can jump and climb and are VERY good at escaping. Great Pyrinees (sp ?) dogs make very good goat guard dogs. Lamas work as well if you only get a couple of them , many more and they sort of make their own herd and forget about the goats. Donkeys are popular around here, but I have no experience with them.

Goats are good to raise and good to mix with cattle as the goats like to eat the stuff the cows do not like and keep the pasture pretty weed free.

Good luck, There are several goat related sites out there as well, will check with my goat club newspaper and post them for ya.

Ben

tough451 · Oct 4, 2004

Thanks for the info and Im aware of the work involved,but I enjoy it so I dont consider it work. I was born on a dairy farm we switched to beef cattle along the way I had about 15 head of Nubian crossed goats, but the money was never great only cash to the few people who liked to eat them.
I now have my own farm 45 hilly acres a contract poultry house and so on. I need to deverseify so as I get my pastures back in order goats and cows seem to be a common sense addition. I was already in the mindset to do it now with you guy's in /forums/images/graemlins/cool.giffo Im sure.

slowrev · Oct 4, 2004

Sounds good,
Around here most seem to prefer Nubian and Boer mix for meat goat nannys and breed them back to a Boer.

Enjoy /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ben