We are buying a goat....

[neumanns]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I don't know what it would cost ya to raise a beef. I raise one every couple of years and believe it to be fairly cost effective. We usally butcher them before they are fully fattened, typically around 17 mos. I guessed my last one cost me around $1.50-1.80 per lb after butchering. The way I figured it for about the cost hamberger I got all the good cuts also.<br /><br />But they are not without risk, this winter my beef went down without notice, it was around 750 lbs....Since I did not know what happened to it we did not butcher it. Oh well start over next year.<br /><br />Cost effectivness is not my main motivation, I enjoy raising them. I could buy a butcher beef for what it cost me to raise one animal. ya gotta enjoy it.<br /><br />Sorry to hear about the coop, there is no taste comparison between store eggs and farm fresh brown eggs.

 

[dolluper]

Re: We are buying a goat....

You might want to consider raising a few Lamma's as they have become quite marketable a buddy of mine is doing that low maintance animals that bring high yields[yuppie's can't get enough] he also is in to shetland ponies , and Bisson all the fads, the Bisson {buffalo] do need alot of room but he's got lots 200 acres, much the same as caring for cows but less maintenance The Lamma's are one weird animal but love hanging around with the shetland ponies, The Bisson stay to themselves and are kept away from the Lamma and ponies by the way of of an acre pen for ponnies and Lamma

 

[one more cast]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I don't like goats.... they will not only eat the grass but everything else in sight. the things that I have personally seen goats eat are.....<br />.... clothes off the line, the seat off a snowmobile, the bumper sticker off my truck,and the chain on my wallet. And it wasn't even my goat.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: We are buying a goat....

It's odd hearing what you guys eat...<br /><br />Over here we get pork, beef, lamb fish and poultry.On a real good day maybe pheasant or Venison. I gotta get me to the states and try some gator tail!

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I personally HATE goats. End of story.<br /><br />We were just on a farm last weekend.<br /><br />The guy had<br />Donkeys<br />Zebra<br />Buffalo<br />Chickens (running loose)<br />Tom and hen turkey<br />peacocks (hate those stupid noisy things)<br />jacobs sheep<br />goats<br /><br />Remember that the bigger the animal, the more of a "mess" it will leave. Plus they eat more.<br /><br />Ken

 

[eeboater]

Re: We are buying a goat....

Hmm.. when I read Goat... I thought you meant you were buying this kind of goat.<br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />Sean

 

[rodbolt]

Re: We are buying a goat....

thats my kind of Goat .<br />still eats a lot if memory serves me

 

[johnson-liner]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I had a few goats growing up. Just as others said...they will eat ANYTHING. And always the grass last! The barn that I kept them in was old and tended to let the snow come in through the cracks so at the age of about 10-12 I put roofing tar paper on the inside walls. The goats ate it all down in the 1st day! <br /><br />Never kept a male, I would send the females to someone else who kept one for breeding. They stink HORRIBLY bad because they pee in their beards and pretty much all over themselves. Unless they're cut as others have said. Good luck! And yes, you have to get some chickens too!

 

[one more cast]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I don't need any farm animals.We have Deer,Turkeys,chipmunks,red squirrel's,a gray fox,3 raccoons,ducks,birds and an occasional bear in the yard. This mourning we were watching a tom turkey strut his stuff for about 9 hens.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: We are buying a goat....

Depends on what you want. If you want to keep the grass down short get sheep, prarie maggots we call them. Goats and sheep are decent for pets too. <br />Pigs root everywhere and tear stuff up. They stink too. There is no place for a live pig in this world.<br />Horses are good too, but high maintenance. <br />The problem is animals eat the grass they want first and the weeds will take over. Sheep and goats will eat more variety. Cows will clean the area good too, and if bred the calves are great fun to watch in the spring. I had about 5,000 of the animals years ago.<br />How much land do you have?<br />Remember that when the grass is eaten you will have to buy feed. If your winters are bad for vegitation you will have to buy hay and feed suppliment. <br />Also I stopped butchering my own cows and pigs because the processing cost more than buying the meat. The meat was better but cost a little more by the time I figured in the feed and processing.<br /><br />With sheep you may be able to sell the wool for a little extra.<br />My dad uses his agreage for exotic animals. He has some minature goats, some fainting goats, a horse, some sheep. He has them on 12 acres, but he needs to buy hay for the winters. He takes the goats to exotic animal auctions and gets some money back, but it is still a losing hobby financially. <br />He also raises exotic birds, pheasants, pigeons, chickens, ducks, geese and other feathered friends. Cheap to get into and he loves it.<br />I have seen too many people buy country homes with an acre or two and buy animals without a clue as to how much they cost or eat. Fence your land so you can move them around to keep the grass growing. Check your local farm services office and see how many acres average it takes for each animal in your area. <br />Have fun with it, animals are a great hobby and neat way to populate your acreage.

 

[johnson-liner]

Re: We are buying a goat....

Great advice from everyone. Just to expand on one thing that DD just explained:<br /><br />"Fence your land so you can move them around to keep the grass growing."<br /><br />In other workds, create multiple sections of what you fence in and rotate the animals between the sections as the grass grows. If the animals end up mowing down one section before the next in the rotation is grown back, you're going to have to suppliment with bought feed even during summer.

 

[rolmops]

Re: We are buying a goat....

Saanen goats are very big, big enough to pull a goat cart.They will give 3 quarts of milk a day.chickens are a very good idea, because where you keep animals ,ticks are not far behind.Chickens love to eat ticks.I love to eat eggs and drum sticks.

 

[brother chris]

Re: We are buying a goat....

yes, this is great advice from you all. Thanks. <br />I have printed this off and will give to my friends who live on the property and then we can discuss what kind of animals we will get. <br />And after what I said in one of my posts, I think I might rebuild the chicken coup elsewhere on the property. <br />Deputy Dawg: we have 5 acres...all of it fenced in already. Today I was tearing down fences and deciding where to put them next. <br />This is going to be quite the process, but I think it all will be worth it. <br />Thanks everyone, and if anyone has anymore input, I would be glad to hear it.

 

[brother chris]

Re: We are buying a goat....

And I love that GTO you posted eeboater. <br />Is it yours?

 

[deputydawg]

Re: We are buying a goat....

When you move the fences look at what grasses are growing. Some plants are good food but animals won't eat unless they are without anything else. Also some grasses are early season and some late. If you have areas of different types of plant life, find out what each is and fence so the animals will eat the early season grass at it's prime then move them until the later season grasses come in. Also some of the plants that are good for nutrition but not as tasty can be grazed efficiently this way. <br />Take a 100 foot rope and a stake. Stretch the rope from the stake out and count how many plants are present. Include the "trash" or dead plant life lying on the ground. Do this about 2 times a month for the first year and see how the plants grow and die. This will also tell what the animals will eat. <br />These little acreage farms can be fun hobbies and very relaxing if looked at for the enjoyment of it all. With my land and my families land I was overseeing I had about 15,000 acres to play with. I spent a lot of time on horseback riding to see what the grasses all looked like.

 

[Barlow]

Re: We are buying a goat....

oh my .. billy goat musk ranks up there with getting 'hit' by a skunk (rancid garlic) at point blank range for me..<br /><br />I was going to post about beef cattle earlier but didn't have enough time to get as in-depth as I wanted - still don't know but, maybe dd and neumanns can help out on this too..<br /><br />concerning the right cattle breed for your place:<br /><br />Limousin- Stay away from 'em.. they're hearty, great producers and effieciant but, generaly a tempermental breed. Personally, I wouldn't want 'em near any people.. sorta like that crazy brother-in-law IMHO. <br /><br />Polled Herford- might be your best bet. no dehorning ($$ and safety), good solid, efficient producers, and normally have a 'cool' temperment in my experiences..<br /><br />Saturated beet pulp and stright corn to 'finish' 'em off for market.. 'sweet' grain (molases mixed) is great but more $$$.. <br /><br />one thing folks haven't mentioned about pigs here is that they can be MEAN AS HE||!! and as dd says .. they stick -BAD- and tear everything up!!<br /><br />have more to say but gotta get goin'

 

[wajajaja]

Re: We are buying a goat....

had a 4-h farm like kb, he said it all, electric fencing works, and you got to keep the bears and cayotes out, goat prefer to eat above knee hight,for sight and sound, love poison ivy, will respond much like a dog to thier name, the males can be obnoxus in rut. mate season ,join four h, learn before you buy, there aint no free lunch with animals,<br />buy em as a pair, and goats will climb on anything, i used wire wheels,6 ft, they love to climb on cars,ectra

 

[brother chris]

Re: We are buying a goat....

I just did a google search for 4-h information, but came up empty. <br />Could someone inform me as to what this club does.<br />I am not too sure of what kind of info I am looking for to reference it to my animal questions. <br />Thanks.

 

[NathanY]

Re: We are buying a goat....

http://www.4h-usa.org/

 

[Link]

Re: We are buying a goat....

Originally posted by Fly Rod:<br /> I can understand ya getting a goat,"Spring" is just around the corner,with the grass turnining green and growing!!!<br /><br />I may get me a goat, when the wife no longer can cut the grass!!!!<br /><br />Does a goat cost less then a lawn mower and the upkeep of a wife?????????

ROFLMAO now I need clean my keyboard off!<br />Thanks <br /><br />Brother Chris<br />Something no-one has mentioned.<br />Once you get aminals that need to feed everyday your pretty much stuck there 24/7<br />Just a thought. Rain snow it don't much matter.<br /><br />Now I could never have a farm/ranch... Mrs.Link would make pets out of all of them and we WOULD still be buying Bacon and Steak and PorkChops!<br /><br />Hmmm Horse steaks... Ok we won't go there