tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post2508079824461756351..comments2023-10-26T10:42:53.211-04:00Comments on A Tiny Homestead: Boy GoatsElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07150100743522744058noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-8875591728086951652010-11-16T12:54:06.458-05:002010-11-16T12:54:06.458-05:00I started with Nigerians and their teats were just...I started with Nigerians and their teats were just too small for me to comfortably milk and the volumne wasn't what I expected either. I went from a few cups to 1 1/2 - 2 gals. with the alpines.<br /><br />The bucks only smell in the fall which is the biggest issue. Last year although Dill was tested and free of CAE and CL, he still gave the girls lung worm. He'ld been at another farm visiting before he came here and probably got them there. I treated him and my girls but would rather not have to. I keep my girls clean and do fecals etc. This year he had little purple bugs....lice maybe. So again treated him and my girls with a pyrethrum based product. Just less stressful to not introduce those things...or worse here. I'm pretty picky about health issues in my animals.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07150100743522744058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-32242156551446349132010-11-16T12:42:51.019-05:002010-11-16T12:42:51.019-05:00Rachel, I don't think it would have worked her...Rachel, I don't think it would have worked here either separating the visiting goat since they are herd animals plus the scent of the does in heat would all prove to much and yes, I can see escapes being unavoidable in that situation. I was more meaning for keeping a buck. I will situate the bucks pen as far from the does pen as possible and have a companion for him too. Keeping him in with the does wouldn't work.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07150100743522744058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-10714379720427766572010-11-16T11:45:44.210-05:002010-11-16T11:45:44.210-05:00We don't have goats, yet, but are seriously co...We don't have goats, yet, but are seriously considering adding a few Nigerian Dwarf does to the property for milk and cheese. We've had the same discussion regarding bucks. There are certainly pros and cons to keeping them around. We're leaning in the direction of keeping our own buck here if we add goats though. Not having to source a buck, or pay for stud is one thing, but being assured of a clean and healthy buck, knowing his breeding and health history, for us, makes it worth it. You're right, it's not worth the risk breeding your girls to an unknown.Curbstone Valley Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06714297348566721344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-11395779660659815752010-11-16T10:09:31.560-05:002010-11-16T10:09:31.560-05:00We tried to keep him separate. It didn't work....We tried to keep him separate. It didn't work. We still haven't figured out how he a) got out of his pen and b) got into the girls' pen. LOLRachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05607208465219962573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-60561203321325696872010-11-16T00:55:36.686-05:002010-11-16T00:55:36.686-05:00It was hard deciding to get a buck for all the rea...It was hard deciding to get a buck for all the reason's you stated. But I still think for me it's the right decision. I think the whole key is to be prepared to give them their own pen. I'll keep a buck from one of the girls and wether him for company to the buck.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07150100743522744058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848125805420091724.post-16291427839260073402010-11-16T00:29:56.299-05:002010-11-16T00:29:56.299-05:00We had problems locating a buck but finally found ...We had problems locating a buck but finally found one for our pygmy girls. The owner has offered to sell him to us but after having him for a month I'd prefer not to keep him. He isn't friendly (though he's not mean), he stinks, and he wastes too much feed. Our two girls used to go through two flakes of hay a week. We're now going through 3 flakes every two days because he pulls it all out of the feeder and spreads it all over the ground.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05607208465219962573noreply@blogger.com