4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[craftyhunnypie]

My hubby is keen on goats & has been reading up & researching. He's keen on pygmy goats. I'd prefer a normal nanny & kid - but hey ho. Anyway - my question is do they have a funny smell with them? Are they dirty & if they produce milk, surely you have to milk daily or is that only if they have had a kid?

Pigs I've agreed to, but goats I'm a bit cautious about.

 

Emma.x

[Poached]

Hi

 

 

I have 2 male pygmy goats which are great little pets, their house does smell towards the time when we clean it out but it's OK because I can still walk in their house to get their food tray

If you are interested in pygmy's then you can get female and they won't need milking everyday + they are smaller than my auntie and uncles lab(I'd say about half his size)

 

 

Josh

[craftyhunnypie]

Presume you still need a CPH number & Defra registration to keep pygmys? When you say smell - is it just the urine & poo? Not a general smell like goats cheese. blurgh! I don't mind normal animal mess smells - can cope with that - as the chickens can't half poo.

Can you get females that don't produce milk then? I must read this book of hubbys. He's keeping it very secret - presume he's hoping I won't be put off them by what I read.

 

Emma.x

[Alis girls]

Must be related to my OH - who is of Greek origin and wondered if neighbours would mind us having a goat or 6. In a surburban London garden think they might. I'm not keen - the thought of them eating my washing on the line puts me off

[scarlettohara]

Must be related to my OH - who is of Greek origin and wondered if neighbours would mind us having a goat or 6. In a surburban London garden think they might. I'm not keen - the thought of them eating my washing on the line puts me off

 

Visions of a goat with Ali's pants on it's head

[The Dogmother]

yes, they do eat anything!

 

If you want a Nanny with kid for milk then she will need regular mating to keep her with kid and in milk. Females and neutered males (Wethers) don't really smell any more than other animals, but entire males (Billies) stink... hence the saying 'smelling like an old goat'

 

My grandfolks used to keep a couple of goats but brought in a friend's Billy to service the Nannies.

[craftyhunnypie]

So can you actually buy young females that don't produce milk & will they get on?

Talk about Tom & Barbara - we are turning into them!

 

Emma.x

[The Dogmother]

Try a bit of internet research and a couple of the self-sufficiency forums, they'll help.

[Redwing]

Be aware that they will browse as opposed to graze so will strip hedges and lower parts of trees sometimes killing the vegetation over time

 

The reason we dont have goats is that we have a rented field and we are worried about wrecking the leafy perimeter and getting in to trouble

 

(not that we havent completely ruled it out though!!!)

[Snowy]

With regards to milking - as long as the kid is still with the nanny, you won't need to milk as the nanny will produce enough to feed the demands of the kid. If the kid is removed then you will have to milk the nanny.

[Rhapsody]

Ive got 5 Pygmy whethers, I really didnt want to get into the whole kid removal (slaughter.?) for the sake of some milk. They are hilarious fun, cavort and skip all over the place and keep the brambles etc down a bit. mine have a small paddock with a Sussex style large dog kennel in it, and a climbing platform playgound my OH and sons made for them but Ilet them out to FR for a few hours a day. They dont stink but have their own aroma which I like! Bit like horses do I suppose..

[Alis girls]

You dont wanna go there Scarlett we went to Cheddar Gorge once and there were goats at the roadside - one got in the back of the car and another started eating my OH 's jacket and he was still in it - do not want my Bridget Jones' disappearing down some goats gullet

[Lavenders_Blue]

Awww goats are so cute! Cheeky though. Some friends of my parents used to have a goat called Matilda on their farm years ago. They mistakenly thought that she would keep the grass down. What she actually did was strip the hedges and also she took quite a fancy to shiny cars parked in the farmyard and would rub her horns up against them

 

As others have said, if you want milk from the goat, she will need to kid and the kids to be removed. I think goats can often have twins which is something to be aware of. If you're interested in goats to browse the vegetation and for a bit of fun, no kids are needed!

[craftyhunnypie]

We don't want any milk from them - can't stand goats milk. We do want them for browsing & fun - yes!

I have researched the internet, but like any other animal - I like to hear the truth about them. Plus a lot on the internet is very OTT or American. Most say how cute they are & not how destructive they can be. It's like chickens, they should come with a mighty poo warning. So many people that have viewed my eglus then gone on to have chickens, have then got rid of them because of the amount of poo.

I really love being outdoors, don't mind getting my hands dirty & the poo doesn't bother me. So maybe I actually could handle hubby's dream of goats?

 

Emma.x

[Rhapsody]

Ah yes the poo... they are basically incontinent, they dont even get out of bed to go loo.. I would recommend neutered and disbudded boys as in-season females can get cranky, and as pets they are much easier to handle with no horns and they dont hurt each other when they joust. Id start with two, (never keep one alone) we had two to begin with then the next year went back for 3 more

[craftyhunnypie]

Thanks Rhapsody - I'll pass the advice on. Hubby had already thought about disbudded ones, as he wouldn't want to put them or me in any danger. Ahhh sweet! So 2 males won't fight?

 

Emma.x

[The Dogmother]

Oh they'll fight, or spar, all right; they just can't do much damage without horns.

[craftyhunnypie]

Usual male of the species behaviour then?

One thing - hubby is very handy at inventing & making stuff. So a climbing frame / lounging platform will be a doddle for him to make for 2 goats - plus he'll enjoy doing it.

He's now talking about donkeys! Someone please help me!

Emma.x

[Rhapsody]

hang on Ive got a pic somewhere.. no neutered males dont actually fight they just joust and give each other piggybacks all day, all in good spirits.

 

 

 

you can see the goaty climbing frame in the two pics- recycled pallets and old fencing uprights.

 

They like hay, anyones hay...

 

 

According to my dog they are very good kissers..

 

[Chickvic]

I am so I would love goats, but unless we win the lottery and move we won't be able to. That looks fab Rhapsody