I need some help from dairy goat owners.

[Island Girl]

Wow! Is this thread ever helpful!

No one around here that I know of uses electric fencing. Had I know about it I would have saved thousands of dollars.

I have a 3-4 acre gully that would be ideal for the goats but thought the fencing would be prohibitive based on my experience last Fall. It looks like it will be very easy to do using electric fencing.

The thought of my babies in the gully just makes me smile!

[sully]

Originally Posted by skyking

Sully I did several searches for goats for sale in MS and found plenty of animal to choose from.Craigslist and goatfinder and just do a google search and your in luck.Many folks will deliver for a small fee if you just ask them to.
Many folks in this part of the country just tether their stock in the grass during the day and pen them at night. Just a thought while your getting other fences put together.

skyking, I haven't checked Crigslist yet. Goatfinder does have dairy goats in Ms. but they're all in southern Ms. (about a6 hour drive) and I was hoping to find them a little closer to home. I know I could have them shipped to me but I want to see them and pick them out myself. I also checked Tn. and Ala. which are both fairly close to me but have'nt had any luck with either state ...I prefer not to have to drive a long distance if I don't have to.

Thank you all for your help and tips...sooner or later I WILL find my goats!

Sully

[goatlady]

Absolutely!! You do NOT buy your first goats without seeing them and hopefully milking them! The size of the teats and ease of milking is CRITICAL to being happy with your goats and vice versa! GOats get extremely set in their ways especially when it comes to milking styles. IF your style is very different from what they are used to you will have problems for a while getting milk and having happy goats. BTDT!

[grower]

Sully, the best time to purchase dairy goats is in the spring. Most dairy goats freshen (have kids and begin producing milk) Feb. - May. The kids are usually weaned at 2-3 months of age. Some people leave the kids on the mothers, some milk the does and feed the kids with a bottle, some bottle-feed Kid Replacer (a "formula" for baby goats). So, kids and culled does should begin to come on the market around March-July. Right now, just about all the goats that were going to be sold have been sold. Do your research, and by spring you'll be ready to buy a good milker!

[luvmyvet]

Hi Sully,

we do have some contacts for dairy goats in N.MS, I couldn't find where you said any specific type, if interested let me know and can give you some of the owners info.
We found they were all very helpful and patient with us newbies, one of them did the disbudding on our new babies and was a wealth of information, she does have a beautiful Nigerian Buck who she is possibly interested in letting go of...we love the Nigies, our bucks are gentle, sweet and even during a recent heat of one of our does, were attentive to her, but gentle as always towards us.

We have info on Nubians, and Nigerian dwarfs and prolly some others, depends on your price range and if you want them to have papers or not.

Ours are registered, but since we have no desire to show and our building our herd up we didn't purchase the papers for them, but can do so at a later date if need be.

We have a full size Nubian on hold for us, but were told to not get her and breed her to our Nigerian bucks, because altho they will probably produce a smaller offspring, down the road the smaller doe can carry a full size baby and lead to having the expense of a c-section or loss of the goats...

We are still very new in learning about goats, so we listen to what others have to say who have raised them for years and at the same time have found that breeders all have their own special way and opinons and they can vary widely, lol....
so am not sure if the above is set in stone, just sharing what we were told and now are totally confused if we should still buy her, her owner will usually have a few for sale if your interested.

PM me if you'd like the info

[skyking]

I have to say I prefer to get my goats in the fall right now in fact.This gives a new owner time to learn goats and feeding and just general care.It seems to be an easier transition in my opinion when the kid and things start to happen. This is providing you find a good breeder and a bred doe.
Spring has it's merit too.It's worth the price of an ultrasound rather than keep an open doe.

[grower]

Originally Posted by skyking

I have to say I prefer to get my goats in the fall right now in fact.This gives a new owner time to learn goats and feeding and just general care.It seems to be an easier transition in my opinion when the kid and things start to happen. This is providing you find a good breeder and a bred doe.
Spring has it's merit too.It's worth the price of an ultrasound rather than keep an open doe.

If you can find a bred doe, that would be great, I just haven't seen any does for sale recently...bucks, yeah, but no does. Any adult doe you buy in spring will be in milk...having just freshened. So you could milk her through the season, and won't have to worry about getting a buck until summertime. Breeding normally starts around September.

Keeping a buck is another whole story...they can be a pain in the butt. I knew a breeder who kept her bucks in what can only be called a "compound," complete with two rounds of fencing and an electric wire. Your first year, you might want to breed to someone else's buck, until you get a good feel for raising goats.

[grower]

Sully, I saw this today on Craigslist:

Nubian Does- Both - $150 (Athens)

Date: 2009-11-09, 12:24PM CST
Reply to: sale-e2jb6-1458194553@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Two Nubian Does.
Mother and Daughter.
Lucy(mother) has been milked on the stand.
Nice teats.
First kidding.
Gentle
Making room for some Alpines that I purchased.

$150 for the pair

Call Wes
256-232-8800
Athens.


NOTE: This is Athens, Alabama -- in the north-northwest part of the state.

[Freeholder]

Someone mentioned tying goats out during the day. It's really not a good idea unless they are protected from stray dogs by a good fence, or unless you can sit there and watch them while they are tied. Mine are tied inside their pen -- dogs can't get in, but they were jumping out, so I tied them. All can still reach shelter without tangling on each other, so it is working, for now. Eventually I want to get the fence fixed so they can't get out, but even for a small pen it's costly.

Kathleen

[sully]

Originally Posted by Freeholder

Someone mentioned tying goats out during the day. It's really not a good idea unless they are protected from stray dogs by a good fence, or unless you can sit there and watch them while they are tied. Mine are tied inside their pen -- dogs can't get in, but they were jumping out, so I tied them. All can still reach shelter without tangling on each other, so it is working, for now. Eventually I want to get the fence fixed so they can't get out, but even for a small pen it's costly.

Kathleen

How high does the fence need to be to keep them from jumoing over? Mine may not be high enough.

grower, thanks for the info from craigslist. I'll give them a call tomorrow morning.

Sully