My goats are not unexpectedly pregnant.

[GettingBack]

While this may seem like a good thing to most people, after all, I don't have to take them to counseling and parenting classes, I am not overjoyed at this discovery.

See, I committed the utmost of all livestock sins.

I was interested in goats, I went looking for goats, I found two goats that needed homes quickly and...

I bought them. And brought them home (in my husband's nice clean SUV - but that's a story for another day).

According to the sellers, at least one was pregnant and the other might have been - due any day.

Unless I'm blind, dumb, or the goats are in the practice of consuming all babies and evidence, *sigh* they were not pregnant nor do I have any goatlings.

Which means I also have no milk, and will not have milk until next spring, provided I do get the goats bred. Which is another interesting thing. Has anyone ever read up on how you can tell if a goat is in heat?

Apparently it's difficult.

Lovely.

Oh, and goat fencing? Absofrickinglutely impossible. They have broken right through 8 strands of electric fence like it wasn't there. I can't drive big posts in to divide the field up and put chicken wire in. For some reason the stupid goats have not figured out that if they break out of the pasture they are put into they have to go back into the stall and eat hay and...well...be confined.

*sigh*

Goats. Yea, why am I doing this again?

So, here's the million dollar question. Should I wait until the goats are bred, have kids, and start milking, or should I procure one additional goat that is a mouth to feed, impossible to fence, but will definitely be milking? And yes, I do know how to milk a goat, I had them as a teenager yet somehow I still underestimated the hell and chaos that goats can cause.

Ever chase goats all over the neighborhood in a wife-beater-t, shorts, and flip flops with beet juice all over your hands? Oh yea, that was me. That's how I met the neighbor for the first time.

So, if I were to add a new goat to the, erm, herd where does one FIND an actual milking goat (actual milking goats are as rare as diamonds, or so it seems)?

Any goat people here?

[CB/TB]

There's never an camera around when you need one!!! I would never trust just strands of hot wire for goats. I have livestock fencing with a strand of hot wire, so it's all about 5'tall. In the past I've had to add a lower strand as well. When I got my two newest goats( after the oldies had gone to their reward) I was told one was a jumper. She came with a series of beer and soda cans that I was to wire to the top strand of hot wire every so many feet. My place has acreage that she didn't have, so I didn't need to go to that extreme, but the theory was the goat would hit a can and get a zap before she hit the fence. It was a deterrant at her old home. Chloe, the Saanan, can clear a stall door, so I was concerned, but so far, so good, after 2 years she seems content to stay with the other two and the horse.

[Frank B]

Well, you could trade 'em off...

NAIROBI, Kenya - A Kenyan man's offer of 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage may still be on the table — and Hillary Rodham Clinton has promised to convey the "very kind offer" to her daughter...

COMPLETE ARTICLE: (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/07/man-offers-goats-cows-chelsea-clintons-hand-marriage/?test=latestnews)

[MistyBlue]

Heh heh...fence goats? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Good luck. :winkgrin:
We have goats wandering all over the place here. Because people get them as cute pets or for milkers or for meat goats or equine companions. And then try to fence them in. It doesn't work. It's common to go hiking or trail riding here and see little loose bands of Forest Goats wandering around. Used to be Pet Goats.
Unless you're prepared as a goat farm with fencing already put up specifically for goats (and that seems to be the fencing they used in the Jurassic Park movie for those Raptors) there's pretty much no way to keep them in. :cool:
My neighbor up the street finally traded her goats for sheep, says they stay where they're put.
The town next door had a Great Goat Round Up that lasted 18 months. 3 goats got loose from the little livestock auction and despite an entire town full of multi-generation farmers and livestock owners, nobody could catch them. Even the small town paper was printing Goat Sightings. Most were on the golf course, much to the dismay of the golfers, LOL! One billy, two nannies. Mounted patrols were going out and everything. :lol:
Maybe try round pen panels? Small goats could probably squeeze underneath though. There's a goat on the other side of town that's put out sometimes in it's front yard to nibble. Those owners keep it there with a body harness and leash attached to a big cinderblock, LOL!

Frank, it might be tougher for the OP to keep Chelsea Clinton fenced in. I won't even mention trying to milk her.

[JSwan]

Oh - goats will walk down a chicken wire fence.

Best fence is 2x4 nonclimb horse wire with stout posts. Cha ching.

Mine have never gotten out and I can't believe I just wrote that because I've just jinxed myself.:no:

[Whitehedge Farm]

I am in the process of building my "goat habitat"- 5' 2 x 4 horse wire with wood posts- and they had BETTER not get out. :)

Right now I only have 1 milker and her 2 buckling kids (one which will be finding another home shortly! But plan to get one more in milk definitely by next spring. You can look on Craigslist for milkers- they are usually around $250 if they are in milk. Or check out local breeders who will most likely NOT sell you any milkers but may have doelings for sale. Well bred good quality does are not cheap. I have looked at $800 3 month old doelings (they were lovely but did not come home to my farm!)

[CatOnLap]

So THAT's why the goats I see are always running loose around farmyards!

If I was the OP right now, I think I'd be researching goat meat recipes...

[Debbie]

Neighbors down the road have goats that are often out wandering the 4 way stop intersection. Apparently it is a cause of great concern to motorists, because the house next to the goat pasture had a sign printed up: These are not our goats. Please direct your concerns to (address around the corner.) :lol:


"These are not our goats." has become catchphrase for my husband and me, but I bet that they really ARE their goats and they're just tired of hearing about them being out. :cool:

[WorthTheWait95]

...Or you could save money on fencing and just do what my neighbor did: make the goats so grossly obese they can't escape from anywhere and can barely walk :no:.

We have one companion goat and she has never escaped from our four board wood fencing. Maybe we're just lucky? She does seem to think she's a horse and even lets us lunge her.

[cloudy18]

And this is exactly why I will continue to ignore my son's pleas for a goat.

[MistyBlue]

Got the giggles an hour or so ago regarding this thread. Hubby and I went to a small local 4H Fair and went through the building where they had the goats and sheep. The sheep were all placid and quiet and hanging out in their small pens/stalls. There were about 40-50 goats in the same small metal panel enclosures as the sheep...at least half of them were trying to escape in some shape or form. :lol: Trying to climb the panels, jumping on and off each other trying to bounce out over the top, quite a few doing their darndest to squeeze through the panel openings....and a lot of 4H kids yelling, "Knock it off Nibbles" "Blackie, get back here!" "M-o-o-o-o-m, Mona is stuck in the gate again!" :lol:
My husband asked, "Do goats really hate fairs like this, why are they all trying to escape?" I had said, "Nope, they're just being goats." :winkgrin:

[Frank B]

This morning's Car Talk had a segment about a guy having problems with goats climbing on his car.

For those that didn't hear it, go to http://www.cartalk.com/

In the "listen to show" bar, select "listen now"

When the new window pops up, scroll down and select "Segment 10".

It's typical Click & Clack. Almost as good as the gal who's dog barfed in the air conditioner vent.

[JSwan]

Frank - I'll have to listen to that! Sounds hysterical!

I have stumps for my goats to climb on - and they used to love it until they got old/died - only have old Mr. Goat left, poor thing.

Uh.... for the OP: I know what you're thinking and no thank you. :D

FYI - goats are also know to prey on people - hiding in trees and dropping on unsuspecting humans.

Don't believe me?

http://www.goat-trauma.org/images/treezz.jpg

[MistyBlue]

JSwan :yes: Aerial Attack Goats :yes:
Trees with branches = Goat Ladders
More than one goat in a fenced area = one goat will use backs of other goats to jump over fence; Goat Stairs

Goats are hilarious...I love being around them. It's fun to watch them use their brains to figure problems out, they're pretty smart animals. And playful. And many can be vey friendly and love to follow humans around as company. Others will only follow you around waiting for the opportunity to butt you. Ass Magnet Goats. I think that's why they call that action "butting" you. :lol:
They love, love, love to climb though. Despite ages of domestication...I think every goat is in touch with it's inner mountain goat. :winkgrin:
There's a small farm ona back street in the town next door that has a few goats and sheep. They have an *awesome* paddock for them. It's made from no-climb and big solid posts and the fence is about 6' high at least. The inside has a few different height dog house type little barns set in a cluster, with flat areas on the top of each so they're used as stepping stones, roof areas are spots for standing or napping and shelters too. Each one also has a covered porch built on like little run ins. Then they have a bunch of huge logs cut at different heights so the goats can jump all over them and between two is a suspended bridge for them. It's like Disney for goats. :D Some days I drive by and stop the truck to watch the goats playing. :yes:
I ooo and ahhh over the cute little playful buggers and then drive off thankful I don't have any, LOL!

[GettingBack]

Oh you guys, I've been busy, but thank you for all your replies - so good to know I'm not alone and don't have crazy mutant escapee goats.

Today, I took the goats to the vet. I don't have a trailer, so they took the ride in the SUV. My husband will not be amused at the scent of my car and the occasional raisin that may have made it into the cushion (sorry honey).

Then I went to work with goat snot (one has a bit of a cold, as it were) all over my suit jacket. I'm sure I smelled wonderful.

Remind me again why I have goats?

Actually, they are darling, and I'm going to try all of the above suggestions. I may also get an Anatolian too. And razor wire. And a perimeter alarm. And....

Yea, okay, I'm getting obsessed. I will win the goat fencing battle, dammit. And then I'm trying to find a milker.

Until next time...

[GettingBack]

The town next door had a Great Goat Round Up that lasted 18 months. 3 goats got loose from the little livestock auction and despite an entire town full of multi-generation farmers and livestock owners, nobody could catch them. Even the small town paper was printing Goat Sightings.

They didn't have a tranquilizer gun I'll bet.

*snicker*

*snort*

Sorry, couldn't help it.

[BramblewoodAcres]

We tried the no-climb mesh fencing...and the goats climbed/shimmied and jumped right over it, and of course, instead of heading to the woods where I'd LIKE them to eat...they headed straight for my roses and newly planted orchard, the little buggers.

So, we erected high tensile electric fencing (6 strands, the bottom four strands are 5 inches apart) with the hottest shocker I could find and popped 'em in there. They have each been zapped at least twice (at my encouragement) on their soft little noses and now choose to stay at least 1 foot away from all the fencing. I know quite a few goat folks who use electric and have had luck with it...you have to train them to respect the shock or they will wiggle right through it.

In a pinch you can always train them to tie. When I want them to browse in a specific area, mine get tethered to tires and tied out. They figured it out pretty quickly and seem quite content to munch where I put 'em.

[Laurierace]

Wouldn't being not unexpectedly pregnant mean they were expectedly pregnant instead?

[Ride2Dreams]

My whole one experience with goats was with the sole goat of a trail riding barn I worked at for a year and milking and raising some small pygmy type down in Arkansas with a family friend. The one at the barn... His name was Sebastian he was cute as cute can be, super friendly and.. a menace. Confining goats is humorous. Sebastian had his own horse stall, lined with chicken wire, with double boarding, two snap clips to close it.. Oh... and we actually had to build the walls up to the ceiling. Very occassionally he still managed to get out... Oh yeah of the things he was guilty of:
Ate all the flowers
Ate the Christmas lights
Let the horses out of their stalls
Rammed the deck and broke four railings
Ate the lead ropes
Ate the halters
Ate two bridles
Got sprayed by a skunk.. four times.. in one year
Tagged along when taking customers on the trail
He was fun but by the gods I never wanted my own goat. I have milked goats before and helped raise and market the babies. Babies were cute and fun and I had a great time with those things as a kid. After dealing with an adult goat, no matter how friendly and cute (And I really loved Sebastian) they were I do not want them.

Good luck. Out of curiosity MUST the goats be pregnant to have milk or do they just need to be pregnant to start the cycle then can keep up the milk? The milking goats I dealt with there were ALWAYS babies around but... I was also 10-12 and thought the babies were to market and sell not for the milk. Ignorant much? No, not me.

[GettingBack]

They must be pregnant to start the milking cycle, and they can be milked for quite awhile before their production starts to wane and you need to freshen (or have another baby) them.

[dghunter]

This thread :lol::lol::lol: I'm so happy I didn't take a drink before I read some of these :winkgrin:

I always wanted a goat but perhaps I will rethink that plan...

[MistyBlue]

If you get a goat..rethink not drinking. :winkgrin: :lol: :winkgrin:

Never a dull moment.

[blueskye]

My city slicker landlords got into goats after moving to the country. They started with one milker and a wether to keep her company. Those two were pretty tame and low maintenance, but the following fall the family decided to purchase a couple of well bred goats from a breeder in Texas. The two new goats were delivered on a cold, wet, New England morning. Apparently they had lived their entire lives in a huge pasture with minimal handling so they weren't particularly tame. Add to the fact that they had just spent 10 days cooped up on a trailer for the journey.

Within five minutes of being released into the goat pen (barely 4 feet high, large square wire topped with hot tape) they were loose and off to the races. Youngest daughter comes banging on my door begging me to come help round up the goats. I hop on her fat FoxtrotterXQuarter horseXPaintXFairyDustUnicorn pony bareback with a halter and take off after said goats. No luck, because the little buggers made a beeline for the woods which were way too thick to get through with said pony. Heading back to the barnyard goatless, I'm trying to contain myself in the face of the now weeping family... I mean come on, bareback goat cutting is NOT the usual saturday morning for a certified Hunter Princess and honestly this wasn't the first loose animal escape at this place if you catch my drift ; )

So now two $$$ brown goats are roaming the woods with two weeks til deer season. Fun times. Just like in MistyBlue's neighborhood, it became a townwide affair: signs everywhere, the 4-H kids making twice weekly jaunts through the woods seraching and the locals calling in every sighting. Eventually they were lured into someone's garage and trapped. The little darlings spent the rest of the winter in the barn until they acclimated to human contact.

Anyway OP, good luck on your goat adventures! They do seems to multiply rather quickly.

[Frank B]

Speaking of goats, how about a guy that takes his two wethers, Rooster & Peanut, hiking?

http://www.youtube.com/user/goathiker

Check out a few of his videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZOehMEUBS4). He also has a Peruvian Paso.