All About Silkies, Nigerian Dwarf Goats & More
Pregnant goat or not? We get this question in emails a lot. People asking how to tell if a goat is pregnant. I also see it on a lot of posts on social media pages – people wondering if a goat they recently purchased is pregnant or not.
In fact, our first year breeding goats, we wondered the same thing….
You can break goat breeds down into three general categories or types of goats: dairy goats, fiber goats or meat goats. When you are trying to decide what types of goats will be best for you, you should know what each goat breed is used for.
Afterall, it wouldn’t really do you much good to get one of the goat breeds that is a meat goat when you are wanting to get goats for milk or vice versa. Some goat breeds are dual purpose breeds as well, so that may also play a factor in your decision.
Dual purpose goat breeds are types of goats that can be used for two purposes. For example, a goat breed that does well for both milk and fiber would be one of the dual purpose types of goats.
If you need more help on what goat breed to get as well as where to get your goats, check out Getting Started with Goats for all your answers! …
What do goats eat?
“Anything!”, I can hear you yell at your screen.
Tin cans, newspapers, old license plates…they’re basically nature’s garbage disposal. Right?
This is a common misconception about goats. Unfortunately, it is also a dangerous misconception as many people believe this way which can lead to serious injury or even death for some goats.
You want your goats to be happy and healthy. So if they aren’t a biological dumpster, what can goats eat? I’m glad you asked.
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So, how much does a goat cost? It seems like a simple enough of a question. But the answer has a few more layers than a simple dollar amount.
You have to take a few things into consideration when it comes to how much does a goat cost. Do you really want to know how much does a baby goat cost? Or maybe, how much does a Nigerian Dwarf goat cost if I want to breed her? Or how much do pygmy goats cost if I want a neutered boy as a pet?
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We got our goats initially because we thought they were absolutely adorable and couldn’t imagine a world without them. Shortly after we started to wonder, “Can you make money raising goats?”
Surely, it’s a possibility. I mean, other people raise goats and seem to be doing just fine. Why can’t we? So, we started to look into the breeds we would want, the cost to purchase more goats, and the costs to keep them healthy and happy.
It was starting to look, with ALL of the expenses, like there was no way to make money raising goats.
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Looking to find out more about proper goat fencing? We have learned a few (important) lessons about what goat fence to use and what goat fencing to NOT use.
Goat fencing is something that we have talked about previously. To see our reviews of several goat fencing types, click here. Since our initial goat fencing review, we have added several goats to the herd.
As part of these herd additions, we added two bucks.
Now, as you may know, you usually keep bucks separate from does. To do this, we built a buck house (a simple shed) and partitioned off a part of the does pasture.
Sectioning part of the pasture off for the boys, of course, meant putting up more goat fencing. At the time, like usual, we were trying to think about saving time as well as money while building the buck pen.
Want more info about getting your start with goats? Check out the Raising Goats eCourse and eBook….