goats (pros and cons, dangerous, food)

[CapeCodder]

Anyone have them or know about them?

I'm thinking of getting a couple of pygmy goats (does) just as pets.

If anyone has any experience with goats please give me the pros and cons.
Are they ok in this kind of cold?

I've seen all these little goats keeping horses company and they've stolen my heart. I also fell in love with a donkey down the road (I swear he runs to me when he sees me...of course I feed him). I think a goat's size makes them a more reasonable critter for me.

Thanks for any advice you have.

[msina]

Forest has goats and so does KAF,.. they're lovely creatures.

[Abbymoulton]

We have a couple people on this forum that can answer your question much better than I can. We had a couple goats in Florida and they were great..but they tend to eat the sand and that causes major inllness in a goat (intestinal blockage). They are great fun. Forest should beable to answer any questions.

[Maine Writer]

I raised dairy goats for ten years. They'll be fine as long as they were in good shape going into winter. I had my last one put down before winter because he was old and had little muscle mass. One cold night would have been to much for him. I kept my goats in box stalls with deep bedding. They stayed together until kidding season started in February. They were in an out of the barn as they wanted in the winter. They'll go through deep snow to get into the woods and browse. But! Pygmies are another story. They're so small they won't do well in deep snow. I couldn't keep mine contained. I'd put them back in the pasture and five minutes later could find them tap dancing on the rabbit pens while they ate food from the j-feeders. I placed them elsewhere. Pygmy kids are the cutest babies ever born here. We've had calves, kids, puppies, piglets and more and none were ever as cute as kids weighing 1.5 pounds at birth. cute cute cute!

My goats had to find their own food all summer. Sixteen goats and five head of browsing cattle had five acres of fenced in forest and open grass and more than enough to eat. I fed hay and a small amount of goat feed in winter. When it was very cold I soaked beet pulp in water for them.

Goats don't eat tin cans and clothes but they will tug on clothes, chew beards and eat your prized rose bushes. I miss mine.

Edited to add - I pulled the buck away from the does until I wanted them bred. Bucks smell horrible and can get very pushy to dangerous during rut.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

I raised dairy goats for ten years. They'll be fine as long as they were in good shape going into winter. I had my last one put down before winter because he was old and had little muscle mass. One cold night would have been to much for him. I kept my goats in box stalls with deep bedding. They stayed together until kidding season started in February. They were in an out of the barn as they wanted in the winter. They'll go through deep snow to get into the woods and browse. But! Pygmies are another story. They're so small they won't do well in deep snow. I couldn't keep mine contained. I'd put them back in the pasture and five minutes later could find them tap dancing on the rabbit pens while they ate food from the j-feeders. I placed them elsewhere. Pygmy kids are the cutest babies ever born here. We've had calves, kids, puppies, piglets and more and none were ever as cute as kids weighing 1.5 pounds at birth. cute cute cute!

My goats had to find their own food all summer. Sixteen goats and five head of browsing cattle had five acres of fenced in forest and open grass and more than enough to eat. I fed hay and a small amount of goat feed in winter. When it was very cold I soaked beet pulp in water for them.

Goats don't eat tin cans and clothes but they will tug on clothes, chew beards and eat your prized rose bushes. I miss mine.

Thank you so much for this info.
So, if the goats area was cleared of snow they would be ok? We could easily do that. I have five acres but it's wooded not pasture. Would they be ok if I just fed them hay etc...during the summer too?
My friend had big goats (the kind with the weird slitted pupils) and they ate my hair all the time...they were so friendly and would run to the gate when I would visit. There's just something about goats...then when one gave birth they were running around wagging their tails. oooh I could have just scooped them all up.
A piglet sure is cute, so pygmy kids must be adorable!

What's the best way to secure the goats? (I need to pay attention when I drive by some of these farms.) The little goats down the road just stay with the horses. There's a little white one and he seems to follow this one horse wherever it goes.

[CapeCodder]

>>>Edited to add - I pulled the buck away from the does until I wanted them bred. Bucks smell horrible and can get very pushy to dangerous during rut.

I read this somewhere...that's why we want two does. Will they do ok together?

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by CapeCodder

Anyone have them or know about them?

I'm thinking of getting a couple of pygmy goats (does) just as pets.

I love goats, they have wonderful personalities and can be trained easily.

I do not care for the pygmys though, no reason, I just don't like them.

We own a wether, though it is wintering on a friend's pasture. She is a vet's assistant and has a lonely horse, so she wanted to see if putting them together would work. She is enjoying them much more now, as they keep each other active.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by msina

Forest has goats and so does KAF,.. they're lovely creatures.

KAF's nanny kidded early this morning, two bucks.

She has more nannys expecting soon also.

None of my nannys have drank form the right kind of water yet.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

...
Goats don't eat tin cans and clothes but they will tug on clothes, chew beards and eat your prized rose bushes. I miss mine.

Edited to add - I pulled the buck away from the does until I wanted them bred. Bucks smell horrible and can get very pushy to dangerous during rut.

I have found that a good rap on their nose each time they bite my beard, and eventually they decide that they don't like the taste of my beard.

I figure that rubbing the buck [mostly their foreheads] is a really good source of musk cologne.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I love goats, they have wonderful personalities and can be trained easily.

I do not care for the pygmys though, no reason, I just don't like them.

We own a wether, though it is wintering on a friend's pasture. She is a vet's assistant and has a lonely horse, so she wanted to see if putting them together would work. She is enjoying them much more now, as they keep each other active.

When you say trained..what do you mean? Will a goat come if called? This is sounding better and better.
Is a wether much bigger than a pygmy? I know nothing about goats and I will do research before getting any.