Things I wish I'd known before hand....
Though I've always wanted them and admired them from a distance, I am brand-spankin' new to the goat world. It has been a learning experience for sure, and even though I did lots of research before and during my set-up, there are still some things I wish I had known before I got started. So if you are just starting out like me, read on. Things I wish I'd known before hand (in no particular order):
1. Have your fence, enclosure, shelter, etc. worked out before you start bringing home your babies. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I mean really have everything ready because you will find 100 other fun little projects you want to do once your goats get home. Before I brought my babies home I had an electric fence set up, a chain link dog kennel set up, with extra chain link covering the top for good measure. I had an old dog house in the kennel as a makeshift shelter until I could come up with something better. As soon as we got home, I decided the area I fenced-in wasn't big enough, the kennel would need a cover that could withstand rain, wind, and snow, and we would need a bigger, stronger house for them to sleep in at night. So now I am spending my time working on those tasks instead of just enjoying my goats. And that reminds me....
2. Don't even think about working on those 100 projects around your goats. They are amazingly inquisitive and "helpful". They will try to jump up on you to see what you're holding. They will nibble on your shorts, hair, or anything else they haven't tasted yet. They will follow you around like a puppy. In short, they will make it very difficult for you to get anything done.
I've only had mine for a short time, so this may go away eventually- once they realize that you aren't doing anything interesting, your shorts aren't edible, and even though your hair smells like lavendar, it isn't actually that tasty.
3. If you don't need a buck, don't get a buck. (Read my funky bucks post for specifics.) In short, bucks can be really adorable, but also really REALLY disgusting. If you do need a buck because you want to be able to sell kids eventually, do your research and buy the best buck you can find and afford. Look at their pedigree, paying special attention to any milk test awards given to parents (dam/sire) and grandparents (granddams/grandsires). Your herd sire will have a very big impact on the quality of the kids you produce, so don't skimp!
4. Holy poison ivy, Batman! A red, bumpy, itchy rash is covering both my arms, the backs of my knees, and my cheeks. I've never had poison ivy this bad before. Our hills are covered in poison ivy, which is one of the things I cited when trying to convince my husband that we needed goats. I haven't been in those hills since before we brought the goats home, but guess who has... Those lovable, PETTABLE goats! They've been climbing into and eating poison ivy all week. I've been washing my hands everytime I come back from the goat pen, but I haven't been scrubbing my arms, legs, and other body parts that came into contact with them. It's an easy solution- from now on I will be wearing jeans and a button down shirt into the goat pen. I just wish I had thought of that before. Live and learn!
5. If your goats have plenty of browse to eat, you can save some money. BUT...they need a lot of land to eat off of if you are relying on this as a major food source. I bought 160 feet of electric netting, and enclosed what I thought was a huge area of the woods, with lots of weeds and low tree branches for the goats to munch on. After 4 days, I had to move the fence because they had done such a good job of clearing it out. Then I moved it again 3 days later, and again 5 days after that. (Then I wised up, bit the bullet, and ordered 1000 feet of regular electric fencing. The goal- feel less like Sisyphus, rolling his big rock up the hill endlessly.)
6. Baby does (or doelings) can get pregnant, even if their bodies aren't big enough to handle supporting the babies or the stress of labor. And a buckling can impregnate a doe at the ripe old age of 7 weeks. So if you have a buck, you can't have a doeling with him, and vice versa. This one almost got me- I was loaded up and ready to go purchase an adorable little doeling with an excellent pedigree, when the breeder thought to mentioned the health risks of breeding them too young. Thank goodness she did!
7. When buying your first goats, listen to your gut if it says something is wrong. Because I couldn't get a doeling, I started searching for a yearling or slightly older doe. That's how I found Winsome. She had just weaned her first 2 kids. Her pictures looked nice, as did her pedigree, and the seller seemed on the up-and-up (at first). Because they lived far away, we made plans to pick Winnie up on our way back from vacation, which was 6 weeks away. During the 6 weeks between our initial contact and picking her up, there were a few things that bothered me about the seller. Some things that seemed fishy were:
The seller asked me to send payment on Paypal as a gift so that they wouldn't charge her a fee. This would have left me with no way to get a refund, so I sent payment as normal but included an extra $10 to cover the fee.
Ocassionally I emailed the seller questions as I was reading books and blogs about keeping goats. Sometimes she responded but many times she didn't. There were some questions that I asked 2 or 3 times, and she never answered them.
The seller never gave me her phone number, even in the days leading up to the pick up.
When we arrived at the seller's farm, her husband came out and handled everything. He said she was inside but too tired to come out because she had just gotten home from a horse show. So again, I didn't get a chance to ask her those questions I had which she never answered.
Sadly, I do feel like I was cheated a bit with Winnie, though she may look better once she is back up to a proper weight-she is way too skinny currently. And because the seller never answered some of my questions, I have no idea when or if I should be ready for her second freshening (2nd time giving birth), or how much milk to expect. In comparison, I know everything I need/want to know about Valentine and our wether Checkers, and if I need to ask more questions about them in the future, I know that their sellers will answer me.
In hindsight, I should have walked away from the deal pretty early on and looked for a doe elsewhere.
