The Barn
Freesteading group focused on the discussion of livestock.
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Goats! If A Cow Is Just Too Much
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Goats! If A Cow Is Just Too Much
I raise Kiko goats. They are generally considered a meat goat, but are actually a dual purpose breed.
I do also have a Saanen, which is a dairy breed, because she was offered to me at a really good price. I successfully bred her with my Kiko buck and she gave me a sweet little doe. I have been milking the Mom while kid sharing. Any milk she gives that I cannot use I give to the LGD and the chickens.
Anybody else have goats?
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34 Replies
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We used to, but have switched to miniature cattle. For us they are the best of both worlds.
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It’s just myself and my husband. We can’t keep up with the milk from my goat, I can’t imagine the amount of milk we would get from a cow.
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Which breed did you go with and how much feed do they take? I had wanted goats but we have more grass than things for goats to browse.
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Miniature Zebu! We don’t give them feed or grain. In winter we give them hay. Depending on your land you can keep up to 3 per acre. We are in the process of adding Miniature Jersey to our gene pool for a dual purpose no maintenance herd.
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Me! Me me!!!! Hello there. Oh how I love my goats. 🙂
At the present time I have Guernsey (yes goat, from Guernsey Island) they were saved by a little old lady in a cave during the German occupation. She hid them away and kept them alive while the Germans took all the animals of the Island and gave the people only potatoes to grow and eat. These are a lovely breed. They are new to America and I was so drawn to the breed. And I have LaMancha. It truely took me a whillllllleee to warm up to the earless goats! hahahaha But a gal who had a cheese factory near me told me that the LaMancha make the best Ice Cream and Cheese! Sooo I went on a hunt to find me one…came home with 3. Little triplets from a mom named Bonnie! That is my name. They needed to move and wanted to sell the babies. Home I came with these little girls! I have one left who is one of my best friends.
I have heard of Kinko goats and look forward to hearing more and more about yours. Mine are not meat. They are built like Holsteins! hahaha lanky and lean.
Look forward to hearing more from you, my new goat friend.
I bless you and your goats
Miss Bonnie
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I have la machas and Nubians and mess of children. We haven’t bought milk in a couple years. What blessing they are! I like goats because they are easier for me to feed. Also I have had animals die before so it’s better for sustainable to have a few milk goats than to have a cow because you can make sure they don’t all stopping milking at once for freshening.
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I am a Crazy Goat Lady and proud of it! I have a herd of 10 Nigerian Dwarf goats–8 females and 2 males. They are easier for me to handle than full sized goats (I’m over 60). Currently, I am milking 4 once each day. Three are bred for kidding after the first of the year. Milk sales cover the cost of their feed and hay, plus I have enough to make yogurt, kefir, cheese and soap.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Goatlover.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by
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Hello there! I have dairy goats also, love them so much. I have heard of Kiko’s and they sound like the best of both worlds. I live in SW MO.
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I will be selling my Kiko this spring after she kids…I have to downsize…she is solid black and always has twins….excellent mother
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We have Saanens at my youngest son’s property [where I live], and Nigerian Dwarf goats at my son-in-law’s property. We run the Saanens with our milk cows and chickens, and the NDs are with hair sheep and chickens. The ram stud eventually had to be separated because he got too big and aggressive… started beating up our prize bucks / herd sires! Eek. There’s talk of butchering him since he’s already done his job and we do not want the sheep flock to get too big.
The NDs are registered with the ADGA and we show them [my daughter and her family shows them].
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One of my grandchildren trying to milk a Saanen. 🥰
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Awesome!
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I have Nigerians. They’re so entertaining. Planning to add some Kiko meat goats this coming year once we get some fencing done. A great YouTube channel is Bois D’ Arc Kiko Goats. Great young family and Josh is currently receiving chemo for colon cancer. He wants his channel to grow if anyone would like to check them out.
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I will be selling my Kiko doe after she kids this spring….I have to downsize…she is a great mother
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Not quite ready but good luck on her.
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I have Saanen, LaMancha, Nubian and Boer cross goats…love them all…SW Missouri…I also have 2 milk cows
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Yes I raised ADGA purebred Nubians for about 10 years. I then got married and we moved out on 40 acres and I switched gears and got a very high quality Boer buck and I have been breeding towards a goat that can work the land for us and not require all the labor my dairy herd did. In a couple years, they really went from pampered goats to hard workers. They browse almost all their own food and our pyrs do a great job keeping them safe.
Ultimately, I want a heavy weight of the boers on a taller goat like my Nubians that I can still steal some milk off of if I want to. All of this in an animal that takes as much advantage of the land as possible.
We have horses, a few cows and goats. The goats are far and away the best users of our land here in the Ozark hills. They continue to find forage in the winter keeping their feed costs easily the lowest of the three.
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where are you located your farm sounds like mine…I am in SW Missouri
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I currently have 15 goats with two does yet to kid (Feb. and March). Boers, Alpines, Alpine/Saanen, Alpine/ Nubian. We have some wonderful personalities. https://rumble.com/v22ski4-goat-kids-outside-the-barn.html
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We are getting ready to get into meat goats and are thinking of going with Nubian does and then finding a kiko buck to bread them too.
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I have Saanen’s 22 at this time. This spring will be 43 years I ‘ve had goats. I’ve had most of the dairy breeds, but Saanen are my favorite. I live in N.E Arkanas. I don’t know of many near me with dairy goats. Right now I am looking for a kommodore or great pyrenees. male puppy.I have 2 females one of each breed . If anyone can help with info Thank you.
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Yes we are new to goats. We have 4 females. 0 bucks
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South central New Mexico here, planning goats late this year or early next year. My biggest concern is trash. A previous owner of my property was a horrible litterbug and there is garbage all over the ground. It will literally be years before I’ve cleaned up every little bit. I always hear goats eat anything so I’m concerned they will get a piece of glass or an old rusty nail that would hurt them internally.
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