About Dairy Goats Before You Start a Goat Farm

1. Goats in general are very social, curious, gentle, independent and

intelligent creatures. They get bored and lonely when alone. It is never a good idea to
just have one goat, you need at a minimum two goats. Two does or a doe and a wether (a
neutered male goat) or a buck and a doe, if you are ready to start a little herd. They
huddle and cuddle, they eat and they sleep together. And no, a human, even though
much-loved, cannot substitute as a companion. A lonely goat will climb on cars, get into
your garden, and sit on your porch or escape. A lonely goat will be a noisy goat, because
they will call for a companion.
2. Baby goats are kids. Males are bucks, females are does. Neutered males
are wethers.
3. Goats can climb, jump, crawl and run over or under anything they want
to. If they stay in their pasture, it is because they want to be there. You need to have
good fencing before you get a goat or two.
4. Goats hate to get wet and will stay out of or jump over any puddles.Goats
do not do well in wet, swampy areas. You need to provide them with ample dry shelter
and dry paddocks or pasture before you bring goats onto your farm.
5. Each goat has her own distinct personality and some personality traits
seem to be more common in one breed than in another. We have found that
our Nubian Goats are the divas of the bunch. They are very loving and loyal and
incredibly demanding. If a Nubian goat does not want to go on a milking stand, then
there is no way of making her, short of picking her up. No small feat at an average of
200 pounds, and she will remember this humiliation and get even at some point. Our
LaManchas are sweet and hardworking and easy to train. Our Saanens are the clowns of
the dairy and always ready for mischief. Do your research before you buy a goat to see
which temperament will suit your personality.

6. Dairy goats love routine and get upset when the routine changes.Keep that
in mind when you rearrange the milking stands to be more efficient. The goats will not
like it. Three weeks later, you will change everything back.
7. Goats browse like deer. They will prefer bushes, trees and hay over grass. Goats
are not lawnmowers and they will eat your rose bushes. They are ruminants: They have
four stomach compartments and regurgitate. They will eat, chew their cud (the green
stuff that comes up regurgitating their food) and repeat that process all day long. A
hungry goat will eat things it is not supposed to eat and you will have trouble. By the
way, anything the goat eats, will impart a unique flavor on the milk, hence all the
regional flavors of cheese in Europe where the dairy goats live on pastures and eat wild
vegetation of the region. You may want to ease up on feeding garlic.
8. Goats are very clean eaters. They do not eat tin cans and do not like to eat any
food that has been soiled, contaminated or has been on the ground. Goats also eat a lot,
so plan for a sufficient budget to feed them before you bring them onto your farm.
9. Goats only have a lower set of teeth in the front of the mouth with which
they love to nibble, and a set of razor-sharp teeth both on the top and bottom in the back
of the mouth with which they can break tree limbs and your finger if it gets in the way.
10. Goats are curious, they will nibble on everything including your hair and
poisonous plants. They will pull and tug and chew on everything that moves,

including gate latches. Goats are smarter than dogs. Do not let them watch you open a
feed can or open a gate latch. You will regret it, because they will practice it behind your
back. They will stick their head through a fence to try or see something on the other side
of the fence or just to watch you walk up. This curiosity gets them into trouble almost
daily and they do not have nine lives like a cat.
11. Dairy goats, or any goat, for that matter, will not move away from
pressure, they move into it. A good fact to keep in mind when you want to move a
goat. Goats can be trained to walk on a leash. Show goats do it and we are practicing it
right now with some of our goats.
12. Goats have a very distinct herd hierarchy, a pecking order. They pick on
lesser goats, especially if they are new to the herd. Goats will ram and head-butt each
other. When you introduce a new goat into a herd, if you can, always introduce two
together so they have a buddy. Keep goats of the same size together, exception when
they are still with their mom, so that the smaller goats dont get hurt.
13. Goats can hear very well. If they like you and trust you, they will respond to your
voice and come when called. They will also call out to you when they see you. But you
will have to earn their love and trust.
14. Bucks are stinky and sticky about 6 months out of the year. Keep that in
mind before you buy a buck. You cannot pasture them with the milking goats, because
their smell will make the milk taste bad.

15. Dairy goats need to be milked at least once a day, seven days a week, rain
or shine, cold or hot, until they dry off. You cannot go on vacation and leave them
un-milked. They will be in pain and they will develop mastitis. Plan on you staying home
or finding a knowledgeable farm sitter before you bring goats onto your farm if you want
to continue to have a life off the farm.
16. Goats can get sick very easily and they die very fast. That is the nature of an
animal who can breed young (at 3 months of age, although not recommended) and has
multiple kids in a birth. Goats need to be watched and treated early and fast if
something is amiss. You need to plan on learning what is normal in your goats, what is
not normal and have emergency medications on hand. Two hours difference in giving a
medication may mean the difference between life and death. Forge a great relationship
with your vet. Finance college for his or her kids. Be conscientious and on time with
worming and vaccinations.
17. Goats need to be disbudded, especially as dairy goats or if you want to
show. This needs to be done at a very young age. This is a very unpleasant task, both for
you and the goat. Plan on having a very experienced goat person do this for you (plan for
reimbursement of expenses or at least a very good bottle of wine as a thank you). Plan to
be trained by your vet, or plan to take the goat to the vet to have this done.
18. If you want to drink your milk and eat your cheese, plan on spending
money to buy stainless steel pails, a milking bench, buckets and create as

sanitary an environment as you can, be it in your garage or porch or in a milking

parlor. You cannot be too careful with dairy products, but they are worth it.
19. Check your zoning regulations if you are not living on a farm out in the country.
You may not be allowed to have goats. Better research upfront than lose your heart and
have to get rid of the goats later.
20. Prepare to spend A LOT of money.
21. Prepare to lose your heart. We did.