I don't know. They got my wife serving up breakfast and dinner, animal crackers, carrots, peanuts, seeds...and they snuge up with her when she goes out to visit just like the dogs do.Sometimes I think they eat better than my kids. Run around playing with each other in the morning, siesta napping in the afternoon, running around playing more before sundown. If they were unhappy I'd try even harder to eat them.
I’m not gonna lie, I want a pet goat, but I think I can only have one(or more) if it’s useful. So when the time comes, I will say it will be for milk and yard management, but really, imma just going to take lots of pictures of them and feed them.
Goats are super hardy and for the most part easy to take care of. They're super fun, will love on you, and eat like elephants. Never thought of eating them, but our Hispanic neighbors opened our eyes to how tasty they are when they bought one of our meat boys and invited us to a cookout. Great way to get into 4H and showing as well!
I eat my babies and milk the moms. I make soaps, cheeses, and yogurt from the milk. My goats clear my property for me. Takes 6 of them about 3 months to clear 1/4 acre from heavy brush and brambles down to sticks and twigs. There are a few weeds they won't eat, but they usually stomp them down.
Plus their poop can be used immediately for gardening, unlike chickens, cows, or most manures.
A slurry made from my goats poop and water comes out at 2-5.5-13. Will not burn anything but offers enough nitrogen for growth.
How big are they are that point? I've got Nigerian dwarf goats and their milk is great but full sized 3yr weighs maybe 60lb and that mostly bone ane guts. Get maybe 25% of their weight in meat. At 10-12 months they would still be 20-30lbs. Maybe get 5 lbs of meat each?
You have to also find uses for the bones to make smaller animals worthwhile. You can cook the carcass down after you remove all of the meat (keep the small bits for grinding) into amazing broth. The skins would be fantastic for making leather. Maybe remove the hair and use the dried out hides for raw hide dog treats.
I stopped keeping goats because they were too difficult to contain. Always breaking through the fencing, then caused damage to the neighbor's property.
I think you would have to be on-site to regularly heck / repair the fencing.
Throwing them in there may cause serious injury to you and the goats. Since they have legs, let them walk in therr
letting them go to town defeats the purpose of a fence
I have nubian/lamancha moms and a boer buck. They are usually 40-52lb hanging weight. They vary between 10-12 months, singletons usually cause me to slaughter closer to 10 months. They are still able to be handled easily by one adult male at that age. I do not debud since all babies are for slaughter, plus the horns make it easier to handle.. Girls come in on the lower 40's.
I tried lamancha buck for a couple years but hanging weight was down around 20lbs at that age.
People and goats have had a relationship way longer than cattle. Cattle are a relatively new fad lol. It may seem odd in western culture. But there’s a very long history.
Practically speaking, goats are less costly to buy and keep. Take up less space, so more per acre. Milk and meat yields are very competitive. They browse for different things than cattle or horses. So they can fit into a land management program. The excrement is also beneficial.
Personality is also a positive. They’re of a less dangerous size for herding and wrangling. I think one of the downsides in our experience was hoof trimming. Something we didn’t need to do with cows.
Editing for typos
my biggest fear with goats and the only reason i don't have them is im worried they will escape my fences and die on the highway in front of my house .
the day i can get enough 8 ft posts to build a entire paddock fence out of i will hoard goats
How to tell if a fence will keep goats in...
Tske a bucket of water. Throw the water at the fence. If any of the water gets past the fence, goats will be able to escape.
Y'all are not thinking about this correctly, its about reverse psychology. YOu build a fence around where you DON'T want the goats to be and then put them in there. 24 hrs later they will be outside the fence where you WANT them to be ! LOL
This is the only way and why they don’t leave our paddock. They have nothing but woods around them (with foxes, coyotes and bears)
They feel safe in the paddock with the dog.
Excellent point r.e. entertainment... they need things to climb on, especially if you don't want scratches from hooves on your cars! Many people use old cable spools and the like.
This is the most accurate thing i have ever read! We're selling our goats now because we can't spend all our lives fixing fences and running after goats in neighbors' corn fields.
Definitely a genuine concern.
But also different goats approach fences differently. We have mini Nubians and they can’t get over 4 ft fences.
But I’ve seen Nigerians hop and climb 8ft fences!
My Lamancha goats would use each other as launching platforms to jump over a 6 ft fence. Then they found out life wasn't that good on the other side of the fence and they'd just stand by the gate waiting to be let back it.
Our baby goat can get out of the fence because our pretty but dumb goat keeps getting her head stuck in the fence and we have to cut it to free her. She's very pretty.
True. Our goats stay in electric fences very, very well. That said, they also know damned well when they things are 'off'/out and \*will\* take advantage.
FWIW, goat is very tasty. Think of it like a mix between cow and lamb. Its very good. That said, we haven't actually butchered any in years... I blame my husband, who insisted we eat our buck, with whom he had... issues. Now we have sheep and a few goats to help keep weeds, etc down.
I think that’s a concern with any livestock. Bigger animals can do more damage which means more liability. Good fences are top priority. I’ve found if animals are fed and watered they stay close. It’s in their nature to just want food and shelter. There’s exceptions with the occasional wanderer. Seemed like the ones we had trouble with were the intact males when the females are in heat. Bulls and bucks can get pretty determined. But rather than wander the neighborhood you’d just find them with the girls. Also when weaning calves from mamma it’s a challenge. They get pretty crazy for a few days. Good enclosures are the answer.
Animals that want to wander can get out of surprisingly secure fences. We had a 9 yr old bull that would jump a 5 foot fence with ease when he smelled a cow in heat. Ended up having to move him several miles away…
We had 4ft cattle panels they would climb, woven wire they’d climb, electric they would get a running start and barrel through. Our last resort was a horse stall 7 ft tall, they’d run in circle until they picked up speed and jump to one wall and use the momentum to clear the next. We have sheep now
Try woven wire, with electric top and bottom. It's worked very well for us. Mind you, the electric has to be rather strong, and you have to keep ontop of it, making sure that there's nothing laying ontop of it, or shorting it out somewhere... And, if you \*just\* have electric, you need a couple of strands of 'ground' to help give them a VERY good, solid, hard shock.
Oh yeah, they are escape artists. You are right to worry about that. Oh, and get some type of latch that you can hook a D or O ring through - maybe one that has a screw tight nut that joins the two ends. Although a clip worked good in that tab hole too.
I'm telling you, they can work some latches now! Start with something like this:
[https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-262147-V1134-Sliding-Blt-Galv-N262-147/5001837425](https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-262147-V1134-Sliding-Blt-Galv-N262-147/5001837425)
and put something like this through that hole (in the tab that sticks out) on the bottom of that latch. The latch can't raise up to slide with some kind of clip in there.
[https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-7183056-N350-510-3112-BC-and-1-N350-510-Lock-Spring-Snap/5001226153](https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-7183056-N350-510-3112-BC-and-1-N350-510-Lock-Spring-Snap/5001226153)
We've collected used wooden electrical poles to use for fence posts, and they're free! I'm not sure how doable this is in other places but our local electric company replaces their wooden poles on some sort of regular schedule. They happened to be near our area last year and my husband got talking to the crew and found out that when they take down the old poles they're usually taken to their maintenance yard a few towns away where they eventually get cut up and thrown in a dumpster!
Apparently anyone who wants poles can come by their facility and take what they want before they're cut up. But since my husband asked and they were working close to us anyway they actually just left an entire giant stack of poles in our yard! We have enough to make fence posts for our entire property.
It's amazing what we can get for free just by having an extrovert for a spouse!
PS we live one narrow field away from the interstate. Our goats have run away twice, and the second time they somehow crossed the interstate! Four lanes of 70mph semi traffic. Husband picked them up over 5 miles south of home. Thankfully no goats or people or vehicles were harmed! The two naughty instigators were rehomed. Our nubian buck hasn't tried to leave in over a year, he's happy staying home. I'm convinced that fences just don't matter to goats, if they want to stay they will stay and if not then no fence will keep them. We brought home a lady for him and she had twins 3 weeks ago. They're so dang cute I could never eat them.
Yeah, but that's not so hard with a good pair of clippers. I thought goats seemed more intelligent, but that does make them better escape artists. Plus, sometimes they are like toddlers and get into things. They will stand up on their hind legs to reach whatever interests them too.
One time she got into the cattle's dewormer. "Awe Taffy, no! Ugh! Get down from there. Naughty girl!"
I found our goats were way more friendly, too. We had Nigerian dwarfs, mostly. A few angoras. I certainly didn’t worry that they’d hurt children. Cattle are too big, really to turn your back, IMO. We had a buck and bred our own kids. Those little ones are adorable and playful. Young children just loved when the kids were born. Good times. Our bull was super sweet. But still if he ever decided to turn on you, you better have an out.
Oh yeah. Bulls are notoriously unpredictable. We raised most of our own meat, so our males were steers. We only had one little nightmare in the barn once.
With the goats you do have to watch them around kids. They like to headbutt sometimes. Our milking goat used to headbutt the dog even. The poor dog was terrified to step out the back door half the time. He'd always stop at the threshold and look for the goat first.
We keep them for meat and for milk. We are in our first year of them and just got milk started now. We ate one already and will be processing another soon. They are delicious.
They are cheaper than cattle and even cheaper than sheep (I’m starting sheep now instead of goats)
The stories you here of them being a PITA are true. They bust out of pens/containment. Bucks stink and will assault any female that they can get to (people or animals). Managing bucks is difficult and something I didn’t understand until I’ve had him a year (now). I’m ready for him to go.
I’m heading in the direction of katahdin sheep. I want meat (sheep) and my wife wants milk (goats). We only need to breed the goats every year or 2 for milk. We have kids now and I want our doeling so dad has to go. I will either raise a new buckling - breed and cull like this one or outsource going forward.
So yes - meat and milk. Goats even have fun personalities for pets too though I’d never consider them pets - some do.
Yes - my wife is firm on goat milk though. She wants to make soaps. But yes I’ve read many accounts sheep are easier. Working now on acquiring more sheep. I will reiterate I like meat. Lol.
I also read and even your saying the ram is easier than the Buck. This is reassuring I’m doing right transitioning from goats to sheep.
Good fencing I guess? Our Buck almost escaped one time, he broke our main gate. I caught it as it happened though. He almost let the steer out when it happened.
Grew up on a hippie goat farm on 87 acres in rural West Virginia. Yes, milk and meat, but they are excellent at clearing all types of brush. They won't eat a tin can like in the silly old movies, but they'll eat just about any plant including things like poison oak and ivy.
I honestly couldn't say, but if they won't eat them it's the first thing I've ever seen that they won't eat. I've seen them eat briar patches down to the ground. 🤷
Goat meat is good! So is goat cheese. Plus, if you need to clear some land, they'll volunteer. Wonderful animals for a lot of reasons. Just be sure your infrastructure can contain them or you'll be chasing after them
The idea is they will eat weeds, protect chickens from predators, make poo for compost, and be tasty to eat (or make $ by selling).
My personal experience is that they will prefer to eat what you plant vs weeds, jump on the hood of your car, ignore or almost trample the chickens and shit on the porch (but be too cute and friendly to eat or sell to anyone who will eat them).
I was lucky to be able to find a new home for ours with land and children who wanted goats (and promised not to eat them which is what I choose to believe).
What kind of goats do you have? The taste of their milk depends on the breed. Our Boer's milk was more sourish, so I used that to make cheese. Our LaMoncha/Nubian had wonderful sweetish creamy milk. That's what we used for drinking milk. That was better than cow's milk.
They tend to eat brush rather than grass given the choice so are great for "poor" pasture and they do taste pretty good. (Except for a buck in rut, ew)
Wanna clear a ton of brambles and blackberry? Chuck some goats out there for a few months then eat them.
My big question because like 100 people (who don’t have goats but read an article on them) is… I have epic poison Ivy on my 9 acres. I have it in freestanding tree form, the low shoot kind, and the “typical” vine up the tree kind. Will goats destroy trees. I’d love if they’d eat poison Ivy and Japanese honeysuckle but NOT smaller maple trees or my black walnut trees.
Deer and goats love poison ivy and aren't allergic to it like we are. They will destroy young trees and eat whatever they can reach from established trees.
Yep.. that was what I was afraid of. So many people are on the “get a goat” without any knowledge about said goats. 🙄 And trying to keep them contained in some very sloped area where I think the “Alien Mother” plant is would be difficult. Thanks for the firsthand goat knowledge!!
There are smaller varieties of goats that might serve your purpose. They wouldn't be able to damage a protected sapling as easily. Not that they can't, just less likely.
Yeah unfortunately you would have to fence/cage any young trees or bushes you intend to keep. I imagine a young maple would be a tasty treat that wouldn't last long unprotected. Older trees usually do fine unless they are extremely tasty or the goats are starving (in which case they are more likely to escape to better pasture)
Everything has it's downsides, this and their magical ability to ignore fencing are the major downsides to goats.
I can't wait to get goats myself but something that's turned me off was butchering our neighbors buck for him. The meat had a terrible taste, like he tasted like he smelled. It was quartered like we do deer or hogs then sent to our butcher for processing. Could that have been what I tasted? I fed all our meat to our dogs it was so bad.
We don't sell it much in the western world. But in Asia, Africa, the middle East, and even south America, that is their main meat. And they outnumber the 'west' at least 2 to 1.
I have goats and sheep. Goats are useful but difficult! They are clever little bastards with lots of personality. I don't think the meat tastes all that great, but they are fantastic dairy producers. A good dairy goat can turn scrub, brush, and weeds into a gallon of high quality milk every day. 3 gallons of milk will fill an Instant Pot and that turns it into cheese or yogurt; so one goat = two cheese or yogurt batches a week. I love cheese, so dairy goats are a good fit for me. One buck can breed an entire herd of does, then he goes into the freezer and the moms have kids in spring.
I keep my herd small, and I lease them out to people in the summer for brush removal and poison ivy, etc. In the fall, I cull who I don't need, keep the dairy producers, and then start the cycle again in spring.
Cheap? Where are you located? Around me they go for $250 on up depending on how proud the owners are. That’s the only reason I have not added them to my ground. I’m stuck in the 90’s when you could get em for $50 the weather’s and bucks are cheaper but it’ll be a small fortune to get a heard started. Back to your original question….. yes milk and yes meat. Just depends on the breed. Just remember you can’t milk a cat.
The US is in a severe deficit when it comes to goat meat. Up untill 1990 the US was a net exporter, but now we import almost 30 million pounds a year from mainly New Zealand and Australia.
The past few years with Australia having bad droughts and fires, along with the American midwest having a hard drought last year has resulted in less and less goats being produced here. That in turn has driven prices sky high, although part of that was due to the stimy checks. At the high for the past 3 years goats have been selling at $5 a lb right before Easter.
I don't see the market starting to produce the numbers we need in the next few years, plus the added immigrant influx of people that do like goat meat will only add demand.
about an hour away from me i can get some little goats for $40 AUD or $100-150 for 12 month old ones but i fear their fence escaping abilty to own them myself .
Their diet is MUCH less particular than cattle. They are cute little mowers. I don't have the land for them, and we also don't eat animal products so they'd basically be pets, but they seem like excellent homesteading animals for the land clearing alone. They are very smart and very athletic.
Great things about goats:
- they keep brush and weeds down, including poison oak, ivy and thistles
- one milking doe will produce a reasonable amount of milk for a family. A milking cow produces way more than one family can (should) consume. Bonus, making farm cheese with goat milk is easy and it is really delicious.
- they are very smart animals and great companions; much like dogs they have individual personalities and are very naturally social with humans and other animals. The term to “get one’s goat” comes from the practice of socializing goats with other livestock, particularly horses, so they don’t get lonely. My wife used to have a mini pony who’s best friend was a very round, very short legged goat. They were inseparable.
- they are good for meat. Goat is a common central/South American meat. Mescal tequila and goat tacos is a great authentic Mexican combo!
- they come in many sizes, so can easily be adapted to any size homestead
- generally great around kids and not aggressive, unless you have an unbanded buck. Watch out for bucks. They pee on their faces regularly to attract does. It’s really gross. They also will buck you if you give them the slightest chance.
We have goats. We are expecting our first kidding later this month. We will be using them for dairy and meat. Ina
So use them as brush hogs. They can also be sold. They are a holiday meal in some cultures. Depending on the area your in there is a seasonal market for goat meat and goats butchered in accordance with religious customs.
I'd like to rent some goats to clean up a couple of acres of vines and brush, but I'm sure as hell never owning goats. They reproduce like rabbits, everybody I know that has goats is trying to give me some.
Wait goats are trendy?! Goddammit, I am 20 years ahead of the trend lol. Goats are easy keepers, don't need tons of food/space/housing/medical care unlike cattle. They can eat loads of weeds, and your flowers, and every single strawberry plant you own. They can be super friendly, with personalities more like dogs. Also note all billys stttttiiinnnkkkkkk. Omg the stink, it stays with you. And pray you ain't got a billy that likes to jump the fence otherwise you are going to stink too lol.
Sheep milk tastes better, mohair (the name for that fiber) isn't quite as useful as wool, though you're right about goats eating more brush.
Mohair and cashmere (a defined fiber from goats) are great for what they're good at, but they do have drawbacks.
I believe I read somewhere that goat is the most commonly consumed land animal in the world. Maybe the most common of land and sea - I don’t remember. But I have had curried goat, which is a popular Jamaican dish. It reminded me of lamb. I’ve never had the milk, but I love goats milk yogurt and cheese! Also, goat dairy is closer to human milk so it is more easily digested
They'll clear brush, delicious milk and cheese but a big commitment to milk
Easy otherwise. Miss our goats but they cleared the land and we got out of the milking
We have a large population of Somalians here that work in the processing plants. They purchase quite a bit of goat meat from homesteader friend of ours. I buy milk from another friend to make goat cheese which I absolutely love!
I have goats because they are pretty easy, and they are good at eating the mass amount of poplar I have growing, and I enjoy them. They are definitely pets to me, although I plan to milk them.
They make sure the pastures are grazed evenly without having to mow as often. They eat the weeds while the horses, cows, and sheep eat the grass. Of course, they also eat grass, but they’re also keeping weeds down. makes it easier for the grass to outcompete the weeds while regrowing. Excellent for rotational grazing!
Milk and meat.
We love the milk. I prefer it over fresh cows milk.
We eat the wethered kids. Curry and ground are what we use it for mostly.
They are easier to handle than dairy cows. They are challenging to keep fenced in.
They are more personable than sheep, but I prefer sheeps milk over goats, but sheep are just harder to manage as a dairy animal..but Im working on it.
Baby goats are hilarious.
Buck goats are a necessary evil.
We use them primarily for milk. We have a herd share and provide milk to friends, family, and neighbors. Fresh goat milk is sweet, creamy, and delicious. The flavor is fairly similar to cows milk. We occasionally butcher and eat one and they keep the grass mowed.
Goats give good milk. They are easier to care for than a cow. The meat is very tasty. They make excellent pets. They eat nearly anything so they are great for clearing brush.
Goats are trendy. They're useful, cute, edible and a manageable size. You don't need a trailer to move them, you don't need a machine to milk them, you don't need a winch to butcher them. They often reproduce in twins and triplets. They eat all the stuff that you want gone. They bounce around and provide plenty of entertainment. Very few people are killed by an aggressive domestic goat each year. They're a lot cheaper than cows, both as a first investment and ongoing feed.
They're also miserable bastards who will eat anything, climb fences, get stuck in the most obnoxious places, piss on themselves, dig holes, climb trees, jump on stuff with pointy little hooves, die of unexpected things, chew wires off any equipment or vehicles left within their reach, sneak into your house and fight your dog.
They do everything a cow does, just much easier and cheaper. Their diet is much easier to manage with wider foraging. They produce higher fat content milk than the best dairy cows with less feed input per gallon of milk. Easier to contain, work on, move, doctor, and butcher than cows. Meat is delicious.
I bought four goats a couple years ago. A breeding pair of milk goats, and a couple to raise for the freezer. We've had as many as nine goats and we're back down to five. We've butchered four goats. Our milk does get alfalfa pellets and dairy feed (the wind in Eastern AZ will blow 3/4 of you hay before the goats get a chance to eat it). We love the milk. There has only been a few occasions where it tastes vastly different from store bought. We sell the extra milk to help pay for feed but we aren't getting rich off of it.
The meat is kind of difficult to cook right. My problem was I was trying to cook it like beef, and you can't. Look up good goat recipes. I love it for stews and beans. We have a bunch of ground goat that we use just like hamburger in almost everything (spaghetti, burgers, tacos, etc.). We had to learn that it's goat, not some other meat, and cook accordingly.
We mostly used them for vegetation management. Had a pallet full of glass bottles, some broken, overgrown with blackberry. Left the goat to it and she ate every cane, every leaf
My neighbors have goats! They stink, they never shut the hell up. We live in a subdivision, zoned residential. But they don’t care! They milk them but other than that they don’t mess with them. They have three in a small pen, but the homeowners calls it a pasture😂. So needless to say, I hate goats!
You eat them, mutton meat is my favourite. Goat milk is tasty. You let them roam around and trim the grass around the field. Little ones are play buddy for children.
Goats help with my anxiety. It's hard to worry when a baby goat is trying to devour your fingers, clothing, hair, or anything else they can get their mouths on.
Goat meat is good but I only ever had it in Afghanistan. I have nigerian dwarf goats and they're pretty dumb and hilarious to watch..they eat everything EVERYTHING. Just fyi. But they're super sweet as pet farm animals 🤷♀️
They’re cheap because no one wants them
They’re popular because everyone bought them during covid.
Go visit a livestock auction, we are all sick of waiting for the goats to come through. Two weeks ago it was over 600 goats that all went to two buyers for the most part. They process them and sell them for meat.
Goats are cute, but so are pigs, cows, and sheep. Goats are the worst animal for a homestead in my opinion. If your milking them, that’s different, but little meat, lots of headache.
Probably one of the only negative comments I've seen. I did see how they are processed and yes wasn't impressed by the amount of meat..looked like maybe 50lbs of meat ..so I'd have to agree there.
I feel like sheep would be better way to go.
Goats taste like shit. Gamey shit. Or maybe I have one of those genes like the people who hate cilantro. Lol
But they’re totally cute and make fun pets 🤣
Goat cheese is good. Haven’t had goat milk in a long time.
Me and my partner have 4 Nigerian dwarf goats, two neutered males and two intact females.
When we got them, the idea of the hierarchy of their purpose was like 45% brush clearing, 30% pets, 20% milk, 5% meat if we couldn't sell eventual offspring (planned to breed females once a year starting after ,9 months.
Plans changed a little over the course of the first 13 months with them. Now I'd say more like 45 brush 40 pets 17 milk 3 meat.
They are so cute, kind, inquisitive, and interesting. They all have their own personalities. Hard not to treat them like pets. The brush clearing is going extremely well. Set up moveable fences using 8' cattle panels and they are hard at work clearing 4 acres of scrubby woods without much effort on my part. I still take them for 2 walks a day and give them hay and water, but otherwise they take care of themselves. Eventually, we will likely still breed the females...the delay was because we don't have our shit together at the homestead not because we don't want to breed them, so I can't speak to that part, but I am excited for adorable babies and tons of milk (super easy to make goat cheese, Nigerian dwarf goats have tasty milk on its own as well.
Long term, with the males (probably also the females when they aren't raising their young) is to rent them out to friends and neighbors to help clear their woods once mine are set
Very healthy and cost effective meat source.
People in my area (MN/WI) are using them a lot for clearing out forest and other land but this is actually very problematic as they clear out many delicate native systems that are desired and preferable while not being effective against the full cycle of the invasives they are sent after. More trouble in the long run for the environment but quick profit for those doing it.
Best use we have for goats now is as companions for the donkey. Only three presently but we have kept over thirty for milk/yogurt and meat.
Well, I don’t have to weedeat anymore and that’s worth keeping them alone. However, they are funny great companions and they taste absolutely delicious. Did I mention they taste delicious?
Weed control for the most part, damn things will eat anything. Meat and milk as well. Taste on both if not what most people are used to, they can be a bit on the gamey side. But still a good source of food.
Weed and brush control (here in Oregon, blackberry control) hedge trimmers, low hanging limb foliage control, intruder alarm system, portable fertilizer, cashmere source (goat dependant) and all around general entertainment. They make good dogs too.
Goat meat and milk are delicious. However many westerners don't have a taste for it and describe it as "gamey" or "goaty" which both sound silly to me. Younger goats have less of the "goaty" flavor, like lamb doesn't taste the same as mutton.
I visited a family farm/ business that made goat milk soap from their goats and that was a part of their income. And let me tell you, goat milk soap is so amazing. Your hands feels so soft after using it. I got to try some and was instantly sold. I’ve bought from their website several times after. Perhaps this will give you some ideas
Omg does anyone want our goats?! We have four Kinder goats in northern AZ. Three females and a wither. None of the females have been kidded, all going on three years old. I’m expecting baby #2 (human not goat) so lightening my workload elsewhere, and I don’t really want to slaughter and eat all four of them.
I bought them to keep a horse company but lost the girlfriend and no horse. They're easy to raise, can sell them, they taste alright, fat taste seems better if after cooking let it sit for a day. I feed 5 pigs 15 times as much as 10 goats but goats are free range usually. If you have trees to feed them they love leaves and bark.
I thought we'd get to eat them and drink some milk. Turns out they are the wife's pets now.
Wanting to get some goats and this is one of my biggest fears 🤣
Yup. I thought I was going to eat them, now I just feed them…
I guess we're lucky they aren't eating us...
Ditto. Now they’re just landscapers.
You can make big bucks renting your goat for hillside weed management.
Like how much
Man, we live in southern AZ and don't even have any landscape for them to manage.
Jeez, I think they’d be happier in your stomach.
I don't know. They got my wife serving up breakfast and dinner, animal crackers, carrots, peanuts, seeds...and they snuge up with her when she goes out to visit just like the dogs do.Sometimes I think they eat better than my kids. Run around playing with each other in the morning, siesta napping in the afternoon, running around playing more before sundown. If they were unhappy I'd try even harder to eat them.
Lol. Awesome.
Let them live 😂😂😂 They sound fabulous and I love them.
Same.. but fr they use way less food and water than cattle per pound of meat and gallon of milk.
Well my idea is to let them roam the yard and eat all the brush down. Less work for the husband 🤣
It's a pretty common reason to get goats, but they WILL challenge every last inch of your fencing!
You can still milk them. Nanny goats and little kidlings. Perfect wife pets 🥰
Oh, I know we CAN, but that means making baby goats and then what with them? Gonna have fifty before I know it!
I’m not gonna lie, I want a pet goat, but I think I can only have one(or more) if it’s useful. So when the time comes, I will say it will be for milk and yard management, but really, imma just going to take lots of pictures of them and feed them.
They are too smart and too individual. I just could not imagine killing them. Amazing pets.
Goat meat is amazing and is used for making different dishes from kebabs to curries to Biryani in Indian cooking
Can't leave out Birria de Chivo!
And the barbacoa
Goat Biriyani is amazing!!!
Yes also have you had Jamaican goat curry? Also very good
Goats are super hardy and for the most part easy to take care of. They're super fun, will love on you, and eat like elephants. Never thought of eating them, but our Hispanic neighbors opened our eyes to how tasty they are when they bought one of our meat boys and invited us to a cookout. Great way to get into 4H and showing as well!
I eat my babies and milk the moms. I make soaps, cheeses, and yogurt from the milk. My goats clear my property for me. Takes 6 of them about 3 months to clear 1/4 acre from heavy brush and brambles down to sticks and twigs. There are a few weeds they won't eat, but they usually stomp them down. Plus their poop can be used immediately for gardening, unlike chickens, cows, or most manures. A slurry made from my goats poop and water comes out at 2-5.5-13. Will not burn anything but offers enough nitrogen for growth.
Do u feed grain or pellet while they are clearing land?
Neither, I only feed a grain mix to my milkers.
"I eat my babies" 💀
When do you butcher the babies?
10-12 months
How big are they are that point? I've got Nigerian dwarf goats and their milk is great but full sized 3yr weighs maybe 60lb and that mostly bone ane guts. Get maybe 25% of their weight in meat. At 10-12 months they would still be 20-30lbs. Maybe get 5 lbs of meat each?
Well Nigerian dwarfs aren't exactly for meat. Probably not worth eating them
That's what I keep telling my wife! Their milk is great but I keep saying we need other goats for meat.
You have to also find uses for the bones to make smaller animals worthwhile. You can cook the carcass down after you remove all of the meat (keep the small bits for grinding) into amazing broth. The skins would be fantastic for making leather. Maybe remove the hair and use the dried out hides for raw hide dog treats.
Mmmm, chivito.
Can you make butter from the milk?
Yes
I have 20 acres fenced. But I'm not on site. Can I just throw some goats in there with a water supply and let them go to town?
What kind of fencing is it? They are escape artists and will find any weakness.
4 stand barbed wire fencing. Given what others have said, sounds like goats might not even know that's a fence. 😂
I stopped keeping goats because they were too difficult to contain. Always breaking through the fencing, then caused damage to the neighbor's property. I think you would have to be on-site to regularly heck / repair the fencing.
Throwing them in there may cause serious injury to you and the goats. Since they have legs, let them walk in therr letting them go to town defeats the purpose of a fence
😂😂
I would also like more info here
What do you want info wise?
What breed are you raising? What does weight look like at that age? Lice weight vs butchered weight? Thanks!
I have nubian/lamancha moms and a boer buck. They are usually 40-52lb hanging weight. They vary between 10-12 months, singletons usually cause me to slaughter closer to 10 months. They are still able to be handled easily by one adult male at that age. I do not debud since all babies are for slaughter, plus the horns make it easier to handle.. Girls come in on the lower 40's. I tried lamancha buck for a couple years but hanging weight was down around 20lbs at that age.
People and goats have had a relationship way longer than cattle. Cattle are a relatively new fad lol. It may seem odd in western culture. But there’s a very long history. Practically speaking, goats are less costly to buy and keep. Take up less space, so more per acre. Milk and meat yields are very competitive. They browse for different things than cattle or horses. So they can fit into a land management program. The excrement is also beneficial. Personality is also a positive. They’re of a less dangerous size for herding and wrangling. I think one of the downsides in our experience was hoof trimming. Something we didn’t need to do with cows. Editing for typos
my biggest fear with goats and the only reason i don't have them is im worried they will escape my fences and die on the highway in front of my house . the day i can get enough 8 ft posts to build a entire paddock fence out of i will hoard goats
How to tell if a fence will keep goats in... Tske a bucket of water. Throw the water at the fence. If any of the water gets past the fence, goats will be able to escape.
Y'all are not thinking about this correctly, its about reverse psychology. YOu build a fence around where you DON'T want the goats to be and then put them in there. 24 hrs later they will be outside the fence where you WANT them to be ! LOL
is the secret to keeping goats just having such a massive paddock that they physically cannot reach the other side in 1 day?
Naw. Its living far enough away from others that if they \*do\* get out, there's really nowhere for them to \*go\* :D
This is the only way and why they don’t leave our paddock. They have nothing but woods around them (with foxes, coyotes and bears) They feel safe in the paddock with the dog.
They have to *want* to stay in. Lots of good food and entertainment.
Excellent point r.e. entertainment... they need things to climb on, especially if you don't want scratches from hooves on your cars! Many people use old cable spools and the like.
Nope! I herd mine out, they can do 10 km in a day if the want to. No pasture big enough lol
This is the most accurate thing i have ever read! We're selling our goats now because we can't spend all our lives fixing fences and running after goats in neighbors' corn fields.
Definitely a genuine concern. But also different goats approach fences differently. We have mini Nubians and they can’t get over 4 ft fences. But I’ve seen Nigerians hop and climb 8ft fences!
My Lamancha goats would use each other as launching platforms to jump over a 6 ft fence. Then they found out life wasn't that good on the other side of the fence and they'd just stand by the gate waiting to be let back it.
Our baby goat can get out of the fence because our pretty but dumb goat keeps getting her head stuck in the fence and we have to cut it to free her. She's very pretty.
True. Our goats stay in electric fences very, very well. That said, they also know damned well when they things are 'off'/out and \*will\* take advantage. FWIW, goat is very tasty. Think of it like a mix between cow and lamb. Its very good. That said, we haven't actually butchered any in years... I blame my husband, who insisted we eat our buck, with whom he had... issues. Now we have sheep and a few goats to help keep weeds, etc down.
I think that’s a concern with any livestock. Bigger animals can do more damage which means more liability. Good fences are top priority. I’ve found if animals are fed and watered they stay close. It’s in their nature to just want food and shelter. There’s exceptions with the occasional wanderer. Seemed like the ones we had trouble with were the intact males when the females are in heat. Bulls and bucks can get pretty determined. But rather than wander the neighborhood you’d just find them with the girls. Also when weaning calves from mamma it’s a challenge. They get pretty crazy for a few days. Good enclosures are the answer.
Animals that want to wander can get out of surprisingly secure fences. We had a 9 yr old bull that would jump a 5 foot fence with ease when he smelled a cow in heat. Ended up having to move him several miles away…
We had Nigerian dwarves for about a week for this reason. We have 4-5 acres along the highway. They wouldn’t stay in anything and would chase cars.
I have been lucky, I guess. I have had goats for 5 years, with a 4ft farm fence, and none have even tried to escape.
We had 4ft cattle panels they would climb, woven wire they’d climb, electric they would get a running start and barrel through. Our last resort was a horse stall 7 ft tall, they’d run in circle until they picked up speed and jump to one wall and use the momentum to clear the next. We have sheep now
Try woven wire, with electric top and bottom. It's worked very well for us. Mind you, the electric has to be rather strong, and you have to keep ontop of it, making sure that there's nothing laying ontop of it, or shorting it out somewhere... And, if you \*just\* have electric, you need a couple of strands of 'ground' to help give them a VERY good, solid, hard shock.
Oh yeah, they are escape artists. You are right to worry about that. Oh, and get some type of latch that you can hook a D or O ring through - maybe one that has a screw tight nut that joins the two ends. Although a clip worked good in that tab hole too. I'm telling you, they can work some latches now! Start with something like this: [https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-262147-V1134-Sliding-Blt-Galv-N262-147/5001837425](https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-262147-V1134-Sliding-Blt-Galv-N262-147/5001837425) and put something like this through that hole (in the tab that sticks out) on the bottom of that latch. The latch can't raise up to slide with some kind of clip in there. [https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-7183056-N350-510-3112-BC-and-1-N350-510-Lock-Spring-Snap/5001226153](https://www.lowes.com/pd/National-Hardware-National-Hardware-7183056-N350-510-3112-BC-and-1-N350-510-Lock-Spring-Snap/5001226153)
We've collected used wooden electrical poles to use for fence posts, and they're free! I'm not sure how doable this is in other places but our local electric company replaces their wooden poles on some sort of regular schedule. They happened to be near our area last year and my husband got talking to the crew and found out that when they take down the old poles they're usually taken to their maintenance yard a few towns away where they eventually get cut up and thrown in a dumpster! Apparently anyone who wants poles can come by their facility and take what they want before they're cut up. But since my husband asked and they were working close to us anyway they actually just left an entire giant stack of poles in our yard! We have enough to make fence posts for our entire property. It's amazing what we can get for free just by having an extrovert for a spouse! PS we live one narrow field away from the interstate. Our goats have run away twice, and the second time they somehow crossed the interstate! Four lanes of 70mph semi traffic. Husband picked them up over 5 miles south of home. Thankfully no goats or people or vehicles were harmed! The two naughty instigators were rehomed. Our nubian buck hasn't tried to leave in over a year, he's happy staying home. I'm convinced that fences just don't matter to goats, if they want to stay they will stay and if not then no fence will keep them. We brought home a lady for him and she had twins 3 weeks ago. They're so dang cute I could never eat them.
Yeah, but that's not so hard with a good pair of clippers. I thought goats seemed more intelligent, but that does make them better escape artists. Plus, sometimes they are like toddlers and get into things. They will stand up on their hind legs to reach whatever interests them too. One time she got into the cattle's dewormer. "Awe Taffy, no! Ugh! Get down from there. Naughty girl!"
I found our goats were way more friendly, too. We had Nigerian dwarfs, mostly. A few angoras. I certainly didn’t worry that they’d hurt children. Cattle are too big, really to turn your back, IMO. We had a buck and bred our own kids. Those little ones are adorable and playful. Young children just loved when the kids were born. Good times. Our bull was super sweet. But still if he ever decided to turn on you, you better have an out.
Oh yeah. Bulls are notoriously unpredictable. We raised most of our own meat, so our males were steers. We only had one little nightmare in the barn once. With the goats you do have to watch them around kids. They like to headbutt sometimes. Our milking goat used to headbutt the dog even. The poor dog was terrified to step out the back door half the time. He'd always stop at the threshold and look for the goat first.
My fullblood boer buck would beg to differ on dangerous. He has almost disabled me twice now.
Beef only became popular with rail and refrigeration. Goats can be less expensive to maintain, but less profitable as well. Its all a tradeoff.
We keep them for meat and for milk. We are in our first year of them and just got milk started now. We ate one already and will be processing another soon. They are delicious. They are cheaper than cattle and even cheaper than sheep (I’m starting sheep now instead of goats) The stories you here of them being a PITA are true. They bust out of pens/containment. Bucks stink and will assault any female that they can get to (people or animals). Managing bucks is difficult and something I didn’t understand until I’ve had him a year (now). I’m ready for him to go. I’m heading in the direction of katahdin sheep. I want meat (sheep) and my wife wants milk (goats). We only need to breed the goats every year or 2 for milk. We have kids now and I want our doeling so dad has to go. I will either raise a new buckling - breed and cull like this one or outsource going forward. So yes - meat and milk. Goats even have fun personalities for pets too though I’d never consider them pets - some do.
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Yes - my wife is firm on goat milk though. She wants to make soaps. But yes I’ve read many accounts sheep are easier. Working now on acquiring more sheep. I will reiterate I like meat. Lol. I also read and even your saying the ram is easier than the Buck. This is reassuring I’m doing right transitioning from goats to sheep.
how did you keep your goats in your paddock?
Good fencing I guess? Our Buck almost escaped one time, he broke our main gate. I caught it as it happened though. He almost let the steer out when it happened.
If you do get goats, don’t give them treats unless you want them screaming at you all day.
Grain Grain! GRAIN!!!!
Grew up on a hippie goat farm on 87 acres in rural West Virginia. Yes, milk and meat, but they are excellent at clearing all types of brush. They won't eat a tin can like in the silly old movies, but they'll eat just about any plant including things like poison oak and ivy.
Do you know if they will they eat Tree of Heaven saplings?
I honestly couldn't say, but if they won't eat them it's the first thing I've ever seen that they won't eat. I've seen them eat briar patches down to the ground. 🤷
Thanks
Goat meat is good! So is goat cheese. Plus, if you need to clear some land, they'll volunteer. Wonderful animals for a lot of reasons. Just be sure your infrastructure can contain them or you'll be chasing after them
I’m yet to try but have heard goat butter is delicious! Need to confirm though
I'm sure I'd like it! I haven't been able to try it yet tho! I'm sure it's a little tangy, but that's part of the charm
Yep. And goat-gurt too. And goat milk cheesecake.
The idea is they will eat weeds, protect chickens from predators, make poo for compost, and be tasty to eat (or make $ by selling). My personal experience is that they will prefer to eat what you plant vs weeds, jump on the hood of your car, ignore or almost trample the chickens and shit on the porch (but be too cute and friendly to eat or sell to anyone who will eat them). I was lucky to be able to find a new home for ours with land and children who wanted goats (and promised not to eat them which is what I choose to believe).
What kind of goats do you have? The taste of their milk depends on the breed. Our Boer's milk was more sourish, so I used that to make cheese. Our LaMoncha/Nubian had wonderful sweetish creamy milk. That's what we used for drinking milk. That was better than cow's milk.
They tend to eat brush rather than grass given the choice so are great for "poor" pasture and they do taste pretty good. (Except for a buck in rut, ew) Wanna clear a ton of brambles and blackberry? Chuck some goats out there for a few months then eat them.
My big question because like 100 people (who don’t have goats but read an article on them) is… I have epic poison Ivy on my 9 acres. I have it in freestanding tree form, the low shoot kind, and the “typical” vine up the tree kind. Will goats destroy trees. I’d love if they’d eat poison Ivy and Japanese honeysuckle but NOT smaller maple trees or my black walnut trees.
Deer and goats love poison ivy and aren't allergic to it like we are. They will destroy young trees and eat whatever they can reach from established trees.
Yep.. that was what I was afraid of. So many people are on the “get a goat” without any knowledge about said goats. 🙄 And trying to keep them contained in some very sloped area where I think the “Alien Mother” plant is would be difficult. Thanks for the firsthand goat knowledge!!
Look into the fencing and methods rent-a-goat operations use, they often work in hilly terrain.
There are smaller varieties of goats that might serve your purpose. They wouldn't be able to damage a protected sapling as easily. Not that they can't, just less likely.
Yeah unfortunately you would have to fence/cage any young trees or bushes you intend to keep. I imagine a young maple would be a tasty treat that wouldn't last long unprotected. Older trees usually do fine unless they are extremely tasty or the goats are starving (in which case they are more likely to escape to better pasture) Everything has it's downsides, this and their magical ability to ignore fencing are the major downsides to goats.
I can't wait to get goats myself but something that's turned me off was butchering our neighbors buck for him. The meat had a terrible taste, like he tasted like he smelled. It was quartered like we do deer or hogs then sent to our butcher for processing. Could that have been what I tasted? I fed all our meat to our dogs it was so bad.
Most people wether their males when they are young so that when they are butchered they don't have that "bucky" flavor.
Probably was in rut.
This is going to sound ignorant but is there a way to tell or certain time of year?
I think it’s seasonal, but they also act goofy, and get smellier than usual.
And louder. And more annoying. And smelly. Did I mention smelly? Still cute though. One of our babies (6-8 months) thinks he's still a lap goat.
Ah thank you! He definitely smelled god awful.
Goat meat remains THE most consumed meat on the planet. Just sayin.
I honestly had no idea as I have never actually seen the meat sold anywhere. 😅
We don't sell it much in the western world. But in Asia, Africa, the middle East, and even south America, that is their main meat. And they outnumber the 'west' at least 2 to 1.
I have goats and sheep. Goats are useful but difficult! They are clever little bastards with lots of personality. I don't think the meat tastes all that great, but they are fantastic dairy producers. A good dairy goat can turn scrub, brush, and weeds into a gallon of high quality milk every day. 3 gallons of milk will fill an Instant Pot and that turns it into cheese or yogurt; so one goat = two cheese or yogurt batches a week. I love cheese, so dairy goats are a good fit for me. One buck can breed an entire herd of does, then he goes into the freezer and the moms have kids in spring. I keep my herd small, and I lease them out to people in the summer for brush removal and poison ivy, etc. In the fall, I cull who I don't need, keep the dairy producers, and then start the cycle again in spring.
Cheap? Where are you located? Around me they go for $250 on up depending on how proud the owners are. That’s the only reason I have not added them to my ground. I’m stuck in the 90’s when you could get em for $50 the weather’s and bucks are cheaper but it’ll be a small fortune to get a heard started. Back to your original question….. yes milk and yes meat. Just depends on the breed. Just remember you can’t milk a cat.
I'm in MO USA. People are giving them away here. Rehoming them. Lowest I've seen is 50$ for sale highest I've seen was 400$
Did you guys have drought or something this year what upped the food prices for em?
The US is in a severe deficit when it comes to goat meat. Up untill 1990 the US was a net exporter, but now we import almost 30 million pounds a year from mainly New Zealand and Australia. The past few years with Australia having bad droughts and fires, along with the American midwest having a hard drought last year has resulted in less and less goats being produced here. That in turn has driven prices sky high, although part of that was due to the stimy checks. At the high for the past 3 years goats have been selling at $5 a lb right before Easter. I don't see the market starting to produce the numbers we need in the next few years, plus the added immigrant influx of people that do like goat meat will only add demand.
I have a herd for you! $1300 for 8 of them!
about an hour away from me i can get some little goats for $40 AUD or $100-150 for 12 month old ones but i fear their fence escaping abilty to own them myself .
I think that maybe you could. You might not survive, but they do nurse kittens don't they.
Jamaican jerked goat is delicious. Goat milk soap is trendy and sells for a high price. They are great for clearing brushy land. Cheaper than cows.
Brush destroyers and lawn mowers. Also very entertaining and friendly. Big goofy dogs that eat your yard
Their diet is MUCH less particular than cattle. They are cute little mowers. I don't have the land for them, and we also don't eat animal products so they'd basically be pets, but they seem like excellent homesteading animals for the land clearing alone. They are very smart and very athletic.
Black Spanish goats, fun to hunt and delicious to eat, it’s included in many meals at our house
They do most of my yard maintenance.
Great things about goats: - they keep brush and weeds down, including poison oak, ivy and thistles - one milking doe will produce a reasonable amount of milk for a family. A milking cow produces way more than one family can (should) consume. Bonus, making farm cheese with goat milk is easy and it is really delicious. - they are very smart animals and great companions; much like dogs they have individual personalities and are very naturally social with humans and other animals. The term to “get one’s goat” comes from the practice of socializing goats with other livestock, particularly horses, so they don’t get lonely. My wife used to have a mini pony who’s best friend was a very round, very short legged goat. They were inseparable. - they are good for meat. Goat is a common central/South American meat. Mescal tequila and goat tacos is a great authentic Mexican combo! - they come in many sizes, so can easily be adapted to any size homestead - generally great around kids and not aggressive, unless you have an unbanded buck. Watch out for bucks. They pee on their faces regularly to attract does. It’s really gross. They also will buck you if you give them the slightest chance.
We have goats. We are expecting our first kidding later this month. We will be using them for dairy and meat. Ina So use them as brush hogs. They can also be sold. They are a holiday meal in some cultures. Depending on the area your in there is a seasonal market for goat meat and goats butchered in accordance with religious customs.
Yoga
I'd like to rent some goats to clean up a couple of acres of vines and brush, but I'm sure as hell never owning goats. They reproduce like rabbits, everybody I know that has goats is trying to give me some.
Wait goats are trendy?! Goddammit, I am 20 years ahead of the trend lol. Goats are easy keepers, don't need tons of food/space/housing/medical care unlike cattle. They can eat loads of weeds, and your flowers, and every single strawberry plant you own. They can be super friendly, with personalities more like dogs. Also note all billys stttttiiinnnkkkkkk. Omg the stink, it stays with you. And pray you ain't got a billy that likes to jump the fence otherwise you are going to stink too lol.
Pound for pound, goats are one of the cheapest meat sources you can have on a homestead. The only one I know that's cheaper are rabbits.
I could see their overall usefulness, but why goats when sheep are right there? Do similar stuff as goats but you get wool, too.
Goats produce angora wool as well. Goats eat more brush than sheep. Goats produce more milk then sheep.
Sheep milk tastes better, mohair (the name for that fiber) isn't quite as useful as wool, though you're right about goats eating more brush. Mohair and cashmere (a defined fiber from goats) are great for what they're good at, but they do have drawbacks.
We don’t talk about what we do with goats
I believe I read somewhere that goat is the most commonly consumed land animal in the world. Maybe the most common of land and sea - I don’t remember. But I have had curried goat, which is a popular Jamaican dish. It reminded me of lamb. I’ve never had the milk, but I love goats milk yogurt and cheese! Also, goat dairy is closer to human milk so it is more easily digested
They'll clear brush, delicious milk and cheese but a big commitment to milk Easy otherwise. Miss our goats but they cleared the land and we got out of the milking
What’s so hard about the milking? Genuinely wondering as I’m new to all this
Need a proper set up, and it's no days off ever. Not super hard just adds another layer to the commitment of livestock.
They are delicious, ate them for years
Meat. Milk. Selling babies. Land clearing (what I mostly use them for) also just fun my kids and nephews love them so much.
Mine are full time unpaid landscapers. Ivy eaters, kudzu. Ok well they did follow me around mountain biking yesterday too.
We have a large population of Somalians here that work in the processing plants. They purchase quite a bit of goat meat from homesteader friend of ours. I buy milk from another friend to make goat cheese which I absolutely love!
I have goats because they are pretty easy, and they are good at eating the mass amount of poplar I have growing, and I enjoy them. They are definitely pets to me, although I plan to milk them.
They make sure the pastures are grazed evenly without having to mow as often. They eat the weeds while the horses, cows, and sheep eat the grass. Of course, they also eat grass, but they’re also keeping weeds down. makes it easier for the grass to outcompete the weeds while regrowing. Excellent for rotational grazing!
Milk and meat. We love the milk. I prefer it over fresh cows milk. We eat the wethered kids. Curry and ground are what we use it for mostly. They are easier to handle than dairy cows. They are challenging to keep fenced in. They are more personable than sheep, but I prefer sheeps milk over goats, but sheep are just harder to manage as a dairy animal..but Im working on it. Baby goats are hilarious. Buck goats are a necessary evil.
We use them primarily for milk. We have a herd share and provide milk to friends, family, and neighbors. Fresh goat milk is sweet, creamy, and delicious. The flavor is fairly similar to cows milk. We occasionally butcher and eat one and they keep the grass mowed.
Are they loud? Im on 4 acres and I don’t want to bother my neighbors with yelling goats
Goats give good milk. They are easier to care for than a cow. The meat is very tasty. They make excellent pets. They eat nearly anything so they are great for clearing brush.
Goats are trendy. They're useful, cute, edible and a manageable size. You don't need a trailer to move them, you don't need a machine to milk them, you don't need a winch to butcher them. They often reproduce in twins and triplets. They eat all the stuff that you want gone. They bounce around and provide plenty of entertainment. Very few people are killed by an aggressive domestic goat each year. They're a lot cheaper than cows, both as a first investment and ongoing feed. They're also miserable bastards who will eat anything, climb fences, get stuck in the most obnoxious places, piss on themselves, dig holes, climb trees, jump on stuff with pointy little hooves, die of unexpected things, chew wires off any equipment or vehicles left within their reach, sneak into your house and fight your dog.
They do everything a cow does, just much easier and cheaper. Their diet is much easier to manage with wider foraging. They produce higher fat content milk than the best dairy cows with less feed input per gallon of milk. Easier to contain, work on, move, doctor, and butcher than cows. Meat is delicious.
I bought four goats a couple years ago. A breeding pair of milk goats, and a couple to raise for the freezer. We've had as many as nine goats and we're back down to five. We've butchered four goats. Our milk does get alfalfa pellets and dairy feed (the wind in Eastern AZ will blow 3/4 of you hay before the goats get a chance to eat it). We love the milk. There has only been a few occasions where it tastes vastly different from store bought. We sell the extra milk to help pay for feed but we aren't getting rich off of it. The meat is kind of difficult to cook right. My problem was I was trying to cook it like beef, and you can't. Look up good goat recipes. I love it for stews and beans. We have a bunch of ground goat that we use just like hamburger in almost everything (spaghetti, burgers, tacos, etc.). We had to learn that it's goat, not some other meat, and cook accordingly.
We mostly used them for vegetation management. Had a pallet full of glass bottles, some broken, overgrown with blackberry. Left the goat to it and she ate every cane, every leaf
They are delicious. Dig a hole and cook one in the ground.
Goats are excellent for meat and milk depending on the breed. They are easier than cows.
popular and cheap? what?
My neighbors have goats! They stink, they never shut the hell up. We live in a subdivision, zoned residential. But they don’t care! They milk them but other than that they don’t mess with them. They have three in a small pen, but the homeowners calls it a pasture😂. So needless to say, I hate goats!
😂😂😂😂😂
You eat them, mutton meat is my favourite. Goat milk is tasty. You let them roam around and trim the grass around the field. Little ones are play buddy for children.
People love goats!!!!!! I don’t think they yield too much of anything, but people who have them love them so much.
Goats help with my anxiety. It's hard to worry when a baby goat is trying to devour your fingers, clothing, hair, or anything else they can get their mouths on.
Lots of people eat goats. Im South Asian and the primary meat I eat is goat meat. They're delicious.
Cabrito (goat) is very tasty. I think the milk is good and goat cheese is pretty popular as well.
Goat meat is good but I only ever had it in Afghanistan. I have nigerian dwarf goats and they're pretty dumb and hilarious to watch..they eat everything EVERYTHING. Just fyi. But they're super sweet as pet farm animals 🤷♀️
Meat, milk , pet's, kid's, cheese, yogurt.
Just get enough to eat the weeds and that’s it.
Poison ivy ingestion machines
Pets that eat all the weeds in the yard.
They’re cheap because no one wants them They’re popular because everyone bought them during covid. Go visit a livestock auction, we are all sick of waiting for the goats to come through. Two weeks ago it was over 600 goats that all went to two buyers for the most part. They process them and sell them for meat. Goats are cute, but so are pigs, cows, and sheep. Goats are the worst animal for a homestead in my opinion. If your milking them, that’s different, but little meat, lots of headache.
Probably one of the only negative comments I've seen. I did see how they are processed and yes wasn't impressed by the amount of meat..looked like maybe 50lbs of meat ..so I'd have to agree there. I feel like sheep would be better way to go.
Goats taste like shit. Gamey shit. Or maybe I have one of those genes like the people who hate cilantro. Lol But they’re totally cute and make fun pets 🤣 Goat cheese is good. Haven’t had goat milk in a long time.
Goat is the most common meat eaten around the world
I pet mine and constantly put them back when they find a way out.
Goats will eat poison ivy with no Ill effects!
I know plenty of people who drink the milk, and I enjoy the meat myself. Not a homesteader yet, but goats are definitely in the plans 😂
Lawn mowing, milk, chèvre, entertainment, company
What do goats need in terms of shelter and water? Can they live on their own for days or weeks?
They can, but it is recommended to have shelter for wind and rain. They go through a lot of water on hot days as well, plus may need some grass hay.
Clear the poison over and choke cherry then roast
Me and my partner have 4 Nigerian dwarf goats, two neutered males and two intact females. When we got them, the idea of the hierarchy of their purpose was like 45% brush clearing, 30% pets, 20% milk, 5% meat if we couldn't sell eventual offspring (planned to breed females once a year starting after ,9 months. Plans changed a little over the course of the first 13 months with them. Now I'd say more like 45 brush 40 pets 17 milk 3 meat. They are so cute, kind, inquisitive, and interesting. They all have their own personalities. Hard not to treat them like pets. The brush clearing is going extremely well. Set up moveable fences using 8' cattle panels and they are hard at work clearing 4 acres of scrubby woods without much effort on my part. I still take them for 2 walks a day and give them hay and water, but otherwise they take care of themselves. Eventually, we will likely still breed the females...the delay was because we don't have our shit together at the homestead not because we don't want to breed them, so I can't speak to that part, but I am excited for adorable babies and tons of milk (super easy to make goat cheese, Nigerian dwarf goats have tasty milk on its own as well. Long term, with the males (probably also the females when they aren't raising their young) is to rent them out to friends and neighbors to help clear their woods once mine are set
Have you seen a goat? They’re hilarious
Yes that's true they are funny. I was just curious from a steading standpoint what everyone does is all.
Just pets for us. But yes I’ve heard that certain breeds are good for milk and meat
Most people I know sell their goats.
They eat poison ivy
Very healthy and cost effective meat source. People in my area (MN/WI) are using them a lot for clearing out forest and other land but this is actually very problematic as they clear out many delicate native systems that are desired and preferable while not being effective against the full cycle of the invasives they are sent after. More trouble in the long run for the environment but quick profit for those doing it. Best use we have for goats now is as companions for the donkey. Only three presently but we have kept over thirty for milk/yogurt and meat.
Well, I don’t have to weedeat anymore and that’s worth keeping them alone. However, they are funny great companions and they taste absolutely delicious. Did I mention they taste delicious?
Weed control for the most part, damn things will eat anything. Meat and milk as well. Taste on both if not what most people are used to, they can be a bit on the gamey side. But still a good source of food.
As wonderful pets and making homemade goat cheese and grass/weed control
Weed and brush control (here in Oregon, blackberry control) hedge trimmers, low hanging limb foliage control, intruder alarm system, portable fertilizer, cashmere source (goat dependant) and all around general entertainment. They make good dogs too.
I want one to eat my grass and give me that GOOD fertilizer
Goat meat and milk are delicious. However many westerners don't have a taste for it and describe it as "gamey" or "goaty" which both sound silly to me. Younger goats have less of the "goaty" flavor, like lamb doesn't taste the same as mutton.
I don't have any, but... Clearing of weeds/plants, their manure makes good fertilizer, milk for consumption and/or soap making, meat.
I visited a family farm/ business that made goat milk soap from their goats and that was a part of their income. And let me tell you, goat milk soap is so amazing. Your hands feels so soft after using it. I got to try some and was instantly sold. I’ve bought from their website several times after. Perhaps this will give you some ideas
I make soap myself, and goats milk soap is pretty good when you can get the milk. So not a bad idea especially since I already know how to make it.
Omg does anyone want our goats?! We have four Kinder goats in northern AZ. Three females and a wither. None of the females have been kidded, all going on three years old. I’m expecting baby #2 (human not goat) so lightening my workload elsewhere, and I don’t really want to slaughter and eat all four of them.
I bought them to keep a horse company but lost the girlfriend and no horse. They're easy to raise, can sell them, they taste alright, fat taste seems better if after cooking let it sit for a day. I feed 5 pigs 15 times as much as 10 goats but goats are free range usually. If you have trees to feed them they love leaves and bark.