Anyone here is in Goat or Lamb farming?

[NINJABABY]

I start having some interest in goats and would like to know if anyone is already in this business?

As of now, I don't have any experience or land but I am willing to get my feet wet.

Any help will be great.

Thanks.

[fish_e_o]

i once bought a goat while drunk.

then i found out that they'll eat shrubs and trees, they climb onto things like truck hoods, they do actually ram things like trucks, and they're generally jerks.

so the way i got out of it was i told the woman i was going to send her goat strait to the butcher and turn him into jerk goat. suddenly she didn't want to part with the little gem and i was in the clear

[Grizzly Adams]

Might contact Jim Bowhay from Sundre, the local goat baron. See above post.

Grizz

[Badgerbadger]

You have your over goats, your under goats, and your magic goats.

Your over goats go over your fence. They jump it, climb it, crush it, whatever. They go over. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch. They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your under goats go under your fence. They'll find the low spots and slip, squirm, wriggle, or struggle through. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your magic goats. There's no way they could have gotten out of the pasture! Not over, not under, not around. There's no freaking way!! But, they're magic, and.... They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

You will never see a goat give birth. You'll know she's pregnant. You'll be aware she's in labour. You'll be watching. A bird will chirp, you'll look away for a second, and there'll be 3 goats where before there was 1.

A buck can get a very large number of does pregnant within 10 minutes. If he is an over/under/magic goat, it's best to sell him, and rent a male for breeding purposes. If you don't, all your goats will be pregnant and their kids will be over/under/magic goats, and the cycle will just repeat and get worse.

A doe over/under/magic goat will always be pregnant, as will all her kids, all the time. They will all give birth to more over/under/magic goats. You will be swamped with goats. They will eat all the trees and bushes. They will eat every garden. They will eat all the treats. They will eat all the dog/cat/chicken food. They will eat all your bread and crackers. They will know when you are angry at them, and good luck getting within a couple hundred yards at that time, as goats are quick.

Eventually, you will realize that if goats had thumbs, we would not be the dominant species on the planet.

I'd recommend you pursue sheep ranching instead.

[Fowl91]

I grew up on a sheep farm, and we had goats for one year... and one year only.
My parents still own the farm and I'm there every odd weekend to help out.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Send me a PM.

[CanuckShooter]

Badgerbadger....thanks for the laughs, that's the best story I've read in a long time. CS

[Junglefisher]

We have sheep. Currently 60 ewes (I just bought another 19 bred ewes today).
The main thing with sheep is don't EVER let them get through a fence. Have your fences in tip top condition before you get the sheep. Once they go through, they'll keep finding ways to get out.
Easiest way to start is to buy some 3-5 year old bred ewes. Beaverhill Auctions at Tofield will have a bred ewe sale every now and then and they check them over for you before they sell them.
Sheep can be fussy eaters. mine won't eat greenfeed silage but love alfalfa silage and will always eat hay if it was put up dry. 42 ewes and 2 rams were eating 3 bales every two weeks. They'll waste most of it if you let them.
Fed well, most breeds will average 2 lambs per ewe. You need to wean at least 1.5 lambs per ewe to make a decent profit - especially if you are buying your hay and grain.
Starting 6 weeks before breeding and continuing until weaning each ewe gets 1-2lb of grain a day. I like to cut mine down a bit in the last 3-4 weeks of gestation as this makes the lambs a little smaller and easier to birth. Lambs will eat grain almost from birth and should have free access to grain until selling. Mine hit 100lb at around 5 months and are ready to sell.
Don't ever feed adult sheep ground / cracked grain as it WILL kill them. Lambs are more tolerant but it's easier to not even have it on the farm if you don't have cows.
Sheep can survive on a ration of pure grain and sometimes are fed this in a feedlot situation.
Check them every day for limping as a foot infection will soon turn fatal.
If a pregnant ewe goes off her food, sort it out immediately. It's probably toxemia and can kill her in days.
Good luck, if you get some sheep, I'm sure they will find new ways to die not covered here.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Badgerbadger

You have your over goats, your under goats, and your magic goats.

Your over goats go over your fence. They jump it, climb it, crush it, whatever. They go over. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch. They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your under goats go under your fence. They'll find the low spots and slip, squirm, wriggle, or struggle through. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your magic goats. There's no way they could have gotten out of the pasture! Not over, not under, not around. There's no freaking way!! But, they're magic, and.... They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

You will never see a goat give birth. You'll know she's pregnant. You'll be aware she's in labour. You'll be watching. A bird will chirp, you'll look away for a second, and there'll be 3 goats where before there was 1.

A buck can get a very large number of does pregnant within 10 minutes. If he is an over/under/magic goat, it's best to sell him, and rent a male for breeding purposes. If you don't, all your goats will be pregnant and their kids will be over/under/magic goats, and the cycle will just repeat and get worse.

A doe over/under/magic goat will always be pregnant, as will all her kids, all the time. They will all give birth to more over/under/magic goats. You will be swamped with goats. They will eat all the trees and bushes. They will eat every garden. They will eat all the treats. They will eat all the dog/cat/chicken food. They will eat all your bread and crackers. They will know when you are angry at them, and good luck getting within a couple hundred yards at that time, as goats are quick.

Eventually, you will realize that if goats had thumbs, we would not be the dominant species on the planet.

I'd recommend you pursue sheep ranching instead.

LOL That's gold!

[ganderblaster]

The one goat farmer I know told me the way to check if a fence will hold goats is to make it ten feet tall. Next spray it with water, if any water gets through, the fence needs fixing.

[MugEye]

I farm sheep . Go to ablamb.ca lots of good info there

[Badgerbadger]

Originally Posted by ganderblaster

The one goat farmer I know told me the way to check if a fence will hold goats is to make it ten feet tall. Next spray it with water, if any water gets through, the fence needs fixing.

Yes.

[NCC]

I've never heard about the perils of feeding rolled
barley to sheep. Mine eat it all the time and I haven't lost one.

[JDK71]

good fence and you will have trouble have 25 sheep and 10 goats

[Fisherpeak]

Had a girl give me a goat once, I kept it at a buddies farm till fall. Then we sparked up the outside cooking pit,I shot him and we got semi drunk and ate the whole thing. And it was GOOD! I`d buy another one. Meat on the fire.....

[theycallmeNoah]

Originally Posted by Badgerbadger

You have your over goats, your under goats, and your magic goats.

Your over goats go over your fence. They jump it, climb it, crush it, whatever. They go over. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch. They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your under goats go under your fence. They'll find the low spots and slip, squirm, wriggle, or struggle through. They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

Your magic goats. There's no way they could have gotten out of the pasture! Not over, not under, not around. There's no freaking way!! But, they're magic, and.... They then eat your and your neighbours most precious shrubs and have a field day in your and your neighbours gardens. They enjoy lounging on hoods and roofs of vehicles, and will come into your house and sit on your couch.They will not come when called. You can't catch 'em if you chase 'em. You have to lure them back with wonderful treats like sweet feed and bread.

You will never see a goat give birth. You'll know she's pregnant. You'll be aware she's in labour. You'll be watching. A bird will chirp, you'll look away for a second, and there'll be 3 goats where before there was 1.

A buck can get a very large number of does pregnant within 10 minutes. If he is an over/under/magic goat, it's best to sell him, and rent a male for breeding purposes. If you don't, all your goats will be pregnant and their kids will be over/under/magic goats, and the cycle will just repeat and get worse.

A doe over/under/magic goat will always be pregnant, as will all her kids, all the time. They will all give birth to more over/under/magic goats. You will be swamped with goats. They will eat all the trees and bushes. They will eat every garden. They will eat all the treats. They will eat all the dog/cat/chicken food. They will eat all your bread and crackers. They will know when you are angry at them, and good luck getting within a couple hundred yards at that time, as goats are quick.

Eventually, you will realize that if goats had thumbs, we would not be the dominant species on the planet.

I'd recommend you pursue sheep ranching instead.

I think this is the funniest thing I have ever read on this forum!!