psst. . . wanna buck?

There are a few things about male goats that may cause you to think twice about getting one. If you only have a couple of does, I would AI or rent-a-buck.

If you have or are wanting a decent sized herd, I would go ahead and buy a buck, cheaply in the spring. You can cross breed goats with just about any goat. I hear there is an exception with pygmies, but we had a "pet" that was fainting and pygmy. And that has to do with their sizes rather than genetics. I would stick closely with the breed of doe you already have.

A buck is ready all the time, just put them together and they figure out the rest. Bucks also stink, reek! And you will smell that way as well when you handle him. The stench can also get into your milk. You can keep them separate, but be sure you have a non milking lady with him. We had a buck that would cross through 3 different hot wire fences to get to a girl or two. If you plan to keep them separate, make sure the fences is super secure. They will do anything to get to a doe. The best option is to have a lot of room for them all to roam and keep the buck out with the herd. As long as your milkers aren't in close contact with the buck, your milk should be fine.

Bucks have bad butting habits. Even if you are careful and authoritative with him, that instinct will awaken eventually. So what is a person to do? The best thing is to raise your own. If you buy one, try to get one of your milkers to be a surrogate mother. The thing with boys, is that you don't want them to see you as part of the herd. Start working with him straight away, and don't allow him to become a pet. Be firmer with him, than you are with your does, putting up with no rough housing. He needs to learn that you are the boss. Train early, teaching him to lead and to stand quietly while you groom or tend to hooves.

During breeding season you should keep your young buck away from the does until he is 7 months old, then he can be allowed to breed with a few of your does.

Rent-a-buck is a good option for that small herd owner, the one with 1 or 2 does. Place a want ad on craigslist or look through the forums and ads for you specific breed. With a rent-a-buck, you should be able to take your doe to him, and bring her back that day, confident she is knocked up. This is usually cheaper than AI.

To recap, bucks stink, they butt and they are destructive, but worth it if you plan on having a 4 doe herd.

Any questions today?

More on goats next week. Monday however I have something to share with you all. I will now leave you in suspense.

Update on the Kids, think this will be their last night inside. Poor Small, he fell asleep on the couch.





Have a good weekend!

For the love of GOAT!

It was requested that I write up a tutorial for goat neophytes. Not sure about a tutorial, but I can give you a basic run down of being a goat herder.



By now you all know that goats are quite handy to have around a homestead. They are used for milk, meat, fiber, lawn mowers and companions.



There are more than 200 goat breeds out in the world, I can't cover them all (I could, but than I might bore myself to tears)



Meat goats to look at;


Boers, Kiko and Spanish (more info on these and others here)

Milk goats;

Alpines, La Mancha, Nubian, Saanen ( more info here)

Fiber Goats;

Angora, Cashmere, ( having a difficult time finding a link to fiber goats, I know there are more out there like the pygora)

There are lots of mixed breeds out there as well. Some mutts do just fine, like my Nubian/ Alpine mix. Do a little research, don't take a breeders word that their breed is the best, and decide what breed or breeds would be best for you and your family.

Now that you know what breed you want, how many of them do you need? When it comes to dairy goats, you want 1 per person to fill all your dairy needs. Meat goats you are looking at 35-60 lbs of meat per goat. How many of those you want to butcher is up to you and your families taste.

What to ask;

When answering an ad for a goat, there are some things to ask.

If you don't know already, ask what breed it is.

How old?

Is she Bred?

Yes? To what type of goat?

Has she kidded before?

How many kids did she have?

How long has she been milking and what is her temperament when being milked? (ask if you can see her milked)

How many teats does she have, and how much milk does she give?

Is she an escape artist? Easy to catch?

Does she bite? Butt?

Udder health? (tumors/abscesses)

Has she been tested for TB or Bruccelloisis? Can I get that in writing? (those are rare in goats)

If you can watch her being milked, check the stripping and see how the milk looks. No strings, clots, blood. (blood can happen if she has recently kidded, and hadn't been milked for awhile before hand. Test for mastitis anyway)

Remember that goats can be hard on one another. New goats will be mistreated by your established herd, but usually will get along over time. If you have a sick goat, separate it out. The other's might not allow her to eat.

Goats should get 1/4 acre each. Check your fencing, the height should be no less than 4 1/2 feet in height (although they have been known to clear a 6 ft fence) Wrap any trees you wish to keep in chicken wire. Keeping them well fed should keep them in their pens, but sometimes they will get out, just 'cuz. Make sure your fence doesn't lean, that there isn't a step up too close, and that there isn't a vertical gap greater than 14 inches and no horizontal gap greater than 8 inches. Solid wood fences (like privacy fences) work well. Make sure the "bark" side is facing out. If they can get a hold of it, they will destroy it. They can loosen up just about any nail.

Goats don't need anything fancy for shelter, just something to get them out of the wet. Goats are hardy, as long as the shelter is draft free, they will be fine in the cold. However if your temps drop lower than 20F below, a heat lamp is a good idea.

Lots of fresh water, and a mixture of grass, hay and grains for feed. Goats need a variety of food stuff, including vegetables. Do not give them any chicken layer mash, it could be fatal. Goats are actually very finicky about their food. I know it doesn't seem like it, as my Mother had a goat that ate nuts and bolts. Goats will nibble on everything, just to taste. Grain should be fed 1 lb to every 3 lbs of milk produced.

That would be the basics for starters. I will cover more on goats tomorrow. Any questions so far?

Dog just came into the house!!!!oh ohoh! He has been sprayed by a skunk!!!!

They need to stop!

I am so sorry guys. Comment moderation has been put into place. I hate word verification, it always takes me twice to get them right. But these past few days I have been attacked twice with 100's of spam, on this blog and my bike blog. Heads up if I link to you, they seem to be following links. I don't have the time or energy to go through 3 years worth of posts to delete them all.

Ok I will return shortly with a normal post

I Can't Help it, and here is a round of Q&A

I have had a slew of new readers arrive this week, hi guys, and welcome! I have placed my labels back up on the sidebar, and made my achieves link easier to find at your request. And if you want to leave a comment on a post from 3 years ago, I don't mind.

We have Kid Fever around here. Everyone is enamored by the wee ones. And amazed at how quickly their personalities are in the fore front. Right now I am watching them play King of the Hill on a suitcase. Betty seems to be the dominate one here. She is very outgoing, and has already decided to take my husband on in a head butting contest. After my husband named her Betty, I look at her and see 1950's pin-up. Can't help it. Calling anyone Blue Eyed Betty will do that to you, and she has white knee high stockings, with a little black strip on the front two that remind me of white thigh high with black bows. Ok, I am a little off in the head, but it makes me giggle.

Jack is needy. He is the talker and can't stand to be alone. My husband took Betty outside, Our youngest boy, Small, took Sable, and I was getting ready to grab Jack when he jumped out on their playpen and he slipped all over the wood floor, bawling after his sisters. It reminded me of Bambi on Ice.

Sable is weaker than her siblings. She is more adventurous, venturing off by herself, finding a warm spot to lay down, while her siblings curl up together. She is really quite. She just went back into the playpen, her brother Jack calling after her. Sable seems really content just to be.

This is how we have to help them nurse. Betty, Patch and my husband

As I took this picture my husband commented "How's this for Soulless folk?"

And then he spouted, "of course we'll just eat them later." He was joking of course, the girls will be used for milking and Jack, hopefully I can find someone to trade us outright for him, like we are with our Dexter Bull.

Other than the above, there isn't too much going on here. I will take this opportunity to let you all ask your questions. Got something you need to know, want to learn or just curious about, than ask in comments or email me. If the answer is short, I will reply in comments, if need be, I will cover it in a post.

A Brand New Week

Our unicorn gave birth!



The same night that Sunny had to be put down, out milk goat Patch, gave birth.



awww bikers are such Teddy Bears.



I told my husband that these photos will go great with the shot of him blowing bubbles at a wedding. I got the look.

Why are we bottle feeding?

Because as my husband puts it "Patch is grass feeding."



We have to hold the teats up for the babies to find them. We are doing both. There is no fat on these three, so the more we can get into them the better. We are using mother's milk in the bottles.

Well, allow me to introduce you to our newest members.

This is Jack, the only boy.


Blue Eyed Betty


Sable, the smallest of the three


They are Nubian and Alpine mixed



We brought them in last night because patch broke the heat lamp, and with no fat on these little guys and it dropping well below freezing, we thought it best to bring them in.

A little happiness on the Neophyte Homestead.

I have a new friend

My new friend is Katie. I thought you all would like to meet her. She is a little rash and judgmental, and takes no time to actually find out about a person before deciding she is comfortable enough to criticize. Katie is in desperate need of attention.

Normally I don't like to coddle people. But I give exception for my new friend Katie.

On my recent Post Adventures abound! Katie said :Ok that butchering story is absolutely disgusting. How could anyone be so cruel - do you have no soul????

Katie missed the part where I said it was difficult for us. And anyone that knows me realize that it was heartbreaking to watch her suffer. But as many of you know, I write about the unpleasant things that happen when you are homesteading. It isn't for everyone, and I do put up fair warning when things might be graphic.

On the post Our Right to Bear Arms, Katie says ; Oh please. Guns kill. Why the hell do you need a gun????????????????????????? Are you planning on killing anyone anytime soon? Seriously, you rednecks kill me (pun intended).

Katie hasn't read the Constitution where it states that we are allowed to have guns if we want them. And yes Katie, guns do kill, that is their purpose. I do not plan on killing someone anytime soon. The gun I want would be for protection against all those wild dogs that people think it is ok to dump in the country. Redneck? No sorry Katie I have long hair, no sunburns on the back of my neck.

On Canned Meat, Katie says; Um, rabbit meat? Ewwwww. I am sitting next to my 2 pet bunnies and that is as repulsive to me as eating a dog or a cat (which you would probably eat). Do you also eat raccoon and squirrel b/c you strike me as the type (ahem hoosier). Sick.

You obviously know very little about me Katie. You have your pets, and I have mine. You also know very little about the mentality and the emotions of a person that raises livestock. Besides, I never once said I did indeed eat rabbit meat, I only informed others how to can it. Katie, I am a food writer, I have eaten and cooked many things for my job. You my dear are jumping to conclusions without knowing a person.

On Worst Case Scenario, Katie replies with; Let me take a WILD stab at it...you're a Christian. Big shocker there.

Wow Katie, you know me so well. Truth be told, this is something that many of my readers already know, but I am not a Christian. However I am distressed that those people that think they should deserve special treatment because they are this or that, feel so free to bash and attack one religion. One that has suffered just as the pagans, Jews, Muslims all have. But then that would mean you would need to read more than two pages of a book to discover that.

So to introduce myself. My name is Phelan. I am well educate, I listen to Heavy metal, I am a professional writer and I am a mother. I am a homesteader, I was a vegan for 15 years. I don't talk religion because it is a personal choice and I choose not to isolate anyone, and I am an Independent when it comes to politics. You could find out these things and many more if you take the time to get to know me rather than instantly judging me.

I hope Katie, that you will get all the attention that you were wanting with your comments. I am sure my friends are super happy to meet a new friend.