Goats

[TomSeller]

I always wished for a goat breed that imprinted on cows yet was too large to go through fences. My cows are on the honor system when it comes to fences and the goats would have to keep the same code of conduct. I thought it would be nice to have the goats eat the weeds the cows don't eat. Oh well.

 

[QueBota]

Stay away from male goats if possible, I didn't listen to the advice of some wise older fellows when I started with goats. I know better now, guess I'm older.

Q

 

[Bird]

Stay away from male goats if possible, I didn't listen to the advice of some wise older fellows when I started with goats. I know better now, guess I'm older.

Q

That's almost impossible, if you're going to raise more goats.:laughing: But otherwise, I'd agree. The danged billy goat we had not only stunk, but was a nuisance in other ways, too.

 

[EddieWalker]

What do the male goats do that's so bad? I've been reading what I can find about raising them and I've come across two suggestions. One is to castrate them because they will breed like crazy if you don't. The other says that if you castrate them, they will bring a lower price when you sell them because the ethnic market does not want them to be damaged in any way.

Do you just round up all the males when they are too young to breed and haul them off to the sale barn? Are they big enough to be worth anything?

Eddie

 

[MacLawn]

I've also been wanting a few goats to clear me woods. One of my cousins is a goat expert, so I have a good source. He has a local butcher shop too, but don't know if he sells goat meat.

Here's all I know about goats:

 

[QueBota]

During the rut (bredding season) they urinate and for lack of a better term, ejaculate, all over their front legs and beards. They go at it like a 13 yo boy. Smells a bit strong, I don't mind it a whole lot, but my wife would throw a fit if I came in the house after being around the goats, smell kind of clings to you.

If you keep them separate from the girls, they will spend all their time trying to join them. If you keep them with the girls, they will they torment the girls endlessly, for they have only one thing on their mind.

Depending on the goat, they will butt/ram anything/everything in their pen, worse during breading season. I had two male goats that would destroy just about every shelter I built for them. Built one from t post and old sheet steel, another from old concrete block. Expression on the goats faces when they tried to butt it, priceless.

If you are intersted in breeding, there are usually folks around who will be more than happy to "loan" you some billies during breeding season. I have two you can keep for a while if you're interested.

Once male goats become old enough to breed at approx. 1 year, their value as a meat goat goes down. The "musk" odor tends to permeate the meat. Some Latino's don't mind but Africans are not intested. Not to be politically incorrect but they are the predominate purchasers of meat goats in my area. They drive out from the city to pickup the goats, the Latinos take them live in the back of a pickup or even a car. I have a small barn that the Africans use to slaughter/butcher the goats, they prefer to take them home that way.

Q

 

[Bird]

Eddie, QueBota's first 2 paragraphs were what I experienced. Plus . . . our billy goat also did his best to mount any human that he could get to. And if you pushed him away, he'd get mad and want to fight; attack. He had a real nice set of horns, and curved back as they were, he wouldn't puncture you, but he'd sure want to butt you as hard as he could. So one day, I had about a 3' long 1 x 2 little board in my hand and I hit him as hard as I could; came right down between his horns with it . . . and he fell like he'd been pole axed. I guess spreading his horns a bit was hard on his brain.:laughing: I sure thought I'd killed him. So I started wondering whether it was worth the effort to salvage some meat, got out my pocket knife to cut his throat, and he suddenly started quivering, convulsing a bit, then kicking, so I waited, and sure enough he recovered completely.

I'll say one thing for him. He had a good memory. From that day on, if I had nothing in my hand, he'd attack, but as long as I had a little stick of any kind in my hand, he'd give me a wide berth.:laughing:

 

[Bird]

I remember reading, some years ago, that there is more goat meat eaten world wide than any other meat. I have no idea whether that's true. The reason given was that they are small enough that the meat can be used up before it spoils in parts of the world with inadequate refrigeration.

I've eaten cabrito a couple of times and if I could find it in this area and it cost no more than beef, I'd just as soon have it as beef. In fact, if I could buy cabrita cheaper than beef, I'd quit eating beef.:laughing:

 

[kidr]

I have also seen them drinking their urine as they take a whiz. No goats for me thanks . I'll use a bush hog.

 

[MH8675309]

They pee on their beard because it brings the does into heat. Does have regular cycles but can be brought into heat also. They are good at clearing land. I thought about getting some earlier this year for that reason but they are expensive to buy and I figured my fence would need way too much to justify it. Good luck with them - they are kinda neat,,