Boot Jack Bulls said:
Boot Jack Bulls said:Actually, in regards to feed/minerals, goats NEED copper-lots of it, in amounts that kill sheep. They can be effectively dry-lotted, but do need access to stemmy, vitamin B heavy forage. High quality alfalfa works well. As far as feed goes, a beginner is wise to start with a complete pellet designed for goats. If they have access to forage, really only lactating does and kids need grain/feed.greggy said:I have had a couple of different breeds, but there is literally many breeds, like cattle, but much more colour variety.....
Goats are ruminants, like sheep and similar too cattle, but are also strong browsers, the video may be funny, but goats like to climb, that tree full of goats is not fake, although most domestic ones wont be trying to climb high into trees, but you better believe they will climb your car, or anything else that is around, and often that means fencing..... corners of fencing with a 45 degree brace is an invitation to go walk about
Anyways, I would be less worried about escape with only 2, just make sure you do not leave or let into house yard or where your nice cars are.
Re feed, sheep and goats are sensitive too too much copper, so you cannot feed them everything that your cattle eat in regard to made up pellets, as far as grasses, novel feeds, hays, grains, they can have the same, just remember with grain etc the rumen is much much c\smaller, so you cannot let them have at it with those concentrated feeds, lock it up well... hays and pasture, no drama, give them your food scraps minus any meats, just look at what is bad for any ruminant & keep that away.
They survive fantastically in bush or wild areas, so are pretty hardy.
Also, they can eat weeds & their system is actually able to kill those seeds, so they do not spread them around your property, like blackberry....
And yes, that buck can breed when he is as young as 2 months old! We breed our boer does when they are 12-14 months old. For the most part, you want a doe to be at least 1 year before breeding and kid out at 2 years old. I wouldn't leave your pair together at this point!
The goats you have in the land of Oz are widely accepted to be far more hardy and resistant. Most of what you will find here, especially small breeds, are more for pets than anything. They simply can't make a big enough carcass or be a efficient grazier to be commercially accepted. Also, good point on the parasites. US bred goats have notoriously poor parasite resistance. Breed for better resistance or plan your management accordingly.greggy said:Boot Jack Bulls said:Actually, in regards to feed/minerals, goats NEED copper-lots of it, in amounts that kill sheep. They can be effectively dry-lotted, but do need access to stemmy, vitamin B heavy forage. High quality alfalfa works well. As far as feed goes, a beginner is wise to start with a complete pellet designed for goats. If they have access to forage, really only lactating does and kids need grain/feed.greggy said:I have had a couple of different breeds, but there is literally many breeds, like cattle, but much more colour variety.....
Goats are ruminants, like sheep and similar too cattle, but are also strong browsers, the video may be funny, but goats like to climb, that tree full of goats is not fake, although most domestic ones wont be trying to climb high into trees, but you better believe they will climb your car, or anything else that is around, and often that means fencing..... corners of fencing with a 45 degree brace is an invitation to go walk about
Anyways, I would be less worried about escape with only 2, just make sure you do not leave or let into house yard or where your nice cars are.
Re feed, sheep and goats are sensitive too too much copper, so you cannot feed them everything that your cattle eat in regard to made up pellets, as far as grasses, novel feeds, hays, grains, they can have the same, just remember with grain etc the rumen is much much c\smaller, so you cannot let them have at it with those concentrated feeds, lock it up well... hays and pasture, no drama, give them your food scraps minus any meats, just look at what is bad for any ruminant & keep that away.
They survive fantastically in bush or wild areas, so are pretty hardy.
Also, they can eat weeds & their system is actually able to kill those seeds, so they do not spread them around your property, like blackberry....
And yes, that buck can breed when he is as young as 2 months old! We breed our boer does when they are 12-14 months old. For the most part, you want a doe to be at least 1 year before breeding and kid out at 2 years old. I wouldn't leave your pair together at this point!
Oh, ok, here you have cattle feed and it tells you not to feed to other ruminants etc...
You can buy sheep feed that also is fed too goats.
They breed like flies here in very harsh terrain browsing on whatever bits of bush remain in drough effected land, anything they get is from the land, so I would not be worrying too much about extras, my family has had goats, sheep and cattle for years, the sheep and goats get no extra anything, during the drought the goats still do well, they browse all the scrubby weedy areas, the cattle are the worst and need kid gloves to stay in condition.
They can get worm loads if on small areas, that can knock them off.
Thanks for the kind words Jan! The thing about selling goats is to know your market. For example, certain groups do pay a premium for a specific size carcass (40-60 pounds). Some want only an intact male. Some want to slaughter and quarter on site. Personally, we do not cater to any of that. Our target, aside from very top quality breeding stock, is whethers that are 100-120 at 90-120 days of age. We have proven we can put a 4.5+ inch ribeye on in that time, compared to the industry standard of 2-2.5 inches. They are on contract to a buyer who wants exactly the kind of super muscled, properly finished, young carcass we can provide. They end up in high-end restaurants in eastern WI and on the east coast. In this case, they want a mild, tender protein that doesn't smell of goats and is not the typical stringy texture of old goat.farmerjan said:
