Goats???
- Thread starter duck77619
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bigbull338
Well-known member
they will clean it up good.but you better have a fence that they cant get out of.an a guard amimale with them.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
If I remember correctly you said you had control of the whole island. Don't worry about any fencing. They will not get their feet wet. Should be some extra profit.
grannysoo
Well-known member
Exactly right. Goats hate water.
If we could only construct a moat, we would never worry about having to contain them again... :nod:
If we could only construct a moat, we would never worry about having to contain them again... :nod:
I assume your running cattle also. If you do run cross fenceing and rotate the cattle and goats. Works real well for a worming program. Plus the goats will eat more of the weeds and brushing leaving more grass for the cattle. Goats and cattle work very well together. Goats do well with alot of rubbish and little grass, and cattle does well with grass and some rubbish. I think its a win win.
Thanks All. I'm gonna have several questions in the future so please be patient. Picking up the goats Friday and a 79' John Deere 1030 Saturday.Will be ready for cattle this spring. Have burned about a third of the Island and will begin burning again with a south wind. Had some rain and the burnt area already has about two inches of new growth. Have common pasture plus bermuda,cordgrass and salt grass.
cross_7
Well-known member
had some cabrito that was purty dang good and had some that tasted like a billy smells.
one problem you may have is worms and i hear kiko's are better for wetter climates, that about all i know.
one problem you may have is worms and i hear kiko's are better for wetter climates, that about all i know.
duck77619":epw72dmx said:
Marsh island suggests that the conditions are wet/muddy. If that is correct, goats are not the answer because they hate mud. If my assumption is not correct, they will do the job for you. Put a guard dog(maybe 2 depending on the number of goats) with them for protection, figure out some kind of portable shelter, and you're in business!
I had an island that I put goats on- it worked great till the mexicans spotted them. They would shoot them then wade across the river(shallow in the summer) to get them. The guard dog would follow the rest away from the shot. Which I was glad or they would have probably shot him too.They wiped me out.
It was perfect it even had an overpass across it so they had a dry spot to get in. Goats Hate being wet and it hurts them to be cold and wet(very little fat). Kids born in cold wet conditions will die without help. After 48 hrs they will survive.
With the ground being wet be prepared to trim feet
And the famancha methods is the best worm control if you can't rotate-- check their eyelids every month(closer on kids)worm the anemic ones- cull the ones you have to worm the most. If you can make them clean up behind the cattle- the cattle will eat most of the worms and leave a cleaner pasture for the goats. Goats pick up less worms if they are browsing instead of grazing- so don't be in a hurry to burn- wait and see what they can do with it. Don't forget about flukes.
Stay away from Dairy breeds
Brush goats are wild and jump like deer
Full Boers are calmer rarely jump but not near as hardy
My favorite is a half Boer-
They have triplets alot-- unless you are feeding them ALOT it will draw all three and the Mom down- cull one
Never had any luck grafting goats
Catching them is easy- build a sheltered pen and wait till its raining and just close the gate
It was perfect it even had an overpass across it so they had a dry spot to get in. Goats Hate being wet and it hurts them to be cold and wet(very little fat). Kids born in cold wet conditions will die without help. After 48 hrs they will survive.
With the ground being wet be prepared to trim feet
And the famancha methods is the best worm control if you can't rotate-- check their eyelids every month(closer on kids)worm the anemic ones- cull the ones you have to worm the most. If you can make them clean up behind the cattle- the cattle will eat most of the worms and leave a cleaner pasture for the goats. Goats pick up less worms if they are browsing instead of grazing- so don't be in a hurry to burn- wait and see what they can do with it. Don't forget about flukes.
Stay away from Dairy breeds
Brush goats are wild and jump like deer
Full Boers are calmer rarely jump but not near as hardy
My favorite is a half Boer-
They have triplets alot-- unless you are feeding them ALOT it will draw all three and the Mom down- cull one
Never had any luck grafting goats
Catching them is easy- build a sheltered pen and wait till its raining and just close the gate
jonbri55
Well-known member
Goats are definately good brush eaters but they do need shelter as they are weenies when it comes to any kind of weather. They really don't like getting their feet wet but food is generally more important to them! I agree that a Boer cross is good because they are tougher and have more capacity to eat more. Leave the horns on them and they will have good protection from predators.
