Cheryl K. Smith - Raising Goats For Dummies

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Welcome to Raising Goats For Dummies. Raising goats is a rewarding and challenging adventure. Whether you are new to it or have been raising goats for a few years, you never stop finding out about or being delighted by these intelligent creatures.

I wrote this book to help you get started successfully raising goats and to answer any questions that you have. Whether you’re raising goats for fun, for companionship, or to add value to your farm and your lifestyle, this book gets you on the right track.

I took ten years between thinking about getting some goats and actually getting them. I had to get a place where I could keep them and then try to figure out what I wanted and what I was getting into. After I actually became a goat owner, I had to figure out a lot through trial and error.

I needed a book that laid out the basics, gave me tips on what to look for, what to expect, and how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. This book does that. It gives you the basic information you need to make the intelligent decisions required to successfully raise goats and helps you avoid making mistakes that have a negative effect on their lives and yours.

Even if you’ve been raising goats for a few years, this book can help you. You find new ideas on how to keep your goats healthy and happy. And you find out how you can use the goats you have to become more self-sufficient. This book is for anyone who wants to raise goats.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

When writing this book, I made some assumptions about who you, the reader, might be. I assume that you

Are already planning to get some goats or have a few and want to find out more about caring for them

Are interested in the basics of raising goats for milk, meat, fiber, backpacking, or pets

Want to produce some of your own food so you can control the quality and what goes into it

Don’t know much about goat health care and plan to work with a veterinarian when your goats get sick

Want to save money by building some of the structures and supplies your goats need

In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for tips on preparing your property for goats, the signs of a sick goat, and the questions to ask before buying a goat. To access the Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and type Raising Goats For Dummies Cheat Sheetin the Search box.

Throughout this book, little pictures in the margins draw your attention to special types of information that make your reading experience more helpful. Here’s what you find:

Some information bears repeating, and I highlight it with this icon. Important points that you may turn to again and again appear next to it.

The information you find next to this icon is more detailed than usual. When you see it, feel free to move on. You won’t lose out on main points.

Beside this icon are nuggets of important information that help you to be a better goatkeeper. I use this icon to show you ways to save time or money — or both.

This dangerous-looking icon draws your attention to potential bad outcomes or mistakes that you want to avoid. Pay close attention to them.

Pick a chapter, any chapter. Each one is its own little book. You won’t need to go back to fill in missing pieces from earlier chapters. Looking for information about what to expect from kidding? Turn to Chapter 13. Want to glimpse the details of caring for goats? Chapter 9has what you need. And if you’re an overachiever or just insatiably curious, by all means turn the page and keep going until you get to the back cover.

I imagine that the more you find out about goats, the more likely you are to fall in love with them. They’re smart, curious, and calming, and they can even help you make some money. So welcome to the world of goats. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help you on your quest.

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

Discover the benefits of raising goats and decide whether goat keeping is for you.

See what makes a goat a goat.

Discover the pros and cons of different breeds and figure out which breed is right for you.

Ensure that your goats have a happy, healthy life by getting your property goat-ready.

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Finding out about the many benefits of raising goats

Getting to know these lovable animals

Deciding whether goat keeping is for you

I’ve been raising goats since 1998, and I’m still not tired of them. In fact, I can’t imagine my life without them. Talk to any other serious goat keepers and you hear that after they get “in your blood” you have to have at least a couple.

When you get a sense of goats’ many uses and get to know their unique qualities, goats will get in your blood, too. Goats are more than livestock, they’re friends and helpmates, and they’re entertaining as heck.

In fact, the popularity of goats, especially dairy goats, has grown in the United States in the past decade. That doesn’t mean that the same people now have bigger herds. In fact, the average size of a goat herd went from a little over 29 heads in 2009 to almost 20 heads in 2019. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Goat Study, small herds of 5 to 19 goats are not just pets; more than half of all dairy and meat goat farms and ranches have small herds. Dairy goats are becoming even more popular, increasing 57 percent in just ten years, but almost one-quarter of goat owners surveyed said they own their goats for more than one reason, such as milk, brush clearing, packing, or as pets.