“Get Your Goat”

by

Ethel and Brianna Smith

       When looking for an animal to purchase, goats should be given serious consideration.  I would like to explain why you need to “get your goat.”

            First, goats are good natured and friendly and make excellent children’s pets.  Goats only have bottom teeth, and therefore are unable to “bite.”  Also, they do not have “claws” to scratch children.  With careful training, goats will not “head butt” a child.  In addition, goats do not carry ticks or fleas, so they will not be passing these pests on to your children.  Most children love to brush and lead their goats.  With careful attention, goats become attached to their owners and will follow them around.

The second reason for getting your goat is that goats are very entertaining.  It is very amusing to observe goats as they chase each other around the pasture.  As they run, they will jump and twist and do all sorts of acrobatics.  They also love to climb on anything that will hold them, such as rocks, tree stumps, steps, and barrels.  They will remind you of little children playing “King on the Mountain” as they butt heads and try to push each other off the top of their pinnacle.        

Thirdly, one should consider the ease of care required for the animal they wish to purchase.  Goats are very hardy and require a minimum amount of daily care.  Goats do not require a lot of pasture.  In fact, since they prefer to eat brush, goats can often be kept in areas unsuitable for other animals.  Most goat owners offer their goats a small amount of hay and grain daily, but with adequate pasturage, the cost of these feeds is very reasonable.  Goats require clean fresh water, but this need can easily be met with a five gallon bucket of water daily.  Likewise, It is easy to meet the shelter needs of goats.  Most goats prefer to remain outside year-round.  However, they hate to get wet when it rains.  Something as simple as a large doghouse will easily meet this need.

Finally, goats are beautiful as well as productive.  Goats come in many different color combinations.  The babies, which are called kids, are often colored different than their parents.  As a breeder, it is always exciting to see what color of kids you will get next.  Goats also produce many useful products.  Goat fiber is used to make beautiful sweaters.  Furthermore, goats produce wonderful diary products such as milk, cheese, and ice-cream.  Goat’s milk is also used to make delightful soaps and lotions.  Goats produce great tasting, lean meat as well.

This is just a sample of the many reasons for you to “get your goat.”  Even if you are unable to purchase some goats for your own family, many zoos have petting facilities where you can watch and pet them.  Whether you purchase or just visit goats, either way will be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for your whole family.  If you or your family is interested in learning more about goats, please join us at the Hamilton County 4H Goat Club.  Please call 855-6113 for more information.

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My Big Visit to Split Creek Dairy Goat Farm

By Amy Malo

Hamilton County 4-H Goat Club

   On April 17 I went to Split Creek Dairy Goat Farm with the Hamilton County 4-H Goat  Club. The first thing that the owners talked about was the  history of the farm. It was about 30 years old. They now have 252 goats. One time they had 750 goats but they got some bad food and lost 200 of their goats.

After the owner told me about the history of the farm, she introduced 4 Swiss dairy breeds of goats. The way you can tell that a goat is a Swiss breed is that they have straight flat noses and upright ears. The 4 dairy goat breeds are: the Oberhasli, alpine, Toggenburg, and the Saanen.

When she told me about the LaMancha she said that there are two different kinds of LaMancha ears. There are elf ears, which are only 1 inch long, and there are gopher ears, which are very small.

After a little while I went to a cart where you could taste some of the products the farm sells. I tasted the goat fudge, and it was very good. They had different kinds of goat fudge, cheese, soap, and milk. They sell their products in the USA and in other countries off the Internet.

Next, I walked over to the goat pasture and watched the Border collie demonstration. The collie could round up all the goats in less than 30 seconds! The lady used whistle, voice, and stick commands to make the dog round up all the goats.

The next thing we did was a tour of the milking parlor. The way the milking parlor works is that the milk is collected from the goats. Then it is pumped through glass tubes into a glass ball. When the ball is full, the milk goes through the glass tubes into the cooling tank and is cooled quickly. They can milk 22 goats in 15 minutes. There are 5 heads on a machine. Heads are things that cling to the goats’ teats and collect the milk from the goats. They milk about 120 goats twice a day. It takes about 2-3 hours to be done milking the goats.

I had an exciting day and lots of fun. My favorite part was the Border collie demonstration because I thought it was cool how the collie could round up the goats in less than 30 seconds. I really enjoyed our trip to the Split Creek Dairy Goat Farm. Would you like to come with us on our next 4-H goat club adventure?

Jessica's speech 2006 

Bottle feeding baby goats

I would like to take this time to talk to you about bottle feeding.  I am bottle feeding 2 goats

When you first start you may find it harder than you thought it would be.  Sometimes the

animal fights and you may have to force it to take the bottle.  After about a week they normally

accept the bottle with no more problems.

You will need to plan around the feedings and make sure that they are fed at the right time. 

At first you will need to feed them about 2 ounces 4 times a day.  It will mean a lot of early

mornings.

Try to introduce have hay and grain on about day 3 and make sure it is available for the

animal at all times. Slowly increase the milk amount by 2 ounces every 3 to 4 days.

When you get to 10 ounces a feeding you can fall back to 3 feedings a day. When you

get to about 20ozs or more each feeding you can go to 2 feedings a day.

It helps to have someone who knows about the animal taking time to answer your questions. 

When they are over 2 months old you can start weaning them from the bottle or let the animal

wean itself whichever may come first.  I can personally tell you it is worth all the time you put

into it. My 2 goats  are cute, lovable, gentle and funny. I have raised them since they were

about 2 weeks old.

We have a special bond.  I have 1 question to ask anyone who has bottle fed. Who really gets

the reward, the animal or you? I hope you found this helpful.

Thank you for your time.