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Goat-Related Questions |
Name: Maci Comment: Belivia is interested in getting goats for some strange reason. I'm trying to talk her out of it. A few questions answered will help. 1. What is the purpose of having goats? 2. How much does it cost to keep a goat per month? 3. Are there any special harassments that one would not expect that comes with goat ownership. 4. How much does it cost to buy a goat? Email: Not Provided |
Very good questions Maci!! 1. What a goat is good for depends mainly on the breed. There are three main "categories".... Meat goats, Dairy Goats, and Fiber Goats (cashmere). There are many breeds in each category. All goats will interbreed, so there are many "mutts" out there that aren't particulary good at any category. Of course if your purpose of goat ownership is just brush clearing... or a pet... any breed will do. 2. Maintenance costs. Well, this fluctuates wildly depending on how you feed them and what conditions you keep them in. With my set-up... I feed each goat a pound or so of feed (~20 cents), plus maybe a flake of hay per day(~$1.00)... the rest they get from what is growing in the fields. So... if you add this up... it is about 36 bucks per month. If you keep your goats penned up in an area you can't forage... I would expect them to eat double or triple the amount of hay. You need to deworm them a couple times a year.... (more in the south where the winters don't kill off as many larvae). Plus other sundries... you are probably looking at 40-50 bucks a month per goat. 3. All kinds of harrassments. Goats escape.. be prepared. They will eat your bushes and shrubs. The bucks absolutely reek of "goat odor" during the breeding season. They are impossible to house break and will poop in their food and water without even thinking about it. Anything you put in the goat pen... plant or equipment... will either be eaten or trampled. Some of the bleat quite a bit (this sounds like a human scream sometimes). Other than that.. they are tons of fun. 4) Initial cash outlay. See question 1. Depends what you want. A high-class registered dairy goat, can cost you 500 or more.. on the other hand you can get "mutts" for free off of craigslist (Careful, these may not be the bargain you think.. you may be inheriting someone else's problem goat). A good compromise is to get a young purebred (but not registered) goat of reasonable quality. I spent 50 bucks each for my goats... after some shopping around. |
