I have only just begun to investigate goats and have received alot of excellent advice. I am planning to wait until Sept. to purchase or maybe after the fair in July. I just heard about a lady that raises Alpines about 45 mins. away. She told me she currently has 2 kid does that will be 8 wks. old soon. She also has a yearling milker. All are purebred, registered, and CAE free. She also has bucks for stud if the does come from her farm. They catch all the kids and she was the 4H goat person in this county for 10 yrs. They are all available at 150.00 each. She says that if I purchased the milker and a kid I couldn't keep them together, which I understand. I dont think I want to start out with 2 kids as I would like to have some milk right away. If I bought the milker only, would she be OK by herself for awhile until I bought another milker later? Is this something I should go look at, or should I just wait as I had planned? It sounds good especially If I can have a continued relationship with her for breeding purposes and instruction down the line. Let me know what you think!

Thanks Denise

-- Denise Hammock (jphammock@earthlink.net), May 03, 2000

Answers

You've asked some questions that only you can answer. The question concerning keeping the milker alone until you find another milker is answerable. You can do it; it may be noisey around your home for awhile until she gets used to being alone. Goats are herd animals and like companionship...so, you will become her herd. Expect a lot of crying and carrying-on when you come and go from the barn. I would have some Fortified B-complex on hand(buy from Hoeggers or Jeffers) to help with stress when she first gets there. Make sure about the CAE-; as has been mentioned, not too many people will willingly tell you that the animal they want to sell you is CAE+! If I were you, I'd look around more. Wait for the fairs. There is no rush. Test the waters and see what you can come up with...be patient. You very well may buy from this lady; but hey, it is only May. Lots of stock is unloaded in the fall by 4Hers and others who don't want to keep them over the winter and pay for hay, etc...it is a good time to buy. I always thought the best combo to begin with would be a milker and a yearling, that way you aren't overwhelmed with chores and the upkeep of milking does. You surely have been bitten by the goating bug!!

-- Jim Roberts (jroberts1@cas.org), May 03, 2000.

It sounds good to me. Why can't you keep the kid with or at least in a pen next to, the yearling milker? I have never heard of that before and don't understand it, unless she is afaid the older doe will bully the younger one. Two goats don't get much of a dominance thing going, though, they can be friends. It's when you get three that the fighting begins! I would ask why she is selling this yearling milker. usually people freshen yearlings to see what the udder is like, and sell it if it's not got a nice udder.Also, respectfully ask to see the negative CAE test results. If she gets huffy and difficult, forget the whole thing.It sounds like this lady would get you started out on the right foot, if the herd really is CAE negative, I'd go ahead and get the does now. They are a little higher priced in the spring, but in the fall, people get rid of whatever they haven't been able to sell through the spring and summer. Meaning, everyone else has already picked through them, and in the fall, you are getting what's left before the owner has to feed them all winter.I think you have a better chance of getting a quality milker in the spring than you do in the fall-just my opinion.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), May 03, 2000.

I have had one doe bully another when I only had two does -- I had to keep the bully tied in the pen, as I only had one pen -- it should have been plenty big enough for both of them!! Probably the woman who owns the goats knows from watching them that the bigger one will push the little one around if she gets the chance, and they can be really mean to one another if they are given the opportunity. From what I've seen, they usually are much happier with company, but it could be a pony or a lamb (though a goat will bully a lamb, given the opportunity, so better make it a full-grown ewe!). But they would probably get along just fine, and be perfectly happy, kept in adjoining pens. I would suggest you wait a while, get more familiar with goats so you know what you are looking for. Maintain a relationship with this breeder (if she's doing a good job -- you might verify the CAE tests, as others have mentioned), but visit others, and go to the fairs and livestock shows, so you will see some really good animals. Ask questions, if you can find someone at the shows who isn't too busy, and ask them to explain why their animal -- or the one in the next pen -- won that purple ribbon. People usually like to talk about their animals, like grandparents like to talk about their grandbabies!! :-)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 03, 2000.

Denise, don't second guess the gal, you don't buy a milker and then put a kid in with her, that she doesn't even know, even if it his hers. She was more than likely pulled as a kid, to be raised on CAE prevention, exactly what you want to hear. You don't find CAE prevention and nursing kids on the same farm. Know what an oxymoron is? I would be happy to look at the gals paperwork for you, but at 150$ thats cheap for anything with papers here in Texas. (Blue Purebred papers) Call her one evening after your certain chores are over, and ask to come out in the morning for milking. Milk her yourself and see how much she milks. See how that udder is attached, can you see her mom? No reason at all you can't take home a lone doe (Hence my herd name Lonesome Doe) we had a lone doe for quite awhile. A radio, some hens, you, are all her herd. She will be bred this August with kids in 5 months, so thats only 8 months till your herd increases. Don't get talked into buying a wether (castrated male) for companionship. What are you going to do with him in 8 months. I also breed for free, to folks who have only my stock. I also keep most folks paperwork up for them. Ask her who her vet is, she if she is comfortable with you coming and taking the doe for a blood test. Just be nice and explain that you want to start off right. Get your books and read! What is she weighing? A yearling first freshener should be at least 130 pounds, especially an Alpine. If you opt for the two doe kids, ask her how much $ they will be when they are weaned. If they are 8 weeks now, that won't make them ready to breed until late winter and no milk or kids until next May or June. I would buy the doe if she meets all the criteria, and then tell the breeder that you would love to hear if she has another doe similar in age for sale. Once winter comes and she has pregnant does, and hay at a premium this year, because of the lack of rain, you could pick her up a friend for a song. Don't start buying from one farm and another. And worm them when they get home! No matter what, unless you see her put the wormer in the does mouth when you are leaving. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 03, 2000.

what is CAE? A disease I'm sure, but don't see it in my college animal science textbook?

-- N Mays (mays@raptor.afsc.k12.ar.us), May 05, 2000.

We have rehashed CAE before, try some of the other posts on goats. It comes up every other sentence! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 05, 2000.

I'll take the time to privately e-mail you the information on CAE.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), May 05, 2000.