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Four Letters Re: Raising Goats for Self-Sufficiency
Jim,
Perfect timing on this article by Freeholder, as my wife and I were literally
talking that day about getting goats! That alone made me think that I need
to hang out here for a while. I've gone through a lot of the posts on here,
and I'm very thankful to have found your place!
I'm in Iraq right now, for the 3rd time, this time I'm working in the Embassy.
I retire in five years, and the wife and I can't wait to move to our rural
home! I'm lucky, I'm married to a woman who is very self sufficiency minded
as well,
and has a special interest in homeopathic and all natural medicines and remedies.
Again, thanks for the work you put into this site, and I look forward to learning
more and contributing in my own small way. Take care. Regards, - S.
Jim:
In “Raising
Goats for Self-Sufficiency,” Freeholder discussed
feed requirements and mentioned that a pasture filled with brush and blackberries
could considerably reduce hay costs. He also mentioned in passing that Kiko
goats are a desirable meat breed. What didn’t get mentioned is that Kikos
are unexcelled at thriving on a diet of brush and other rough forage. They
developed this ability in the mountains of New Zealand, to which they repaired
after escaping from the care of the early English settlers there. Fast forward
300 years, and some NZ farmers realized there must be some very hardy, self-reliant
breeding stock out there, went out and captured some, bred them back to Swiss
dairy goats to improve their milking ability, established a stable breed, and
gave them the name Kiko, which means “meat” in Maori. And indeed,
Kikos are primarily known as a meat breed, but their Swiss genes also make
them decent milkers. All in all, they may be the very best goat for self-sufficient
situations – if you’re in a place with lots of brush around. My
kikos thrive on their brush diet, augmented only by a single flake of hay in
the morning and twice-daily feedings of a quart of dry culled beans, shared
among 12 goats. (And there are Kiko breeders who insist that a brush-only diet
is the best way to maintain the hardiness of the breed.) Kikos have fewer hoof
problems than other breeds and are very good at giving birth unattended. The
does are excellent mothers. (Kikos who didn’t possess these traits didn’t
pass on their genes in the NZ outback.)
You can learn a lot about Kikos from the International
Kiko Goat Assn. Regards, Charley S.
Dear JWR,
I just completed reading "Raising Goats for Self-Sufficiency" by
Freeholder and was laughing almost the whole way through! That is when I wasn't
surprised by some of his additional facts. I had been looking at meat goats
for my retirement plan over several years prior to actually putting the plan
into action and it is really taking a lot longer to get my herd to begin to
grow than I would have thought, so his overall advice to not "wait until
you need them is" visionary. That's why I would love to assist in casting
a vote for him in your contest.
My husband is a "long-time" survivalist and I have happily agreed
with his position. Being prepared for what-ever ill fate we have thus far endured
and could envision enduring if the SHTF I have found nothing faulty in his
thoughts. Simple things like not having to buy coffee during the price spike
of a few years ago has done nothing but strengthen our resolve to not be "the
48 hours away from starvation attitude" the rest of the world seems to
embrace.
Originally from Long Island, New York we could see nothing but the neck at
the end of a noose entrapment from our geographic location. The only way out
was
through
water, air or millions of people. We figured we better be in a better spot
before TSHTF!
Seeking a more Libertarian location; friendly to gun owners, low taxes, small
government, and not half-way around the world, we found New
Hampshire. However, the "Live Free or Die" State is slowly becoming
the "Roll
Over and Comply" State. More and more migrants from the "Socially
Conscious - Liberal" surrounding states are invading. Unfortunately,
while they bring their love of lower taxes they can't seem to comprehend that
the lower taxes cannot co-exist with the social agendas that they bring with
them to the State. We find we are at a 50/50 breaking point now and the State
could go either way - depending on the next wave of migrants.
A subject that my husband has become increasingly interested in, is hearing
first-hand experiences from others with Wood-gasification. He knows that this
process was used successfully during World War II by the European citizens
as a way of powering their equipment when gasoline and diesel weren't available
and believes to this day that it will be the only options for many of us if
TEOTWAWKI occurs
or should I say "when"? A valuable web site he has
found is http://www.gengas.nu/byggbes/index.shtml This
report is about the only thing we have found from FEMA that
made absolute sense and is well worth the read. Thanks for everything you do,
- Wife of NH Jumbo
James:
In response to Freeholder's essay on goats. Very well written. My wife and
I are also long-term goat people (for lack of a better title). We?ve kept
goats for 30 years plus. For the past 15 years, we specialized in selling
breeding stock, and . . . witnessed several bad outcomes with inexperienced
people buying goats. We got to a point we?d refuse to sell to certain people
in an effort to avoid future calamity. Finally, last year - we gave up selling
to the general public all together. It is not worth the hassle to us - considering
the new legal difficulties with animal registration requirements - and bad
outcomes with inexperienced buyers. A few goat "tips."
Breed matters. If you want goats - try to figure out exactly what you
want them for - and work from there. Not all members of one select breed will
demonstrate
all the traits it is known for - but it?s a good start. Some breeds tend to
be excellent milk producers, some breeds are meat producers, some do better
on poor feed than others. Some have better natural instincts including birthing
and caring for their young. This is very important - unless you want a bunch
of dead goat kids - or - don?t mind hand feeding them yourself.
Goats tend to be very intelligent, creative, and adaptive. That usually makes
them very hard to fence. This comes back to breed again. I assume - a goat
too dumb to escape maybe not be desirable, so is there an alternative? Yes,
there are very smart breeds that have physical hindrances that make them easier
to keep. We keep Tennessee Fainting Goats - also known as Myotonic Goats, Wooden
Leg Goats, Texas Meat Goats, etc.
In our experience, the Tennessee Fainting goats are the easiest keepers of
any breed we?ve had, especially the smaller ones. They have a genetic trait
that causes them to get muscle lock-up when startled - scared - excited - etc.
Subsequently, they don?t tend to take the chances with escapes like many other
goat breeds do. After years of keeping Boers, Alpines, Nubians, Spanish Meat,
Pygmies, etc., the Tennessee Goats were a pleasure. They tend to have good
instincts with birthing and raising their young. They are good for meat. They
are poor for milking though, when compared to most other breeds. They can
be kept for milk production, but production will be low.
A few things we?ve tried to warn first-time goat buyers about. All goats are
social animals, they do not do well if raised alone. Always have at least a
pair, unless you plan on keeping the goat with some other farm animal, e.g.
a horse, donkey, etc. And, don?t assume any goat will get along with any other
animal (goat, horse, etc.). Like many living things, each can have a distinct
and unique personality.
Raising your own - means birthing, kid feeding -by you or the mother, and having
a buck or two around. Buck goats can be absolutely miserable!. When they get
feeling romantic, they emit a grease from various parts of their bodies that
can be smelled a mile away on a damp day. It will get on your clothes and make
you want to burn them. The bucks will also be somewhat possessive of "their" females
during parts of the year when they are dating. With some goat breeds, this
can be twice a year - and with some others - once.
The last kid sale we made - before ceasing sales to the public went as follows.
A very nice, suburban sophisticated woman from central Maine contacted me.
She wanted to buy six buck goats kids. That surprised us - since usually -
buck kids are unwanted and get sold for meat at the local animal auction. After
speaking to the woman, I learned that she had no goat experience, but . . .
had read several books and had a plan. She lived in a suburban area with five
acres of land. She wanted goats for keeping brush down on her land - instead
of mowing it. Her plan was - to get five bucks - since they are cheaper to
buy then does. In fact, at our farm we?d often give buck kids away for free
is we thought someone would raise them - instead of them going to slaughter.
This Maine woman figured - that since there?d be no female goats in her area
to arouse these males - she?d not suffer any of the negative things that horny
buck goats are known for. Well - six months later, she called me from Maine.
I?m in New York. She was in a panic. Ends up, these "adaptive" young
bucks - worked around the absence of females - by getting "aroused" with
each other. She told me they all stunk so bad she couldn?t get near them, and
they were "mounting" each other, all day, every day, and it had been
going on for a week. Since she was in a suburban area, she had many shocked
and complaining neighbors. She offered to pay me - to drive to Maine and take
them all back. Call me a bad guy, but I did not do it. She was furious with
me and my wife - even though we had warned her previously. She even threatened
to sue us - for exactly what - I don?t know. Breach of Goat? Anyway, that was
it - we quit selling. At that time, the state of New York was getting ready
to pass legislation that was going to make selling goats and lambs across state
lines very complicated - so the event with the woman from Maine was all it
took to put us over the edge.
Goats are amazing and wonderful animals. I had one that rode with me in my
pickup truck, along with my dog. They can do an amazing job a brush conversion
and will eat scrub that horses and cattle will not. They can also destroy your
garden and/or young fruit trees in record time - if they get loose. Just keep
these things in mind.
If someone is interested in keeping animals with a retreat mentality, the breed is
an important choice - for any animal. Many newer breeds have had the instincts
bred out of them. Kind of like some people I know. Even some stock from older
breeds has been severely dumbed down. This means that many chickens no longer
know how to nest, sit, hatch eggs, brood and protect their young. Also means
that certain types of four-legged stock do not do well on scrubby fields, do
not birth well, some have bodies too big for their legs, etc.
it is best to do some research - perhaps starting with the American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
They do a great job with the preservation
of historic breeds of animals in North America - and offer a lot of information
- animal historic attributes, how and where to buy, etc. Keep in mind, that
even if you select a breed known to have certain traits - the ones you buy
might not have them. Best is find a breeder that culls their flock or herd
and selects for animals showing the desired traits. - JD from New York
