One of my earliest memories (and we’re talking about the dark ages era) … is a little shop at the bottom of a hill with a hand-scrawled sign advertising “Goat’s Milk Fudge”. I was not even old enough to be in school yet, but I already knew I liked the ‘fudge’ part. 
But that’s about as much thought or attention as I had reason to give to the topic of ‘goats’.
A series of recent events has led me to update my information about goats…. and it’s provided some fascinating details that I wish I’d known earlier. First I met some wonderful pet goats belonging to a client/seller. Then, while driving past a nearby field of goats, I noticed one animal in particular with a very interesting beard. He was part of a group of goats who were enjoying a sunny day, guarded by what turned out to be a friendly dog. I decided to walk up to the fence to get a photo of the bearded guy. The dog greeted me at the fence, but he was careful to position himself between me and his goat herd. All of the animals came merrily towards me and I’m certain they expected some kind of culinary treat… which I failed to deliver… and they quickly lost interest and wandered away.
The next day… my email suddenly was full of information about goats.
I don’t know why.
I’ve never had a Goat Solicitation before, but on that day my email was full of a bunch of articles about goats. I took that as a sign that I needed to learn more about my new goat friends.
Here’s a story about a guy who inadvertently ended up with a goat as a wonderful house pet.
Here’s a story about the advantages of maintaining your yard with goats.
Goats are raised for many reasons, among them for their milk, for meat, for fur/hair (as in, Angora goats) and wool, and in some cases, to control the growth of pastures or underbrush. Pygmy goats can be raised ‘just for fun’.
Apparently I’m the last one to learn about how very friendly goats are. They have strong herd instincts (they won’t run away from ‘home’) and can live happily with your household pets…. or even in your household in some cases. My research turned up so much Goat Information… breeding, diseases, diets etc … that I’ve decided to simply share some of the information as links below. Did you know that housebreaking a goat with newspapers seldom works? (They love to eat the newspaper). Did you know that a doe (female) can produce 6 pounds of milk daily… or that a buck (male) usually does not live as long as a doe? Enjoy the links below! I’ll keep you posted on my new-found goat bonding.
Here’s information from the USDA about Raising Dairy Goats. And this article discusses the details of how to disbud (de-horn) a goat.
Here you can learn the technical details on the process of breeding and raising goats. Here’s more about goat births.
This site helps you to calculate the real financial aspects of raising goats.
If you want to connect with the Virginia State Dairy Goat Association, click here. The Virginia Goat Breeders have their own site.
Get started with your goat herd or increase it at the Virginia Goat Sales and Auctions. There’s a sale at the Southern Virginia Meat Goat farmers… coming up on February 12, 2011.
The Virginia Boer Goat Breeders (of South African Boer Goats) have their own informational site.
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