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wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 06 5:11 pm Post subject:
Do they ring bark trees? I mean, they can't get ladders out, can they (can they - sometimes nothing would surprise me!)

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 06 5:28 pm Post subject:
Never seen them climb ladders but when they stand on their hind legs & stretch they can reach 6ft. Mine don't eat the bark on apples but love the young shoots & leaves. If you have mature trees with the lower branches out of reach & some netting around the trunks should be ok.

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 06 6:56 pm Post subject:

TAVASCAROW wrote:

Never seen them climb ladders but when they stand on their hind legs & stretch they can reach 6ft. Mine don't eat the bark on apples but love the young shoots & leaves. If you have mature trees with the lower branches out of reach & some netting around the trunks should be ok.

Mine reach 5 foot with all 4 feet on the ground. More like 9-10 foot on hind legs (they are big girls weighing in at about 120kg plus). Goats will plan & scheme for weeks to get into an orchard. We make sure that the goats have at least TWO fences between them & the trees we want to keep as that give us about 1/2 hour extra to spot them.

Justme

doctoral

Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Posts: 697
Location: Now in Surrey ... I need a good avatar

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 06 7:38 pm Post subject:
Get sheep!!!

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 8:13 am Post subject:
Sheep would be better in an orachard, I agree. My goats are a cross- anglo nubian/British Saanen mother and Boer father; lovely tmperament, great characters. had them nearly six weeks now, they've settled in and we finally managed toget collars on them There's a pic on here somewhere.

LynneA

Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 4893
Location: London N21

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 8:59 am Post subject:

If temperment is a key factor, why not go for Golden Guernseys?

Not as big as the standard dairy breeds, but apparently their food conversion rate is better. British Guernseys are bigger, but still retain the gentler nature of the GG.

I know I don't own goats yet, but I've spent a few years reading up, going to shows. The decision that to plump for GG's came when I was at a show near closing time, in the barn that housed all the sheep & goats. The feed buckets came out, and pandemoniom broke loose. Except for in the GG pens, where they stood patiently, necks outsretched and eyelashes fluttering.

Anna-marie

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 980
Location: West Wales

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 9:19 am Post subject:

Justme wrote:

Hi Anna-marie,

Do you breed & eat yours? If so were do you take them to the billy (assuming you use a boer) We want to cross our milkers with one for a while for meat animals till we need more replacement milkers but cant find one localy. We do currently eat ours but they do take a long time to finish.

How much milk does each goats give (I know it varies during the lactation)? Can you milk them through from one year to the next or do they dry off if you dont breed each year?

Justme

Hi Justme,
I will be taking my girls to the breeder this week some time, for their first mating.
She lives about thirty miles north of Carmarthen, but have you tried looking at the British Boer Goat Society Website?
If you have any trouble finding a Billy, let me know and I'll see if I can find one closer to you.
Pure Boers can be finished as early as six months of age, and should have a fair bit of meat on them by then.
I am vegetarian, so won't be eating next year's kids, but would like to take some meat to the show in Builth Wells, either next Autumn, or the following Spring, for the Smallholders'.
I'm not sure about milk, but I think you could expect to get a pint a day or so - I will ask Margaret when I see her this week.
You should get more, though, if you cross your milkers with a Billy. What breed do you have?
I'll pm you later this week, with a more definite answer.
Anna-marie

Anna-marie

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 980
Location: West Wales

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 9:30 am Post subject:
I don't know if I've got the hang of it yet, but I'll try to post some piccies of my little darlings.

Anna-marie

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 980
Location: West Wales

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 9:48 am Post subject:
Hmmmm...... Obviously not Hang on, I'll try again. Still can't do it HEEEELLP (Please?)

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 2:32 pm Post subject:

Anna-marie wrote:

I'm not sure about milk, but I think you could expect to get a pint a day or so - I will ask Margaret when I see her this week.
You should get more, though, if you cross your milkers with a Billy. What breed do you have?

Anna-marie

If its only 1 pint per day or even per milking all or nearly all of the milk will be needed by the new born kid (assuming they have one ours have in order of liklyhood 2,3,1,4). We get upto 6 L per milking from our best ones & the worst do about 3L (much less now as its breeding time & half of them were milked through from last year but still getting 2L day average). We currently only have BA & BT goats. Have got rid of all the sannens as they were just to much trouble with going to fat & related problems. I think I have tried the breeders site but no one close enough to make it cost efective to keep running back & forth with gaots as they came into season. They all so wanted high prices for his service.

Might be worth buying in a yearling boer billy to use next year.

Justme

moonwind

Joined: 10 Sep 2006
Posts: 1140

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 3:21 pm Post subject:

LynneA wrote:

Oh dear. What you gone and posted this for? I love Guernsey with a passion (last time we flew there the steward said "well someone has to) Guernsey goat? Hmm! May have to look to see if there is a breeder about who can give me some info to look at.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 06 6:24 pm Post subject:
I think the little guernseys are adorable. Goats might be orf though - what on earth would I do with 2l of milk a day?! Let alone 6! I thought they would be managable millkers in a small space, and good fun (semi pets, really) Well, you live and learn!

Anna-marie

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 980
Location: West Wales

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 06 9:49 am Post subject:
HiJustme, I've spoken to Margaret re milk yields, and have pm'd you. Anna-marie

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 06 10:15 am Post subject:

Sarah D wrote:

Sheep would be better in an orachard, I agree.

You haven't met my sheep

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 06 10:20 am Post subject:

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