livestock : urban goats
Golden Guernsey with Angora goats in the city 2
Which Goat is Right for you ?
In the second of our brand new series on urban goat keeping , Felicity Stockwell considers the right animal for you to buy ...
So assuming that you have now managed to obtain your CPH number ( this is your County Parish Holding Number ) and a Flock / Herd number from your local Trading Standards , Animal Health Office , you are ready to rumble as far as legally and legitimately bringing a goat on your property is concerned .
Armed with this piece of paper which you should have safely stowed in your “ Goat Folder ” you need to do nothing at all with it at this stage but we will return to that later .
When you received your CPH and Flock Number you will also have been sent a number of white forms which also have a yellow , pink and blue copy underneath . These are movement forms and you will need these if you ever take your goat off your property to travel anywhere with her . I ’ m not suggesting you take her round to the in laws for lunch on a Sunday or off to Weston Super Mare for the summer holidays but there will be times , which may not be yet apparent that you will need these things . So again , stow away in that “ Goat Folder ”.
You may also have been sent a little booklet or folder which is called an Animal Medicine Record and also another booklet called a Holding Register . The first is for keeping a note of any medication you may have to give your goat in the future , including vaccinations or worming meds .
The second is for keeping a record of movements of livestock on or off your property and for deaths and births ( of the animals !).
These books are all self explanatory and pretty well idiot proof so you will have no worries with those either but you do need to keep them updated as required and also in a safe and readily available place-enter the Goat Folder again !
Going Forth to Purchase
Right , assuming that ’ s all out of the way and you have prepared the accommodation for your goat in advance , you now need to find one .
Below are a few golden rules :
Ideally goats should not be kept alone as they are herd animals and although they get very attached to their human keepers , there is no substitute for your own kind .
I usually advise people to buy an already in milk dairy goat with a kid or goatling ( this is a one year old goat that will be ready to breed in the second autumn of it ’ s life ).