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“ If you are prepared to wait for a couple of years to get milking , then a pair of female kids would be a great introduction to goat keeping .”
Remember a goat does need to breed in order to be in milk but it doesn ’ t have to breed every year . Most goats will stay in milk for up to 3 years although the amount of milk will drop with the passing of time .
At this time of the year most goat owners will be kidding their goats-in other words now is the time that goat kids are born .
Assuming a goat has kidded in March , a potential goat for re-homing would come available in April or May , with or without her kid . Most goat owners will only sell 2 goats together but this is not always the case .
There are a variety of possibilities as to how you can get 2 goats to live together and be good companions for one another . These are as follows :
• You may buying an in milk female of 2 or 3 years old and a castrated ( wethered ) male kid as a companion .
• A dairy female with a kid at foot . The mother and or the kid can actually be a cross bred animal by the way .
• A dairy female with a goatling ( yearling ) at foot A dairy female from one source and perhaps a smaller goat such as a Pygmy from another source . The Pygmy will only be a companion animal though but it will only take up a small space .
• A dairy female and a fibre goat such as an Angora . This is a good combination as you will have an animal for spinning fleece as well if you are interested in this aspect of self sufficiency .
If you are prepared to wait for a couple of years to get milking , then a pair of female kids or one female and one wether would also be a great introduction to goat keeping and you would have the fun of hand rearing them . They do need very regular bottle feeding though for up to 6 months even though they will be eating standard goat feed and herbage by the time they are four weeks old . Most breeders will not sell kids until they are at this semi weaned stage .
Finally , there is always the exception to the rule and someone out there may have a single dairy goat to pass on . My first goat in the 1970 ’ s was a single one and she was always totally happy in our garden and enjoyed the company of our children . Later we kept one of her own kids as a companion which I ’ m sure was appreciated but she still followed the humans around !
Anglo Nubian Cross
Potential Costs of Purchase
In milk dairy goat - between £ 180 - £ 200 depending on breed and whether or not it is a registered animal . Unless you are wanting to show your goats an unregistered and subsequently cheaper animal is perfectly alright .
Goatling - £ 120 Kids - £ 50 - £ 100 each
Pygmy Goat - from £ 50 to £ 150 depending on age and sex-a wether will always be cheaper
Angora - £ 150 - £ 250 depending on age and sex .
Again wether will be cheaper especially if it is over 2 years old as the fleece becomes less saleable commercially from this time but is still very suitable for home spinning .