Interactive lesson

Goat herd plan, step by step

Interactive lesson: what you want from goats, which breed, how many head, what to do about a buck, how to buy a healthy goat, space and paperwork.

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The whole lesson as text

1. What you want from goats

Before you look at a single advert, decide what your main goal is.

Goal first — Milk, cheese, meat, a bit of everything or clearing scrub. Goats are herd animals: keep at least 2.
Milk for the family — Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg, Anglo-Nubian or their crosses, 2–3 goats. Milking twice a day, about 10 months a year.
Meat and scrub — For kids, a Boer or a Boer × dairy cross, 3–5 goats. For scrub, hardy crossbreds, Boers or wethers, 2–6 head, behind a good fence.
A wether for company — A wether is a castrated male. He is calm, doesn't smell like a buck and makes a good companion for does or for a buck.

Why: Breed, numbers, housing and workload all depend on it. A goat needs milking twice a day, a good fence, a dry shelter, paperwork and a vet, and she lives 10–15 years.

A goat never lives alone: on her own she cries and escapes all the time.
If you have never milked, spend one morning and one evening with someone who keeps goats.

2. Breeds for your farm

In the UK, Ireland and North America you will mostly meet four types of goat.

Hardy crossbred — Mixed goats from hill farms and smallholdings, roughly 35–50 kg and 150–300 L of milk per lactation. Very thrifty, ideal for hills and rough ground.
Saanen — White, large and calm, roughly 600–900 L per lactation. Needs good feed and shade: in strong sun her pale skin can burn.
Alpine — Brown, black or patterned, roughly 500–800 L per lactation. The milk often has more fat, which is good for cheese.
Boer — A meat breed with a white body and a red-brown head, 70–100 kg. Calm, with fast-growing kids and just enough milk for them.

Why: The breed with the most milk isn't always the best for your farm. A Saanen needs good hay and dry housing; a hardy crossbred browses everything but gives little milk.

Choose a goat by her udder and by her mother: ask how much milk the dam gave.
A hardy goat × Saanen cross is often a good compromise: tougher than a Saanen, with twice the milk of a hardy crossbred.