Can country boys survive with goats?

[chain]

Some say, eventually, when the last drop of oil is used up, the last big jet airliner drifts down and parked, we will all become nomads, shepherds to goats, camping out, subsisting on goats milk, meat, and cheese.

But can goat farming be the next big thing? Some rural publications are hinting the rising interest of goat markets and demand for various tasks of goats in impoverished nations to help alleviate starvation and mere subsistance.

Forestry uses also, the goats cleaning up brushy lots and fields and forests, helping graze down invasive plants and vines. Many uses from goats.

Any goat owner/farmers here?

[bull]

No goat farmer here, but girl down the road is doing quite well with them two titters, she's makes some fancy goat cheese and turns it into some purty good dollars !!

[Riggs]

I keep 15-20 goats, mainly to keep my creekbanks from growing up. I probably break even selling the kids. You could do alot worse for company, they are quite entertaining.

[Jeff]

I'm thinking Burlkraft is really wanting some goats.

[Norm]

And a couple of horses....

[Texas Ranger]

Hmm, cabrito.

[POSTONLT40HD]

I don't know that much about them but EMUs are a good investment. They say the meat is great and $ in restaurants.

[Mooseherder]

We had a couple Goats when the kids were young.  I never did milk them though.
They can eat some vegetation and not too hard to take care of.

[jim king]

After living over half my life in goat country, "developing nations" it is my opinion that they are the most underused domectic animal in developed countrys .

Just a cutltural thing I guess.

[Norm]

Lots of meat goats raised around me. We've kicked it around ourselves but don't have enough pasture to do so.

[Autocar]

Theres been some interest in our area but seem to fizzle out after a few years. The only thing I know about goats is the billy stinks  and there eat anything that they can chew.

[Corley5]

I thought that meat goats would be a good crop to raise.  But only thought about it briefly 

[Mark K]

I had a herd of 100+ Boer goats back when we were milking. I use to rotate the goats thru the pastures behind the cows to clean up what the cows wouldn't eat. They eat anything and are excellent escape artists. Would breed them once a year so they kidded in January, sold the kids around Easter to a restaurant in the city. Didn't make a while lot of money. My parents bought out my herd and are now up to 250+. There kidding now and have 2 to 4 kids per doe per year. Doesn't take long to build a herd. They make most money off them selling breeding stock.

[Ron Wenrich]

I had herd that went up to 30 for awhile.  I used them to get rid of multiflora rose.  They also were good for getting rid of honeysuckle.  Not good in a forestry situation as they will eat or girdle any regeneration.  Worse than deer.  They like the inner bark of soft maple.

This time of year, I would feed them Christmas trees.  People would save them for me.  I didn't give the whole tree, just cut off the branches.  They'd eat the pine before they would hay. 

Someone once told me that those underdeveloped countries stayed that way due to goat herds.  There was no way that a forest of any type would be able to survive those herds.

[shinnlinger]

62% of the red meat consumed in the world is goat and if you lived near an urban area you could sell to the ethnicities (muslims, greeks etc) partake but you would need to either create your own USDA certified facility or make an arrangement with one.  I have heard that some do well with having an area wherefolks can come and process the animal the way they want.
Dairy seems like an insane amount of work to me and I don't know of the commercial demand but ice cream is a quite good.they are escape artists but quite fun.  To fun really cause the wife put a stop to any further herd developments

[Magicman]

Back in the late 50's and early 60's we had no deer, but there was a herd of wild goats that roamed the woods.  They ranged over a couple of mile area, and hunting them was more luck than skill.  You had to walk the woods and hopefully if you were downwind you could smell them.  Thankfully they were white, or you never would have gotten one.  Once the herd was found the sneak was on, and all eyes were looking.  I did say wild.  The challenge was then identifying a young female, because if you brought home a stinky male, you were in trouble with Mom.  We hunted them with a .22, and aimed for the ear.

[LOGDOG]

One of our members down in Australia has a beautiful, large herd of goats. I forget his handle right now. Maybe someone else remembers?

[Taylortractornut]

Dad grew up on goat milk in Burnsville as a kid.   He said the secret to eating one  was to castrate it while young or eat a  nanny.           He said a family that didnt have much  traded dad for an old billy goat.   Dad said walking  past their farm  the wole hill stunk.

[Magicman]

We had a guy with an old billy goat pulling a cart that always rode in our Christmas parade.  They moved him to the back, (as in last), and finally had to ask him not to ride anymore.  That goat stunk so bad that it would bring tears to your eyes.   

[beenthere]

........           He said a family that didnt have much  traded dad for an old billy goat.   Dad said walking  past their farm  the wole hill stunk.

Hmmm?  Dad for a billy goat.  Do you think that was a good trade?