Brian,
What type of goat(s) are you interested in? Are you looking for meat or dairy? There are many, many goat "lists" but some of them are difficult to locate. There are also lists for each breed of goat. Try searching that way. My wife is on a number of lists--we have Nubians and Boers here.

Don

Thanks for the reply Don. We have Boers and Alpines. Fairly newbies...still learning the ropes after 4-years...hahaha.

We started 4-years ago with 3-wethers given to us by a little girl that took them to the county fair as a 4H project. Come sale day...she just could not sell them knowing where they were going. We had been intrigued by the "goat people" for several years prior to this. I grew up with cattle and horses...God forbid I ever have a goat. The more and more I watched the "goat people" helping each other out and seeing everyone root for each other in the show ring...I wanted to be apart of the group. In my area...the cattle / sheep / horse people are deadly competative and wouldn't loan you a hoof pick. Not digging on them (I used to be one) but that didn't happen with the goat people. Anyway...we made friends with this little girl's parents over those years. They lived in town and the goats were raised at her 4H advisors farm. She couldn't take them to town...so they asked if we wanted them.

Well...the rest is history. We now have (2) 100% SA Boer does with a great bloodline; (6) average & above average percentage Boer does; (1) SA 100% buck from the Southwinds Ranch in Texas (nice buck w/11 enobles). All the girls but one is ready to start kidding in the next 2 - 3 weeks. We are getting excited.

We also have several nice American Alpines all 100% from Stawberry Fields Alpines. We also have a 100% buck from them. Last year they were rated the 3rd best Alpine herd (small herd category) in the US. We are lucky they are 10-minutes up the road. Super, super people!

I would be intersted in any forums about Boers / Alpines and related topics (care, husbandry, etc, etc)

By the way...I played a little more on Yahoo groups and discovered you can change the formatting to make it more user friendly. It is "OK" now...

I really like the Gardenweb here. The people are so friendly and knowledgable. I frequent probably 6 - 8 of these gardenweb forums and I am fascinated by the passion everyone has for their bees or chickens or tomato's.

I do not post a lot on farm life (or any other for that matter)...but I am always reading here. I would like to hear about everyones goats out there. I am sure we all have more than chickens...hahaha. Don't get me wrong...I love my chickens also and learn a lot from this forum about them. I know there are more goat people out there and I would like to hear about them. When I first joined this site last year...there were a lot more goat discussions than now. I don't know...it seemed like that anyway.

Maybe they are like me...mostly read instead of join the discussions. I guess I should take my own advise...huh?

Thanks again Don and I would be interested in finding out what else is out there.

Merry "early" CHRISTmas to everyone.

Brian

Goatworld is probably the best forum.
They deal with JUST goats, they have very experienced people on this forum try it, they will be extremely helpful.

I didn't read your entire message, I am a goat person, or at least would like to think of myself as one. i love them. We have 3 Nubian wethers, my grand daughter worked t an agricultural college at 15 and raised a little guy, found out all males went for meat, called me hysterical not knowing what to do to save him. Rest is history, we went there knowing we had to take 2 because they are so social, after picking out Charlie (hers) and Caboose this little girl behind says "thats good now they will only have to kill one" so Frederick came with us too. Caboose is extremely dominant and we may have to separate them next year before he really injurys one, he even picks on me, but he still gets hugs. They love to be brushed and when I whisper in Charlies ear he will fall asleep. Frederick loves between his toes scratched. Anyway we have a small rescue with all kinds of animals but the goats are the best. They can escape from anything, will clean an entire mountain of shrubs but can get sick at a drop of a hat.

Take a look at the Goatworld forum they have helped me tremendously.
Lee Ann

You know I never thought I would be a "goat person." I grew up on a 200+/- farm with black angus cows and quarter horses. I thought goats where to eat the beer cans dad threw in the weeds while he was bush hogging...LOL.

Now I think they are awesome. In the last 4-yrs...we have grown so attached to our goats it amazes me every time I go to the barn or see them frolicing in the fields.

Lee Ann...I know what you mean about giving them hugs and playing with them. They are so social.

Keep the goat stories comming...

my fav used to be Goatweb... but is crashed a while back. so now, smaller, but VERY knowledgable and friendly...

thegoatspot.freeforums.org

dairygoatinfo.com

OR... lol

homesteadingtoday.com has a really good goat forum. take your pick! :)

Interesting to see so many goat forums online, very cool. :) We WILL need pictures of the kids when they are born, you know!

Velvet ~:>

I was given a newborn baby boer goat who's mother rejected him, and others refused to adopt him. I got him at about 3 days old, and have been bottle feeding him infant formula over the last few days. at first he appeared fine, but now is very week and refusing to eat. He just lays and sleeps all day. Ive tried giving him 1cc of pepto, 5grams of probios,2oz of omega 3 drench, and childrens pedilyte,(over the past 2 days) he seems more alert, but seems to also be congested? his back end gives out on him frequently and he falls down and has a hard time getting back up. hes kept in the house (with a diaper on) and sleeps on a heating pad, or wrapped in a nice warm blanket most all day. he urinates frequently, but has pooped very little, and its a soft yellowy staining color. (not runny) what elso i can do? any ideas of what may be wrong? doesnt appear to match the symptoms or pictures of floppy kid, i would not really consider him to having scours or diarreha, but drinkly a few oz at a time and stops, he shakes his head, and tries to cough? he seems to make congestion sounds, or maybe some of the milk went down the wrong way and he cant get it out? sometime i notice that he is slightly shakin? what else should i do?

I am sorry I haven't checked back sooner...I have been busy at work with traveling.

I am in no way an expert! I just copied and pasted your post to The_Boer_Goat Forum (Yahoo Group). I have requested someone to diagnose the problem and what to do about it.

When (if) they answer...I will copy / paste the response.

I hope everything is going OK with the kid.

Brian

jmdruryranch...the majority of the responders said to call Coni Ross with CR Ranch in Texas. She is the "official goat guru!" I have read numerous posts on many topics...and she is definately an "expert."

Her number is 512-496-3197
www.crranch.org

Do not feel ackward calling her. Apparently people call her all the time and she "welcomes it." She just wants to help.

Hope that helps.

OH Velvet...I will certainly post some pictures when the time comes.

Brian

Hope that jmdruryranch gets the kid through the tough going. I think goatworld has a "911" area for urgent help. Everyone up here has a "Goatlady" (they all seem to be women) to whom they go for help. Large animal Vets are a rarity in Alaska, so folks have to rely on one another for help, advice, meds, etc. My wife has become a Goatlady in recent years--she's been raising them for 15 years, used to run a rural Vet clinic (Vet was there one weekend a month so Carol had to deal with everything--with advice over the phone from the doctor when needed). We have Nubians and Boers. We got advice from a breeder in Fairbanks that said that 3/4 Boer-1/4 Nubian animals have the nicest carcasses, so that is what we deal with now on the meat side. They are taller animals as well, so they can deal with snow better when it gets deep here. We got into Nubians on the dairy sidewhen we started because because that was what was available at the time. We still like the taste of the milk the best, although Alpine milk is great too.

jmdruryranch,

Hope that baby is doing better. You said infant formula, I assume you mean one meant for goat kids? At three days old, rejected from mamma, he's probably going into "shock" (meaning- he didn't get what he needed -colostrum- in the first 24 hours-some kids are born strong enough to pull through, some aren't. Sometimes it takes about that long to hit. Sorry to say that there's not a lot that can be done. What you can try is in his formula put a raw egg and about a tablespoon of karo syrup. Get as much of that bottle in him as you can. (It will help to jump start his metabolism) Don't let him sleep very long. Maybe 30 minutes at a time, then gently rouse him. Your gonna have to get him mad enough to fight for his life. Goats are horrible patients, but they can pull through.
If he doesn't pull through, don't kick yourself. I've pulled alot through, and I've lost a lot. It's really about the goats ability to fight for it or not. Don't mean to sound harsh, just some hard facts that go with ranching.

Best of luck to you,
Cristi

I have a 3 day old female goat, mom did not like her so I have her in the house with me. she did nurse from her mom for the first 24 hours and I'm feeding her whole milk now.
This morning she sounds congested what can I do ?

Hi Cheryl,
First, I wouldn't feed her whole milk. She needs to be on a kid formula. You can get it at a feed store. The formula has colostrum and other nutrients in it that she can't get from cow's milk. A little congested sounding is normal. Probably from going from outside to the warm inside. As long as she's acting normal, I wouldn't worry to much about it. Is she up and playing?
Cristi

National Goat Exposition Set for Fall of 2012

(Oquawka, Il) � The National Goat Exposition committee has been hard at work and is pleased to announce that the National Goat Expo will take place on October 7-11th, 2012 at the Iowa State Fair Grounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

This 5 day event will have something for all goat breeders in a one stop format. For the dairy goat breeders there will be daily sanctioned shows (some dual) for all breeds of dairy goats. Seminars by Dr. Curtis Young, from Iowa State University, will be given on Goat Reproduction and Dr. Noah Litherland, from the University of Minnesota, will be presenting feeding information on Dry Doe and Kids in the Nursery. Demonstrations will also be given on how to use goat milk to make soap, lotion and simple cheeses.

Boer goat breeders will have a sanctioned show and seminars on various topics. The other meat breeds, such as the New Zealand Kiko, Spanish, and Savanna will be showcased and seminars will be held to learn more about these increasingly popular breeds and how to raise them.

The committee hasn't forgotten the fiber goats either. Several breeds of fiber goats such as Angora and Pygora will be at the exposition, along with demonstrations on how to shear and spin goat fiber into yarn will be held during the five day event.

In addition to seminars, demonstrations, shows and showcases there will be vendors such as Hoegger Goat Supply and Sydell, plus many more. You will be able to purchase everything goat related.

The National Goat Exposition of 2012 will certainly be a huge event for goat breeders and enthusiast that we hope to have year after year. For more information contact Jen Parrish at (515) 402-6124 or email at nationalgoatexpo@yahoo.com .

National Goat Expo has a new Silver Sponsor- Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association is the newest sponsor for the 2012 National Goat Expo. We are currently looking for sponsors for being the main sponsors for the event, sponsors for ribbons, plaques, banners, belt buckles, etc. If you are interested in being involved with the National Goat Expo or becoming a sponsor please get ahold of the president/founder Jennifer Parrish at nationalgoatexpo@yahoo.com