Читать книгу Raising Goats For Dummies - Cheryl K. Smith - Страница 30

You want to get the type of goat that’s right for your goals. If you want goats for milk, get dairy goats; for meat, get meat goats; for fiber, get fiber goats. If you have mixed goals, find out which animal will best suit all of them. For example, a Spanish goat can produce cashmere, kids for meat, and milk. The milk won’t be of the volume or quality you get with a dairy goat, but nevertheless, it’s milk. If you just want pets, miniature goats may be your best bet. And for brush control, bigger may be better. You can read more about the different breeds in Chapter 3.

If you want pet goats, choose goats that are

 Tame and friendly: These goats are much easier to work with, and you won’t have to spend time trying to get them to trust you.

 Horn-free: Goats without horns are the safest, especially around children. (I tell you more about the horns, including how to remove them before they grow, in Chapter 9.)

 Wethers: Don’t ever accept or buy a buck goat for a pet. You will regret it as soon as he matures and starts to stink during breeding season. (Chapter 12 tells you about the weird and exciting world of breeding.) Does can make okay pets, but wethers are the best. They don’t go into heat, and they cost less to feed because they don’t need anything but minerals and good grass hay. They also are the sweetest.

If you live in a city, get miniature goats, not full-sized ones. They won’t take up as much room and then you can have more, if you want. By the same token, if you have a physical disability, miniature goats are better because they are easier to handle. You can read more about miniature goat breeds in Chapter 3.

If you’d like to raise and breed show goats, you probably want to get registered goats. There are many registries for goats, usually related to their use — for example, dairy goats, meat goats, or cashmere goats. I tell you more about showing goats in Chapter 17.