River Cottage

I have never kept goats before and as our two lambs are about to go to the freezer I thought a couple of more permanent residents might be nice in the form of goats. having mentioned this on Facebook I have been Inundated with horror stories, especially about Pygmy goats, which is what I was tending towards. Can anyone give me some sensible advice on this subject as to the pros and cons of little goats against big goats!! many thanks for your thoughts.

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I would like to know if someone who breeds goats can help me. I have a couple of acres of land and I am having a go at being semi self sufficient. I bought 2 female Saanen goats and 1 unneutered male Saanan goat back in April 2011. They were 2 months old and 1 month old at the time. I had done my research and I viewed the parents and the place they came from and I was 100% satisfied with it.
I keep the male away from the females for obvious reasons but he managed to catch the female in September time 2011.
She had been doing really well, was putting on the desired weight, was perky and happy and you could feel movement in her belly on the one occassion I gently pressed her. All of my goats are run on grass during the day and are kept on straw in penned stalls at night with access to hay also.
I went into her stall yesterday morning to find two dead baby goats that she had miscarried during the night.
Obviously very distressing and upsetting for everyone involved and I would greatly appreciate any help that anyone can give me.
Thank you very much in advance.

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Hello, I have just adopted 2 female goats from a man who couldn't afford to keep them anymore. I don't have a full history on the goats only that 1 has never had young and the other had one kid earlier on in the year and has been giving milk since.
On collection of the goats I was told that she was milked the day before and was due to be done again. I noticed her udder was a little lopsided with one teat much larger than the other.
Once I cleaned the entire area and milked her all that came away was a watery liquid with no milk whatsoever. I emptied her as much as possible and cleaned the area again.
I am new to milking goats and I don't know what could be the cause of this. It is worth noting that she was not uncomfortable during the milking and the water was coming away very easy.
Can anyone please help me?

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do you have to have a licence to keep a goat?

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Hi Guys,Can anybody help by telling me where i can buy fresh goats milk in or around the Rutland area many thanks Kev

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any one no natural recipes to kill worms in goats

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PLEASE HAS ANYONE GOT A SAANEN AT STUD OR A BILLY FOR SALE NEAR SHROPSHIRE? EXPERIENCED HOME AWAITS.

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Hi all
does anyone know where I can use a british alpine male to service my female in shropshire or neer by
kind regards mark

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I have a British Saanan nanny goat, that suffers with bad skin problems.The vet has looked at her on a number of occasions and says she has a low immune system and has staphylococcal dermatitis.I'm at my wits end trying to get her skin cleared up.The vet more or less said there is nothing more he could do,it's just a case of spraying the affected parts with antibiotic spray (which is £10 a can).Does anyone have any suggestions.

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Public Liability.
I'm negotiating to get a grazing licence from an adjacent landowner for my small herd of pet goats. They want me to have 'adequate public liability insurance'. My household insurance company (the AA) don't cover livestock. Where do I go from here and how much is it likely to cost?
Any ideas welcome. Thanks.

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