Goats

Irvine Mesa Charros 4-H Club
Irvine, California

Goats

We raise two different types of goats.


It's breeding season. See these web pages for advice:

  1. Goat Breeding
  2. Artificial Insemination
  3. Predicting your goat's due date


Female goats are called does. Male goats are called bucks. We primarily raise does because they are easier to manage, they don't have an offensive odor (unlike bucks), and there are more shows for does. A male goat that has been neutered is known as a wether. We usually don't keep dairy goat wethers, but some kids raise and show pygmy wethers. Other domesticated goats include Boer goats that are starting to be raised for meat, Cashmere goats that are raised for cashmere and Nigerian Dwarf goats. Domesticated goats differ from wild goats such as Mountain goats.

Why raising goats is fun

Goats are fun because they all have different personalities and have different little habits that can be amusing or interesting. Goats are very affectionate and especially during the summer, when they are too hot to be active, they like to just hang around people and get a good scratch. Most goats' favorite scratchy spot is around their shoulder but some even liked to be scratched in between their toes. It is very rewarding to see a goat you have raised from a baby grow up and have kids and grandkids of her own. With goats that doesn't have too take too long, maybe about 3 or 4 years at most, because they are able to breed when they are just a year old. It's also neat to learn how to milk or trim hooves and other things that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to do.

A healthy goat

Goats are easy to care for. These are the signs of a healthy goat.

Goat Statistics

Basic care

We provide automatic waterers in goat pens, and also leave a bucket of water. In some areas, of the country, its important to make sure the water doesn't freeze, but we don't have that problem.

Although many goat owners feel that a twice daily feeding is best, others feed only once a day and still have perfectly healthy goats. You will have to decide what is practical for your animal and your schedule. Try to keep both food and water where they cannot be soiled by the goat.

The basic food we feed is alfalfa hay. An adult dairy goat doe eats about 1/2 flake a day (about 5 pounds). This is supplemented with a grain mixture that contains 14-16% protein depending on the additional needs of the goat:

We also provide either a loose mineral mix or a mineral brick. Since alfalfa hay is high in calcium, we make sure the mineral mix is high in phosphorous and low in calcium to maintain the proper calcium-to-phosphorous ratio.

Although this diet works for us, we suggest you consult with a local goat breeder or veterinarian who is more familiar with the nutritional needs of your goats and the nutritional value of the feed in your area.

More Goat Information


Goat Pages

  1. Information of Goat Milk, Goat Milk Ice Cream, Goat Cheese, Goat Cheese Recipes, and Goat Milke Soap. See Goat Milk, Goat Cheese, Goat Soap
  2. how to raise goats, raising goats, raising pygmy goats, raising dairy goats, raising boer goats, goat raising: Start with Raising Goats and also see Care of newborn goats
  3. goat breeds, types of goats. See Dairy Goats ,Pygmy Goats , Boer goats, Cashmere goats, Nigerian Dwarf goats.
  4. milk goats, raising goats for milk, goat milking, goat dairy, See See Dairy Goats
  5. raising boer goats: See Boer goats
  6. dairy goat breeds: See Dairy Goats
  7. goats milk: See Dairy Goats
  8. breeding goats: See Advice from Goat Breeders
  9. difference between goat and sheep, difference between lamb and goats: See Difference between sheep and goats
  10. pygmy goat information: Information on Pygmy Goats
  11. dairy goat information: Information on Dairy Goats
  12. Bird Watching


Forward to Page 3: Dairy Goats
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These pages were designed by the Computer Science project of the Irvine Mesa Charros 4-H Club.