[tremayne]

All right, I'm admittedly very fond (understatement) of goats and plan to have some of my own as soon as we move to a more rural area, hopefully next year. We've always had lots of pets (cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc.). I don't have to see any monetary or material uses for my animals, because their company has always been enough.

That said, my husband is not 100% sold (big understatement) on goats. He's okay with my getting chickens because they produce eggs and he can eat them (both the chickens and the eggs), but goats seem less useful. None of us have any desire to eat the goats, so that's out as a reason.

Anybody here have any good arguments in favor of goats that they have successfully presented to their spouses, parents, significant others?

On a materialistic note, is there any money that can be made with goats? :scratch:

Disclaimer: I still plan to get goats, whether they offer anything other than their companionship. They're just so darned charming!

Thanks in advance for any wisdom anyone has to offer. :thankU:

 

[StaceyRosado]

so far I havent' made any money with my goats. But with my parents they know it makes me happy and it is a big hobby of mine. So they let me continue it.

I decided to move away from the standard dairy goats to try my hand at breeding for pet goats. IT has been a good switch and I enjoy it so much.

I have 3 unregistered pygmies and 2 unregistered Nigerian Dwarfs and 1 registered Nigerian Dwarf. oh and my mutt Jasper - just because.

In my area the mini goats sell very well and I have no problem selling them for the prices I want. The sale of the kids last year paid for the hay they need for the winter. So that way it works out nicely for me.

I am going to try my hand again at the dairy end with milking my nigerians. We first got goats for their milk and we used goats milk exclusively for years. it is very rich and creamy - though I dislike the taste. :shrug: I am going to give it a second chance though and try some new things to see if the way I was handling the milk after I miked was the issue.

So if you get dairy goats with the price of milk these days that is a great option for saving money. A large dairy goat can produce a gallon a day. You can learn to make cheese - I LOVED doing that - and use it for making icecream etc.

 

[sparks879]

Well it depends on what kind of goats you get. If you get a few dairy goats you can have yummy milk for yourself, its easier to digest then cow milk and very healthy for you. You can also make soap from that milk. Thats what im aiming to do this year. Soap sells for for or five dollars a bar, that said you can also make liquid soap laundry detergent, lotions and so much more. If you worked to got your dairy license (big goal but i know several doing it) you can sell milk and cheese. You can attend local farmers markets. I know one lady, she has an awsome set up where she has a small store in her barn where she sells her cheese. She also said that she would market my soap. You can also try your local feed stores. At my work (farm and feed store) We market honey for a local bee keeper. And my manager said we could sell my soap as well. We also sell eggs for people.
Even if you dont want to eat goats, you can market meat goats. Get yourself a boer or fainting or kiko buck, and cross them with a few dairy or percentage meat does. You can sell whethered kids to others ofor meat. Yes its a sad exsistance but face it people eat goats. And i would much rather see my little boys go home with someone that is going to eat them, then someone who hasnt a clue and just wants a cute pet. Someone who wants a pet most of the time doesnt have a clue on care and the goat ends up suffering for that. I have seen goats tied to a dog house with over grown feet skinny and just miserableecause people wanted a brush eater.
beth

 

[jBlaze]

Get pygoras!!
You shear them and sell the fiber. $$
You don't have to milk every day or have kids you have to feed then sell.
They are cute as heck! And fun, and hardy. Come in several colors and fleece types.

http://www.superior-fibers.com/ prosessing and sales
http://www.pygoragoats.org/PastGoatMonth.html PBA picts

 

[sweetgoats]

After all the expense in a year of 4H, my daughter makes on the average of $2300.00. That is from selling the goats and selling the fiber.
That is after the feed, and all the show expense and everything. It has taken us a few years to do that but that is where she is or was last year. As of this year she will do better then that because we have a lot of babies to sell, and MOST of them are already sold.

 

[rgbdab]

If nothing else, all goats are great at clearing out brush. You can tell your DH it will cut down on his mowing. :lol:
A friend of mine adopted 2 wethers for just that job and wished they had done it much sooner. They keep the briars and scrub bushes cleared out, fertilize the land they are on and are great pets as well. Go Goats!

 

[redneck_acres]

You can make money on your goats-but pretty much most of that will go back into feed and other supplies for them. So, they can at least pay for themselves. I started with the minis-and enjoyed them for the few years I had them-but now i'm raising only Standard sized LaManchas( once the minis leave here in just a couple of days) and so far I really like them. That and I think around this area I can sell them easier than the mini goats. We are currently drinking milk from our Jersey cow, but once we sell her we'll be drinking goats milk. Although we aren't going to tell my neices-as they seem to be picky about anything that does not come from the store. We will also be making cheese with it-although since most of us in this house are dieting we haven't been eating the cheese as much lately. We have raised a wether or two and put them in the freezer. Goat meat is pretty tasty and healthy to. Oh and you can use goat manure for your flower beds/gardens to.

 

[Fainters]

I raise mine strictly for pets and breeding stock. They make enough money to pay for feeding them all year long and vet bills. I just love them and enjoy taking care of them. I sell mine for about half what other people are asking and so I usually have them all sold by weaning time. This year I have had buyers from Wisconsin and New York from seeing my website. I would like to branch out into showing and milking to make cheese in a few years.

http://www.freewebs.com/scapegoatranch/