Have you ever bought something and got it home only to feel that pit feeling in your stomach that you shouldn’t have bought it? We had that feeling not too long ago, only we were driving out of the sellers driveway after we bought their goats when the feeling hit…way before we got home. We looked at each other…What were we thinking?
We told ourselves it was for our daughter. We drove over an hour to purchase 3 goats. The Craig’s List ad said “milk goat”. When we got there it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. The goat was “in milk” but wasn’t actually being milked by a human…there is a huge difference and one you should always clarify prior to buying a milking animal. And it didn’t appear that she had ever been milked. Bells and flashing warning lights should be going off in your head after you find out these important pieces of information when looking for a milk goat. This milk goat also had horns…something we had forgotten to check out before we drove all the way over there…and something we definitely did not want.
However, we already drove over an hour to get there. We looked them over, ignored the bells and warning lights and loaded them up. All the “we should of asked this…and this and that…” questions started to flood my mind. My husband reminded me that we could always sell them again….no worries.
That first night was horrible. We learned that Nubian goats are extremely loud and scream like nothing we have ever heard before. If we were any closer to town, I am sure we would have had the police at our house that night investigating the hostage torture situation called in. Yep, we should not have bought these goats for sure! It was too late, the kids (our human children that is) were instantly attached to them despite our warnings that we were not keeping the babies and the momma was really iffy at this point. Our plan was to bottle feed the babies and sell them at weaning time.
That time came and went. We sold the two bucklings to a nice ol’ farmer who was kind enough to show our children around his sheep farm. We dehorned the momma goat, started milking her and since then she has grown to be one of our favorite farm animals and a great milk goat. Like my husband said, “no worries”! It all worked out.
The other morning my husband and I were sitting down by the pond watching our ducks and enjoying the fine spring day when Chesnutt spotted us….and broke the silence.
And as she always does, she greeted us in her own unique way with a loud, “Mahh…Wahhh….Ahhahhahhh….Mahhwahhhwahh…” as she come galloping up and over the hill towards us with her dumbo ears waving in the wind. She makes us all smile when we see and hear her coming!
Sometimes that buyer’s remorse pit feeling in your stomach surprisingly turns out to be one of the best deals you ever stumbled upon!
Dear Beth,
What a wonderfully timely blog post! I am calling about our very first milk goat tomorrow………..no kidding. :))
She is being milked by hand, so I got that part out of the way, but your questions are very helpful for a newbie.
Also, she’s a Nubian. LOL!! Now I’m wondering about her loud voice………is it really bad? Like obnoxious bad?
We probably need a cow for milk too, but one thing at a time.
Thanks for always giving very real homestead advice. I’ve looked to your blog for many answers since we moved into our homestead this past November.
Blessings,
Becki for The Liebl’s in WI
Our first dairy goat was a Nubian straight from the pasture with two week old twins. After some initial work, she is the best goat!
Nubians have a reputation for being noisy but ours is only noisy when she is ready to find a buck. THEN there is no relenting and no mistaking the season.
She went from a fearful doe to a wonderful pet. She loves one and all and the treats they bring her.
We have since added an Alpine doe. She too has a sweet personality but lacks the character of the Nubian ears and nose : )
I’m glad your mistake Nubian became a part of your family.
Mommaof10
http://PlymouthRockRanch.com
Recording the Faithfulness and Provision of God for Future Generations
Nubians loud— Check out the video below this post of the boys feeding the cows….You will hear our nubian yelling in the back ground….(this is mild compared to what she can sound like)…she’s just making noise because she sees the boys paying attention to the cows and she would rather them come play with her. Our alpines don’t ever do this????
She makes noise when we are out and she can see us. If we let her out of the pasture, she will stay around us and eat the grass. You have to watch her though because she knows where some of the flowers and vines are and will go try to eat those too.
Her “for no reason” screaming and yelling did calm down after a few days of her being here–she settled in quickly. But she will yell if something is wrong or if we walk away from her and leave her in the pasture….but not all night anymore and not all the time.
Thanks for letting me know, Beth.
We got our girl “Cinnamon” on Sunday and so far she’s been pretty quiet. She has her little doe with her, so she’s not too lonely.
We named her baby “Constance” after the Susan Constance.
Now if I could just get milking down since I’m a newbie at it.
Blessings,
Becki
[…] milk goats are mostly Alpines…which we love. However, after our recent experience with the Nubian milk goat, we can see why people love them as family milk goats too. Our Nubian has grown to be a family […]