Sustainably raising goats and/or sheep in the most SS way.

[Beekissed]

Bibliophile~check back to your thread on BYHs....I've given you and the naysayers some links for thought. I'm sorry for what happened to you over there....those folks always do that.

They think they are GOAT GODs over there because they raise a few overfed show goats and spend a fortune keeping them from dying.

We play nice over here and there are plenty of folks on here who raise normal, homestead type goats and are trying to find solutions just like you. No one wants to dump chemicals down an animal just to keep it alive and well, do they? Not me!

Good luck and let us know what you finally decide!

 

[big brown horse]

I was not going back, I even "subtracted" the whole goat section all together. :/ I am sure that they are the reason why the number of members logged on are slim to none. My fingers start typing "mean" and my blood pressure goes up when I open the goat section. I don't like getting like that. But I am excited to see what you wrote Bee. You and Free are my heros!

 

[ksalvagno]

Thanks for the links. I too have been looking more into the herbs and stuff, not just for the animals but for myself. I worry about where this country is going and if we will be able to even afford wormers and meds. I think it is better to look into it now while there is time and stuff is still working and we can still afford it.

 

[Beekissed]

I was not going back, I even "subtracted" the whole goat section all together. :/ I am sure that they are the reason why the number of members logged on are slim to none. My fingers start typing "mean" and my blood pressure goes up when I open the goat section. I don't like getting like that. But I am excited to see what you wrote Bee. You and Free are my heros!

BBH, I don't even like goats but this sort of thing gets my dander up! These are the same type of folks who try to put the Salatins of the world down....while he is raking in the big bucks! Bet no one is paying to do tours of THEIR farms!

You see, if someone can do it, it means they, the ones who are not, just may be doing something wrong or uninformed~and this just can't be, can it?

My sis is the same way....she will give a half-hearted attempt to use one of the methods and then tell all and sundry that they "just don't work" on a real farm when they don't work.

This is why BYH is so low in members and posts....when it was BYC it had the same kind of people. Opinionated, confrontational bullies who are not interested in developing a community with diverse members....they want their own playground and people who are different are not encouraged! If this is allowed to continue, it will always be a bad place to visit...... very sad.....

 

[bibliophile birds]

Bibliophile- Look up Gulf Coast Native Sheep. They were the only breed that did survive in the southeast for centuries. They are parasite tolerant and I'd love to have about a dozen of them.

oh my gosh! thank you. they are beautiful and sound really perfect!

 

[big brown horse]

Right on Bee. :/ Too bad. (Atleast the sheeple section is still a positive place...horse people too. The goat section should be called goats AND jacka$$e$ )

I like those sheep too dragonlaurel! Hey Bibliophile, where abouts do you live?

 

[bibliophile birds]

other than my family's farm, the majority of my farming experience was in New Zealand, where organics (or at least practices approaching organics) are part and parcel to the way almost everyone does business. you just won't find feedlots and the big bad commercial farms over there. there is so much easily grown grass that it makes no sense not to pasture raise your animals naturally. which is why they raise the BEST lamb meat in the world. maybe they have particularly low instances of parasites, but i don't remember any of the farmers i knew needing to use chemical dewormers. i mean, there are 40 million sheep there and only 4 million people, so it seems like constant deworming would take, well, forever!

and talk about self-sufficiency! there are people with sheep in their backyards in the middle of cities over there (granted, most of their cities aren't all that city-fied). there isn't a single place in the whole country where you can't find local products sold in every grocery. (sigh) i miss it so much...

i wanted to bring that up over there, but i knew it would be used to make me seem naive. goats and sheep being from different planets, i guess. and New Zealand being another unmentionable topic like organics.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Hey Bibliophile, where abouts do you live?

in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mtns in TN. the only thing on the other side of my farm in national park all the way to North Carolina. i love it.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wow! i just popped over to the BYH site for the hubbub... wow!

ok a funny - i think the first time i posted something on that site i sent SOMEONE into orbit for calling it a "wormer" and not a "DEwormer"... hee hee hee always stirring the pot.

but i have been avoiding that site b/c of the few that make a big deal about their ...what did Bee say?? "a few overfed show goats and spend a fortune keeping them from dying".... i whole heartedly agree.

we like the natural approach for lots of reasons. and it works for us. and it works for the reputable breeders where we've gotten our goats. just like everything else, you figure out what works for you. i'm not convinced there is one 'right' way. our neighbors are completely on the other end of the spectrum from us in how they raise their goats, pigs, dogs, cats, and how the feed themselves. we share the same hill and we are doing fine...altho we each (quietly) think the other is nuts for their approach.

our goaties are fat and sassy, good milkers, with nice coats. most of the time we tell them to 'get out there and free range cuz its free' and use common sense. we dont spend a fortune on them, they dont come in the house, and no i dont like my goats better than my dogs (that was a whole other fight).

can you raise goats sustainably. heck yes and more power to you!

 

[freemotion]

There was a big fight once over whether or not you should EVER give your goats scraps from the house. A canteloupe peel sent...you can guess who....into an absolute tizzy of nazi-like zeal!

I purposely try to remember to saw "wormer" over there just to see what happens....