Right now most of our herd consists of Nubians. We do have some Alpines and have crossed them last fall to produce a Nubian/Alpine cross. That way we will get the best of both breeds since both have their advantages.

Because goats are naturally inquisitive animals, adequate fencing is a must. Electric fences work well with at least three strands. We use six strands to enclose our bucks and even in breeding season they don't come close to the fence. It does require training of new animals by putting their nose to the fence and letting them experience the shock. Otherwise they might spook and jump right through it. Electric fencing also has the advantage of keeping out unwanted animals.

Goats milk is naturally ultra-moisturizing. Goats milk soap contains capric, caprylic and capronic acids and natural occurring triglycerides. Otherwise known as good fats. The result is a pH level that is good for healthy human hair and skin, while commercial soap can dry out the skin to the point at which it feels taut and itchy. The oil glands are forced to counteract, overproducing oils in an attempt to rebalance the pH of the skin.

Our goats are fed grass and alfalfa hay along with a grain ration especially designed for dairy goats. Minerals are fed free-choice.

Boer goats are a domestic breed developed in South Africa for meat. They are much larger and heavier-framed than feral goats with billies weighing up to 120 kilograms. Animals have been imported into Australia to be crossed with goats derived from feral herds to produce a hardy goat that is suitable for the export goat market.

Yes, goats will get along with a variety of other animals such as cats, chickens, ducks, geese, miniature horses, miniature donkeys, llamas, sheep, and some dogs, etc. It mostly depends on their personalities and at what age you introduce them to other animals.

It is untrue that all goats smell. Female goats kept in good condition will smell of nothing other than clean straw and sweet hay. As their droppings are of a dry nature they are far easier to keep clean than cows and other farm animals. Uncastrated male goats do smell. Male goats kept for stud purposes have a very strong distinctive smell, especially during the mating season, (August to March).

If goats are brought up correctly and disciplined from an early age they never develop any bad habits. Goats will butt each other, this is quite natural and normal as they develop an order of dominance in the herd. However if corrected from an early age they never butt humans or other animals. A goat that has been teased may butt people as part of their "play", which may start as kids, when it is no problem. It can be a problem if this behaviour extends to adult age and size.

April 1, 1997. The basic story of its origin was that Phillip, while in his cups, suggested to jon that he should write a comic strip. jon agreed. Well, let's see. Let's look at the main characters of not only Goats, but also of Sluggy Freelance and User Friendly, two other major geek comics. However, a better mapping can be made from Goats to a more current group (besides, Lori is no longer an active part of the cast...).

Yup. Celebrate the birthdays with monetary gifts. Ben Franklin bills are just another way of saying that you care.

Whenever jon makes a new one. In general, the strip updates around midnight on sunday night through thursday night, dated for the next day.

It really differs. On a day in which a new comic is posted, there's usually several thousand who read it. It tapers off a bit on Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend.

Will there ever be another Goats Radio Drama. I have kittens on my desktop so I can listen to it whenever I want and I would love to here such classic comics as Ceiling Babies and Accordion Players or Altered States (of pudding) in the grand tradition of radio drama. It is likely that there will not be, unless another troupe of radio types want to stage it. <b>Kittens = Poptarts</b> was made by a bunch of college students, and I believe the class that they did it for is long over.

Yes. They do very well with horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, llamas. Dogs can be very dangerous, especially in groups. Chickens, pigeons and other birds can drop feces in water sources, but get along well with goats. We recommend that goats not be allowed to mix with pigs; some pig diseases can be dangerous to goats and pigs may cause severe injury to baby goats.

A - The PTI calculation relies on breed constants for fat % and standard deviations for fat corrected milk. We do not have enough data to determine "breed" averages yet for Nigerian Dwarf goats, especially in the area of type (appraisal). We expect to be gathering data until 2010 at which time we will have enough data to set breed averages.

Many people choose goats' milk simply because they love the taste. Others do so because they have intolerance to cows' milk. Many of them tell us that they have derived health benefits by switching to goats' milk. Most common problems include digestive disorders such as bloated ness, irritable bowel, and catarrh, eczema and even asthma.

Yes. Goats' milk is excellent for children. Introduce into a diet just as you would cows' milk. Semi-skimmed milk is not recommended for children under 2 years of age because semi has fewer calories and young children need the energy from the higher fat content of whole milk.

It depends on the breed of the goat. Fullblood boer goats reach maturity at three years of age. They are a little smaller when they are born than a cross bred boer and take a little longer to start maturing than a cross bred boer. Cross bred boers are recommended for show wethers because they will mature earlier generally looking really nice around 6-8 months of age.

Tethering is one of the worst ways to keep goats. If done correctly tethering is very time consuming, goats have to be moved frequently and must always have access to shelter and water. Tethered goats are at the mercy of stray dogs and they rarely are as productive as free range animals. Good stock fencing or electric fencing is the best way of retaining goats.

Goats are very particular about what they eat, they will not consume food of poor quality or food that is dirty or has been trampled on. They require the best quality hay, green stuffs and concentrates (oats, barley, soya, linseed, etc. generally sold as a goat mix). However goats will eat a wide range of food, preferring more fibrous food to lush grass. They will eat young thistles and brambles, as well as twigs, they also like bark from trees.