Visitors

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I thought one of the hogs had taken to hibernation.
But no they're still out scavenging the meal. worms.
Inspecting one of the boxes, To see if it was damp inside (if it's been raining the hogs come in wet) straw was dry but there is something else in the box.
So it looks like I've got two hogs at the moment.

Sparrow not seen any, Robbins and blackbirds yes.

[kwackers]

My hog(s) stopped coming a week or two ago.
I've stopped putting dog food out for them now since it just sits there going off. I tried taking the old stuff out and putting on the path for the foxes but they're bleedin' fussy they just run up, have a sniff and bugger off.
(Apparently our neighbour puts chicken out for them so I guess I'm expected to up my game...)

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

[Cyril Haearn]

Goats are very useful, in the US they are tasked with clearing scrub, much better than Savage Machines

A herd of goats munched the vegetation around the Ronald Reagan library in California to protect it from fire

They make good regimental mascots too

[Pastychomper]

They clear vegetation, produce good milk, pull carts, add humour to any holding, and taste great. What's not to like about goats?

[kwackers]

They clear vegetation, produce good milk, pull carts, add humour to any holding, and taste great. What's not to like about goats?

They eat *everything*.

[Cyril Haearn]

They clear vegetation, produce good milk, pull carts, add humour to any holding, and taste great. What's not to like about goats?

They eat *everything*.

Not to like: they eat everything
And they love their freedom, Alphonse Daudet related how a young got insisted on going up on the rocks although it could have had an easy life on an enclosed meadow and it knew a wolf should kill and eat it

Sheep and goats, compare and contrast?

[Paulatic]

Sheep and goats, compare and contrast?

We kept goats for milk for around 15 years. We used to castrate and rear the male kids for meat. The problem I had in the North East of England back in the seventies is that no butcher would do them for me as it was considered bad luck to have them in the shop. Later on in the eighties in SW Scotland I never had the problem and indeed by then there was a trade for them at local marts. The fore end of goat can be a bit pork like and the hind end more like lamb but best not to let them get too old before they get a goaty taste.
In my latter years of goat keeping I began crossing them with angora goats as there was an emerging market for the fleeces. I still have a couple of goat skin rugs I cured myself.
The milk , of course, is superb and both of our children were reared on it. None of us would want to drink sheep’s milk but the cheeses can be OK.
Grazing wise the two species are totally different. Goats are browsers and sheep are grazers. Both, in large numbers, will devastate their environment. A good thing about sheep is they eat ragwort so keep a farm clear of that. Goats eat bracken but not enough to make a difference.
In this area we have wild goats although a lot of them were culled from their traditional area to allow tree planting by a 'Wildwood' charity. That action caused a lot of comment
I was off roading in another range of hills and pushing up a glen I could smell goats. Rounded a corner and there was a herd of wild goats about 20 strong.
Health wise, especially when kept intensively, they both suffer from the same problems. Especially susceptible to lameness and need to have regular foot trimming. A guy near me kept over a hundred for milking and was given a financial incentive to move with his goats to the Isle of Gigha. No idea how he fared out there is there a Gigha goats cheese?

[mercalia]

well I dont want this lot visiting my bird feeders

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-50440442/bird-of-prey-attacks-mesmerising-murmuration

[mercalia]

would you want a pet like this?


[youtube]UIyfNM6y3vU[/youtube]

[Polisman]

Sheep and goats, compare and contrast?

Health wise, especially when kept intensively, they both suffer from the same problems. Especially susceptible to lameness and need to have regular foot trimming. A guy near me kept over a hundred for milking and was given a financial incentive to move with his goats to the Isle of Gigha. No idea how he fared out there is there a Gigha goats cheese?

Very interested in your post. We would like to have two or three goats for milk and cheese, and perhaps meat. We only have a small piece of land (1000m sq) mainly grass on it. I km thinking they would go through this pretty quickly. What are the substitutes for feed when out of grass and how do they fare in winter? Do they need to be kept indoors? We have a very large high wall enclosed courtyard out back which is free from frost nearly all winter.

[Paulatic]

Sheep and goats, compare and contrast?

Health wise, especially when kept intensively, they both suffer from the same problems. Especially susceptible to lameness and need to have regular foot trimming. A guy near me kept over a hundred for milking and was given a financial incentive to move with his goats to the Isle of Gigha. No idea how he fared out there is there a Gigha goats cheese?

Very interested in your post. We would like to have two or three goats for milk and cheese, and perhaps meat. We only have a small piece of land (1000m sq) mainly grass on it. I km thinking they would go through this pretty quickly. What are the substitutes for feed when out of grass and how do they fare in winter? Do they need to be kept indoors? We have a very large high wall enclosed courtyard out back which is free from frost nearly all winter.

Our goats lived at 850' And because they were no respectors of dykes or fences were often confined in smaller areas behind an electric fence. They definitely need shelter especially from the rain and ours were housed full time in winter. Producing milk they require supplementary feeding in the form of concentrates (cereal and protein based) and in a small area are also going to need roughage of hay/silage available.
Back in the 70s we used to take our nannies to a billy for mating. The guy kept around 30 goats on a very small area and they were fed all year round. Every goat knew it’s name He would call a name and that goat would come upto him. Interesting guy , had theories on how to get male or female kids along with others. Also kept a brazier smouldering 24/7 burning old hay and rubbish to keep the place healthy apparently.

[bogmyrtle]

Sheep and goats, compare and contrast?

We kept goats for milk for around 15 years. We used to castrate and rear the male kids for meat. The problem I had in the North East of England back in the seventies is that no butcher would do them for me as it was considered bad luck to have them in the shop. Later on in the eighties in SW Scotland I never had the problem and indeed by then there was a trade for them at local marts. The fore end of goat can be a bit pork like and the hind end more like lamb but best not to let them get too old before they get a goaty taste.
In my latter years of goat keeping I began crossing them with angora goats as there was an emerging market for the fleeces. I still have a couple of goat skin rugs I cured myself.
The milk , of course, is superb and both of our children were reared on it. None of us would want to drink sheep’s milk but the cheeses can be OK.
Grazing wise the two species are totally different. Goats are browsers and sheep are grazers. Both, in large numbers, will devastate their environment. A good thing about sheep is they eat ragwort so keep a farm clear of that. Goats eat bracken but not enough to make a difference.
In this area we have wild goats although a lot of them were culled from their traditional area to allow tree planting by a 'Wildwood' charity. That action caused a lot of comment
I was off roading in another range of hills and pushing up a glen I could smell goats. Rounded a corner and there was a herd of wild goats about 20 strong.
Health wise, especially when kept intensively, they both suffer from the same problems. Especially susceptible to lameness and need to have regular foot trimming. A guy near me kept over a hundred for milking and was given a financial incentive to move with his goats to the Isle of Gigha. No idea how he fared out there is there a Gigha goats cheese?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -775-000.h
Was this the farm? Looks as though there might be money in goats!

[Paulatic]

Thanks for that info Bogmyrtle , that’s the guy.
By coincidence the house and buildings he rented here were later turned into 4 homes.

[mercalia]

Wild Hamsters a nice video from the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07vfb4b