Hi I'm Baleguy, old but new....kinda

Hi all, I have been a member for ages but not very active till now.

I manage a small dairy farm and have a managerie scattered around.
I have poultry: Gold Laced rooster, ex battery hens, silver laced hen, barred rock , silkies and bantams.
I have rabbits but want to get into meat breeds rather than pets.
I don't have any goats this year but normally do for meat.
I rear pigs from weaners and my last one that was booked with the butcher had a litter this morning, much to my surprise.
I know a fair bit about dairy cows but only a smattering about the rest, learning as I go.
Would love to meet other lifestylers and see how other people do what they do.

I got the handle when I used to grow,contract,buy and sell Animal feed
especially bales of hay and silage.

Hi Baleguy, welcome!

I'm interested in what type of goats were you raising for meat? We have pet (mini) goats - too small for meat production but as I've come to really enjoy goats in general - they might be a good alternate to sheep/beef for us.

I cheat when it comes to goats. How? I buy bobby goats from a dairy goat operation in july each year.
I get them for a stubby of beer each when they are about 4 days old. The operators get a bit sick of euthanising the unwanted males and are usually happy to give them away, happier still to get beer.

I toyed with the idea of getting late females and putting a boer goat over them but the cost of the Boer billy was $200 which I thought a bit steep.

The down side of dairy goats is that they don't get very big by one year old but if you leave them any longer the meat gets tough.

I don't really enjoy bottle feeding but if you have a doe in milk she could foster.

What do ya reckon?

I've always fancied a couple of Boer goats, very handsome beasties I think.

Our Boers don't get big enough for a decent sized meal in 1 year, unless he was a single. Ours go to homekill at 2 or 3 years old when they have a bit more meat on them.

I would prefer to have Boer goats but my Boss might have conniptions if I have too many around. I have an area I can hunt for goats now anyway, bale with dogs and live capture, back to my place to graze the long acre till fat enough and gamey taste goes then into the chiller I built in my garage.
I butcher my own animals including rabbits, goats, steers, pigs and hopefully deer if I can find a spot to nab one.
Does anyone have turkeys?