Crystal Wright

Deborah Niemann wrote:I personally never liked anything made with goat that simply replaced beef or pork. So, here is one of my favorite recipes, which is included in Raising Goats Naturally. It is also delicious made with lamb. In fact, this is what I just had for lunch today!

Indian Goat and Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4

1 pound ground goat meat
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup goat-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed

Chop the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Put them into a 2-quart pot and cover them with water. Boil the sweet potatoes for 20 minutes or until a fork inserted into a cube breaks it in half easily.
Chop the onion and begin browning it in oil. Add the ground goat, salt, coriander, and garam masala. Stir the meat frequently to prevent burning until it is cooked thoroughly. Add the cooked sweet potatoes to the pan, and stir the cubes into the meat mixture.
In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic.
To serve, put the meat and sweet potato mixture on a plate and drizzle it with the yogurt sauce.

There are recipes in the book?!?!?!? I might just have to use my tiny amount of spending money this month on the book. I'd better finish reading Gia's Garden first or I will likely have to read it all over again.
What is a good breed that is a good mix for using the buckling for meet and keeping the doelings for milkers?

Thanks for all the ideas and the info on your experiences.
I do want to say that I didn't intent to get my pup before my goats. I thought I would have a lot of trouble finding a pure bread Anatolian Shepherd which is what we wanted and when one came available less than an hour away we jumped at the opportunity thinking we would have goats within two weeks. Then we had issues with the plans we had to get goats and are now looking to get them. Since I have never had them, I was planing to raise them along side as long as necessary until they could be trusted together, I don't know how long that will be, and will be thrilled if it is only a few days. I won't keep them separate if it seems it doesn't need to be that way and we will work out with them to be social a lot during the day every day.
We do not plan to only keep the goats in the 1 acre fenced area, that is just what we have to start out with. We have a lot more space that needs brush cleared and plan as they get older to paddock shift them in that area, that is why I was looking into a movable shelter with plans for water.
Kurt, I love the idea of the 50gallon drum with gutters on the goat shelter to help fill it with water. We get about 23 inches a year, so that will be a good way to use that resource.
Thanks for all the information about browsing on branches and trimming where we need trimming to feed on rainy days. We can feed that way in down pours. I also hope that when it is just a bit drippy that we can teach them to go out for some leaves and not just eat hay.
It's good to know that the dog and chickens will leave the minerals alone.
Thanks Deborah for your input on birthing and also on everything. I probably do need the check out your book.
Thank you everyone for your input on the "natural way". I agree with Deborah that the way I approach my health is to look for a lifestyle change first, but I am not into survival of the fittest, I would try to save a struggling cold kid or a goat that has too many worms, I probably wouldn't give it chemotherapy. I will probably not spend more than what I feel the animal can provide just to keep it alive.
As to why I want goats. They are one of the steps toward becoming self sufficient for us. They will help us clear our land without heavy machinery. They will provide milk for us after they get old enough and we learn to milk. They will provide us with fertilizer to help us improve our soil to grow more food. I see them as a key part of our permaculture food forest self sufficiency plan. They will also help my boys learn about life and care of another and responsibility as they grow up with animals.
I think we are going to try to go without collars and see if we can get them to come when we call, and then just put a regular webbing type collar on if we need to walk outside a fenced area with them. Then if we think we need something, if that isn't working we can evaluate then.

More questions:
What is a drench gun? I have a 60cc syringe with a narrow tip (probably comes down to about 1cm diameter with a 2.5mm opening. Will that work, or do I need something bigger? Would a turkey baster work? Is it just for giving medicine and things to aim toward the back of the mouth?
What is drip watering 1/2" supply line? I have seen a dog licksit. It is like that only something that has a few of them? Or it is something that just slowly drips into a watering container?

We have 8 acres. Four of which are forested. We fenced about 1ish acre that contains about 1/5 blackberries, 1/5 meadow, and 3/5 wooded under brushy maple, hazelnut, snowberry and fir. In the fence is our chicken coop and will soon be our livestock guardian pup, and about to add 4 alpine goat kids. We will probably fence the pup within the fenced area to be along side, but not able to harm until she is fully trained. We can reach a hose to the upper area (the land is on a hill meadow at the top, blackberries at the bottom forest in the middle). We plan to build a mobil goat house, either skiable or on a trailer, so they can help brush clearing in the other areas of our lot.
As far as supplies go, I hear I need to plan for rainy day feed because they won't go out and forage in the rain. I hear I need to get something to trim hooves and learn how. I heard I need to get minerals and a way to feed them that my dogs and chickens won't get at.
My questions are:
What rainy day feed should I try? Are down branches drug into their shelter good enough?
What other supplies do I need? I hear a lot about having a medicine kit and it all seems like a rather un-natural way of caring for goats but I don't know what I should have.
What are your good ideas on a way to water to go with a movable structure? Other places we want to move them won't be very reachable by a hose, until I get a much much longer hose I suppose.
What are thoughts on collars? I have heard plastic chain link brake away ones are best, but it has that nasty word plastic involved so I am hesitant.
What things should I read to help me learn as we are starting out?
Can I use chipped branches as bedding?
I am a true beginner to goats and will appreciate any additional advice on how to begin.
Thanks, Crystal