How to Raise Goats for Meat, Milk, and Fiber

Are you considering owning goats? Are you looking for an easy livestock addition to your homestead? Are you considering keeping a goat just to cut the grass?

There are many advantages to keeping goats

Goats are a wonderful addition to most homesteads. Whether you have a single acre that you’re tired of mowing or your home sits on several acres of land, and you’re looking to profit from milk, fiber, or other goat byproducts, goats can be for you and your family.

I’ve been raising goats for nearly 15 years now. It started with a simple phone call from a friend. She knew I had chickens and that I had been thinking about expanding into more livestock. My husband and I had bought a relatively small parcel of land – five acres total – and wanted to make full use of the property.

Be prepared before purchasing your first goat

I had thought about goats, but not very much. I wasn’t prepared, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I had only a few weeks before the goats would potentially show up on my doorstep needing shelter, food, and a loving home.

I had some serious growing pains, but 15 years later, my husband is actually on board, helping me feed and care for our herd, which has grown from the small handful we originally received. I have raised goats for milk, for fiber, and for meat at various points, supported other newbies as they learned the joys and hassles of raising their own goats, and made mistakes along the way.

This book gives you all of my knowledge firsthand!

I decided to write this book because I get a lot of questions on the finer points of raising goats from neighbors, from friends, and even from strangers who see that I sell our excess products. I also get lots of interest from folks who think it must be so easy to raise their own goats.

Whether you’re looking to raise goats for milk, meat, fiber, or just pleasure, there’s something for you in this book.

I start with the specifics: Can you legally own goats, and how do you find that out? I’ll put you on the right track. Not sure how to set up a proper pasture or how to keep your goats safe and warm in the winter? I have you covered there, too. If you want to know how to safely breed your does, handle the resulting kids, and properly harvest milk from them, well, I will walk you through that, too.

Goats can provide so much – meat, milk, fiber, and all of the products you can make with that!

Harvesting goats for meat? We’ll discuss the best breeds to choose and how to feed and care for them to ensure the best final product. The same goes for fiber.

In my book, you will learn everything you need to know about goats, including:

• How Much Will Goats Cost Me? Cost Breakdown
• The Legalities: a.k.a., Can I Even Own Goats?!
• The Practicality – Building and Take Care of Your Goat Space
• Where to Build Your Shelter
• So How Much Space Do I Need?
• Cleaning Your Goat’s Home
• Do Goats Need Friends?
• Entertaining Your Herd – The Basics
• Feeding Your Goats
• How to Pick Your Goats
• How to Find Your Best Goats
• Things to Look For in a Healthy Herd
• How to Properly Care For Your Goats
• How Can I Get My Goats to Bond with Me?
• Maintaining Good Goat Health
• Goat Behavior and Goat Breeding
• Goat Milk: The Basics
• How to Make Goat Milk Soap
• All About Goat Meat
• How Do I Harvest My Meat?
• The Rules for Harvesting Yourself
• What is Goat Fiber, and How Does It Benefit You?
• How to Profit From Your Goats
• Where Can I Sell My Meat and Dairy?

Once you’re done with my book, you will be ready to start your animal husbandry journey. Have fun!