For the Love of Goats

If you've ever wanted to add some genetics to your herd, but the cost of a live animal was out of your price range, artificial insemination is a great way to reach the same goal at a fraction of the price. In today's episode we are talking to Dr. Jamie Stewart, Assistant Professor in Production Management Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. We are answering all of the basic questions about artificial insemination, often called AI for short.How do you artificially inseminate a goat? There are actually three different types of AI, and Dr. Stewart discusses how each one is done, as well as the chances of success of each method and how much it costs. She also talks about some money-saving tips, such as splitting straws and renting space in a semen tank.See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/artificial-insemination-in-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Today's guests first visited Antiquity Oaks Farm about 17 years ago when they were traveling across the United States looking for all things goat. That year-long trek from the east coast to the west was chronicled in their book, Year of the Goat, which was originally published in 2007.This year, in honor of its 15th anniversary, the publisher is bringing it back with an all-new introduction, sub-title, and cover, as well as lots of photos that were not in the original book.In today's episode, author Margaret Hathaway and her husband, photographer Karl Schatz, are talking about how that year changed the trajectory of their lives. Like me, they went from a couple of clueless city slickers to goat breeders and farmers.In addition to reminiscing about their visit 17 years ago when we had our first baby goat in the house, we also talk about some of their other adventures and how this book is a great read for anyone who thinks they might want to do something with goats but isn't sure exactly what.Although they started their trek with the idea that they'd become cheesemakers, ultimately they started their own homestead and today they have an agritourism business with goat hikes as their main attractions, which was the subject of an episode with Margaret last year.See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/year-of-the-goat/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Even though most of you reading this probably don't think of your goats as food animals, that is how they are categorized in the veterinary world. Since very few food animals don't have the opportunity to live out their natural lives, there is little research on dealing with health challenges in individual animals. The focus tends to be on herd health, contagious diseases, and production. It can become even more challenging to care for them in old age because there is even less research on the health issues faced by senior animals. So, what's a goat owner to do when our favorite goats get old? In this episode, I'm talking to Dr. Michael Pesato, assistant clinical professor of Food Animal Medicine and Surgery at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine and a diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners for Food Animal Practice. In a previous article on senior goats, I discussed what to expect in terms of reproduction as your goats get older, as well life expectancy, and parasites in older goats.In this episode, we are discussing some of the most common challenges faced by senior goats, including how to deal with age-related arthritis, dental issues, and extremes of hot and cold temperatures, which are especially challenging for older goats. See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/older-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Whenever a doe's udder has a different texture or temperature than normal, mastitis is the first thing that we all worry about. Today's topic has been one of the most requested from my listeners, so I know it's something we all worry about from time to time.Dr. George McCommon, professor of veterinary science and public health at Fort Valley State University, joins us today to talk about the basics of mastitis, as well as his current research project.We start with mastitis symptoms and how a hot, hard udder is not always present when a doe has mastitis. In fact, when a doe has gangrenous mastitis, her udder may actually be cold. We discuss the California Mastitis Test, better known as the CMT, and I got my question answered about when the reagent expires!We discuss conventional antibiotic treatments, and we also talk about how probiotics might play a role in treating mastitis. That's the subject of Dr. McCommon's research right now, and they are still working on figuring out which probiotic strains work best.In this episode, we also talk about one of my biggest mistakes as a goat owner. Years ago I thought a doe had hypocalcemia when in fact, she had gangrenous mastitis. To learn more about how those two things could get confused, check out our episode on hypocalcemia in goats.See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/mastitis-in-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

If you've ever thought about importing goats from another country, today's episode is for you. Buying a goat from across the globe is not nearly as simple as buying a goat from across the country. There are a number of restrictions and testing required for goats, depending upon which country they are coming from, and Dr. Mary Kate Anderson, Staff Veterinary Medical Officer at the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, joins us in this episode to talk about everything you need to know before importing goats or sheep into the U.S. We talk about rules for importing live animals, as well as sperm and embryos. Dr. Anderson also discusses some of the recent rules changes that actually make it easier to import goats, so if you looked at this option a few years ago and gave up, now is a good time to revisit it. If you want to learn more about selling goats to people in other countries, check out our episode on exporting goats. See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/importing-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Recently the Cashmere Goat Association voted to make Cashmere goats a breed. Prior to that vote, a "cashmere" goat was just a goat with a specific type of cashmere fiber. Although all goats have a cashmere undercoat, cashmere goats must have fiber of a specific length, and they must produce at least 2 ounces per year.In this episode I'm having a conversation with Christine Hulse, secretary of the Cashmere Goat Association, talking about the breed standard, as well as the fiber standards. Christine talks about why people raise Cashmere goats, how to harvest the fiber, and what you can do with their fiber.See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/cashmere-goats/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

Until recently, most goat breeders had never heard of Cache Valley Virus. I heard about it two years ago when an animal scientist told me that they were having a horrible time with it in their research flock. Today's guest had never heard about Cache Valley Virus until a few months ago when she started seeing a lot of very weird things happening in her goat herd — a doe freshening with no milk, kids born with birth defects, kids dying within the first couple of weeks after birth, a tiny 2-pound LaMancha kid, an amorphus globosus, and more. Cache Valley Virus is spread by carrier mosquitoes that bite a doe or ewe in the second month of pregnancy. In this episode we are talking to Briana Desfosses of Fox Pride Dairy Goats in New Hampshire about her experience when Cache Valley Fever struck her herd this past kidding season. See full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/cache-valley-virus/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

 Have you thought about adding chickens to your goat farm? Have you heard about keeping chickens and goats together? Maybe you already have chickens and the challenges with the goats are driving you crazy?In today's episode, I'm talking about things to consider when chickens and goats share the same space, as well as what you can do to keep them apart. I explain leader-follower rotational grazing with chickens and small ruminants (sheep or goats), including what type of equipment you need in order to be successful.Today's episode is sponsored by Premier 1 Supplies because we've been using and loving their products with our poultry, goats, and sheep for 20 years. These are the products I talk about in today's episode:Poultry Door for Chicken CoopsElectroNet 9/35/12 Electric Netting for sheep and goatsPoultryNet 12/42/3 Electric NettingSee full show notes here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-and-chickens/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

How do you avoid scams when buying goats? Should you buy registered goats? How do you know you're buying healthy goats?If you are getting started with goats or still building your herd, you probably have a few questions. In this episode, I'm answering all of the above questions and more.I also talk about why you should not buy goats from the sale barn, and what questions to ask a breeder when goat shopping. Since I teach college, I can spot plagiarism a mile away. I share some of my secrets with you, so you can figure out if a website is legitimate or if it's a bunch of photos stolen from Instagram and Facebook along with paragraphs of text that have been copied from the websites of legitimate goat breeders. See full show notes and download the cheat sheet here >>  https://thriftyhomesteader.com/buying-goats-mistakes/To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐

If you are new to selling goats, you might feel like you can't say "no" to any potential buyers. I am here to tell you otherwise. You will hear two main points today as I tell you a few stories of people that I refused to sell goats to. First, you should always ask questions to be sure that the buyer has done their homework and knows what a goat needs — and that they can provide that! After all of the love, care, and money you have put into raising healthy goats, you want to be sure that they go to a home that's going to continue that same excellent care.You also want to be sure that the buyer knows what to expect as a goat owner. Goats need proper housing and food, and no, they can't be taught to not eat your rose bushes. The second thing I talk about is requiring a deposit to hold goats so that you don't wind up holding a goat and saying no to potential buyers because you think the goat is already sold. Full show notes here -- https://thriftyhomesteader.com/selling-goats/ To see the most recent episodes, visit  ForTheLoveOfGoats.comWant to support the content you love?Head over to -- https://thrifty-homesteader.ck.page/products/love-goats-tip-jarThanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the content you love and help us keep bringing you new goat resources, you can do that through our Tip Jar. No one ever said raising goats was easy, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune or drive you crazy! You just need the right information. 🔹 Check out Goats 365 membership 🔹 Or explore The Goat Academy 🔹Looking for Deborah's books? They can be purchased wherever books are sold, or you can get an autographed copy on our online store. Happy goat-keeping! 🐐