Goats: Small-Scale Herding for Pleasure and Profit (CompanionHouse Books) Farming Goats for Milk, Meat, Fiber, Clearing Land, and Recreation - Housing($14.99Value)

Description

Goats: Small-Scale Herding for Pleasure and Profit , written by hobby farmer and prolific author and columnist Sue Weaver, is an essential guide to the wonderful world of goats! This colorful guide discusses goats of all types, including dairy goats, used for milk and cheese; meat goats; fiber goats, prized for their mohair and cashmere; recreational goats, beloved by children for their great personalities and silliness; and brush goats, the lawnmowers of creative hobby farmers and suburbanites. Weaver offers excellent advice on how to purchase a goat: sensible and direct, she advises newcomers that while goats can be profitable, they should not rush in. Before the reader fills his backyard with a herd of goats, the author warns him or her to consider that while goats are "cute, personable, charming, and imminently entertaining" they are also "destructive...mischievous, sometimes ornery, and often exasperating." The book lists the various breeds of goats commonly available as meat and dairy producers, carefully spelling out their advantages and drawbacks. In the chapter on selecting a goat, the author instructs the reader to be aware of the overall health and soundness, and to consider such the animals' horns and teeth. The book also covers general care for a small herd of goats, including outdoor housing and feeding, general health care, and maintenance. For hobby farmers ready to dive into the world of reproducing their goats, there are chapters on breeding, mating, and "Bringing Kids into the World." All goat keepers will be enlightened by the information in the chapter on behavior and solving everyday problems with their often capricious caprines. Since the focus of the book is for hobby farmers, Goats also addresses how to make money from the small-scale herd, offering advice on managing, selling, and marketing goat-derived products. The book concludes with an extensive glossary of over 150 terms, an appendix of common goat diseases, and a resource section of useful goat-relevant books, websites, and associations. Goats is also fully indexed. Advance Praise for Goats: "This book is an excellent resource for all goat owners or prospective goat owners. Ms. Weaver presents an interesting and detailed history of goats, full descriptions of individual breeds and their purposes, and a synopsis of goat medical care. Best of all, she has prepared an extensive list of online sources of more detailed goat information and of goat equipment and books." Lorrie Boldrick, DVM, coauthor of Pygmy Goats: Management and Veterinary Care and the Illustrated Standard of the Pygmy Goat "I was blown away with Sue Weaver s new book, Hobby Farm: Goats. I was expecting an ordinary read but found it to be the best small book on goats that I have ever encountered. I can't wait until it is published so I can give them to my customers to ensure they are prepared to take care of their newly purchased goats." Claudia Gurn, Breeder of Show South African Boer Goats Sue Weaver has written hundreds of articles and ten books about livestock and poultry. She is a contributing editor of Hobby Farms magazine and writes the “Poultry Profiles” column for Chickens magazine. Sue lives on a small farm in Arkansas, which she shares with her husband, a flock of Classic Cheviot sheep and a mixed herd of goats, horses large and small, a donkey who thinks she’s a horse, two llamas, a riding steer, a water buffalo, a pet razorback pig, guinea fowl, and Buckeye chickens. Books, Educational Books, Farm Animals, Sheep & Goat Toys, Sheep & Goats