Raising Goats

Goats are equal parts fun and chaos, but they bring so much to a homestead. Whether you’re milking, breeding, or just enjoying their antics, these posts will help you care for them with confidence.

A brown and white dairy goat stands in a wooden milking stanchion while being milked by hand.

Homestead Animals

Is Milking Goats Worth It? The Truth No One Tells You

Three goats huddled around a pile of hay in a snowy field, staying warm in winter.

Homestead Animals

How to Make Livestock Windbreaks Using Free Materials

Goats, horses, and sheep standing in the snow next to a stock tank.

Homestead Animals

How Do I Keep My Livestock’s Water from Freezing?

A white Nigerian Dwarf goat displaying a precocious udder.

Homestead Animals

What to Do When Your Goat Develops a Precocious Udder

Two goats eating dandelion greens off a stump.

Homestead Animals

A Guide to Selenium Supplements for Goats

A goat nibbling herbs in the garden.

Homestead Animals

Natural Herbal Dewormers for Happy, Healthy Goats

Two newborn baby goats in a field.

Homestead Animals

How To Euthanize A Goat Kid With Compassion & Respect

A black and tan Nigerian Dwarf goat out in the pasture.

Homestead Animals

Nigerian Dwarf Goats: Perfect for Every Homestead

A Simple DIY Strip Cup Trick for Milking [with video]

Homestead Animals

A Simple DIY Strip Cup Trick for Milking [with video]

What is Fodder? Is it Right for Me? Sprouted Barley for Livestock

Homestead Animals

What is Fodder? Is it Right for Me? Sprouted Barley for Livestock

Goat Hoof Care: How to Trim Goat Hooves Correctly + Goat Hoof Health

Homestead Animals

Goat Hoof Care: How to Trim Goat Hooves Correctly + Goat Hoof Health

Sunflowers in a tin pail sitting on a table on the porch.

Homestead Animals

Help Livestock Deal with Summer Heat on the Homestead

We are looking to expand our homestead by purchasing a gorgeous farm that has everything (except pasture). That's fine for the goats I already have, but it simply doesn't work for my dreams of fiber sheep and a guard llama. With a technique called silvopature, I might just be able to make this work.

Homestead Animals

Creating a Silvopasture to Benefit Your Farm & Goats

Many people aren’t raising goats to earn massive profit, but taking stock of cost versus benefit is essential to making the most of your time and money.

Homestead Animals

Raising Goats on the Homestead – Assessing Expenses

A lavender scented goat milk shampoo with sprigs of fresh lavender tied with twine.

Simple Living Skills

Goat Milk Shampoo Bars: A Recipe for Healthy Hair

There are some shady "rescues" out there. Here are some things you should be looking for when choosing a goat rescue to donate to or acquire a goat from.

Homestead Animals

Goat Rescues: What you really need to know

A milk pail and milk jug on a picnic table outside.

Homestead Animals

There Are 100 Ways to Milk a Goat – Find the Right Way for You

A newborn Nigerian dwarf goat.

Homestead Animals

What to Expect When Your Goat is Pregnant and Laboring

A very pregnant Nigerian dwarf dairy goat standing out in the field.

Homestead Animals

What to Expect When You’re Breeding Your Dairy Goats

Naming Your Dairy Goat for ADGA Registration [all the rules]

Homestead Animals

Naming Your Dairy Goat for ADGA Registration [all the rules]

Animal enrichment is activities that create a more stimulating environment for the animals and elicit some of their natural behaviors.

Homestead Animals

What is Enrichment? How It’s Important for Livestock

Make Your Own Herbal Goat Treats with Flax & Supplements

Homestead Animals

Make Your Own Herbal Goat Treats with Flax & Supplements

A stack of homemade butter blocks.

Homestead Animals

4 Ways to Make Homemade Butter from Raw Milk (Cow or Goat)

Disbudding, the procedure of burning off the horns, is unpleasant. Every time we disbudded our goat kids we would ask ourselves, Is this necessary?

Homestead Animals

Pros and Cons of Disbudding Your Goat

An herb crusted chèvre with a slice cut from it.

In the Kitchen

Homemade Chèvre: A Homesteader’s Guide to Crafting Cheese

Pouring a glass of milk in front of a dairy goat.

Homestead Animals

A Simple Trick for Great Tasting Goat’s Milk

Hand milking a goat into a pail.

Homestead Animals

Homemade Teat Wash for Goats & Cows

A lean-to style chicken coop with a red door in a snowy backyard.

Homestead Animals

How to Prepare Your Chicken House & Barn for Winter