Goats by Auction!

A Goat? What Was I Thinking?

Introduction: I'd seen goats on television, read a little about them in books, but I truly had no idea what having a goat of my own would be like. Until Momma Goat and her small goat kid came to live with us. From that point on, everything changed....

Six years ago I headed off to the sale barn in my old black Chevy truck. I had survived in the countryside for a full year and I was convinced I was a farmer of one sort or another. Having enjoyed success with chickens, turkeys and pigs I was ready to try my hand at raising a few geese for predator protection and weed control.

That smugness of past success is how I ended up at the livestock ring in the auction house. I’d just gone in to see if I could get a good deal on some piglets (you never know where your opportunities may exist when you’re farming) and I ended up coming home with a darling mother goat and her tiny kid.

Meeting my First Goat (and having to buy her)

She came into the ring, her babe at her side, looking a little nervous. Her coat was shiny and her eyes were bright. Her babe was about a week old and he was a young buck. They started the bidding and I thought, “I’ll just watch, I wonder what a goat sells for anyway.”

Bidding started slowly – I didn’t know why, I thought she was beautiful but she was going for a song! The auctioneer was bringing down the gavel about ready to say “Going, gone!” when my hand shot up and I bid on the pair of them without a thought.

I looked around the ring, full of elderly men and I saw a few of them smile and nod at me.

There was one small bid placed over mine, which I quickly countered and the gavel came down. I was now the proud owner of two goats and I jumped in my seat for joy! They were mine! They were coming home with me! They would grace my barn and be there every morning!

Buying Goats at Auction - In Retrospect

Looking back now, I couldn’t tell you how on earth that goat ever came to love me.

I’d never abused her – except for that first year I didn’t care properly for her, I didn’t milk her with the love and gentleness she deserved and I didn’t provide her with any scheduled routine that dairy goats crave.

I did however love her dearly (and still do!) and when I finally got my head out of the clouds and decided there might be a better way to raise a goat then to let them free range on the hollyhocks, she and I had wonderful times together.

This book is dedicated to Momma, a gentle and patient Nubian who taught me that all it takes to care for an animal is love – provided that the product of love is the desire to give a goat everything they deserve.

Goats deserve much, when you consider what they give us in return.

Goats give up their milk, hair, offspring, and eventually bodies in return for feed and housing for their short life on this earth. But there’s so much more! A goat will make you laugh (at their antics), cry (when they leave), and be astonished at life when you take part in the birthing process.

Some days I can hardly believe that God gave us these wonderful beasts when so little is required of us in return.

We truly are blessed and I hope you will be too once you have goats of your own!

This article is an excerpt from Goats: Milk, Meat & Mohair and dialogues my first foray into goat-keeping. Whether you are planning on keeping goats for dairy, meat or mohair production, this manual will help you make educated choices about breeds, housing needs, feed, by-products and care.
Truly, Laura Childs