Niemann - Raising goats naturally: the complete guide to milk, meat, and more

Praise for Raising Goats Naturally2nd Edition

With endearing personal stories and laymans scientific explanations, Raising Goats Naturally lays an enjoyable and empowering foundation for goat-rearing success on the self-reliant farmstead. Deborah Niemann exemplifies the best spirit and action in homestead animal care. What a great contribution to self-reliance.

Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm

Now with even more detail and information, Raising Goats Naturally is a companion to anyone considering or keeping goats. Neimann is knowledgeable and her information complete, but she also brings a heartfelt love for her herd to her writing. Her passion for goats translates into excitement throughout the book, and will surely make readers eager for goats.

Kirsten Lie-Nielsen, author, The Modern Homesteaders Guide
to Keeping Geese, hostilevalleyliving.com

Back in 2009, I wanted to start raising goats. I thought it would be fun to add a small herd to our small farm. My husband didnt quite see eye to eye with me and long story short, we ended up raising chickens and ducks instead. But my dream of a herd of goats still lives on. Raising them naturally would of course be of utmost importance to me and after reading Deborahs book, I feel confident about being able to do just that. From choosing a breed, birthing and raising babies, to feed, supplements, and health issues, Raising Goats Naturally is an easy to read, all-encompassing guide to getting started with goats. Now to convince my husband...

Lisa Steele, author,
Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens Naturally
and Duck Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Ducks Naturally

Ive always been a fan of Deborah Niemanns no-nonsense holistic approach to keeping goats. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the species and this book is a direct reflection of that amazing expertise. Raising Goats Naturally is perfect for beginners as well as seasoned owners and a definite must for any goat keepers library.

Jeannette Beranger, Senior Program Manager,
The Livestock Conservancy

Raising Goats Naturally thoroughly covers all aspects of what goat owners need to know to succeed with their goats. We have owned goats on our homestead for many years and I was impressed with how much information is packed into this book. I would highly recommend it for those just starting out with goats, but its got enough detail for experienced goat keepers too!

Lesa Wilke, farmer and blogger,
betterhensandgardens.com

In Raising Goats Naturally, Deborah Neimann cuts through the formulaic and often inflexible so-called expert advice and encourages us to get to know our animals and listen to what they tell us. Drawing on vast experience, Neimann offers an upbeat, authentic glimpse of what life with dairy goats is really like. This book is important because it brings animal husbandry back to the fore and delivers the goods in a highly integrated manner thats every bit as enjoyable to read as it is important for goatherds of all experience levels.

Oscar H. Hank Will III,
Editor-in-Chief, GRIT Magazine
and author, Plowing with Pigs

Copyright 2018 by Deborah Niemann-Boehle. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Cover images: milk and soup and center goat Deborah Niemann-Boehle

iStocktop, kids iStock-618961102, bottom right cheese 874839688;

bottom left three images author-supplied.

Interior images: p 9 cs333, p 18 Anna Velichkovsky,

p 27 coolplay, p 61 cynoclub/Adobe Stock.

Printed in Canada. First printing September, 2018

This book is intended to be educational and informative.

It is not intended to serve as a guide. The author and publisher disclaim

all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk that may be associated

with the application of any of the contents of this book.

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of

Raising Goats Naturally2nd Edition should be addressed to

New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)

1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Niemann, Deborah, author

Raising goats naturally : the complete guide to milk, meat and more

/ Deborah Niemann.Revised second edition.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-847-0 (softcover).ISBN 978-1-55092-642-2 (PDF).

ISBN 978-1-77142-237-6 (EPUB)

1. Goats. I. Title.

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.

It takes a team to write a book, and Im lucky to have a lot of wonderful people working with me on this one. Thanks again to everyone at New Society Publishers for understanding the need for a revised edition and then making it happen, with a special shout out to editor Murray Reiss for his hard work.

Goat extension specialist Steve Hart, PhD, of Langston University deserves an extra special thank you for once again reviewing the parasite information in the book and for answering all of my parasite questions, whether for a magazine article, blog post, video, or whatever project Im working on.

I am also hugely appreciative of Julie Jarvis, who reviewed the illness chapter when I was having a perfectionist attack near my deadline. Her medical expertise as a physician assistant combined with her practical knowledge as a goat breeder is unique and invaluable.

I could not have written this book were it not for the members of the NigerianDwarfGoats.ning.com community who have shared their challenges, frustrations, knowledge, and successes over the years. Reading their stories made me realize the variety of problems that goat owners face on a daily basis, as well as the diversity of solutions. I continue learning from them every day. Feedback from students in my online Raising Dairy Goats Sustainably class at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have also provided me with additional insight that helped shape this revised edition. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to the goat owners who were willing to share their stories and passions specifically for this book. Since the first edition, I have learned a lot about the needs of new goat owners from those who have asked questions on the Thrifty Homesteader Facebook page, as well as all of the interns who have spent time on our farm.

Of course, my family deserves the biggest thank you of all for their love and support. My husband, Mike, deserves a special thank you because he became a novice goat keeper around the time the first edition was published, which was also when our youngest daughter left for college. When our daughters were home, the goats were our project, and he helped out by building fences and shelters. He didnt know the difference between a pastern and a pasture. Watching him start at ground zero five years ago gave me a front row seat to understanding what a new goat owner needs to know.