1. •While it may be possible to buy mature dairy goats, often you must start with doelings (young female goats). This is actually quite fun since doelings are adorable. Goats are ready to leave their mother’s at 8 weeks of age. Because goats are extremely social and will not be happy without a constant companion, you must buy two goats. If you just want to milk one goat, buy a wether (castrated male goat) to keep your doe company.
   

2. •When the doe is 10 months old, bring her to a stud buck when she goes into heat. There are lots of stud goats available within an easy one hour drive of Seattle. Mini-goats will fit into a large dog crate that you can transport in the back of a station wagon. The stud goat should be able to do his job within a half an hour and if all goes well, you will have goat kids in 5 months!
   

3. •Goats have a gestation period of 5 months. They can deliver themselves, but it is always best if you are there should any difficulties arise. After delivery, the doe carefully licks her kids clean and they start nursing right away.
   

4. •After the kids have been nursing for a few days, you separate them from their mother at night and then milk first thing in the morning. Once you have milked, you let the kids out. They will then nurse all day long and romp and play alongside their mother. This way, you get the night time milk and the kids get the day time milk. Snowflake gave a quart a day during the period that I shared her milk with her kids.
   

5. •Disbudding. When the kids are just a few days old, you will need to disbud them. This involves sort of branding where their horns are starting to sprout. It is painful for them, but only takes a minute. Disbudding is tricky and should be done by an experienced goat keeper.
   

6. •Castration. Very few goats make it as bucks and since bucks don’t make the best pets, you will need to castrate the males. Do this when they are about 6 weeks old. It should be done by an experienced goat keeper.
   

7. •When the kids are 8 weeks old, they are ready to go to a new home. When they leave, you take over the milking where the kids left off, and milk both in the morning and the evening.
   

8. •You can breed dairy goats every year, but you may want to breed yours less depending on your milk needs.
   

Some things to know about goats:

You will need a good fence that is four to five feet high. Don’t plan on just tethering your goat. They can easily get tangled and strangle themselves. A 400 square foot area should be enough space for your goats.

You will need to build your goats a shed that is about 6 feet by 8 feet to protect them from rain. A wet goat can easily catch pneumonia and die.

TWO GOAT MINIMUM: Don’t even consider getting just one goat. It will be miserable and act out in only ways that a goat could imagine.

There is a lot to know to raise healthy goats. This is meant as just a very basic outline on raising a dairy goat. To learn more about dairy goats, read, read, read, and talk to goat breeders.