Hi, Goats are great.I'm sure that if you keep the barn dry and clean ,as much as possible,that the dampness won't be such a problem.
I understand that descenting is done when a billy is just a kid.But an adult goat can be descented by a vet if you can find one willing to.
If you plan on milking you may want to keep your billy separate.Some billies are very stinky some are not at all.I've met plenty of billies that I could smell before I could even see them.
And La manchas are great.Much calmer than other goat breeds.I only have 1 La mancha,Her prevouis owner was trying to sell her for meat at an auction.I just thought I'd milk her.SHe is very sweet and way calmer than all my other goats.
Good luck with goats.I waited 6 years before I finally got mine ,I only wish I got them years earlier.
Ann.

As far as the damp climate, as long as they can get in out of the rain they will be fine, I have 12 goats, 1 oberhauslie, 5 boers and 6 nubians. I perfer the boers temperment but the nubian and oberhauslie are better milkers. They have a barn were they can get in out of the rain, they hate rain.
I have a billy, but I keep him separate, for one the smell is worse when the girls are in for a visit, and non existant when they are not.
As far as overbreeding, mine have only come in heat when they were ready, my neighbor keeps his all together but then he never knows when there is going to be a pregnancy!
I plan mine so they have them in favorable temperature times.
A friend of mine has 3 nubians and 1 lamancha, she says the lamancha is dumber than the nubians, but I have only met the goat once.
As far as the hardiness of them, I have found that the nubians tend to catch cold more often, simple enough to cure, but they just tend to cough and snot alot in the winter. The boers I have have never been sick. and the oberhauslie, is currently fighting an absess on her neck so I have to isolate her. again I prefer the boers.

Thanks for your help. It will be an interesting venture. Will be hobby to begin and I'll see where that leads.
Very exciting!

hi, just thought i'd drop in. used to come here a lot haven't posted in months.bucks can be descented but when it is breeding season they will have a smell anyway because they urinate on themselves and the smell can affect the flavor of the does milk. also i have heard that the buck scent is needed to help bring the does into heat, haven't ever had a descented buck myself, and i breed meat goats. a friend of mine keeps her bucks in a livestock panel, 16'x16', pen with a shed during breeding season, and when the does come to him she lets them in. in the summer bucks can run with the does with little smell and most does will not come in heat out of breeding season.

I've found that my does have had no problem coming into heat without a buck around.I have caught them trying to ride each other.Luckly I recently met a lady who lives just 10 mintutes away who has offered me one of her bucks for stud.
Ann.

When disbudding, there are scent glands on head behind horn buttons, which can be burned off at the same time by moving the hot iron back some. It does not end all odor but helps a bit. I never let bucks run w. does for several reasons; 1 being harm to does, another being the stink, + its just a poor management practice. I did everything possible to produce good sweet, clean milk.
Lamancas can actually resemble any breed, from which their foundation stock derived, could be an Alpine w. the gopher ear gene?
Bucks can be kept trimmed and even bathed, there are also products to help stifle the stink.

About the 'dampness' issue. Just making sure the goats have a fairly large indoor area with very clean dry bedding should do the trick. I used to dip thier feet in a certain disinfectant during the really wet spells to help prevent any type of hoot thrush/rot. I can't remember the name of it but it was blue and I got if from my vet. It was non-irritating.

I never heated or added supplemental lighting. My goats were not kept for dairy purposes so I don't know about any of the other stuff.

I did visit a local goat dairy farm that invites people to tour. I was shocked to find all of the goats huddled together on a rainy day into one 12x12 stall with some Lamas. The floor was black with dirty wet bedding. I really wanted to take them all home with me.

Sounds as if you want to provide a comfortable environment though. I'm sure you will enjoy them. Of all of the animals I have kept the goats are the ones I most enjoyed and will probably have again.

As for the 'stinking' bucks. I had several and they were generally a menace and I wouldn't keep them around the does for safety reasons, mine and the does. The sweetest, gentlest buck I ever had smelled so bad that we could smell him even when I kept him in a pasture down the road. I fully intended to have the vet descent him because he was such a great animal to have around (except for the smell). However I was raising a family and someone came along and offered me several times what I paid for him. I had bills to pay so I sold him.

I have a buck, and keep him in an adjacent pen, from the does, never had a prob. As far as him being aggressive. I keep three withers in the pen with him, so he can be aggressive to them. He was bottle fed so he is like a big dog and over protective of my, when he started getting aggressive with my 3yr old boy, I put a large dog harness on him and leash trained him. This broke him of it, and now he is very mild.

Thanks for all of this! I'll forget about getting a buckling for this year, and make the decision once the doe and doeling are settled. They are just so cheap to buy- but another shed, another paddock.... NOT cheap.
My pasture is mainly grass/clover with weeds, and some seedlings, so an over population would be a terrible mistake, seeing that they aren't into grass. I supose they'd always be trying to get out of the pasture into everything else. Seedlings would be gone in no time at all.

My LaMancha was a wether, and a very sweet goat. He really was a doll around me, but he got a little ornery with my little boy. He still had horns and got very big, so I did part with him for my son's sake. I will get another tho, maybe a doe this time, and De-horn. My orneryest is the Nubian/Boer nanny.

Mountainman, we are east of Seattle in a wet microclimate. 31 inches of rain in January, 5 inches so far in February. I think that's damp. We've had goats for 12 years and as long as they have dry bedding in a building offering protection from wind/wet, and you keep up their general health, they will be fine. I think we've treated one goat for suspected pneumonia in all those years. (There are only 4 goats total, but still a pretty good record.)

I do feel sorry for the little buggers though, all peering out from the doorway of the barn wishing it would stop raining! Just like we humans.

Don't know about Lamanchas or bucks. I really liked our old Nubian doe though- so gentle and friendly.
Good luck in your goat-getting adventure. They are wonderful animals.

Hi Mountainman BC
I had goats for 30 years and managed a goat dairy with over 400 goats so I have a "little" experience.

As long as the goats have a clean dry area to get in the dampness won't bother them. I would only use a lightbulb in order to be able to see the goats while I was in there, I would not leave a heatlamp in there, have known of too many barns that have burnt down because of them.

Descenting can be done when they are disbudded, we never bothered doing so as the majority of a bucks smell comes from them urinating on themselves....the silly things think it makes them attractive. :-) Of course, ALL our goats are disbudded as horns are a major safety issue.

I would keep the buck seperated from the does. This way you could plan your breedings and would know when the does are bred. Knowing kidding dates is much easier than trying to guess when they are going to give birth.

Does only come into heat during the fall/early winter months so that they kid during the spring.

Never had a problem with bucks being aggressive towards us, sometimes they would come up and smack their foot on the ground and snort, but that is how they "flirt" with the does and sometimes they aren't very particular on who/what they flirt with. Just like ANY livestock you have to use common sense and be aware of what is going on around you.

At the dairy we had mostly Lamanchas, but over the years I have had everything except Oberhasli's. Lamancha's seem to be easier keepers and can be more laidback. Nubians are more vocal. Toggenburgs are more independent. Saanens aren't the brightest. Alpines seem to be more headstrong. I would think that a Lamancha would be good for someone starting out.

I should have also mentioned there are no other bucks within about 2 hours drive, that is the only reason for wanting one. BUT I'm not going to do it. I'm just not set up for it and don't need the stress.
Thanks again for all of this help, I appreciate all the experience that has come forth.