Start with

Two does (they pine alone) plus access to a buck, or a wether as a companion and a plan to borrow a buck. Nigerian Dwarf if you want less volume and easier fencing; Nubian or Alpine for real milk. Avoid buying someone else’s problem — check udders, feet, and abscesses.

Housing

A three-sided shed, dry bedding, 15–20 sq ft per adult. They hate rain more than cold. A keyhole feeder so they don’t waste hay. Separate the buck — his smell will flavor milk if he lives with the does.

Feed

They are browsers, not lawnmowers. Multiflora, briar, tree leaves, and weeds are the point. Free-choice grass hay in winter. A little grain only in late pregnancy and peak lactation or you’ll founder them. Free-choice loose minerals made for goats (not sheep — sheep mix has too little copper).

Water

Warm water in January dramatically increases milk. They often refuse ice-cold buckets.

Breeding

Seasonal: does cycle in the shortening days, roughly September–January here. Gestation 150 days. Kids March–April, which is cold — a draft-free stall and a towel save more kids than any gadget. A doe should be in good flesh, not fat.

Health

Hooves every 6–8 weeks. FAMACHA / eyelid color for barber-pole worm — the killer on wet Indiana pasture. Rotate browse, don’t graze short. CD&T vaccine if you still have it. White snakeroot in the woods can make milk toxic — know that plant.

Predators

Coyotes and dogs on kids. A livestock guardian dog is justified the day you have more than a couple of goats. Night lockup otherwise.

Harvest

Wether kids at 4–6 months for meat. Cull older does that don’t breed. See Process → Goat & hog.

Milk · Chevre / hard cheese · Meat · Brush control · Hides

Unpasteurized milk from a dirty udder is a fast way to make a family sick. Wash teats, use a strip cup, chill milk in minutes. In an emergency you may drink it raw — then hygiene is the whole game.