Goat farmers plant them in the dirt, fertilize them, and pray for rain. They usually don't do very well. We goat ranchers usually do much better.
When you have goats, you need a good fence. I have found that if water can run thru your fence, it won't hold goats at all. The strangest thing about goats is if you have twenty miles of fence and there is only one hole in it, the goats will find it within 30 minutes and crawl thru it. But, once on the other side, it becomes invisible and they cannot find it again to come home.
The other thing your farmer may not have told you is that they need to be treated for stomach parasites periodically. If you live in a wet area, this may be every two months. Sheep are bad about this, but goats have a much faster metabolism and the medicine wears off quickly. It also takes about twice as much dosage as a sheep to work.The old way, and probably the best way is an oral drench. Back when I had 150 goats, this was no fun as you have to grab each goat and hold it still while you open the mouth and shoot the drench down its throat and then hold the mouth closed until the goat swallows.
These days, I use an injectible and hope for the best. Also, they have to be vaccinated for sore mouth and over eating disease along with some additives for tetanus, etc depending upon where you live.
Go buy yourself a donkey...femal e or neutered. They are smart and more interactive than goats! I may have to buy a couple to use as guard animals for the sheep and goats. Around here, donkeys and llamas are often used as guard animals but I suspect dogs like the Anatolian Shepherd are the best but they cost a lot to feed and they are better suited for certain terrains, I think. They are not so good if you have other people coming into your place like hunters, workers, etc.
