# Fiasco Farm



## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

. . .you might find this funny - the author of the popular Fiasco Farm goat info site moved to the 'burbs and no longer has goats. . . hasn't had them since about 2008 or so. lol! 

Who would imagine?! ound:


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## victory (Mar 2, 2010)

What means burbs??? :umno: Wow, that is so interesting...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Suburbs. City. Neighborhood.

Yup, she got divorced, I think.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

It's too bad she was divorced. I really don't like the site though. I think the info is not the best.


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## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

Hugh. Who would'da thunk it?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

It's a great site for newbies, but I've moved to others for more current info.


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## KnowOneSpecial (Sep 12, 2010)

I take it he got custody of the goats? 


(And yes, DH and I joke about who gets the critters if we should divorce! We easily agree on the kids, but lawyers will buy boats and new houses with the money we'll spend fighting over the critters!)


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I don't know if he has goats now. No info.

She got the herb business.


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## Ranger (Aug 6, 2010)

Wow, how strange!


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I remember when she sold out of goats - I didn't think it was 2008 though, that seems SO long ago!

Still great information generally, especially with the kidding presentation diagrams. Really helpful for newbies to picture how the kid is coming before kidding season.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I agree with Alice, it's good info for folks just starting out with goats. Alot of general information. There are other sites with alot more current stuff though & everyone here is always so good with information when needed as well so if someone needs a website there's surely someone here that can direct them to the right place.

Too bad they got divorced & had to sell all their goats though.


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## Hollowdweller (Jul 13, 2011)

Divorce is a common reason for getting out of goats.

Also goats are a common reason for getting divorced.

I talked to a lady I sold some goats to a while back and she said she was selling them because her husband was not helping her like he should.

I had to wonder how much he was on board with the original purchase.

I think you have to be really carful when you have goats, and if you are the one who originally wanted them - or with farming in general - that the person who wants them does the most of the work. Resentment can build up easy.

Also it's not that uncommon for somebody who wrote a book, or has a website to go out of goats. Remember Jerry Belanger the dude who started Countryside magazine as well as Dairy Goat Guide and wrote a goat book got out of goats and actually sold his land off to a quarry I think, ----ing off his neighbors who wanted to keep it rural.

It's easy to be enthusiastic when somebody else is doing a lot of the grunt work or when it's new. Harder to maintain when it's routine and you are doing 90% of the work.

Would make a good topic for this forum- what the average length of time people have been milking goats here. Is it possible to post a poll?


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I think the average goat person has goats for 3-5 years. And that is why I sell very few goats for pets, because their life expectancy is about 12 years as non-working pets that are well cared for... the vast majority of owners are not the lifelong owner of the goat. 

I've been milking for the past... 4 years or so? But I've owned goats the past 10. Until this year (moved an hr north to attend MSU) I've been the sole person doing chores and am in fact the person who started our farm. My dad was nice enough to help out while I"m away - and I relieve him every weekend so he can relax from chores. I also do all the stuff he doesn't know how to do on the weekends.


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

Life isn't for the timid, sometimes things happen that can't be avoided, getting through life seems to be mostly about learning how to adjust to new realities. 

The site is mostly good for newbies and they have some great pictures on there, and it's all in one place. The dehorning pics and the birthing pics are really helpful.


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## Hollowdweller (Jul 13, 2011)

mygoat said:


> I think the average goat person has goats for 3-5 years. And that is why I sell very few goats for pets, because their life expectancy is about 12 years as non-working pets that are well cared for... the vast majority of owners are not the lifelong owner of the goat.
> 
> *I've been milking for the past... 4 years or so? But I've owned goats the past 10. Until this year (moved an hr north to attend MSU) I've been the sole person doing chores and am in fact the person who started our farm. *


Hat's off to you:rock:

Yeah after 23 years I've concluded eating extra bucks or selling them for meat is way more humane than selling for pets.


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

I have tried doing the 'pet home' thing,and in the end had to see one of my first, loving does die a terrible preventable death. freezer camp is much better. 

I've had goats for almost 7 years now, milking the whole time. and no plans to stop yet. I have learned tho. that 4 is plenty for me to care for/milk, and will just allow them to drop in numbers naturally since my kids (human) are growing up and will fly the coop by then too.


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## Hollowdweller (Jul 13, 2011)

chewie said:


> I have tried doing the 'pet home' thing,and in the end had to see one of my first, loving does die a terrible preventable death. freezer camp is much better.
> 
> I've had goats for almost 7 years now, milking the whole time. and no plans to stop yet. I have learned tho. that 4 is plenty for me to care for/milk, and will just allow them to drop in numbers naturally since my kids (human) are growing up and will fly the coop by then too.


Chewie,

I think 4 is about the ideal number for non commerical person.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I've had goats for four years, and I'm gradually learning what a good number is for us, too. Two bucks (because we have two sizes of does.) I'd like to keep the doe number down to four, but that's a challenge. Right now, I'm milking three, have one retired doe who is still with us, and three doelings that I need to make a decision about.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

It was actually my hubby's idea to get goats on our farm. I was the horse person. So, he said we should try them, I was not sold and hadn't realized that we had finished "discussing" the possibility. Anyways, he next tells me that he has ordered 25 pregnant boer goats and a registered buck. Oh my! Then he left for Iraq. So, there I was, kids dropping every where and 100% clueless. Not a good place to be. That was in 2005. I dug in and got help from people with more experience then me, attend an awesome class that the University of TN extension offers and have learned a whole lot. So, fast forward...I do not have any boer goats now. They were not profitable to our farm and honestly, I did not care for them. I got one Nubian for Christmas in 2009 and fell head over heels in love. Since I am the primary care-giver/farm hand, I have only have Nubians now; oh and 1 little nigerian dwarf that arrived this year. I have 8 does and 1 Nubian buck and am very, very happy. I love milking and love my girls. I make goat's milk soap, lotion, and soon Goat's Milk Fudge that is sold online, at Farmer's Markets, and the occasional craft fair. Milking is hard work and not for everyone, but I love it....hubby likes the cheese. lol


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

> It's a great site for newbies, but I've moved to others for more current info.


Yep -


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I don't like the herbal medicine only thing for goats. I really think wormers are better than herbs, etc. That's my main complaint about the site. I guess I just always trusted my vet more than a stranger on the web who was trying to sell me her herbs and potions.

I do like the pics though.
It is sad that she divorced. There are just too many broken marriages in this society.


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## Hollowdweller (Jul 13, 2011)

A pal of mine is friends with that lady and has given me some of her herbal stuff which is good.

There's a limit to what herbal medicine can do. I know for sure almost all herbal wormers are pretty ineffective.


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

kind of a double half post thing


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

We've had goats since 2006. I really love the routine of milking. I don't think we will ever have more than 4 to 6 does. Fiasco Farm has good info for newbies. I don't care for the herbal only view, but that is for the reader to determine if that is for them or not.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Fir Meadow uses herbal only. A person would be hard pressed to find a hardier, healthier, more championship-winning herd of goats. I don't know why it's considered "funny" that someone would continue to impart their vast knowledge via a website simply because they sold the goats. While the owners of FF were more inclined to use herbal, it certainly isn't a "herbal only" view as they give dosage recommendations for all chemical alternatives, meaning at some point, they probably used them too. I would surely point someone to FF's website before I recommended this board. I am chuckling over the assertion that there is "more current" info. There are lots of ways to successfully raise goats.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Fiasco farm is turning the website into a book or writing a goat book as well. I have them 
"liked" on FB and they were asking for recommendations on picking a name.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

> I don't know why it's considered "funny" that someone would continue to impart their vast knowledge via a website simply because they sold the goats.


It is funny BECAUSE you'd expect someone to be in the long haul with all that time invested. . . funny, however you look at it. . .IMO



> I am chuckling over the assertion that there is "more current" info. There are lots of ways to successfully raise goats.


Yes, there is a lot of new current info - as most everyone explained, but hey, people are always willing to disagree with anything for the sake of a disagreement.

I have found it impossible to do herbal only in goats - every single person I know who tried it killed or nearly killed their herd. . .I personally do not sell kids to that type of home IF they are up front about hoping to pursue that type of care. . .I care too much for my kids.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

So the logic is you have to have goats forever in order to be taken seriously in giving information. Hmmm. Okay. You should probably invest a little more time considering alternatives than blindly disregarding some treatment based on your limited experience. Plenty of big herds do "herbal only". Like I said, Fir Meadow is herbal only. When you can match them in herd performance, I'll be more willing to think you know something about goats. As it stands now, I find statements such as the ones I see in this thread horribly ignorant.

Fiasco Farm's site is one of the BEST sources of all around goat information. Period.

Fir Meadow - Herbal Only


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

I don't see how it's funny at all....
Life happens to the best of us.
They had a very nice site...as others have mentioned it had great info for newbies....and I concur with many that say herbals are not a sound alternative.
But why is it funny that a couple that were married and had goats and ran a nice site are no longer together?
I remember seeing posts here from or about them and mentioned the sell off of their stock.


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## ThePigeonKid (Mar 19, 2011)

houndlover said:


> fiasco farm's site is one of the best sources of all around goat information. Period.


x2


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

> So the logic is you have to have goats forever in order to be taken seriously in giving information. Hmmm. Okay. You should probably invest a little more time considering alternatives than blindly disregarding some treatment based on your limited experience.


Hmmmm - okay  I have experienced, at this point, basically all types of bad and good caprine issues, and I've treated most all with success while a few friends with even more time invested have tried and still stick to herbal treatment - I suppose you'd have to see my herd next to theirs in order to "get it." The author of the site is not a particularly old woman &#8211; I am not sure at this point, I don&#8217;t have more goat raising under my belt, and I know many here have a great deal more. In your limited experience with what I know &#8211; your assessments are asinine. Perhaps invest a little more time yourself

I&#8217;m not about to debate the herbal nonsense as opposed to medications, etc. I have seen both and have yet to see it work well. People can say it works all day long, but I haven&#8217;t seen it, and I tend to trust what I&#8217;ve seen with my own eyes. If you&#8217;ve seen it work &#8211; great. I&#8217;ve seen it fail &#8211; a lot. Use whatever works for you &#8211; I&#8217;m not interested.



> But why is it funny that a couple that were married and had goats and ran a nice site are no longer together?


Please read the actual post. I stated it was funny to me that one of the most visited goat HOW TO sites author no longer has goats and has not for many years. Folks take it way too deep 

It is funny in an odd way - lol - I'm sorry the sense of humor I have isn't shared by all, but I simply have an ironic type of humor. I didn't read on her blog anything about a divorce - it looked to me from the recent photos that the man in the photos with her is the man on the Fiasco Farm site. Either way, it is, in my line of thought, like having a person write the most followed Republican website blog and &#8211; for whatever reason &#8211; converting to the opposite party all of a sudden . . . just humorous. . .to me


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## KrisD (May 26, 2011)

Many people use herbs for many reasons. I will say that Fias Co Farm does tell you to do fecals with any wormer you use be it from the vet or herbs as it is the only way to truly tell. How many of us can actually say that we do fecals on a frequent basis. No most of us check eye lids for our base line. I do not like to knock something I have not personally tried. Just because others have used it and failed does not mean the product doesn't work. If that was the case then we wouldn't have parasites to deal with because we all deworm our animals. But parasites are becoming resistant and we are using stronger and stronger things and heavier doses then we did 10 years ago. There is also human error to blame for things not working. i.e not taking all your prescribed antibiotics and making super bugs that now we can't kill. 

Creamers I do understand your sense of humor and please understand I am not bashing anyone. I do love Fias Co Farm. They were the first website I went to when I got into goats oh so many years ago. Back then i had no one who knew anything about goats that I could go to for advise. I learned everything the hard way. Fias Co writes everything in laymans terms which is really nice especially when we are stressed out about something our caprines are doing. It is basic enough for the beginner and detailed enough for the experienced. Yes I use other sites as well but I like her. 
Personally I would be sick if I got divorced and one of the things I had to separate from were my goats. I feel bad for her.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Herbal nonsense? I gotta say, chemicals are never my first choice in my OWN health treatment, so why should it be my first in regards to my animals? Or anyones? Alternative medicine is only okay for humans? Is this like "pasteurized goat's milk for baby goats, but only raw for humans"? I still don't see the humor - I don't see it as ironic either. I know plenty of people who for whatever reason can't keep goats anymore, but know a lot, and are happy to share it. Humbly. HST is a small pond.

Check out the Fir Meadow goats. She's high profile - national champ goats - there's your example of herbal done right where you can verify the results. Maybe you need to get out of your pond more.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

"I donât know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.
- Bill Cosby"

I'll leave it at that - lol!


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Just wanted to chime in here and mention that, according to a recent Facebook post, she and her hubby went on vacation in September. So, either they got back together, or they were never divorced.

Where did the info come from that stted that she no longer has goats?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

She has a website with her suburban home remodel on it, and there was ongoing discussion when she sold her goats. Is the current husband the same one as when she had goats?


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

The name was Paul on Facebook...wasn't that the name on her Fias Co site? Or, I suppose she could have married another Paul.

Edited to add...looked it up...WAS married to Larry, got married to Paul in October of 2009.


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## Ranger (Aug 6, 2010)

Oh dear Lord. Some people need to get over themselves. Creamers, you go girl!!


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