Getting to know Goats

I need to know more about goats, and if anyone can help me, I need all the help I can get. It has been a life long dream to be a goat owner. It actually started out as a family joke, when Mom wanted a goat so badly because of her own memories of her grandparents farm and the goats they had. Thanks to Mom's love of goats, I always promised that I would be the child who would get her goats. Unfortunately, Mom passed away before I could make the dream come true, but I promise, the dream will come true. One of my favorite errands to run with Mom as a child was to take our weekly trip to "The Cheese Shop" - yup that is what it was named and we LOVED it! Unlike the other members of our family, Mom and I loved goat cheese. I may name the first goat HiHo, after Mom, but if that's too emotional I will take my sister Mush's advice and name the first goat Feta! If I do name the first one HiHo, I will then name the rest of the flock, decided by temperament, after each of the 7 dwarfs!

As for what kinds of goats I want, I know I want Nigerian Dairy goats. I fell in love with these goats last fall at The Common Ground Fair when I went to a milking demonstration put on by the woman who runs Painted Pepper Farm. Nigerians are small and manageable - perfect for a family farm.

Books I am interested in for researching are the following.