New to goats

[abigalerose]

Oh, and are goats like dogs in the way that if you go out of town for a few days you need to have someone come feed them every day, or are they more like cows in the way that if you leave for a few days they're fine as long as they have access to grass and water?
(Not all the time, obviously)
And what's your opinion on this?

 

[waddles99]

Yeah I corrected myself

I realized after I posted it that it didn't sound right.
Now, new questions:
I don't know much about hay, so is there any kind that I need to just avoid?
Can I get a round bale and peel enough off every night and put in their feeder so it lasts 24 hours that way I don't have to make room in the pen for a whole bale?
What's rumen?
So loose minerals last longer then?
What's IME?
Is there a smaller or lower maintenance type of goat I can get as a buddy?
What's the best kind of grain?
Can I just buy one kind of grain that covers all basis or will I need multiple kinds?
If I have a buck will the milk really taste funny?
And I'm glad chaining, or tethering if you will, is good! Saves me time on mowing the lawn lol

Any kind to avoid? Just use high quality, orchard grass horse hay. It is readily available. Rumen is one of the 4 goat stomachs. Food goes into their rumen, then gets digested, then they spit it back up and chew it as cud. To keep that cycle going, they need to be constantly eating. there are times where I would take hay away from babies that are so small and just overindulging on it, however. This is probably never going to be the case with you. IME= in my experience. As far as a buddy that's not a goat, it can work and has worked in the past. I know people who kept steers in with their goats, sheep, and pigs. Your best bet is to get another goat, however, because you never know if it is going to work out. These situations with other animals don't always work out, in fact most of the time, they don't. There is no best type of grain, all depends on your preference and what type of goats you have. For a dry doe, can't go wrong with Purina Goat chow. This works for most ages and classes of goats, aside from lactating does since they need a special ration. You can feed purina goat chow to dry does bucks wethers & kids. As far as a buck, if you keep them side by side the milk may taste off. It's never a good idea anyway to pen bucks next to does, cause they could break through or even breed them through the fence. If you keep them a distance away it should taste fine.

 

[waddles99]

Oh, and are goats like dogs in the way that if you go out of town for a few days you need to have someone come feed them every day, or are they more like cows in the way that if you leave for a few days they're fine as long as they have access to grass and water?
(Not all the time, obviously)
And what's your opinion on this?

THAT is just someone's personal opinion....and frankly, they don't have too much of an argument. What happened to this person was they didn't feed grain properly, or the wrong ration, had a bad experience, and then thought everybody else would have the same experience so they decided to blog about it. The truth is, you should always feed grain safely at all times, because it can cause bloat or even death. Goat stomachs are very sensitive, and they don't deal well with change. Here's how you feed grain safely:

-Ask the breeder what and how much he/she feeds to the kid you buy
-Go out and buy that feed as well as the one you want to feed
-Start off feeding the breeders type of feed and the same amount the breeder used
-SLOWLY mix in some of your kind of feed, both feeds should total up to the same amount the breeder was feeding
-Eventually, you will be feeding all your type of feed in the breeders amount
-Adjust the amount of feed based on the size and body type of the goat. If the goat is skinny, feed more. If it's fat, feed less. Use common sense. Obviously don't feed a 20 lb kid 1 lb a day. Or a 200 lb buck 1 cup a day.

I should tell you what situations will lead to bloat or death.
-Feeding something that isn't meant for goats(chicken feed, etc)
-Feeding something they aren't used to eating(an abrupt switch between two different rations)
-Forgetting to lock them up and they get into the feed and overindulgence themselves
-Overfeeding(giving a goat 5 lbs of feed a day)

Goats don't know when to stop eating, and they will eat unknown stuff and eat dangerous amounts of feed. They don't have common sense and can and will eat themselves to death.

 

[abigalerose]

Haha, I don't know what I was thinking when I read IME.
And I didn't mean a buddy that wasn't a goat, just wondering if there's any breed that's easier to care for than a Nigerian to put with her.
Or, do you think if I breed her next month I can just wait till she kids in April and keep a baby as a companion?
Or do I need a companion now?
They said in the summer she just eats grass and brush and then they supplement grain and hay in the winter, two cups of grain a day.
I'll talk to them more about it when I pick her up.
She's four btw and has already kidded a few times

 

[waddles99]

Haha, I don't know what I was thinking when I read IME.
And I didn't mean a buddy that wasn't a goat, just wondering if there's any breed that's easier to care for than a Nigerian to put with her.
Or, do you think if I breed her next month I can just wait till she kids in April and keep a baby as a companion?
Or do I need a companion now?
They said in the summer she just eats grass and brush and then they supplement grain and hay in the winter, two cups of grain a day.
I'll talk to them more about it when I pick her up.
She's four btw and has already kidded a few times

No breed is really easier or harder than any other breed. They are all breeds of the same species, after all. Humans just took advantage of slight variations within the species to create different breeds with different sizes, builds, purposes, and looks. The care is all the same. That being said, smaller breeds are easier to handle, eat less, and thus cost less. So another Nigerian would probably be your best bet. That or a Pygmy.

I do not suggest you keep her alone for 6 months. That would be too long. She will be dreadfully unhappy and cry all day, try to escape, etc. Just get her a companion wether. They're cheaper than does and super friendly if they're castrated properly.

I feed grain year round, FYI. It has all the essential vitamins and minerals for goats that they can't get in hay and forage. It's not really a seasonal thing, they need those vitamins and minerals year round. I can understand feeding it while lactating and not while dry, but not feeding it only in winter. If I were you i would feed it year round.

It is good that you are getting a doe who has kidded before. A doe who has kidded before will not only be used to being milked but won't need as much assistance kidding.

 

[abigalerose]

Okay, I'll be on the lookout for a wether then. Maybe they'll even know of someone who has one. And yeah, I wouldn't want to buy one who hasn't before, because I have no experience milking! Lol.
I'll just talk to her current owner more about her feed schedule. I'll probably grain all year round. Maybe in the summer I could take out the hay and do a little less grain though?
Also what happens if a wether gets too much grain?

And when do you start milking? After they kid?

 

[waddles99]

Okay, I'll be on the lookout for a wether then. Maybe they'll even know of someone who has one. And yeah, I wouldn't want to buy one who hasn't before, because I have no experience milking! Lol.
I'll just talk to her current owner more about her feed schedule. I'll probably grain all year round. Maybe in the summer I could take out the hay and do a little less grain though?
Also what happens if a wether gets too much grain?

And when do you start milking? After they kid?

I would advise if you are looking for a wether, use Facebook groups or breeder pages rather than auction houses and craigslist. Craigslist is sketchy at best for livestock purchases. It's not so much the ease of milking as it is the ease of kidding. With older does, kidding is mostly a breeze. First time kidders can have problems.

I get the sense from what you are saying that you think hay can be an alternative for grain, since you said that you could swap out grain and just feed more hay. Thats not quite right. Grain is almost a necessity for obtaining what forage doesn't give you. No matter how much hay you use, it wont make up for no grain. So no, giving more hay and less grain in the summer wont really work.

If a wether gets too much grain they could get bloated or die. Some types of feed could give UC in larger amounts, sweet feed being one of them. Never feed sweet feed.

Start to milk 2 weeks after kidding. Separate her from the kids at night, let her udder fill overnight, then milk her out in the morning, then put her kids on her during the day. Then separate at night, and so forth. Eventually you can wean the kids off and then milk her twice a day.

 

[abigalerose]

I found this doe on Craigslist, but I usually use Facebook groups, because I agree Craigslist is usually sketchy.
And noo lol, we're getting lost in translation somewhere. I was thinking that since the current owners just do forage in the summer and hay and grain in the winter, I could do forage and a bit of grain in the summer, and hay and full rations of grain in the winter, and forage when there's grass. Not replace the grain with hay, I know it doesn't work like that.
And okay. So no milking while pregnant?
And what age do people usually stop breeding Nigerians?

 

[waddles99]

I found this doe on Craigslist, but I usually use Facebook groups, because I agree Craigslist is usually sketchy.
And noo lol, we're getting lost in translation somewhere. I was thinking that since the current owners just do forage in the summer and hay and grain in the winter, I could do forage and a bit of grain in the summer, and hay and full rations of grain in the winter, and forage when there's grass. Not replace the grain with hay, I know it doesn't work like that.
And okay. So no milking while pregnant?
And what age do people usually stop breeding Nigerians?

Goats don't lactate while pregnant since there is no reason for them to produce milk. When the goats are born they will freshen and start producing milk.

And it depends on the doe, you could breed her up until 6-8 years if you wanted. She's an older doe as it is but if you get a doeling out of her you could breed her as well and milk her.

 

[abigalerose]

Ah okay.
And that's about perfect, I'm just using goats till my dairy cow is old enough to be bred which should be about 2 years.
What age can you first breed a doeling?