Advice on getting a goat tomorrow

[mylittlezoo]

I am in North GA, and I have two babies for sale right now. PM me if you want to talk.

ETA: They're Nigis, and come fully wormed, vaccinated, dehorned and ADGA / AGS registered.

 

[Cara]

For the most part you know what you're getting from a breeder. Sales are a gamble at best, and if it is your first venture into goats it can be difficult to know what to look for and what to avoid. Often times animals at sales are there for a reason, it's more profitable to sell an animal privately so there must be some reason the owner is not doing so. Not all sale barn animals are bad, but like I said it's a real gamble. Even if the animal went into the sale completely healthy, chances are it won't leave that way after being exposed to so many others from different places. It's no fun being thrown in at the deep end with a new animal that has a mystery illness.

Having someone you can call in an emergency, or just when you're confused, is priceless. I've contacted the lady I bought mine from many times and it is very helpful to know I can; she knows my goats in particular.

I'm not saying to buy from anyone rather than a sale, it still pays to be picky about who you buy from. I was sold on mine as the lady keeps such good records of what was done when, and has a strict schedule of wormings, vaccinations etc.

 

[Anianna]

Also, I noticed somebody mentioned getting more than one. I'm going to second that. Goats are not happy alone.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I totally recommend buying from a breeder, buying at least 2, etc.

Mine didn't come from a breeder, they came from someone who owned them as pasture pets. Mine are Pygmys, great size for a new owner, and I think something like a Nigi or a Mini Nubian would be great if you want milk

 

[justplucky]

Go with a recomended breeder, and always follow your gut.....1yr ago I was also new to the goat experience. Got sent to a farm that had been breeding goats for years. I grew up on a farm so mud and such is not a shocker but things looked like perhaps they were getting out of hand with the buidings etc. Then out came all these furry bundles of cuteness!! baby goats are irresistable,,,,but ,,,,several had signs of diarhea and a few seemed too "calm" , a few runny noses, my gut said walk away....I did.
I disinfected my hands in the truck...got home did the same to my shoes and truck floor mats, threw my clothes in the wash when I got home and kept looking.

I don't know for sure if those goats were ill but my experience and gut said yes...sometimes the most important thing to listen to.

good luck and
...good quality goat text(mash) and alfalfa or timothy blend

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Oh and I feed Goat/Sheep ration (its like a dry sweetfeed) and Alfalfa hay, we can't get a goat pellet ration unfortunately.

 

[BCMominMD]

I've been researching getting a few nigerian dwarf dairy goats myself. The book Story's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats is really good. Lots of info about what to look for, how to house and feed. Good luck!

 

[CherokeeCowgirl]

I appreciate all the information. I have been googling it all as well. We had dairy goats when I was a kid but that was when I was a young kid.

A lady on this thread offered me a little doeling but she is a long ways away from me. I will look around some more and try to find someone who breeds them around here.

Depending on how much the goats I find cost is going to decide on how many I get at once. I do plan on having at least 2 goats. I do have lots of other animals here as well.

I do also have a little APHA horse yearling that I would trade for a couple goats as well.

 

[Nupine]

If the ration you will be feeding is a goat/sheep ration, it has no copper in it, and goats NEED copper or you will have a buttload of problems with growth and overall health. Even if it was a real goat ration, it will probably not have enough copper. You really needto find a good mentor to copper bolus for you. Without proper copper, the growth rate of goats is deplorable.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I was offering dairy cow minerals (we can't get goat minerals) which my co-op recommended free choice for a while but it wasn't working out that great, so then i started top dressing on their feed everyday, and now i've gone back to freechoice minerals lol. Make a PVC feeder for your minerals, it saves a lot of annoyance with feeding the minerals.