Could I keep a goat with my chickens? ***edit: I Found a goat!

[FrizzleFreak]

All goats have horns, unless they are from a polled breed. Dairy breeders especially remove horns. I like dehorned goats, I have been injured by horned goats.
We have a combination chicken/goat/ feed barn (chicks on the left, goats on the right, and food in the middle, works amazingly) However, my babies loved to torment their mother and went inside the chicken side where she couldn't go, and stick their little heads out at her. Oh, how she cried! Finally, we reduced the size of the chicken hole to about 6 inches in diameter-big enough for chickens, but the goats can only look in.
Anyway...Your current goat is a Nubian sized wether? I would suggest the same thing then. Wethers get along with just about anybody though. Though, if your goat has horns, get him a horned friend. Or, if you get your heart set on a dehorned goat, dehorn Cody. I would get a similar aged animal to your current one.
So you could get: Nubian, Boer, Oberhasli, Alpine, maybe toggenburg.
Sorry, this is really confusing to read.

 

[hikerchick]

Not all pygmies have horns- I have had some born with horns, some without.

 

[Chirpy]

Goats that are born without horns are called "polled". (As FrizzleFreak said.) Some people breed for that but some goats that are born polled are also born as hermaphrodites (have both male and female sex organs and are generally sterile - that's a whole nother topic though.... sorry, I digress).

I would suggest you get another wether. Does are great but they do come into heat and can be loud and obnoxious during that time - which is every month August through roughly January for the dairy breeds.

Something really interesting that I have found with my goats is that the breeds tend to stick with their same breed. By that I mean that my Alpine does stay together and my Nubian goats stayed together - even though they all shared the same big space. So, if it's possible I'd suggest you find another Nubian wether for your boy. Now, that's not a hard and fast rule or anything, just something that I and others have noticed with our mixed herds. If you can't find a Nubian then just get another boy close to the same size... with horns.

I would not dehorn the goat you have now. Dehorning, in my opinion, is cruel and incredibly hard on the goat. I have heard many people say that they did it and would never ever do it again it was so awful for their goat. The vet has to do it and they literally go into the brain cavity of the goat to dehorn them. My friend was given a free doeling last summer. She had horns and they didn't want horns in their herd so they had the vet dehorn her. My friends were in tears and so upset afterwards partly because of what they put that doe through and partly because their free doe ended up costing them close to $200 in vet fees after it was all done and said. Some people have banded the horns of their goats. I have no experience with that so I can't comment - others here probably can.

 

[Picklestix7866]

Hey guys! I just want to clear a few things up.
1. Cody is not a nubian. He is a pygmy cross I believe. The other little goat that I was looking at was a nubian cross.
2. I will never dehorn Cody. Ewww.

Thanks guys!

 

[Chirpy]

Sorry - I got mixed up on all that. So - just get a goat close to Cody's size.

 

[mekasmom]

Get a doe not a whether unless you plan to keep him as a forever pet. If a goat is whethered, it has a death sentence signed. There is very little value in it other than for meat. Chivo dealers buy whethers at about two dollars a pound. I never whether a goat. Bucks have a much better chance of always having a home somewhere as a herd leader whereas whethers have very little chance of ever being anything other than meat.
It really irritates me when I see people talking about how much they love their goats, but they whether every billy that is born. I know you can't keep every billy born, but at least give them a fighting chance to find a place in a herd somewhere instead of automatically turning them into chevon.

 

[bUg_Farm]

Goats and chickens together are just fun! I have a Rhode Island Red that just loves to hop on goaties back and go along for the ride. It's the funniest thing.

 

[username taken]

Quote:
This is a dangerous philosophy. Not every buck is breeding quality, not all bucks should be allowed to breed.

 

[MissJames]

Quote:
Time after time I read that bucks are smelly and can be aggressive unless they are wethered.I personally don't want a buck around my does or my children until I'm ready to breed so the two bucklings I'm getting this month will be wethered.From all the books and articles I have read wethered bucklings become much better pets and companions for does or breeding bucks.
I'm just starting out so you have way more experience in the field than me.....but to not wether bucks?
I think male goats,just like roosters are just less wanted in general.

 

[Picklestix7866]

Quote:
... How can you suggest to me that I get a doe instead of a wether and then go on about how wethers are unwanted everywhere? That sounds a little hypocritical, no offense. Shouldn't I get a wether if they are so unwanted? He would be a spoiled pet. And not all bucks are breeding quality and some should not be allowed to reproduce. And some are just pets. I agree, that is a dangerous philosophy.