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

[Picklestix7866]

Hi! I finally found a goat on Craigslist that sounds perfect for us, although he is still a baby. Our goat now is a little protective and I guess he used to pick on the other goats at his old home. I'm thinking that if we do end up getting this goat that I might have to keep them separated until he gets a little bigger and older. We have a decent sized coop with a fenced in run, so I'm thinking that I could just keep him there until he grows up a little and gets a little bigger.

He also doesn't have horns but Cody our goat does. Do you think they would get along after he gets used to being around another goat. I guess this little goat is going to get pretty big.

It is also going to be bottle fed. I've never bottle fed before. How do you do that? How often do you do that? He was born March 23.

Here is a pic of my goat Cody. Does anyone have any idea as to what breed he could be? He is medium sized (a little larger then our black lab).

Thanks!

 

[Chirpy]

What are both breeds of goats? Are they all (or will be) wethers? If the goat you have now has horns and is an ornery dude I think it would be unfair and potentially dangerous to bring an unhorned goat into his world.

Keeping the new goat in the chicken run should work fine as a temporary solution; depending on how big the run is and how big he gets.

If you do bring home the new dude and your first goat doesn't accept him and it's not safe to keep them together in the future then you need to be prepared to get another goat friend for this little boy so he's not alone. That, of course, leaves your first boy alone, again. If that happens then you should either try to get a goat his size with horns or possibly keep him near, but not with, the other two goats you will then have. Although goats are very social and really need to be with the company of another goat there are times when a goat just doesn't get along with other goats and is actually better off without a goat friend. (That's pretty rare but does happen.)

So maybe, you need to be thinking about getting two little boy wethers right now and let them grow up together in sight of your other goat and then try to introduce them together with him in the future and see if it works better because the goat you have now will have two new goats to adjust to and spread his 'pickyness' on. Does that make sense?

If the little goat is being bottle fed right now then you should keep him on whatever they are feeding him and they should be able to tell you how much to feed him. The amount will depend on his age and breed/size also.

 

[Picklestix7866]

I think it is a Nubian cross. They said they could wether him for me. I got another email about a Boer doe that needs a good pet home because she is not suitable for breeding. I guess she has skinny hips or something. Do you think he would get along better with a doe?

Thanks!

 

[Davaroo]

Chickens and ruminants of all sorts go together well. This includes goats. Go for it.

 

[countryboy88]

I have a chicken in with a couple of goats and have had no problem.

One of my babies from last year when he was born thought that the chicken was his mother. After about 5 mins of being born he started to chase after the hen.

 

[Wild Chicken]

We have our goats and chickens together and it's one big happy family!! You just need to keep the chicken feed away from the goats, and we have not had a problem whatsoever!!!

 

[hikerchick]

I watched my big fat pygmy wethers squeeze his whole body through the tiny chicken door on the coop to get at the feed. Other than that, I have had no problems with goats and chickens (and ducks) in one pen. Two of my goats have horns but honestly, they were more afraid of the chickens than anything at first.. Now they all get along. My pygmy actually gets along well with my dogs. I found him and my 90 pound boxer resting in the sun together on my deck/

 

[coberdor]

I agree that you should test them out together first. I have had my disbudded goats with horned goats. You have to be very careful! The horned goats really know how to use their horns, especially the tips. I've had them use the tips to puncture the others, and if it's in the abdominal area, you're really in trouble.

Bottle feeding - Yes, you'll have to bottle feed until they are about 3 mos old. Use cow's milk, whole, not low fat. Add a little corn syrrup to it and some probios. Don't use milk replacer, it can cause floppy kid syndrom. That should be used only as an emergency type thing, not for every day use. You will need to get the proper nipple for your bottles. You can get them at any livestock supply store. They can show you. Go to the website Fiasco farms, they have a ton of information, just like here for chickens!

Good luck. I'm currently bottle feeding two nubian doelings. I've got three other nubian wethers, all were bottle fed, and 4 pygmy rescue goats, which all have horns. I have to keep them separate from my disbudded nubians.

 

[Picklestix7866]

Do you guys think he would get along with a doe Boer? (Do boers have horns??? I don't know as I am not a goat person, I am a chicken person...lol)

 

[Picklestix7866]

Oh and I just emailed that lady back and told her I need a goat with horns, so he's out of the picture now. Still, I need advice!! Wether or doe?? What age?? Horns or no horns?? Breed??