Thank you so much! You've definitely given me a lot of (tentative) confidence in my goat plans, as well as a lot of helpful pointers to where I need more learning.Ok, lots of questions, that great! You can never be too educated about goats! They are very complex! Ok, they hay needs to be available at all times. Period. Alfalfa is not really availa around here, I buy it some, but they mostly get get mixed grasses and alfalfa pellets. Grain is what you need to be careful of for a wether. As for the anount of feed, each goat is different. I asked a million people when I first got goats, how much grain/feed to give...they all said each goat is different. Go off the body scale. You can google that and see the difference in sizes..3-4 is ideal body condition. They need more grain in the winter months to help them keep up with the temps. Goats very fast metabolisms. I mix my own grain...you can get into that once you have your feet wet with the goats, but they will love it and never go back to plain pellets! Sweet feed is a great way to get them to know you, or get them on the goat stand for hoove trimming, or shots. My goats liked alfalfa cubes at first, but I bought a 50 lb bag...put them in a tote, they still got stale. Now they won’t touch them! Goats are very picky and dramatic...but the best ever!!.
I have Nigerian dwarfs, Pygmy and Nigerian mixed with plainer goat. A loner goat is also know as the Batman goat...ears that stick out like an airplane. She’s adorable and makes beautiful kids. But she’s much bigger than an ND and could definitely pull a cart for you. I do not have registered goats. In my opinion, if you’re not planning to breed, or show, you are paying a lot extra for papers. I have gorgeous goats that are fantastic pets. I breed them and get good money for them....but, I’m choosing not to sell, however, I’ve been offered money by two different farmers. A five year old goat is middle aged. They can breed until ten or so? Depending on the goat. I would recommend a younger goat for the bonding factor...however..I bought my first two goats from a bad farmer who gave them no human contact. They are now great pets! It just took a lot of work to get them there. Farming is now my life. The barn size sounds great. They don’t need to be penned up alone to sleep...that’s a personal choice. During kidding it’s a must. But my goats like to snuggle. Your pasture size sounds good too, and how you plan to rotate it is great! We do that to, although, now our goats are free range, but at night we pen them up, and the area is rotated. How many goats do you plan to get? As for minerals...I would recommend to stay away from a block. It can hurt their toungue and gums. TS sells an excellent mineral in the cattle section called Wind and Rain. Also, if you go on the internet, and google.....Average concentrations of elements in.....your county...it will show your county in your state. It will list your minerals and what you lack. This way you can get a better idea of what they might be deficient on. There is wayyyy more to minerals. I can explain more when you’re ready. Don’t ever deworm as a preventative. Test first.
i will tell you now...from months of hardcore....worrying and ridicule...thegoatspot is not a forum I’d recommend. They are harsh. I belong to BYH, this sister site. It’s excellent!! No judgement, and tons of goat farmers...professionals., and as pets.
you don’t necessarily need to buy a goat from a regular breeder to get a healthy, tested, good goat. I’ve bought goats off the net, from people who just started breeding...with clean health records.
once you get the goats, you can give the shots and do hoove trimming yourself. You can even take blood. It’s not hard, and there are a ton of great YouTube videos to walk you through blood work. As for shots...no problem. Hooves are only tricky the first few times, until you get to know your goats.
there are a ton of printable recor keeping documents on the internet. When you get closer, I’ll give you the sites. Hang a calendar in the barn, document everything.
goats are a very tricky animal..and i would not recommend them to someone that just wants them as a ‘weed eater’...that’s clearly not you!
keep us posted!
these are a bunch of my goats, and goat kids. The big one with the ears out to the side is my 1/2 ND 1/2 planer....she’s about 75lbs...and her kids have the big ears too...I just love those ears!
oh, the guy holding the Pygmy kids is my son!
