Goat Newbie searching for Information! :)

[CascadiaRiver]

If you know what you are doing, you can band them yourself, they should sell the tool and bands at feedstores. De horning i think is a little pricey... If you wanted to make some profit, i would look into a mini nubian nanny: they stay small, some are naturally polled, and if you breed them,you can milk her, and either turn it into cheese or soap to sell, or sell as is, and sell the kids as well. If you have any other problems, please dont hesitate to contact me, Besides having my angora does, my uncle has a heard of colorful pygmys, and if nothing else, i'll ask him.

I'm not sure if I'd want to take on the work of having to milk goats, especially if I'm going to have two. My family doesn't really have a taste for it, though it would be fun to raise babies I think I'd prefer having wethers in the long run ^^

While bottle babies are fun, unless you can get the full experience of staying over and spending 2-3 days and seeing how often they need to be fed and played with, just go with a weaned kid

Hopefully I'll be able to stay over at her house and hang out, they're also my pigeon breeding partners (her and her kids) so it would be fun to spend a weekend or sometime in the summer over at her house and hang out for a few days.

 

[cassie]

It is not hard at all to get kids to bond with you: lots of treats pets and interactment on a daily basis, and enforcement of good behavior. I dont know if you show them with halters or collars, but i would definantly say halter training is a must. Halter = good things: do not drag, but instead encourage and reward when they walk with you, i managed to do it with 3, in a matter of 3 months. Unless you want to bottle feed around the clock, get a weaned kid, or a yearling

Bottle feed around the clock? When I had my dairy, kids got fed twice a day. Most dairymen feed the same. More frequent feeding would be better, but three or four times a day should be plenty. As for getting a mother raised kid to bond with you, it might work and it might not. In any event, a mother raised kid will never be as friendly as a bottle raised kid. That said, it shouldn't be that hard to buy a weaned kid that had been raised on a bottle. However, even kids that are left on their mothers can be very tame if the breeder took the time to play with and interact with them every day. That makes a big difference.

 

[res]

When we first started with goats, we purchased 3 Boer wethers from a mid-sized breeding operation. The kids had not been handled a whole lot past their well supervised birth. They were pretty rowdy, but at 35lbs, they were absolutely manageable and my human kids had them tamed within a week or so. We kept them in a small pen and the humans and goats just hung out together.

We have also had to bottle feed once or twice, and those kids are friendly, but in the end, there is no difference between our bottle babies and our dam-raised babies. Maybe it is the breed - Boer - being a fairly laid back calm breed, maybe it is just our operation. Does kid in the barn, in individual stalls, and kids are handled constantly from birth. Somewhat like "imprinting" a foal.

OP -
YES! Intact boy goats STINK and can be really destructive. I would never keep a buck unless I had a use for one.

You can castrate intact males, but younger is better. Their "parts" get HUGE very fast - sometimes by 4 mths of age they will not fit in a bander. Banding can be tricky, and can go VERY bad if not done properly. I would not encourage you to try it yourself, but instead, just purchase a kid that is already wethered. Most breeders can and do castrate early on, it makes life easier for everyone. You can surgically castrate goats, but it the older they are, the harder it is on them... And it could be costly depending on the vet you use. A large animal vet will likely cost ~$75 but an "exotic" vet will probably run you $500.

Female goats only produce milk if they have been bred and have kidded. If you don't breed a female, you will never have to milk it, so don't let a fear of the hassle of milking stop you from purchasing a female goat.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

When we first started with goats, we purchased 3 Boer wethers from a mid-sized breeding operation. The kids had not been handled a whole lot past their well supervised birth. They were pretty rowdy, but at 35lbs, they were absolutely manageable and my human kids had them tamed within a week or so. We kept them in a small pen and the humans and goats just hung out together.

We have also had to bottle feed once or twice, and those kids are friendly, but in the end, there is no difference between our bottle babies and our dam-raised babies. Maybe it is the breed - Boer - being a fairly laid back calm breed, maybe it is just our operation. Does kid in the barn, in individual stalls, and kids are handled constantly from birth. Somewhat like "imprinting" a foal.

OP -
YES! Intact boy goats STINK and can be really destructive. I would never keep a buck unless I had a use for one.

You can castrate intact males, but younger is better. Their "parts" get HUGE very fast - sometimes by 4 mths of age they will not fit in a bander. Banding can be tricky, and can go VERY bad if not done properly. I would not encourage you to try it yourself, but instead, just purchase a kid that is already wethered. Most breeders can and do castrate early on, it makes life easier for everyone. You can surgically castrate goats, but it the older they are, the harder it is on them... And it could be costly depending on the vet you use. A large animal vet will likely cost ~$75 but an "exotic" vet will probably run you $500.

Female goats only produce milk if they have been bred and have kidded. If you don't breed a female, you will never have to milk it, so don't let a fear of the hassle of milking stop you from purchasing a female goat.

I totally forgot that about goats for a second lol, I guess an unbred female would be an option, though I wonder if like in dogs, a neutered male will be calmer? Could I get a female and a wether and would they be fine co-existing? Would he still do his little goat manly things and try to breed her? Wow thats a big jump in prices, I guess that's vets for ya! There's the reason we haven't taken a chicken to the vet and just treat them at home, though I'd feel safer with someone experienced doing it ^^

I guess I'll just have to go through breeders and such next year and find out how they raise their kids, find out what's available at the time and work with that

 

[Athena2344]

I totally forgot that about goats for a second lol, I guess an unbred female would be an option, though I wonder if like in dogs, a neutered male will be calmer? Could I get a female and a wether and would they be fine co-existing? Would he still do his little goat manly things and try to breed her? Wow thats a big jump in prices, I guess that's vets for ya! There's the reason we haven't taken a chicken to the vet and just treat them at home, though I'd feel safer with someone experienced doing it ^^

I guess I'll just have to go through breeders and such next year and find out how they raise their kids, find out what's available at the time and work with that

Wethers and females should be able to co exist, but he will try to do his thing when she goes into heat. Taming any goat is not a problem, i got two full grown angoras from a large angora breeder farm (they had not been handled at ALL except for shearing, which the way it is done with theses guys is traumatic) i had both of them tame, and they are now like puppy dogs, i don't encourage you to band or castrate yourself if you don't know how. And if you dont want to milk a dairy goat whenever she has a kid, get another bottle baby.

 

[annanicole18]

I only read part of your post and stopped. Goats are not house pets, no it doesn't matter if you have a "covered porch". Sounds like you should not get goats unless you are going to find a better living situation for them. I hate to seem so negative but that kind of life for a goat makes me feel bad for them already.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

Hello!

I have two female Nigerian dwarf goats, one female fainter and a Nubian whether. I love them all for different reasons! The Nigerians are very friendly, but I understand they were handled and played with a lot by smaller children. We adopted them a couple of years ago. They love to be picked up and have there ears scratched, will crawl/jump very quickly up the hay stack and come back down no problem. They pretty much keep to themselves (as far as the other goats go) but very much love people. They do not have horns.
My fainter has always been kind of a one-human girl. She will let others pet her once in a while but generally walks away if someone, other than myself, tries to go up to her. Otherwise, she is very friendly with me and loves to be scratched. I got her when she was just weaned and had opted to not have her dehorned. I do regret that, however. While my dogs do not harass the goats, she will hook them if they get too close. Also, we have a rock palace set up for them to play on and she fainted, fell off the rock and broke a horn Wasn't much of an issue, until it started to grow back towards her head. So, she will have to have that one trimmed every year or so! She looks pretty funny with one horn sticking up.
My Nubian is a big fella! I'm not sure what he weighs, but he is tall and very strong. He also has horns, but they are shorter and thicker than Lucy's. He very much likes to be in your space and gets a little huffy if you don't pay attention to him...meaning he will butt you if you ignore him. He chews on everything he can get a hold of and tends to get himself into spots he can't get out of. He's a curious boy.
So! I guess if I were to get more goats I would probably get more Nigerian dwarf goats. They are so even keeled and fun to have around. I don't have to worry about them knocking down my niece or nephews if they hop up, as they are so little and light (and light footed). And I can't tell you if the temperaments of the other two are normal or not for their breeds. That's just been my experience!
I hope this helps and good luck on your new adventure!

 

[CascadiaRiver]

I only read part of your post and stopped. Goats are not house pets, no it doesn't matter if you have a "covered porch". Sounds like you should not get goats unless you are going to find a better living situation for them. I hate to seem so negative but that kind of life for a goat makes me feel bad for them already.

I was only thinking part of the porch to make up for a barn or shed for them to sleep in, not live They would have free range of our yard and such unless the weather got really bad which it rarely does here ^^ Utilizing the space would help cut down on costs for since they're bigger than chickens and pigeons of course but if it does come down to us having to build them a little shelter somewhere in the yard we could ^^

 

[CascadiaRiver]

I was only thinking part of the porch to make up for a barn or shed for them to sleep in, not live They would have free range of our yard and such unless the weather got really bad which it rarely does here ^^ Utilizing the space would help cut down on costs for since they're bigger than chickens and pigeons of course but if it does come down to us having to build them a little shelter somewhere in the yard we could ^^

Whoops wrong wording there, its not just a covered porch, its completely enclosed and safe from all weather, theres one small leak somewhere in the roof of it but its above the sink so it poses so real issue to us ^^

And I understand goats aren't really gonna be house pets like a dog or cat, but I thought it was kinda worth the shot to ask and see if its been done or is able to be done since I hadn't even heard of pigs being kept as pets like a dog until just a few weeks ago, and suddenly I'm seeing people everywhere doing it lol If we did end up getting goats however they would be more outside pets, probably not allowed inside unless for a weird reason they needed to be indoor all the way.

I've been trying to do research on goats this past week in my free time and I'm honestly loving the variety of breeders in our area with so many different kinds of small pet goat breeds, but at the same time theres also a lot of mini pigs hehe It'll all come down to next spring and how our animal situation is looking as its going to be a big year in 4H for me, especially since my pigeon 4H is really uhh in a crazy mess of drama of which I'm trying to stay out of. (another reason I wanna avoid goat 4H lol).

I think if I get the chance this week or weekend for myself I'm going to make a list of pros and cons for goats and compare it to my notes from a few weeks ago about pigs and see if one weighs out over the other, though if neither works out perhaps I can look to the future more and see how events play out by themselves

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Hello!

I have two female Nigerian dwarf goats, one female fainter and a Nubian whether. I love them all for different reasons! The Nigerians are very friendly, but I understand they were handled and played with a lot by smaller children. We adopted them a couple of years ago. They love to be picked up and have there ears scratched, will crawl/jump very quickly up the hay stack and come back down no problem. They pretty much keep to themselves (as far as the other goats go) but very much love people. They do not have horns.
My fainter has always been kind of a one-human girl. She will let others pet her once in a while but generally walks away if someone, other than myself, tries to go up to her. Otherwise, she is very friendly with me and loves to be scratched. I got her when she was just weaned and had opted to not have her dehorned. I do regret that, however. While my dogs do not harass the goats, she will hook them if they get too close. Also, we have a rock palace set up for them to play on and she fainted, fell off the rock and broke a horn Wasn't much of an issue, until it started to grow back towards her head. So, she will have to have that one trimmed every year or so! She looks pretty funny with one horn sticking up.
My Nubian is a big fella! I'm not sure what he weighs, but he is tall and very strong. He also has horns, but they are shorter and thicker than Lucy's. He very much likes to be in your space and gets a little huffy if you don't pay attention to him...meaning he will butt you if you ignore him. He chews on everything he can get a hold of and tends to get himself into spots he can't get out of. He's a curious boy.
So! I guess if I were to get more goats I would probably get more Nigerian dwarf goats. They are so even keeled and fun to have around. I don't have to worry about them knocking down my niece or nephews if they hop up, as they are so little and light (and light footed). And I can't tell you if the temperaments of the other two are normal or not for their breeds. That's just been my experience!
I hope this helps and good luck on your new adventure!

I've gotten to meet some amazing goats at my friends house over the past year, a LaMancha boy named Cowboy who I swear at heart is just a big puppy, and another little boy whose breed I can't remember, could also be a LaMancha but he uses his little front feet to smack at you to let you know he requires petting, you've gotta be careful sitting down because he will softy bonk at your head if possible! Both were lovely but a bit big for me, I love the nubians roman nose/face look as well as the long ears but I feel like no breeders in my area would have them to the smaller size of the Nigerian which I think is what I would more want to aim for ^^ Thank you!