Got my Goats!! with Pics

[chicmom]

I'm getting a baby goat in about a month, when it is weaned from it's mama. It is half pygmy, and half some type of dairy goat.....an accidental mating.....He's really cute, tan and white with long floppy ears. He will be neutered and de-horned....

Your goats are just darling....I especially like the little black and white one....

I'm very excited! Thanks for sharing your story....I also need all the advice I can get!

Sharon

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

BTW, all of you goat folks would enjoy joining BYC's sister site www.backyardherds.com.

 

[totallytang]

Quote:
Be very careful if you are going to chain your goats… their necks are different than dogs and they can get hurt if they spook and run while chained. When I first started out with goats when I was 11 I lived in a small PA town and didn’t have much room so I would tie my goats out, but I started them when they were babies. When you start them on a tie out they are going to run against it if they have never been on one before. When they are babies, say three weeks old they don’t weigh much so it not as big a deal. When they are big and they do that it can break their necks. Also watch that they don’t get tangled in it, even my goats that were used to getting tied would occasionally get caught up in it. Also, I would be very careful when placing the tie out in the ground that the goats cannot get hung up on anything… my friends goat almost choked to death one day when she was tied out because she jumped down 2 ½ foot rock ledge and got caught. I never ever left my goats untended for more than 15 mins when they were tied out… and they would still get into trouble sometimes. I am not saying it is bad to tie your goats out if you have to, but it should be done with supervision and great care. My goats, once they learned how far they could go before the end to the leash would stop before hurting their necks. My goats also learn to stand there and call to me when they got tangled instead of struggling. Good luck with your kids : ) goats are so much fun! I have had them and raised them most of my life and they are my favorite animal!

 

[mangled]

Yeah, we decided not to chain them. They were far too distressed by it.

Today they've been pretty good. We put the dogs up by the garden and hopefully they'll keep them off the garden until we can fence it.

They follow us around like dogs, LOL. So far, they seem to like to hang out on the deck, of all places.

They followed us down to our spring when we went to get water for the garden, which is about 1/8 mile from our house. They followed the tractor down and followed us right back up. They're actually very cool to have around.

Thanks-
Blessings-
Em