Lamancha with blue eyes and a cute pygmy - First time goat owner I am excited!

[Moochie]

The lamancha sounds like a mini if it has blue eyes~nigerian/lamancha and pygmy goats don't have blue eyes only nigerians do. They are great pets just remember to feed proper goat feed nonmedicated in small amounts since wethers don't need a lot of grain. Keep a mineral block out or loose goat minerals. Worm only when needed and use the same wormer till it doesn't work anymore. Gamancha method works great for worm check. Never give cow hay and not alfalfa since they are wethers just good dry hay or as much forage as they want.

Not alfalfa? The guy at the feed store said that goats are finnicky and he only feeds his alfalfa because his won't touch pellets. I'm just giving them what they were fed at their farm. The guy that I got them from was raising them for meat but I fell in love and had to take a couple for myself. I only bought 1 bag of grain and I'll slowly switch them over to the dried up crab grass. I did get them de-wormer, mana mill brand, and I did buy a vaccine for them at the feed store. The worker there recently had his does kid and I have seen his so he's not a liar.. I don't want to buy a 50lb bag of pellets if they're not going to eat them. I know it's nonmedicated grain, I checked it.
They have a mineral block although I'm not sure if they've touched it yet. They're getting jumpy so I'll be moving a huge wooden spinel into their pen tomorrow. My fence is 6 feet high with no grip so even if they get adventurous they won't be getting out. I'm in luck if the mancha is a mini because I didn't want any big goats.

 

[Moochie]

Pretty boy smiled for the picture too :-]

 

[Moochie]

My main concern right now is how do I get a hold of them so I can trim their hooves.. Should I do it at night when they are calmer? Do I need someone to assist me even at night? The pygmy can really move so I'm not doing anything during the day lol...

 

[Mini Madness]

Not alfalfa? The guy at the feed store said that goats are finnicky and he only feeds his alfalfa because his won't touch pellets. I'm just giving them what they were fed at their farm. The guy that I got them from was raising them for meat but I fell in love and had to take a couple for myself. I only bought 1 bag of grain and I'll slowly switch them over to the dried up crab grass. I did get them de-wormer, mana mill brand, and I did buy a vaccine for them at the feed store. The worker there recently had his does kid and I have seen his so he's not a liar.. I don't want to buy a 50lb bag of pellets if they're not going to eat them. I know it's nonmedicated grain, I checked it.
They have a mineral block although I'm not sure if they've touched it yet. They're getting jumpy so I'll be moving a huge wooden spinel into their pen tomorrow. My fence is 6 feet high with no grip so even if they get adventurous they won't be getting out. I'm in luck if the mancha is a mini because I didn't want any big goats.

 

[Mini Madness]

Alfalfa has to much calcium for a wether~does/bucks are fine on it. This will cause urinary calculi which could potentially kill the goat. Good quality hay is fine or if you have pasture there is no need for hay except winter unless you have fescue. Wethers need very little grain and as long as it is a proper goat feed it will be fine. Feeding a diff doesn't have the right nutritional value needed for caprines. Don't worry about stressing them out doing there feet just grab them and do it. There is no time of day that is better or worse as far as less stress. You can give them nutra drench or power punch when done if worried about stress. The thing with pellets is you don't know if they got the right dose for their size which is why I hand worm mine~I have 40 goats and 9 sheep and been raising(children showed for awhile) for 16yrs. Most ppl do what is easy and not necessarly the right thing to do. Goatwisdom or goat forum are great facebook information pages.

 

[Gerbil]

Also BackyYardHerds, there's a link to them at the bottom of this page, sister-site!
Probably two people to trim. You will need to grab them and they probably won't be pleased, but they are small. One person hold the goat tightly and the other pick up a foot and trim, carefully.


2x's what Mini Madness said, somehow I missed the Alfalfa thing in your earlier post, definitely switch. (Still gradually!)
Only our does get alfalfa and grain regularly, and they're milking! Wethers don't do much but eat, aside from the urinary of course, they just don't need the extra. You can use the grain as a treat though.. Only give it (Small amounts/etc/etc) to them if they come over to you. There are also various other treats, healthy ones too. lol

And loose minerals is probably the safest way to go. Mineral blocks generally don't have enough copper, (unless they specifically say "goat", and even then sometimes) .

They are adorable, btw! Definitely a Mini-Mancha or some sort of cross though, love the spots.

 

[Moochie]

Oh man I didn't mean to do the wrong thing :/ The pygmy keeps having diarrhea too, he did not have it at his old place though, it only started when I brought him home. I bought a whole bale for the goats, it seems that it is going to last a while. I'm letting chickens out with the goats so it can go faster but they're not really eating it. Any other uses for alfalfa? Would my ducks like it?
Do most feed stores carry the clover hay? I just want to make sure it's not something I have to hunt around for.. The bale of alfalfa was so heavy I had someone help me so I guess the clover hay must be heavy too. I don't give them too much grain, one small cup in the morning and same in the evening. Both seem to like the dried up crab grass so I've been cutting that all day and spreading it around their pen very liberally.
I don't have a pasture but I do have a large property that does need some clearing here and there. Their pen is pretty big though, it's actually just a side yard [fenced in] with an enclosed chicken coop and run. I want to befriend them before moving them though, the mancha is getting a little comfortable with me and is letting me scratch him. As you can see he has a collar so one day when he's petting zoo friendly I'll leash train him and then move him to where I need him to go. The pygmy the same, he isn't comfortable with me yet but we'll get there. I sit outside with them everyday.

 

[Gerbil]

Could be stress, could be something he found and ate that was off. I would definitely get an account on one of the goat forums, or at least do a search on one. Watch him for a change in anything or worsening diarrhea. There are probiotics you can give them, but I would post on a goat site and list the symptoms and what not.

At their old farm, were they on a diet of only alfalfa and grain? I would still divvy it up a bit, if they've been on it this long being on it another week or so while you're introducing a new hay/pasture won't do too much of anything. That should use up a bit of it.

We use coastal hay, but most feed stores carry a wide variety. Haven't seen clover in ours, but several others in our area carry it. Shouldn't be too hard to find, at least I don't think. Most hays will be much lighter than alfalfa, it's so dense.
Our ducks liked it, they would just root around in it. The only problem with it is it molds pretty quickly if it gets damp!

 

[Mini Madness]

Give him 15cc of pepto up to 3x day and no grain or alfalfa just bermuda hay for a while. You can get a package of electrolytes from trac supply which will help him. Stress could cause it or are they sleeping and around a lot of chickens? They can get cocci from them. If the chickens are occasionaly(and ducks as well) around them that is fine. I would keep some apple cider vinager in the water everyday. This helps with internal parasites and cocci.

 

[Moochie]

I joined goat wisdom on Facebook. I only let out the chickens occasionally, some days no chickens.