Lets talk about goats!

[Fancychooklady]

Here is the above mentioned goat's hooves. Is he foundered or what? I am new to all this. He's my first pygmy or goat of any kind. I will upload some more pics of him.

If the hooves feel hot to touch then founder may be your problem. They are proned to go lame and get around on their knees. Take all grain away and lower the protein level. An Epsom salt drench will help . Supply a good salt block.

 

[ChickyChickens]

My third Boer goat has finally kidded to a single buckling! Now we have three first-time mommas and 4 little babes! 3 males 1 female! Sadly so little girls as we want to breed!

 

[chickieluver26]

I do not currently have goats but it's all I think and dream about. We live on an acre and are allowed to have anything but roosters in our neighborhood. We have chickens,dogs,a cat, and fish, but it is my dream to have 2-4 Nigerian dwarf goat does and maybe a whether!!! I already spoke to my parents separately and my father was fully opposed but not fully on board and I couldn't tell what my mother thought. I have done hours and hours of research and sketched housing, pen layouts, and just anything about goats I already know names and where I want to get them. Can people please tell me the good and the bad about owning goats or ways I can convince my parents to allow me to get them. I am very responsible and treat my animals like royalty, I do however struggle when it comes to my grades. As I am starting school I three days I figured I will talk to my parents when I get my 5th report card or before next summer. I am currently saving my money hoping that having all the money I would need would help.sorry about the long post but I am desperate to get goats and can use all the help I can get!!! Thank you so much
-Alicia

 

[Stacykins]

I do not currently have goats but it's all I think and dream about. We live on an acre and are allowed to have anything but roosters in our neighborhood. We have chickens,dogs,a cat, and fish, but it is my dream to have 2-4 Nigerian dwarf goat does and maybe a whether!!! I already spoke to my parents separately and my father was fully opposed but not fully on board and I couldn't tell what my mother thought. I have done hours and hours of research and sketched housing, pen layouts, and just anything about goats I already know names and where I want to get them. Can people please tell me the good and the bad about owning goats or ways I can convince my parents to allow me to get them. I am very responsible and treat my animals like royalty, I do however struggle when it comes to my grades. As I am starting school I three days I figured I will talk to my parents when I get my 5th report card or before next summer. I am currently saving my money hoping that having all the money I would need would help.sorry about the long post but I am desperate to get goats and can use all the help I can get!!! Thank you so much
-Alicia

The problem with you being a minor is that a lot can change in your life very quickly. For instance, if you pursue higher education (college or trade school) after high school....who takes care of the goats?

Also, how are you going to pay for them? Not just the initial purchase cost (what most kids only think about) but the cost of housing, feed, and medical care. I know I've racked up two expensive veterinary bills with my goats (one with frothy bloat, and one with a stuck kid even the vet had trouble extracting), but I have a job and can pay for such things. If you are a minor, you are not employable. And trust me, weekly allowance won't cover an emergency veterinary bill. It'll hardly even cover a bottle of ivermectin for worming, unless your parents are extraordinarily generous.

So think about it, the goats will be more of your parents' goats than your goats. They'll be paying the upkeep. And they might not want to have to pay for the upkeep. Unfortunately, good grades don't put money on the table until you are towards the end of your schooling and on the hunt for a decent job.

So when they say no, don't say life is unfair and blame them. Animals are expensive and time consuming. When you are an adult and on your own, you will definitely be able to get goats.

Because you are on such a tiny parcel of land and are in Texas, your hay costs are going to be enormous. It isn't like you can turn out your goats to graze, there will be nothing to graze on.

 

[BelleInBoots]

Hey guys! so excited to see your forum as my husband and i just purchased our first little home(stead-to-be ) and plan to get goats as soon as we can make the arrangements! ek! I had them as a girl and fell in love and have been waiting to get them again ever sense. i still remember some things, but have lots of questions as we get everything ready, so please feel free to point me in the right direction if any of you have any good resources of info as i get started. we have hens and a small garden so far but I just cant wait to get a pair of does! If you have time I would love to know your opinions:

We are in a residential area (no restrictions) and would like to put up a nice white fence. what sort of requirements would i need to follow for space between boards etc...? and as a child we used electric, would that be neccesary to add to keep them in a horse style fence or was that a thing of the past used as cheap fencing? id rather not as we have three young children and i remember it getting me good several times as a kid ;-) and of course any tips on keeping the cost down would be helpful.

We own just two acres of land, most is in pretty "fields" of grass/weeds. so most is usable but I was thinking of fencing off one of the side yard that im guessing might be about 1/2 acre. Is that enough to keep two does and their kids (till sold) on, if i want them to forage as much as possible, do I need to do more?

does anyone have rough estimates of how much I should expect to pay for hay/ grain and possible vet bills so that I can budget?

What sort of food water despensers do you use?

We are planning on getting Saanens, by the way. What do you guys do with excess milk? I'm guessing its probably more than one family would need. we arent allowed to sell it without a permit, right? I would love to make all my own cheese/soap, but that would probably take more time than and energy than available on a weekly basis, right? and what about selling the cheese?

and sense were on byc, does anyone else let their hens run with the goats and or use shared housing? we have ours in a chicken tractor right now but would lave to let them range in the goat fence assuming that wouldnt cause any problems that im not thinking of.

thanks for reading!!!

Christie

 

[Crickett]

Wow! Lots of plans goings there! About fencing, plan for Godzilla, not Bambi. Goats can and will get out of most anything! Being intelligent animals, they love a puzzle! Electric is nearly a must, unless you plan on doing a lot of chasing. As for chickens and goats together, make sure 100% that the goats cannot get to the chicken feed. It's a recipe for disaster if they do. I don't know the specific restrictions for your area on raw milk or cheese, but around here we can "give " it away. In return the recipient will "give " us products for our needs. (Vegetables, fruits, etc.)
Hope this helps! And good luck!

 

[Findtex]

Rocket and Sprocket find a dry place out of the rain.

 

[chickieluver26]

We are thinking about possibly getting 2 miniature Nubian does or 2 Nigerian dwarf does and we were wondering if with some editing this could be made into a suitable goat shelter.

If so what editing do you think it would need?

 

[cafarmgirl]

We are thinking about possibly getting 2 miniature Nubian does or 2 Nigerian dwarf does and we were wondering if with some editing this could be made into a suitable goat shelter.

If so what editing do you think it would need?

Gosh they'd have a heck of a lot of fun climbing all over that thing lol! They'd even go down the slide if you left it on! As far as actual shelter, unless you add on it might be a bit small. If I'm correct in assuming that the large, center square area would be the enclosed shelter part? The thing about goats is that at feeding time they tend to get really bull headed and greedy so it's best if you have plenty of room. I always have one more feeder then the number of goats I have and it's always like musical chairs. They eat for a minute and then decide that everybody else MUST be eating something so much better then what they have. Without enough room the boss goat will hog the feed. In a very small shelter a boss goat may even hog the space and keep lower ranking goats out completely.

Make sure that structure is really sturdy and sound, no rotten or soft areas, because they are going to be really hard on it. I have seen some of my senior does get on top of their picnic table and just jump straight up and down, over and over, just because it makes a lot of noise! And if they have their horns they will butt and rake everything in sight with those horns.

 

[chickieluver26]

Gosh they'd have a heck of a lot of fun climbing all over that thing lol!  They'd even go down the slide if you left it on!  As far as actual shelter, unless you add on it might be a bit small.  If I'm correct in assuming that the large, center square area would be the enclosed shelter part?  The thing about goats is that at feeding time they tend to get really bull headed and greedy so it's best if you have plenty of room.  I always have one more feeder then the number of goats I have and it's always like musical chairs.  They eat for a minute and then decide that everybody else MUST be eating something so much better then what they have.  Without enough room the boss goat will hog the feed.  In a very small shelter a boss goat may even hog the space and keep lower ranking goats out completely.

Make sure that structure is really sturdy and sound, no rotten or soft areas, because they are going to be really hard on it.  I have seen some of my senior does get on top of their picnic table and just jump straight up and down, over and over, just because it makes a lot of noise!  And if they have their horns they will butt and rake everything in sight with those horns.

I thought that either the top, middle or both could be the main sheltered area. And that the feeders would hang below under everything in the covered area.