Lets talk about goats!

[cbird]

 

[cbird]

 

[RoboDuck]

Those should be sufficient for identification for anyone who knows their breeds. Hopefully you'll get your answer soon.

 

[H Diamond]

They definitely aren't Saanen Pygmy crosses. They have what we call airplane ears.... you get those by crossing an erect eared animal (like the Saanen) with a pendulous eared animal (like a Boer or Nubian). Kiko goats (a meat breed) have the airplane ears as one of the breed traits. I'm not real familiar with the kikos.. I had a buck once, but that's the only experience I had with them. Are these goats very tall? How old? I can't tell by the pics how big they are. If they are smaller than a full size goat I would guess a pygmy crossed with a nubian or a boer.
If they are big enough to be full size, I would guess Saanen cross with Boer or Kiko.

In your first post, you said you don't know where to start. Do you have just general "I have a goat and don't know what to do with it?" questions? Or do you mean with the breed question?

 

[cbird]

Thanks Diamond. I was told they were born last June they are the size of a fat German shepherd.( I don't know what else to compare them to.. But same size as my dogs) I was looking for some guidance as to what kind of care is needed. We built them a shelter and hay hanger thing. Have elevated the water to drinking height so it won't be contaminated. They are grazing the wooded side of the property and I have been giving them goat pellets from TSC 2x day. I had read about baking soda? Haven't tried this but they have some kind of salt/ mineral bar from TSC that's for goats as well... I just feel like I'm missing something!

 

[RTFchickens]

Thanks Diamond. I was told they were born last June they are the size of a fat German shepherd.( I don't know what else to compare them to.. But same size as my dogs) I was looking for some guidance as to what kind of care is needed. We built them a shelter and hay hanger thing. Have elevated the water to drinking height so it won't be contaminated. They are grazing the wooded side of the property and I have been giving them goat pellets from TSC 2x day. I had read about baking soda? Haven't tried this but they have some kind of salt/ mineral bar from TSC that's for goats as well... I just feel like I'm missing something!

The bakingsoda is for "bloat" I offer it free choice in a bucket hanging on the gate. When they feel they need it, they eat it.
I also have free choice kelp, and loose minerals for goats. I also give 1-3 cloves of garlic daily as my parasite program.

 

[RoboDuck]

As they feel they need it?! LOL!!! I wish my goats were that smart. They lick wet paint because they THINK they need whatever they can get in their mouths. Left as free choice they would eat a whole box of baking soda...lol.

 

[H Diamond]

As they feel they need it?! LOL!!! I wish my goats were that smart. They lick wet paint because they THINK they need whatever they can get in their mouths. Left as free choice they would eat a whole box of baking soda...lol.

You might be suprised. Here is what I tell people when they tell me "goats eat anything". That's a myth, goats are like babies. They put stuff in their mouth to figure out what it is. So, it may seem like goats "eat" anything, when in reality they just "try" anything to see if it's food or not. If you put out baking soda free choice, they are all going to run up and hit it hard thinking "man, new stuff to eat!!' Then they will realize what it is after a few bites and leave it be unless they need it. Same with free choice loose mineral.
Now grain and stuff like that.. yes they will eat it until they just can't eat anymore.
If you try the baking soda and for some random reason they don't leave it be unless they need it, you can just remove it. Unless you have a situation where bloat is likely, they aren't going to really need it. So, as long as you recognize poss bloat situations and provide it then or are ready with some as a drench to dose them it's all good.

@cbird

If your goats are as big as a German Shepherd, then they probably aren't crossed with any of the mini breeds. I would be more inclined to guess Saanen x Boer or something along those lines. Although, they don't look very "Boer-ish", so I dunno.

A shelter and "hay hanger thing" (lol that's awesome) is a great place to start. Elevated water is great. Browse is great.
How much and what "goat pellet"?
You really should be giving them free choice hay if possible. You said you have the hay feeder, but nothing about hay, so let me know about that.

Any type of mineral block or bar is no good... they are comprised mainly of salt, not mineral. You want to get a good loose goat mineral that works for your area. I'm sure your TSC carries the Manna Pro goat mineral, and that would be an ok place to start. I would suggest checking around to see what you are deficient in your area and base your future mineral purchases off that.

So, goats need: shelter, water, mineral, hay (browse if possible), and some type of energy concentrate if the situation dictates. You've covered all the major parts, good job! Other things to consider are vaccines.. CD&T is the most common. I honestly don't vaccinate against anything else. If I started showing again.. maybe, but not necessary right now.

Make sure you have a few basic medcines/medical supplies on hand because goats don't get sick on Tuesday morning when every vet is open. They get sick on Saturday night when none are open, lol.

ETA: I forgot about wormer! Every once in a awhile you should get a fecal done or mail one off to have looked at. This will tell you if you need to worm your girls or not. DO NOT go buy the Safeguard wormer (liquid, pellets, any of the "goat wormer" products) 95% of the time it will not work. It's been over used and beat into the ground so much that everything is resistant to it. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW WHAT WORMER YOU NEED IS TO GET A FECAL DONE. People just throw wormer at their goats because they won't spend the $10 for a fecal ( yes I realize a lot of vets charge more than that, but there is a place you can mail the samples to and get it done for $5 a sample) They don't dose it correctly, then you get resistant worms that are even harder to get rid of and you still need a fecal done. (stepping off the soap box now)

 

[RoboDuck]

I know they won't eat anything.... It just seems like they do. You would have thought one tongue swipe on the wet paint would have been enough to deter but nooooo...lol. Even one of the horses wasn't deterred by the odor of the paint and stuck her whole muzzle in the paint can. Now we know we have to lock everyone up before the next paint project.

Now on a side note...a little over 30 years ago my neighbor had a nanny goat. No clue what breed but she was about 70 pounds. As kids we would feed her paper and plastic bread bags after giving her the bread ends. Candy wrappers, newspaper and whatever else we could think of to give her. We were kids and didn't know any better but she would eat it uf she could chew it.

My whether ate a paper towel he stole while I was having lunch. I tried to get it and he ran away until he got it swallowed then came back hoping for another snack.

 

[H Diamond]

Lol, my doe ate a chuck of hard blue plastic one time... I was like... really? That seemed like a good idea to you?
I also have a couple does that have an affinity for chlorhexadine solution. No idea why, but if they have the opportunity, they would guzzle it.