Nigerian Dwarf goats?

[barnyardblast]

My husband and I currently have 29 chickens (we've had them about three months) and were looking into adding goats onto our farm. We had one fenced in area that would support 2 - 3 goats so we went looking. My husband fell in love with them and purchased six - one male, one wethered kid, 2 adult females and 2 babies. We pick them up this week-end.

(I did warn my husband that we would need to build another pen before bringing them all home - the one we have is large enough but I knew not to put the bucks/does together).

I'm reading up on goats, but I still feel uncertain about what to have on hand for them. My husband has left that up to me since he and friends are building two more fenced in areas with shelter. (He tends to overbuild).

I know that I need sleeping benches. But after that things are fuzzy.

What bedding do most people use? Is straw what is typically done? Also, I'm confused about the feeding - my understanding is that hay is fed throughout the day (in a corner style container that I can't remember the name of) and that grain is given twice a day. How much grain? Is there a formula for what they should get? I don't want to over or under feed them.

One of the babies is still nursing. I hadn't planned to continue milking but how frequently should the little one be allowed to go to his mother to nurse? (It's the wether so will be kept separately). If my memory is correct the little kids are two months, one adult is about a year, the other is not quite two years and the buck is 2 years.

Any suggestions appreciated. We live in a small community but on about 40 acres (my mother has the neighboring 30 acres). There are a few tractor supply places but not many around here raise goats.

Thanks

 

[CityFarmer202]

Hay is the best thing for them and it will need to be off the ground...they are pretty picky eaters

Being goats, they also like to browse (eat branches, leaves, weeds, trees, etc) so an area where they have access to overgrown brush and woods is always appreciated.

Don't feed the buck or wether grain other than little treats, It commonly causes them to have kidney stone. If the girls don't have a baby(s) on them, or u aren't milking them, they don't need grain either as long as they have plenty of browse and/or hay.

You can milk twice a day and separate the baby to bottle feed it or milk once in the morning and let the baby be with her the rest of the day.

u will want to have your buck housed separately with the wether to keep him company, unless u don't mind not being able to control when you have babies. Plus when bucks are in rut, they pee all over themselves to attract the girls, who for some reason go crazy over it Bucks will also make any milk taste goaty.

Bedding is all in ur personal opinion (and your goats). Some like to just sleep on dirt, while others prefer to use the straw of shavings...just try whatever is easiest for you and go from there

They also really like to have things like playsets and rocks and fallen trees to climb on a jump off.

Nigerian dwarf goat milk is the richest goat milk, with a butterfat content at 8-10% making for very sweet, and creamy milk. The commercial dairy goats butterfat is around 2-3%, so its like 2% milk (tasteless and watery) Nigerian milk actually tastes like raw cow milk if there is no buck with them and it is chilled. Nothing like the nasty goat milk u buy in the store.

Nigerians will give 2 cups of milk to a half gallon of milk and it makes super good cheese This little niffy thing is good for those naughty goats that always want to stick their hoof in the bucket www.henrymilker.com

Have fun With your new Goats!!! They are truly the funniest barnyard animals ever. U never get tired of watching them play and run around

 

[barnyardblast]

Thanks. None of the adult females are pregnant at the moment, but we hope to breed in the fall. We're building separate quarters for the buck and wether. Thanks for the other info, I'm taking notes and hope I don't mess it up.

 

[CityFarmer202]

welcome