Pygmy Goats-We picked them Thursday! NewPics Page3

[bossynbella]

We have been wanting goats for a while and saw an add in the paper for a bred female for $15 and a male for $5 both Pygmy Goats.
We are thinking of getting these. So far I have read they eat hay and sometimes need supplamental goat feed. I am hoping our local feed store would have that.
Housing it says a small shed or large dog house but I am wondering if they could go into the garage with the chickens. It is a very large area and would be much warmer then a dog house.

Anything else we need to be aware of? How tall are pygmy goats? Would a large Dog crate work to bring them home in?

Thanks in advance
Melissa

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

That sound awfully cheap I would watch out. You may not want a billie in the garage. they are really stinky. Word to the wise also they are very prolific We started with 4 3 does and a billie we now have 3 little does running around and we sold one little buck. All this since last July (2007). We kept the male separated but had no idea he could breed the girls through the fence.We feed our goat pellets everyday along with hay and alot of tree branches and weeds.

 

[bossynbella]

Would a billy do okay outside in an iowa winter? We could give him a dog house or something. We have pleanty of room to keep him separete from the girl.
I thought that sounded very cheep but around here there are alot of people having to get rid of livestock because of no money to feed and the crops didn't do real well either. What should I watch out for? How do I tell if they are healthy or not?

 

[Chatychick]

Sounds like soneone is trying to get rid of them to me. Also some say Pygmy but they might be Nigerians also. I know they do better if there are 2 at least and the buck wont do well on his own with winter as hard as it can get. They need extra bodies for the heat to keep warm. Some do fine but others dont. That is why I have 2 bucks together and is this doe bred to this buck ...hopefully he throws small babies or it can be a problem. I know in this economy right now people are selling off stock fast as the feed is getting really high.
I would go look at the goats and check their health. Look at the gums and eyelids and if they are pale they are wormy, also feel for lumps as this can be a sign of CL and thats not good either. Check feet to see if they ahve been trimmed. Also you can have the buck wethered and he will be safe to keep with her if you decide to keep both.
Hopefully they have been disbudded and dont have horns as goats with horns can tear up a fence fast.
Good luck with your decision and dont make fast decisions.
Yes they can multiply really fast I started with 5 and it soon got to where I had 40...but got numbers down to 26 now... Goats can have anywhere fro 1 to 5 babies so be prepared. I had 1 this year have 4...all lived also...

 

[RickiHupp]

We have pygmy goats and I will say that I LOVE THEM

They need hay, grain, weeds and brush. They love to rummage around in our woods and pick the berry leaves off the vines. When you go and look at the goats make sure none are "hunched" up looking. Thier back should be straight and the tail should be flipped up and laying across the back almost. Thats what I always look at first when I see goats.

Goats are also really great escape artists, I have three bottle fed babies that are now almost a year old and they still squeeze thier fat bellies thru the fence lol

I buy 12% horse grain for my goats, I always have. I usually give about half a flake per goat (20 goats) so I throw about 12 flakes each morning.

Goats come into heat normally when they are put with a buck, it might take a couple of days. They will kid 153 days later.

Coming back into her pen

Almost there....

A little more wiggling...

GOT IT!!!

Our Billy, Nuts. His Girlfriend, Lindsey.

Momma Sweet Pea and her twins (3 days old) See how the baby is hunched up, this pic was taken in the morning and she was a little cold, but if they walk around with thier tail down thats usually a problem (she doesnt

)

Thier favorite game...head butting

I keep all horns on my goats. Just my preference

 

[SGM]

You get what you pay for. So all I can say is tread carefully for goats so cheap. They could be ill or have problems. I hope it really is just a good deal. Those don't happen often anymore. Good luck!

I breed Nigerian Dwarfs and love my Nigies. I've had a few unregistered Pygmies before but prefer Nigerians for their personalities and colors. Now I'm full out dairy and they fit the bill perfectly. All minis are grea though!

 

[chickygirl2]

We have 2 bottle baby pygmy goats - male[castrated] and a female. I love them. The kids and hubby are not so crazy about them. They like to jump on cars- ours and whoever might be parked out front.
Ours never leave the property even though they can.They are little piggies though and try to get the horses grain and the chickens feed. We had them dehorned before they came from the breeder [at weaning age]. If I did it again , I would get 2 females. The male is a little more of a character and likes to butt visitors, but never me.They are always happy to see me and love patting and hugs. They wag their little tails like dogs. : )
Patty

 

[chickygirl2]

I meant to add that there is a bad disease that can cause them to waste away. Be careful that you get from a reputable breeder, or have them tested. I cannot remember the name of the disease.

 

[bossynbella]

Update on the goats!

I asked around at work and everyone said that the price is not suprizing around here no one is that into goats and those that are seem to prefer the boar goats.
So I called the number tonight and the lady was wonderful. She answered all my questions and told me about the goats.
The nanny is 2 yrs old and the billy is 1 yr. I forgot to ask if he was the dad of the baby or not and I forgot to ask how soon before she would have the baby I just got so excited.
She said they would fit in a large dog crate to bring home. So I am guessing they are pretty small.
We will be keeping them in a pen with catttle panels, heavy duty ones and it has chicken wire ran along the outside. Depending on there size we will either be using the duck house if the door is big enough (our ducks are now inside the garage with our chickens), or an old dog house.
Is there a reason we can't keep them together? I don't want them to be lonely. At least until its closer to time for the baby to come.
We will be getting some hay tomarrow or if we can't then we will be getting goat feed at our local feed store. I loved the pics by the way I will post some of these two when we get them tomarrow.

Thanks again
Melissa
Forgot to add that they are dehorned already.

 

[chickygirl2]

That sounds promising. I had to do research on that disease I mentioned . It is called Johnes Disease.
Here is a link:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0003.html
Our breeder had not tested her goats until after we got our babies. She sent a scary email after I had bonded to them saying she was undergoing testing . If the tests came back positive, our little guys would need to be PTS. Talk about being nervous. I wish she had waited to tell us until after the tests came back.