thinking of getting goats? goat tips?

[jadie]

I've always wanted goats and my parents always said no. this spring I got chickens to try and show them that I can handle caring for animals. when I've mentioned getting a goat they haven't immediately said no like before and seem to be thinking about it. but before I get to crazy I want to know what i'm getting into. I know goats are a lot more than chickens haha

if you know anything about goats all is appreciated
how much indoor and outdoor room do they need?
diet? winter? bedding?
breeds? I like the Boers and mini Norwegian but I don't know much about them yet
what about milking?

thanks a lot!!!!
ps I have 6 chickens that just started laying eggs I am getting about 1 day will they get bigger and produce faster? and how long
thanks hoping to sell

 

[happyhens1972]

I have two gorgeous crossbred pygmy goats, Teddy and Tumnus. They live in a pen 30 feet by 15 feet, built from stake and pale fencing covered with thick cattle mesh. Sturdy fencing is a must, chicken wire will not suffice, and it needs to be high enough that they cannot get their front feet over and bent at the knee. I have a purpose built goat shed which is 8ft by 6ft and has a fitted hay rack. There is also a low bench in there as goats like to sleep off the floor. I use wood chipping as a substrate and will add blankets in the winter. I have tried straw and hay as bedding but they eat every last scrap!

Goats are pretty weather hardy....can tolerate heat and cold very well and will grow/shed their fur accordingly. As long as their house is away from draughts, they will tolerate low temps well and they will need shade for hot weather.

I take them out for walks on a leash most days to give them more space, exercise and opportunity to browse. Their daily staple diet consists of free fed hay, a proprietry goat vitamin supplement (Caprivite) added to a handful of goat muesli and a handful of BOSS. They also have a salt and mineral lick in their house which they pay occasional attention to.

On their walks, they get to browse on a whole variety of trees....birch, beech, rowan, oak (best to stick to old growth), willow, apple, elm, hawthorn, as well as brambles, grass (usually only very long or dry), dead nettle and dandelion.

Any fruit tree that has pitted fruit, such as cherry or plum, are toxic and should be avoided. Any plant that grows from a bulb is also toxic (daffodil, crocus, tulip etc)

My boys will eat apple, pear, carrot, broccoli, spinach, sweetcorn, bread and water biscuits but these are rare treats, given in small doses because of the sugar/starch content.

They will also eat carrier bags, clothes, plastic storage boxes, chicken food (feeder and all!), chicken feathers, wellington boots, their leashes and just about any other seemingly non-edible item that you can think of!! I have found that goats can actually be extremely fussy over what 'real' food they will eat but will eat anything at all if it is something they SHOULDN'T have!

A fresh, clean water supply is essential at all times. In winter, it should be warmed as very cold water can give them stomach ache and in summer, a fresh, cool supply a couple of times a day won't go amiss.

My two boys are like dogs....they follow me everywhere, love to be petted, wag their tails when they're happy and also love playing with their football, chasing each other round, playing 'King of the Castle' and growling at each other when they've decided enough is enough.

Mine are both disbudded wethers. It is recommended that horned and de-horned/polled goats are not housed together as the horned ones will have a dominance advantage over those without horns but I have also heard of many people who have both together without problems.

Teddy and Tumnus get on fine with my chickens most of the time but have occasionally head-butted them to get them out of the way of a tasty bit of grass or whatever. They WILL eat all the chicken food so if you plan to co-habit them, you will need to keep the chicken food in a place that is inaccessible to the goats otherwise they will most certainly get fat while your chickens get skinny and too much processed food will also lead to potentially fatal bloat!

I have only had experience with pygmies at the moment....mine are about the size of a cocker spaniel and a springer spaniel I guess...but I hope to get some Nubians or Boers when I move to bigger premises.

I hope this helps but if you have any questions, fire away

By the way, you said you are getting about one egg a day from your chickens....do you mean one in total or one per bird?

Depending on their breed, they will settle down to laying one egg each per day/every other day but it may take several weeks after they first start laying, to get into this. They will not lay more than one each per day ever. The pure breeds tend to lay less than the hybrids and laying can be disrupted by poor health, new additions, broodiness, flock disputes, predator presence....pretty much anything that upsets them really.

 

[Skipspin]

I'd look into all the different kinds of goats:
Dairy goats (Nigerian Dwarfs are dairy goats)
Market/Meat goats (Boers are meat goats)
Or just any cute pet goat... mixed, etc.

What do you want from your goat? Just a pet? Do you want to be able to sell babies for pets? milk? meat? Do you want to show your goats at the fair or for 4-H? If so I'd recommend going to a show/fair and walking around and talking to people.

If you just want cute pets that will eat brush/weeds, you could get two wethers (castrated males.) They are wonderful pets, inexpensive (especially dairy or mini breeds), and you don't have to worry about babies, etc.

If you get a doe and a buck you can't keep them together all the time, so I wouldn't advise that if you want backyard pets. So, really you are looking for does or wethers, or one of each. You need at least two goats since they are herd animals. Then, if you want to breed the doe you will need to have a buck you can "borrow" once a year. My daughter has 3 dairy goats and no plans to get a buck soon. It's much easier and cheaper to pay to borrow one than to feed and house one all year, plus we won't get stuck with a buck that's related to all our does that way and don't have to worry about him getting out and having babies when we don't want.

 

[jadie]

thanks id like to milk and even breed them but I don't think my parents will let me. so id like a goat just a friendly pet and to help clean up the yard
I know that they need a friend but I was wondering if it had to be a goat? I have a 6 yr old golden but they most likely wouldn't be together during the day very ofter (during work) would that be a problem and do I need to get at least 2? my dog likes to rough house and attack animals (she treed a bear and drew blood from a beaver) so I don't want to count 100% on them being together just in case.
and say im going to build a goat house and put it inside their outdoor area how big should be at least? (lets say for 2 goats)
I was thinking 4x5 and have it be shaped as a right triangle so they could climb one side? is that stupid, too small or what? also the run would be about 20x10 ish
thanks so much ive just started looking into goats

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Backyardherds.com
Kinda a reason they made that site :/ has a lot of stickies on goat care and such.

 

[jorey]

Hi. You really do need to get 2 if you get them and it sounds like your dog should not be around them at all. Since you've never had goats I would start out with 2 dehorned wethers. Do not get babies to bottle feed till after you have some experiance with goats. Both bottle babies and milking does require alot of time and a set schedule. Pygmys and nigerians are great. Not too noisy and very friendly. And small. Nubians wonderful but noisy and big. You will have to feed hay along with letting them browse and trim their hooves. They are a lot of work but in my opinion worth it. And you should check out backyard herds. I learned so much from that site when I was researching before I got my goats. If you have anymore questions please feel free to pm me and I ll try to answer to the best of my knowledge. I think you are doing the right thing by asking before getting them despite what others might say.

 

[happyhens1972]

Yes, two is a must...it sounds like your dog should be kept well away and besides, they will not get what they need from any other species. I know you can co-habit different animals but nothing quite caters as well as 'one of your own kind'. I would say that your dimensions for the house and run are the absolute bare minimum and would ONLY allow for a dwarf/pygmy breed, it's not big enough for a 'full size' pair of goats. Pygmies, in any case, are ideal for a first timer....easily tamed, easily handled and not too scary on the pocket when it comes to feed costs.

As mentioned, they will need regular hoof trimming as well as de-worming and vaccinating against whatever is endemic in your region. I live in the UK and worm and vaccinate mine against pulpy kidney, dysentry and tetanus every six months. There is nothing licensed here for goats so I have to use stuff designed for lambs/sheep.