Goats - The Basics

Like any living creatures, goats need food, water and shelter. They are relatively easy to keep, but do require a bit of maintenance.

Food

Our home-made hay manger

Goats are browsers, so they should have access to a wide variety of plant matter in order to stay healthy. Goats will munch on grass, weeds, leaves, twigs, and bark. If these items are in short supply or winter snow has covered them, hay should be provided. It is also a good idea to have some grain for those little fellows to nibble on. A little goes a long way, so watch your portions! Over feeding grain will cause your goats to become overweight (like mine.) Especially at risk for grain-induced obesity are wethered bucks and does which are not pregnant or in milk. My dry doe and her wether son tend to hog more than their fair share of grain and, therefore, are quite fat indeed. I wonder if they would go jogging? They certainly need it.

Well-used salt block

Some type of mineral should also be provided, either in the form of a salt block or in a granulated form mixed with grain. Goats benefit from mineral mixes that are high in copper. Take care if you are keeping your goats with sheep or other forms of livestock, though. Too much copper can kill sheep.
Always feed goats from a bin, bowl or trough. Eating grain off of the ground can increase worm infestation, and may lead to coccidosis, which may be lethal.

Water

Our raised trough

Goats need access to clean water at all times. Goats will not drink dirty water, and can become dehydrated as a result. If keeping your goats with any type of waterfowl (ducks, geese, etc) be sure to raise your water troughs off the ground a bit to discourage bathing in them. One method that we use is to put your trough on top of an old tire.

Shelter

The goats' and birds' mansion

Goats need a spot to get out of the rain, snow, wind and sun. It doesn't need to be a fancy or particularly large structure, just has to have a roof and at least three walls. Our goats are spoiled. They have a two-room house that they share with the birds, windows, a shingle roof, and a covered porch.

Hooves

Since hooves are continually growing, they need to be checked and trimmed on a regular basis. I like to try to trim hooves every month or two, but check the hooves and feet every week or so for length, soundness, injuries, or signs of rot. Hoof root can occur when feet are not kept trimmed and clean. A sharp pair of garden shears (with narrow blades) and a drywall rasp will do well for trimming and shaping goat hooves. I will be posting an article on trimming hooves, so please be sure to check back later for more detailed information!

Worms

All goats have worms. Although it is impossible to eliminate worms entirely, steps should be taken to keep their numbers as low as possible. Worm your goats on a regular basis, but step up your efforts during the springtime, or when stress levels are high (moved to another area, added new goat to herd, change in diet.) Worming medication comes in an oral suspension, an injectable, or in pelleted forms. You can choose which method you prefer, but try to change it up periodically so that the worms don't build a resistance. If you need help on the subject, I hope to write an article in the future on how to administer worming medication. In the meantime, check with a goat breeder or livestock veterinarian if you have any questions on administration or dosages.

Vaccinations

Your goats will need a CDT shot annually. Their first shot can be administered after they are about 8 weeks of age. Please check back frequently, as I hope to write an article in the future on giving injections to goats. When in doubt, seek out an experienced hand. Either from a veterinarian, or a trusted goat breeder.

Goat-Proofing

Goat-proofed peach tree

Goats explore with their mouths, and will chew anything that they can fit in their mouths. As a result, great care must be taken when deciding which items are appropriate to keep within access of goats. So far, our goats have eaten the wiring for our sprinkler timer, torn apart and broken plastic flower pots, torn up weed blocking plastic sheeting under the gravel in the back yard, eaten the wiring and igniter switch on a barbecue grill, and are currently working on stripping the bark off of one of our trees. They also eat any piece of paper or plastic bag that happens to blow into their territory. The only thing that seems to deter goats from doing whatever it is that they are doing, that they know they shouldn't be doing (like eating chicken feed, or climbing up on the back porch,) is spraying them with the hose. Getting wet is very low on their list of preferred activities.

My Baby Goats are All Grown Up!

Ronnie and Shaggy, the first day we got them! About 9 months old.

    

Shaggy, gassed out after chasing me!

Ronnie, looking very curious.

First there were two goats, Shaggy and Ronnie, and they were the best of friends! Shaggy was very friendly and personable, a cross between a Nigerian Dwarf and a pygmy,  while Ronnie, a full Nigerian Dwarf, was very skittish and nervous. When Shaggy and Ronnie came to our house they were about 9 months old. When December rolled around Ronnie came into heat, so we thought it would be fun to have some baby goats roaming around! Since Shaggy is a wether (a neutered male) we would need some help for this task! We "borrowed" a billy goat from Dan the Goat Man. This billy goat's name was Wee-Man and he was a handsome spotted goat. Eventually I began to call him the bully goat, because he was always picking on Shaggy. Wee-Man stayed at our house for a month, and we sent him back to Dan fat, healthy and well-satisfied. Now we just had to wait to see if anything ever happened between Wee-Man and Ronnie goat. When Willie had gone to pick up our goats there was this tiny little newborn pygmy goat that was SO excited to drink milk that she she would suckle, then yell, suckle, then yell. He got to pick her up, and she was so itty bitty!

Dani, 4 months old

At the beginning of the year, we had gotten some money back from taxes, and we decided to pay Dan the Goat Man a visit. There she was, that tiny little goat Willie saw before. She was actually Shaggy goat's little sister, she was born on our anniversary, and they had named her Frankie. She was still cute and little, and still yelling! She looked like a little sheep. We decided to bring her home, and we named her Dani. If only we knew what we were getting ourselves into! Ronnie had already established herself as the "queen" goat, and wouldn't let little Dani in the house. Poor little Dani would just sit out in the rain crying and crying. Eventually I had to step in. Whenever Ronnie goat would push Dani out into the rain, I would come out, push Dani goat back into the house, and push Ronnie goat out. Gave her a taste of her own medicine. She didn't care for the flavor. It only took a few times of pushing Ronnie out the door, and keeping her there, before she realized that I'm the queen goat, and I want Dani in the house.

Ronnie's belly is getting fat with babies!

Eventually, Ronnie started to get kind of fat around the mid-section, and our suspicions that she may be pregnant grew. We got more and more anxious to know how many babies she would have, and to meet the little fellows. I thought for sure that for as big as she had gotten, she MUST have at least three kids kicking around in there. She began to look as wide as she was tall! We would just have to wait.

Look at how tiny Dani was compared to her friends!

Little Dani goat got bigger, but she didn't get any quieter. We nearly went insane! Whenever we were outside, she was quiet, as soon as we left, chaos. Eventually we figured out that little Dani was lonely, she was the third wheel in our little goat family, and people were the best friends she had. Goats are kind of cliquish and Shaggy and Ronnie picked on her, since she was the new goat. Since she was too small to fight back, all she could do was run away and call for her friends. She was a sad little goat for awhile, but we loved her and spent as much time with her as we could.

Two tiny, spotty goats!

One day, Willie and I came home, and we got our little bucket of grain and a fat flake of hay, and went into the back yard to feed the goats and chickens. We had been working all day, and, therefore, had been away from the house for the majority of the day. Little Dani came running out to greet us, so did Shaggy goat, but there was one goat missing. We looked out to the goat house and saw Ronnie standing in the doorway, then we saw a little flash of white around her feet. She had given birth while we were at work! We had prepped and planned and worried about when she would give birth, we even had a baby goat receiving kit with towels, and bottles, and milk replacer, just in case Ronnie rejected the babies. So, here we were, Ronnie didn't even need us. She did a great job! There were two little tiny spotty goats in the house, that hadn't been there that morning. Now we just had to give them a once-over and find out if we had little billies or nannies.

Jezebel and Toki, so adorable!

Turns out, we had both! The little oreo goat was a girl, and we named her Jezebel. Her brother, with the brown socks, we named Toki. They were bouncy, soft, adorable, and adventurous. Ronnie was a great mom, which means she was always worrying about those little fellows. Dani goat wasn't allowed to play with the babies right away, but at least Ronnie was too busy to bully her incessantly. As the babies got bigger, it was becoming clear that we would have to make a decision about baby Toki's "manhood." At 7 weeks old he was already paying a lot of attention to the lady goats. We talked to Dan the Goat Man, so see if he wanted a little stud goat. Dan thought long and hard, and decided against keeping Toki as a stud. So, the decision was made to wether him.

Dani, biting baby Wolfie's ear.

Dani was my helper goat. She rode along with baby Toki to keep him company while we drove over to Dan's house. While the unpleasant business of banding Toki was taking place, Dani goat went to meet the baby pygmies. Since she was bigger than them, she made it her duty to headbutt all of them, except baby Wolfie. Wolfie had her ear bitten, as this photographic evidence suggests. We went back home, and Toki walked funny for a couple of days.

Ronnie, on "vacation" at Dan's house.

Once the kids were about 4 months old, we decided it was about time that they were weaned. So, mama goat Ronnie went on vacation! I loaded her up, and took her over to Dan's house. While she was there, not only did the babies get weaned, but Ronnie also came back a bit more humble, and a bit thinner. Having to fight the dairy goats and the gigantic boer goats for food over the course of a month had taught her a lesson on not being a jerk, and had served as fat camp for her to lose the baby weight. While Ronnie was gone, Dani tried her hand (or hoof?) as queen goat. The results were disastrous. Dani thought that rather than sleeping in the house at night, it would be more fun to stay up all night, or sleep under the stars. She was very proud. Headbutts and ear biting abounded.

Shaggy, waiting for his friend Ronnie.

Meanwhile, Shaggy was missing his friend. He had gotten an injured eye, and a facial abscess. He had to have two kinds of ointment in his eye twice a day, have his abscess flushed twice a day, and get penicillin shots twice a day. He was so sad, and he cried and cried when we had to give him his medicine or clean his abscess. When Ronnie came home he was so excited! All he wanted to do was put his head on her, and fight. (That's what goats do, they fight when they are happy, when they are angry, over food, treats, and spots to lay down and nap.)

Jezebel, right around her first birthday.

Look at how big Toki got, and how small Dani stayed.

A couple of months ago, the baby goats had a birthday. Now, they are yearling goats. Jezebel is still a pretty small goat. Her coat has changed a bit as she has gotten older, showing some gray spots intermixed with the black spots. Toki is a mammoth of a goat! He is already as big as his mother. They are the two fattest goats I've ever seen! Toki's brown socks and spots have faded to tan, but he still retains his handsome markings. Dani is almost two, and is still rambunctious as ever! She hasn't gotten very big. She is nearly the smallest of the goats now. Ronnie still lets her have some boss duties, but doesn't let her forget that Ronnie is the queen goat.

Handsome (and round) Toki goat.

Shaggy and Ronnie will turn three this winter, and even though Ronnie is a round ball of fat goat, Shaggy is a skinny little fellow. He is the friendliest, most personable and well-behaved of the goats, but, unfortunately he is also the one with the most health problems. In addition to his injured eye, two facial abscesses, an infection, hoof rot and a broken horn, Shaggy was exposed to CAE. CAE is a retrovirus found in goats which causes chronic, progressive arthritis and weight loss. He will have it for as long as he lives. Despite being a thin, little, slow-walking goat, he is still very happy. He hangs out with his friends, takes lots of naps, cuddles with his people friends, and tries to get involved in games of "chase the goat." As long as he is still happy, we will keep Shaggy around. If his CAE progresses to the point where he is in a lot of pain, or is an unhappy fellow, we will do what we need to do. Meanwhile, we've got a bunch of silly, happy, loud, sometimes destructive, characters that live in our back yard, and are our "in the yard" friends. We love them, even if they don't let us sleep in any later than 9:30.

The End

Weed Getting

Today we went weed getting.  No, I'm not talking about marijuana. Our neighbor across the street had a patch of weeds that had gotten out of control. Since they didn't have a fence so we could lend them our goats, we cut and hauled away the weeds to feed to our goats. We ran out of hay today, so it will work out great for the next few days. And the best part? It's free! All we had to do is haul them out. If you have goats, horses, sheep or cows and you want a cheap and easy way to supplement or feed them, hit up your neighbors for weeds, grass clippings (please note that grass clippings should not be fed to horses), or tree limbs that they can much on! Just make sure that there aren't any chemicals involved, and dole them out slowly so your animals don't get sick. We made a stack where our hay usually sits, so all we have to do is pitch them over the fence.

Welcome to My Blog!

My goal with this blog is to help inspire people to learn useful skills and provide ideas to improve their lives and encourage self-sufficiency. As I am sort of a newbie at these skills myself, you will be coming along with me in the learning process. The topics I hope to cover are: cooking, gardening, keeping livestock, food preservation, crafts and handiwork, and thrifty living.