What is it, Male or Female or ?
Bucks or Billy's: These are the boys that can make more babies, in other words they have their testis/testicles still (sperm sacks). They can breed female goat's. As bucks get to puberty 5 to 6 months old (some at 4 months) they are able to breed female goats........ and if left with the females, they will do so, even if it's a sister or mother! One of the things to keep in mind if keeping a buck. Also, Not all goats smell/stink. But Bucks definitely have there own..... hmmm... aroma.
Wethers: These are the males that have been castrated, (no more testicles). They cannot breed with females. They make great pets or are good for butcher.
Females: Known as Nannies or Does. Does (as we call them) are great as pets, for milk production or having babies. These babies are called Kids. A Doe will not produce milk until she gets pregnant and has her kids. Her gestation or pregnancy lasts 5 months. (About 146 to 153 days)
Kids: These are the baby goats. Kids should have milk until they are at least 1 month old. Hopefully goat milk, but replacer can work fine. Also include hay or pasture/grass they will eat this at about 2 weeks old. Kind of. Grain can be introduced around this time also. Kids can be very fun & comical to have. They will try to climb on all kinds of things and bounce off walls or whatever. More on that later!
Herd: A group of animals (More than 2 or 3). Goats are natural herd animals. They are happiest when in a herd. If you put them alone they will try to seek out others to keep them safe & happy. (I could tell you some stories on this subject!) Even put them with sheep or cattle will work.
Chewing Cud: This is a natural action of All Goat's, sheep, cattle, llama's, deer families (elk & antelope too!) These types of animals are called Ruminants. 4 stomachs helps with this! These animals seem to eat non stop almost gorging themselves, then later when they are at rest they bring the food from this (1st stomach) holding pouch up to the mouth and finish chewing it. This is called, chewing their cud. This way they can totally utilize the food they eat. If they are laying down while doing this, they can go into a kinda sleep mode. Like when you "space" or daydream. If a grown goat doesn't chew their cud then you probably have a sickly goat. Kid goat's start chewing their cud at around 4 weeks old. Once they start eating food/roughage it enlarges the rumen, this is the stomach that holds the food for chewing their cud (on newborn kids this is underdeveloped).
Pens, Fence & Feed
Fencing: Where to keep a goat. If its only a couple then a dog run type of pen works great. Especially if its movable, let them mow the lawn! They will fertilize it at the same time. If you have some type of field or pasture, great. They love the assortment of weeds & grasses. Chain link fence is great for kids as well as grown up goats. Remember this however, goats like to stand on ledges, like fence, so make sure it will stay up with their weight on it. Some folks use hotwire to put around the inside of their fencing. Just remember it needs to be at the goats chest level not yours! If looking into getting fencing a good place to start asking questions is a farm store supply that carries fencing. Let them know you want good fencing for goats. They will help direct you to the right kind of fencing. Maybe you could pick it up cheaper at a farm auction or someone's yard sale in rural areas.
*We use combination fencing in select areas. We have pens for winter and everyday use to the milk barn. Its wood panels (reclaimed wood) with welded wire fence behind it to keep in the kids. Its what we call kid proofing! The goats stand on the wood part but not the wire fence. Our pasture fence is regular ranch fencing with a hot wire around the inside at the goats chest level. This keeps the goats from pressing on/through the fence to get to the "greener grass on the other side"!
Stalls: Absolutely! We have four seasons here. Goats hate to get wet. They will even tip-toe around a puddle! I feel better about my goats health when I know it's raining or snowing that they can get out of the climate. Less colds & sickness in the herd that way. There are so many ways to build barns/stalls, I won't even begin o explain it. We use what is known as a "lean to" type of outside stalls. Easy to build and still small. Goats aren't large so they don't need tons of space unless you get a large herd. Then maybe more stalls. They generally share sleeping space anyway. Our "lean to" at its high point is 6 ft. -this is the front side. The back side is 4 ft. Inside its a 6 x 6 ft space. This will fit 3 to 4 goats in it. Even more if they are small. If you plan on raising goats to have kids, stalls are very good so that the doe can birth without other herd members bothering her & she will tend her babies much quicker too. Having a separate birthing stall/sick stall is a good way to go also. This way you can help IF needed. More times than not you shouldn't need to unless you are raising mini goat breeds (i.e.---dwarfs or pygmy goats)
Feeding: Myth or Fact; Do goats eat everything? NO!! Not unless the goat has been starved. Goats are curious animals. They appear to be eating or chewing on everything they latch onto. They can't pick it up except with their mouth so they taste and feel it with their mouth, it's a way to find out what it does. They will seemingly "play with in in their mouth" Bump it around, up & down, drop it and scoot it with their nose. Paw at it till satisfied it's not any thing to eat or they just get tired of playing with it or have torn it up! (Then they might ingest some, as in plastic, tarps etc.) We keep these out of reach.
Feed: Goats are very versatile on their feeding habits. A good start is to get them use to hay, alfalfa or grass mix is good. Watch out for cheat grass! Also known as "foxtails". This will lead to bad mouth infections as well as getting caught in their throat and choking them. You'll will know if it has cheat when you feed it and you get foxtails stuck to you or you see their mouth is getting puffy (If you lift their top lip you will see the foxtails will be embedded in the crease of the top lip and gums) you then have the task of trying to remove them. Putting them on pasture is great for them! They like the variety as well as the exercise is good for them. If raising milk goats this usually increases the milk production. (There is a higher water content in fresh grasses/weeds than in dried alfalfa/grass hay)
Note; Please be kind, if you have been feeding them hay and put them out to graze, do so Slowly! Get them use to it gradually. Maybe 1 hour the first couple of days, then increase to 2 hrs. and so on. Also as a good measure we get a "Bloat Block". This keeps them from getting stomach aches from the new "green feed". Its good for cattle & sheep also. Amount of hay to give per animal is about 1 flake..... hmm what is 1 flake you ask. Well it's approx. 2" wide. (Hay tends to pull away in wafers or known as flakes.) If you have two goats usually this measures 3" wide at 2 times a day. Am and Pm feedings. If you give to much you will get a lot of waste, leftovers they don't eat. A good way to tell if its the right amount is if you feed lets say at 8 am, and by 10 am its all gone, then give a bit more at feeding time. If by 2 pm they have very little stems left or none then you have it right. If they still have some hay left in their feed loft at pm chore time, (7 or 8 pm) then cut it back a bit. Once they are on pasture all day then hay is not needed.
Try never to feed moldy hay to goats. If by chance you should have to, then feed it on the ground ONLY! This way any excess mold is carried away with the breeze/wind. Do NOT feed moldy hay to pregnant does...... very toxic. Could lead to still births, even death in the doe. Lung or ear problems usually are the result from moldy hay in all goats. Remember nose, ears & throat are all interconnected.
Grain: Giving grain to your goats is truly your option. I am a strong believer on giving grain to animals in winter months at least 1 to 2 times a week. We also test our kids at 1 month old on grain. Especially the does. If you are raising goats for butcher then its a good way to "grow" them out.
We grain our milk does 2 times a day, when they come into the milk room at the stantion to be milked. A good grain mix to give is known as "Cobb" or Purina has a goat chow that's good----(kind of spendy though!) Amount is approx. 1 lb. per 100 lbs. of goat. Or, put it another way, for kid goats up to 8 months old 1/2 cup grain. At 1 year they should be up to 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups ea. feeding. This is usually a good amount we found for all grown goat's. You can adjust this for your needs. Not too much more though.; They need the hay too. Goats also like branches from trees to clean off. Dried leaves, Veggie trimmings, fruit too. Pick up the yucky fruit from the trees that fell to the ground to give them. Not too much though, they get the "dirties" or diarrhea too from to much fruit! Goats seem healthier when the food is an assortment.
*We usually give them weeds or veg. plants from the garden. Throw the leaves over to them during the fall. Or if doing branch trimming on willows, maples, fruit trees whatever. They love getting those goodies during the day! Our goats have come to know when I'm in the garden, they all start yelling for something! Please remember, do not feed vegetation from the nightshade family.(As in; tomato plants, potato, eggplant) Also rhubarb-especially the leaves! White top, thistle family. Please checkup on toxic plants for animals!!
Water: Always have water for animals at All times! When it ices up in the winter, break the ice or get a tank heater hooked up to keep it thawed. Water is essential for all living things.
Salt: This is another essential for animals. Plain white salt block is fine. Place it by the water trough. Most animals like to go back & forth between licking the salt and drinking. You can place it on a board or brick to keep it off the ground. Mineral salt for sheep is toxic (the copper in it) too much for goats is not good either.
Feet/hoof care
Hoof trimming: This is VERY NECESSARY to keep them walking good. Way to many times I see goats with hooves that are turned under, up and hoof rot so bad the goat goes around on their knees. They can't walk or it hurts to much. If you trim their hooves at least every three months its much easier to keep them in good shape. Using pruning nippers works well for this. Even hoof nippers for horses works (These are kind of clumsy for small hands) I used them for years though. Especially for hard hooves! There is books & websites on the subject for Goat care & upkeep that show pictures on how to trim hooves. If you remember to keep them trimmed just to the sole and evenly. You can use a pocket plane to even out the whole hoof, gets rid of jagged edges too. If you see pink color you have gone far enough! When you look at the bottom of the hoof it should look like two tear drop shapes side by side with a softer insole they should be even with each other. The outer layer grows and needs to be trimmed. This is the same as trimming your toenails/fingernails. It doesn't hurt them. Think of it as trimming your toenails even with the skin of your toe. If you go to far, it will become tender or hurt the tip of your toe, maybe even draw blood if way to far! Same way with goat hooves. Put them in a stantion or tie them up real close to a fence. Pick up the foot bending it in a natural position for them. Scrape off any debris/dirt with a hoof scraper or the nose of the nippers (Do not use a pocket knife as this may cut them), then trim.
Fact or Fiction: If I have large rocks for my goats to climb on won't that help wear their hooves down? If so then I shouldn't have to trim their hooves right? As a matter of fact, it will! Especially the front hooves. Putting climbing boulders, ramps with Tar roofing on it also helps (The kind that feels like sand on it. Just make sure you have it glued/nailed down good). Goats love to climb & rough surfaces make it easier to climb on as well as they paw with the front feet so this helps wear them down. But you still need to trim, maybe not as much or as often depending on your goats. Do not use sharp pointed rocks as this can cause injury to your animals.
Note; The information on these pages are for reference only. It is in no way intended to suggest that it be used for an absolute. Each person raises animals to their own ability and usefulness. Please use common sense when raising, containing or owning animals.
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