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Signal Hollow Farm Where the Animals Rule the Roost
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About Goats
I am not a goat expert nor a veterinarian, so I cannot offer goat medical advice. However, I've been around goats for a decade and I can share some basic tips. If you've never had the opportunity to get to know a goat, then you don't know what wonderful companion animals they can be. In my experience, most goats are much like pet dogs - they enjoy being petted, and will form close bonds to their human caregivers if treated with care & respect. It helps if the goats are raised with a lot of positive human contact. Nubians and French Alpines are two of several breeds of dairy goats, which have been bred to be handleable. The males can grow to be quite large (35 inches at the shoulder or taller and average 175 lbs) but they are usually gentle-natured. Because dairy goat does (females) must be bred yearly to continue producing milk, often the "excess" offspring are sold as meat animals. I have found the neutered males, called "wethers", to be great pets. An unaltered male goat (buck) can be a pretty good pet, but he will be stinky and sometimes territorial. Mini-Nubians are a new breed, and are a combination of the Nigerian Dwarf and Nubian breeds. The breed is not yet "set" (it takes 8 generations) but most Mini-Nubians should have the dairy characteristics and long ears of the Nubian, but should only be around 75 lbs at their adult weight. Goats are highly intelligent. All of the goats I've worked with are keen to discover how to open doors and gates, and latches must be made goat-proof. I've read that goats can be trained to be pack animals, like llamas. Like all animals, goats have specific care requirements. Goats will not eat "tin cans" though they do like to nibble on strange things, to learn about them. They need goat-specific minerals, fresh water, hay or grass, and adequate shelter. We also feed our goats a daily small amount of goat grain, to keep them in top shape. Goats prefer to browse leafy plants over grass, but a number of plants are toxic so their humans need to remove poisonous plants from the goats area (this includes but not limited to laurel, azalea, jimsonweed, dogbane, and wild cherry). If your goat pigs out on fresh plants, you can offer him or her baking soda - I've heard that it can reduce the chances of bloat. Goats do not like to get wet! They need a shelter where they can stay dry and out of the wind. In the winter a nice layer of bedding is greatly appreciated. Goats need to be dewormed for internal (and sometimes external) parasites on a schedule based on their specific parasite load and environmental conditions. This is something a goat owner should discuss with his/her veterinarian. There are some parasites that are becoming resistant to dewormers, so it is better to treat when needed and give the weight-appropriate amount, rather than treating with the wrong amount, or giving the dewormer when it's not needed. We have learned from experience that when introducing a new goat to your herd, quarantining the animal on a dirt or gravel lot is a good idea! Most goats are disbudded (dehorned) as kids, but one should keep in mind that horns help with cooling and are useful for scratching itches! Also goats need to have their hooves trimmed regularly, as this helps prevent joint problems and foot infections. How often depends on how fast the hooves grow and how much the goats wear the hooves down. If you start handling the goat's hooves and legs when it is young, and are careful not to trim the quick, usually goats offer no resistance to trimming. A few treats don't hurt, too! Goats poop 7-10 times a day. (I read that in a goat care book and believe me, it sounds right!). If you have a 175 lb goat, that is a lot of poop! Unlike llamas and horses, which typically go at certain places, goats go EVERYWHERE. It's important to keep food bowls off the ground after feeding time, out of the "drop zone". Poop is a great fertilizer, but it's a hotbed of parasite eggs. We try to clean up as much as possible to minimize the reingestion of parasite eggs. Find out the right number of goats for the area - overstocking can lead to parasite problems. Dirt, gravel, or granite dust areas around the barnyard are great because the parasite larvae need to be on grass in order to be consumed by the goat. Manure piles should be separated from the pasture and situated so that runoff does not contaminate the pasture. Goats need other goats to be happy! If you keep a goat, keep at least two. Goats can bond with other livestock like llamas, sheep, donkies, etc., but they prefer to speak "goat".
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