Question for those who own Goats

[Sassy'sMom]

We are considering getting a couple of goats. I only want them for pets, just something else fun and cute to have in the barn!

My questions are:

1. What is the best kind of goat for a pet, I don't want anything that gets real big?

2. What do you feed goats?

3. I want to get two, so they don't get lonely, is it best to get two females or a male and a female?

4. Do you have to trim a goats feet like you do horses?

I don't know a whole lot about goats, and I want to learn as much as I can before we seriously consider getting any.

Thanks!!

 

[JourneysEnd]

Not an expert, but I have 3 goats.

Pygmy and Nigerian dwarfs stay small.

You want 2 girls if possible. If you get a boy make sure he's wethered.

They eat hay and pelleted goat feed.

Yes, you trim their feet, but it's easy to do yourself.

I like my goats dehorned for safety. They don't get caught in things and can't hurt you or the horses by accident.

If I were to get any more goats ( I love having them here, BTW) I would get with a good breeder that debuds their babies.

 

[ErikaS.]

I have Pygmies- which I highly recommend

They eat pasture grass, alfalfa pellets and some sweet feed in the winter. I also have a mineral block for them to lick. I have thier horns blunted (sharp ends taken off, but they still have horns.) I trim feet when necessary, but they usually keep them pretty worn well. If you can get two siblings that's great. Like the last post said, if you get a boy, make sure he's castrated. I have a couple of bucks- one is friendly (he's a Fainting Goat) and the other one -though not mean- is just plain stinky. All my wethers (castrated males) are exceeding in-your-face friendly. My girls are "mare-ish" sometimes, very loving, but more reserved and dignified... if you can call a goat dignified. Goats are A LOT of fun!

 

[Sassy'sMom]

Thank you very much for the information! I appreciate both of you answering me!

I have been doing a little research (okay, alot of research, oops! I'm at work!) on the internet. And, it does sound like the pygmy goats would probably be the way to go for me!

I don't know if we are definitely going to get some yet, I still have to work on my husband! (Which will be much easier once I get my 1 mini sold that I have for sale!)

I actually found a couple of breeders of pygmies that are relatively close to me! As a matter of fact, one of them is by the same small town I live by.

I am hoping to go and visit a couple of farms and check them out!

Thanks again!

 

[Seashells]

My experience with pet goats.

I've owned Nigerian Dwarfs and Pygmy goats....however any breed is great for pet.

Goats are super fun pets...IF they are in an area where they can't escape. Because if there's a way for them to excape/explore....they will find it. Plus, they like to jump on vehicals....so park that new car or truck in a garage. Thet are very smart, very curious, animals with playful dispositions.

Mine ate what the horses eat.

They need protective shelter/ and safe enviornment....just as any animal does.

They can be trained for walking on a leash...just like a dog.

I prefer a fixed male with a female for companionship.

We live on a dry lot. I remember goat poop doesn't break down....and it's so small (little marbles)...it's easier to broom it into a dust pan for clean up. Plus, they poop a lot! They poop while they run, while they walk, they poop everywhere!

They are a joy to watch....run full blast and twang high in the air, head butt one another, they are total characters.

You will love them, but again, they like to get into everything!

 

[Jill]

We have four Nigerian Dwarf Goat whethers (neutered males). We've had them for about four and a half years. They do make very friendly and playful pets. I think the boys are more playful than the girls from what I've been told. We do not keep ours in with the horses. They get fed goat grain and horse quality hay, 2x a day, have a mineral block, and I deworm them with Ivermectin.

 

[Bozley]

We have 3 Nigerian Dwarf whethers. They are 3 year old brothers and are inseperable. They hang out with the horses in the paddock with no problems. They eat goat grain & hay twice a day and sleep in the same stall in the barn. We trim their hooves our selves and it is really easy. We let them run loose when we are outside and they don't run away. We sometimes take them hiking off leash and they stay right with us. We volunteer with them at a youth enrichment center and they are very good with the kids.

Here is the website from my friend that I got them from http://oldmountainfarm.com/. She has many links with a lot of good information.

Riley

Atilla

Nicco

 

[Sassy'sMom]

Awesome pictures! They are cuties! Sounds like goats are a lot of fun. And I had heard that they are great escape artists though. We have the part of our paddock that they will be in up against the barn that would have a 6 x 8 run in stall that they could go into. One said is tube gates, separating it from the other paddock. Another side is wood fence with 2 x 4 wire fence along it. The fourth side is along the mini's pasture and is electric and high tensil wire. That side may need to have stiock panels added to it so they can't go through it. I don't know how well goats abide by electric fences.

I am not planning on getting any until spring, so we have plenty of time to make our areas goat proof! And I do think we will get a couple, they are just so adorable! Yet another animal to get me to spend even more time in the barn!

And, it turns out there is a breeder of pygmy's about 2 miles from my house and I never even knew it! I have talked to her and I am going over there tomorrow just to check her place out and to see what she has. I won't be buying now, but she might put me on her waiting list for her kids that will be ready in the spring.

Thank you all for the helpful and encouraging information!

(By the way, my husband says I need to stay away from the computer and the internet, because I keep finding new animals that I want!

:love )

 

[Marnie]

You'd love having a couple goats, they are such great pets. I am big on the Fainting Goats. They don't climb out of your fences, ours stay in 32 inch hog panel. Be ready for most breeds of goats to climb out because they will. Mine are from 18 to 21 inches tall, as adults. It's so funny when you see the babies faint for the first few times, they lay their like, what the heck happened!!

If you want to click on to my website on the bottom of my answer here, I have a fainting goat page, you can see them. If I just wanted two pets (and yes, you should have two) I'd buy two boys and have them wethered (castrated), easy to do, just band them, the breeder should do this if you buy them young. Wethers are cheaper too. Some are naturally polled or you can have the breeder remove the horns at a couple wks old.

My goats get treats too, tree branches, bread, fruit, as well as a grain mix from the mill but Purina makes a goat food, they don't need much grain, maybe none. They get fat easy.

I hope you find a couple of great little friends.

Here's a web site that I recommend to all goat enthusiasts. http://www.fiascofarm.com.

 

[Denise]

You will love having goats around! At present we have nigis, nubians, boer and boer crosses. We are getting out of the boers since we have had nothing but parasite problems with them. Our nigis and nubians have been so healthy so we are going back to having just them.

We also have the tube gates and all we did was attach chain link to it. Ours have not gotten out yet but if they do just shake a food bucket and watch them come runnin!

I would suggest wethers or if you can find babies that were bottle fed-now those little guys are "in your pocket" babies for life. I have 3 of those and will never part with them.

Also make sure you keep them current on shots and de-wormings, find a good goat vet and you will do just fine.

Bozley you have the prettiest nigis! Very nice looking!

 

[Bozley]

I just have to say that I agree with the statement "A goat is only as good as their fencing". I have heard so many people say that they had goats and couldn't stand them because they got into everything. It is true, if you do not have a good secure fence to keep them safe and secure from other animals as well as to keep them from getting into everything else you will not enjoy them. We had our fence built by the goat breeder we got our goats from. It is wood posts with heavy wire. It is 5 ft tall as some goats are pretty agile and can jump pretty high as well as to keep predators out. We also have a piece of wood that runs along at the point where they would mostly like to rub their bodies against and would weaken the fence. We do let ours out loose occasionally but only when we are there to supervise and we know our goats well enough that they will not go anywhere. Here is a picture of our fencing. It doesn't show the full 5 ft height but you can see it is much taller than our mini, Bozley. Hope this helps!

Sue

 

[Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance]

1) Pygmies or Nigerian Dwarfs are easy keepers and they don't get realy big.

2) Hay and grain, also keep a fresh supply of water avalible. We have a powdered mineral mix that is avaliable for them all the time and we use a dewormer thats in a shot form, not oral because you never know if they get it all since there always bringing up cud etc.

3) I would get 2 of the same gender and if you are thinking about males then i would have them wheathered.

4) Yes and no. When you trim a goats feed you use clippers like flower clippers that clip off nail. Its like clipping your own finger nailes, they don't feel it. They should be clipped every 6 weeks so they don't get foot rot. They should also be level when you are done.

They will eat anything they can find, don't care if its bad for them or not so make sure you have the pens and paddocks free of harmful things that you think they might eat.

Since your a first time goat owner I also recommend making sure the goats don't have horns, they could get ripped off by pulling to hard against a fence while trying to get out etc (we just had this happen 5 days ago, oh it was bad). But since pygmies are small it wouldn't be that big of a problem (I have a nubian w/ horns and shes great).

Keep in mind that pygmies are little stubborn goats : P

Good luck.

 

[Denise]

" use a dewormer thats in a shot form, not oral because you never know if they get it all since there always bringing up cud etc."

Can you tell me more of what this shot is? I am always eager to learn more about products that may be better for my goats.

 

[Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance]

" use a dewormer thats in a shot form, not oral because you never know if they get it all since there always bringing up cud etc."
Can you tell me more of what this shot is? I am always eager to learn more about products that may be better for my goats.

Its an ivermectin injectable, we got it from Jeffers and we use 2cc per goat. (We have Nubians)

 

[uwharrie]

I raised Nubians for about 10 yrs. They are a large bodied goat but have very neat personalities. If I wanted a smaller goat I would go with the Nigerians since they can also be milked. We kept ours behind 5 strands of electric fence with no problem but you do have to be sure the fence is putting out enough "shock"

Despite what many folks think, goats are very picky eaters, If they walk on thier hay they will turn thier nose up at it. They will eat what horses will not. ( weeds, shrubs and trees) Goats are naturally browsers, meaning they prefer leaves and shoots to grass.

We used liquid ivermectin ( cattle injectable) but we did not inject it. Goats were wormed at least 5 times a year. Youngsters you have to watch for coccida. We trimmed hoofs about 3 times a year with a carpet knife.

As someone else posted the fiascofarm site is great. My advise is to buy from a reputable breeder that will mentor you in goat ownership.

 

[Sassy'sMom]

All the advice on here is awesome! I think we are leaning toward getting two wethered males next spring. We only want them for pets, not for showing or anything. So, I have lots of time to learn all I can about them.

We went and visited a place that raises show quality pygmy goats on Saturday. They are adorable! I think that will be the kind of goat I get. The lady that owns this farm was so helpful and so wonderful! I think I have made a friend for life, and I also think I found a wonderful place to get my goats. She is only about 3 miles away from my house. It is so funny that I was on the internet just looking for someone who raises and sells pygmies and here is one that close to where I live!

I am glad that the suggestion was made that I look for a reputable breeder and go see their place. McComb Ohio seems like such a small place, and then I find someone who also had a big horse and minis, and now has two miniature donkeys and a whole bunch of goats. She is very knowledgable and very helpful.

So, thanks again everyone for all of the advice and help, this forum is a great place for help, even if it isn't horse related!