Advice Needed

[lugboxer10]

Hi. I have 2 female non-breeding does. About a year old. I have had them for about 2 months. I have a couple questions that I would love advice on.
Housing
Their home is an unheated 8' x 7' (10' high) vented shed that I bought specifically for them in Sears. I usually lock them in at night when it gets dark. They seem to have no problem with this, as they are usually in the shed by the time I go out there to "put them to sleep"

Food
Hay - I been feeding them second cut hay. They have no interest in 1st cut at all. This past weekend I bought a 100lb bale of alfalfa. They still have the second cut. Free choice for all hay.
Grain - I have been giving them Southern States pellets, 1/2 cup per goat almost every day. This weekend I bought a bag of sweet feed. I have been mixing both the last couple of days.
Treats - I use the MannaPro licorice goats treats, which they love. I give them Timothy Hay, but my local feed store doesn't have bales. I buy that in Petco. I give them small animal sun salad, which they love. I also give them dry uncooked oatmeal. (my pig loves this!) They also have a salt lick accessible at all times.

Minerals - I just bought Manna Pro Goat Mineral.

Bedding
I have been using the second cut as bedding. They can sleep on it and eat it. They do not like to lay on the shavings, I just put down a small layer of that underneath the second cut bedding. I am not sure if my local feed store has straw. Should I bee looking for straw elsewhere or is it okay to stay with the second cut? The cost doesn't matter to me.

Water
I give them fresh water at least twice a day. They seem to like to lick the drips from hose better. Sometimes there are little pieces of hay floating in the water, is it true that some goats need their water to be spotless or they won't drink it?

People
The girls I got were only herd animals. 1 was bottle fed, but the other was not. They have gotten much much better since I brought them home. I did take them out on for a walk in Petco this weekend and they did pretty good. Just wondering if the rumor that a non-bottle fed goat will never warm up to people the way a bottle fed goat will, is true.

New Goat
I just added a new goat to the family. She is a non-breeding female, about the same age the original two. The new girl is bigger than the original 2. 40lbs vs. 30lbs. The first 2 nights the original girls have not let the new goat sleep in the barn. She stayed outside on a table all night. I didn't want to lock them all up together because I worried what might happen with no escape. There is definitely some headbutting going on and the original 2 seem to team up against the new girl. Is there any special I should do to improve this new mini-herd? Also, this new goat is a bottle fed house trained goat who is all about people. Will the behavior of the new infulence the existing ones? So far the original 2 are much more lively.

I realize this is a VERY long post. I am looking for comments/corrections on what I am currently doing with my girls. I would really appreciate feedback. I live on Long Island in NY, in case anyone is wondering. Thank you!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

It sounds like you have everything pretty well under control.

The girls may always be a bit mean to the new girl.

They may decide to be friendlier if she seems to have too much fun with people or get treats that they aren't getting....some motivation to check you out doesn't hurt anyone!

Enjoy! .....and good luck keeping your herd small....they are addictive!

 

[OneFineAcre]

It's not true that babies not bottle raised will not warm up to people. I have a couple of dam raised that are not as friendly, but most of the others are quite friendly. It kind of depends on the goat.

Seems like you are doing everything good. The only thing I would add is that if that if they are not breeding to not over feed them. If the second cut hay you referred to is grass hay, you could have probably saved the expense of the alfalfa. Also, sweet feed is not as good. They probably don't really need any feed at all, but what you are giving them is ok.

 

[lugboxer10]

Thank you both for the feedback. I appreciate it! I know I probably don't have to give them feed. Or alfalfa. I guess I like to spoil them a little bit. I only give each goat 1/2 cup of feed each per day. And I usually make it 1/4 cup sweet feed and 1/4 cup pellets. Since I only have 3 goats, I don't mind spending a little more on them.

To be fair, the first two have definitely warmed up to me since I brought them home. And they have been much more spunky since the new girl came home. I am definitely hopeful it will all be okay.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Thank you both for the feedback. I appreciate it! I know I probably don't have to give them feed. Or alfalfa. I guess I like to spoil them a little bit. I only give each goat 1/2 cup of feed each per day. And I usually make it 1/4 cup sweet feed and 1/4 cup pellets. Since I only have 3 goats, I don't mind spending a little more on them.

To be fair, the first two have definitely warmed up to me since I brought them home. And they have been much more spunky since the new girl came home. I am definitely hopeful it will all be okay.

Forgot that part.
Yes, the new girl changes the dynamics, but they will eventually settle down and get along fine.

 

[elevan]

I agree with everything that OneFineAcre said.

In addition to that...I wouldn't use hay as bedding. It encourages your goats to eat off the ground which can create parasite problems that you wouldn't necessarily have to deal with if they weren't eating their bedding. My preference would be pine shavings...your girls don't like that though. So my second preference would be straw...but chopped straw. To get chopped straw you have to do a little work on your own, buy a bale of straw and run it through a wood chipper or run your mower over it. Then bag it and use as needed. Chopped straw will absorb better than non-chopped and it effectively doubles the amount that you have to use as well.

Housing...I would find some way to build a separation in the shed so that you can put the new goat in for the night where the others can see and smell her but not hurt her. Do this until things calm down in the herd and they are able to all go in together at night.

A note for future goat purchases - when bringing a new goat home, if possible bring home two. That way they have a buddy and are not always left odd man out. If that's not possible to do then be aware that there will be an adjustment period that could take weeks to work out before the goats settle down, but they will eventually settle down.

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

Ditch the salt lick, too. It's not necessary. The minerals you are giving are enough. Salt licks only make them thirsty!

 

[lugboxer10]

I agree with everything that OneFineAcre said.

In addition to that...I wouldn't use hay as bedding. It encourages your goats to eat off the ground which can create parasite problems that you wouldn't necessarily have to deal with if they weren't eating their bedding. My preference would be pine shavings...your girls don't like that though. So my second preference would be straw...but chopped straw. To get chopped straw you have to do a little work on your own, buy a bale of straw and run it through a wood chipper or run your mower over it. Then bag it and use as needed. Chopped straw will absorb better than non-chopped and it effectively doubles the amount that you have to use as well.

Housing...I would find some way to build a separation in the shed so that you can put the new goat in for the night where the others can see and smell her but not hurt her. Do this until things calm down in the herd and they are able to all go in together at night.

A note for future goat purchases - when bringing a new goat home, if possible bring home two. That way they have a buddy and are not always left odd man out. If that's not possible to do then be aware that there will be an adjustment period that could take weeks to work out before the goats settle down, but they will eventually settle down.

Thank you, elevan. Good point about eating off the floor. The only issue I have have is once I open the bale, what do I do with it? They're just 3 little goats, they don't eat that much. But how do I store what I am not using? Same goes for the straw. That's really why I have been letting them sleep on the hay as well as eat it. Convenience. I'll need to find a beeter way though.

All the goats are sleeping together in the same shed now. The original 2 sleep together on a bale of hay together and the new girl sleeps on a bale of hay next to them. No major issues at this point. I may be getting the new girl's sister in a few weeks so that would certainly even things out.

Thanks BlondeSquirrel04, another good point. I took it away this morning. I don't even think they touched it anyway!

 

[elevan]

You could get large totes to store the opened bales in. Just drill some holes in the tote so the bales don't mold.
Build shelves above your goats reach in the shed to place the open bales on...this can be tricky depending on your height.
Section off an area of the shed for storing hay / straw.

 

[themorethemerrier]

I only have three goats as well and use totes as elevan suggests...works great! I have two, one for the bale and another for the treats, minerals, hoof trimmers, etc. Keeps everything together and handy. Plus the boys love to jump on and off them! They make for a great toy!