Brand new goat owner

Nariah01

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My DH is bringing home our first goat today and I am beyond anxious. We have been talking about doing this for a while now but we were supposed to have more time to prepare then I now have. Her name is Oreo and she is a 3 year old Boer doe. Her previous owner wants her gone and we don't have a choice, we have to bring her home today, tomorrow at the latest. So we have slapped together the best possible paddock for her with the idea that as we decide where we want her house to be and all that we will upgrade it with better materials as we go. I am trying to put together a list of items I need to purchase so when I go to the feed store this week sometime I can get them. I already have grass hay on hand for my horses, and one of my old nibble nets to hold it, I guess how much should I feed her a day? She will have access to some forage in her paddock and more that we can chop and throw in, lots of browse on the property. I know she needs a goat mineral, i have access to Manna Pro goat minerals, Purina goat minerals, and Red Edge goat mineral mix, which of these is best? Also how much baking soda should I provide? I also know she will need a friend, and that is something I am trying to work on. I figure until I can get her one we can treat her for worms and lice and all the other good stuff so that she will be good to go by the time we get her a friend. Her paddock is next to our horses so she will be able to see other animals and not be completely alone. Another question she has her horns so should any other goats I get have horns too? Will it be a problem having dis-budded goats with her? Also I have been told she is a bit skittish around people so any favorite treats suggestions to help win her over? I know it will take time and patience to get her to come round.

Sorry for the flood of questions I thought I was going to have more time to sort this all out and plan it better but it seems that is not really how we function around here, lol. I am also looking for moral support as goats are totally new for us. But I have cared for horses for some time so livestock isn't completely new.

Thank you so much in advance for any help! And I will of course post pictures when she is finally here!
 

CntryBoy777

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Some general information would go a long ways in the answering of your questions. Your general location will greatly help with knowing the conditions and diseases that may be faced.....also, did the owner say why she had to be gone today?....is she creating problems?.....it would be good to find out tbe feed and amount that she is getting now. You could bring more problems on yourself and her, by changing the diet rather quickly. If she is skittish then, I hope your "Slap Together" fencing will contain her, because goats have a knack of exploiting weaknesses in a pen. It would also be wise to have a fecal run on her before ya start giving deworming meds....first off ya need to know if there is a problem to treat....and secondly, ya need to know what kind of worms she may have....there aren't any "All in 1" meds for worms for goats. Did she have kids and are they weaned and ber bag is dry? I have 3 goats and they were my very first ones a couple of yrs ago....but there are some very wonderful and knowledgeable goat people here that can add to your answers, I will tag a few so they may can help also... @frustratedearthmother , @Goat Whisperer , @OneFineAcre , @Green Acres Farm @babsbag , @ragdollcatlady there are many many more, and they may join in, too.
Welcome from NW Mississippi!!.....:frow
 

Nariah01

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Some general information would go a long ways in the answering of your questions. Your general location will greatly help with knowing the conditions and diseases that may be faced.....also, did the owner say why she had to be gone today?....is she creating problems?.....it would be good to find out tbe feed and amount that she is getting now. You could bring more problems on yourself and her, by changing the diet rather quickly. If she is skittish then, I hope your "Slap Together" fencing will contain her, because goats have a knack of exploiting weaknesses in a pen. It would also be wise to have a fecal run on her before ya start giving deworming meds....first off ya need to know if there is a problem to treat....and secondly, ya need to know what kind of worms she may have....there aren't any "All in 1" meds for worms for goats. Did she have kids and are they weaned and ber bag is dry? I have 3 goats and they were my very first ones a couple of yrs ago....but there are some very wonderful and knowledgeable goat people here that can add to your answers, I will tag a few so they may can help also... @frustratedearthmother , @Goat Whisperer , @OneFineAcre , @Green Acres Farm @babsbag , @ragdollcatlady there are many many more, and they may join in, too.
Welcome from NW Mississippi!!.....:frow

I live in the PNW, western WA to be exact. The owner is getting out of sheep and goats and he is selling his sheep flock all together and as she is his only goat he wants to get her to her new home before he sells his sheep. And he has been nagging us for a few weeks to come and get her, he said he was going to eat her if we didn't come get her. And since we actually do want her we figured we might as well just go and get her. Right now she is on pasture with the sheep, I know he feeds her loose minerals, but not sure which ones my DH is going to ask. I made sure to have him ask all the feed she is on if any when he picks her up. And I realize when I say slap together it sounds rather, well bad not the best terms. The paddock was a holding area for my horses when we put gravel in their current paddock. It buts up to that back wall of our hay barn with a bit of an overhang on the roof. And then it has panels that make up the sides, the ends are anchored with T-posts, its fair sturdy my biggest concern is her sticking her head through. So we may take some wire mesh of some kind and run it around the panels if the spacing is too big. If that helps. I have to have some fecal done on my horses so I will probably just send hers off to my vet at the same time, I am well versed with Fecal so I can easily do that. Should I dust for Lice or anything as a just in case or pretty much just check her over when she gets here and treat as needed? I have heard some people just do certain things for all new goats/animals that come to their property so I wasn't sure if there were certain things like that. She has never been bred before so not kids or anything like that.

I appreciate the help and tagging the others as well. You could ask me anything about my horses and I am super knowledgeable there but when it comes to goats I am starting from scratch.
 

CntryBoy777

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Oh, I totally understand the terminology, but "Slap Together" does carry different meanings to some....was just making sure. As with any new livestock animal, a period of quarentine is usually the best practice, tho with just the one it wouldn't be as critical, but still a good practice until the results are known. I am unfamiliar with any crossover of parasites between goats and horses....or any shared diseases that may create a problem. There is one thing about goats, since ya live in Washington, they do not like rain....so, a shelter of some sort would be needed. Also, the pressure from predators can also demand an ability for securing at nite. A 3yr old Boer shouldn't fit thru the openings on the panels.....most use cattle panels in some way around their goats and except for the kids fitting thru a grown one can't. If moisture is prevalent there, pnuemonia would be something to be sure and check on regularly....temp, sniffles, wheezing and such. Goats are tough, but when problems arise they can go down very quickly. As far as minerals, I use Manna Pro, because it is available locally.....knowing your soil there can help ya with understanding the specific deficentcies that may be lacking in the forage. As best as ya can ya want to attempt to match her diet there to what she is used to....after she gets adjusted and settled, then ya can change it slowly if ya so desire....:)
 

Nariah01

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Oh, I totally understand the terminology, but "Slap Together" does carry different meanings to some....was just making sure. As with any new livestock animal, a period of quarentine is usually the best practice, tho with just the one it wouldn't be as critical, but still a good practice until the results are known. I am unfamiliar with any crossover of parasites between goats and horses....or any shared diseases that may create a problem. There is one thing about goats, since ya live in Washington, they do not like rain....so, a shelter of some sort would be needed. Also, the pressure from predators can also demand an ability for securing at nite. A 3yr old Boer shouldn't fit thru the openings on the panels.....most use cattle panels in some way around their goats and except for the kids fitting thru a grown one can't. If moisture is prevalent there, pnuemonia would be something to be sure and check on regularly....temp, sniffles, wheezing and such. Goats are tough, but when problems arise they can go down very quickly. As far as minerals, I use Manna Pro, because it is available locally.....knowing your soil there can help ya with understanding the specific deficentcies that may be lacking in the forage. As best as ya can ya want to attempt to match her diet there to what she is used to....after she gets adjusted and settled, then ya can change it slowly if ya so desire....:)

Thank you again for the help! She is on her way here now, my DH is bringing her home as we speak. We do get lots of rain in the winter so I will be, or having DH build her a shelter soon. For right now there isn't much rain and the building her paddock buts up to has a nice overhang. I wanted to wait and see how big she was in person before we built anything like a house for her. That way I can kind of guesstimate how big the house needs to be for her and at least one other goat to fit comfortably. This is exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time.:rolleyes:
 

babsbag

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Welcome to BYH and the world of goats. They can be addicting so be careful.;)

As far as the horns, it depends on the goat but I found that my Boers did not use them as weapons of mass destruction like my dairy girls did. I always had horned Boers and hornless Alpines and it was fine.

Since you live where it rains quite a bit the worms could be an issue. I would try and find a vet that will let you drop off a fecal sample now and then to check but I wouldn't worm on a schedule, only when needed.

Minerals, any of those would be good. Goats need copper and Selenium and in my area (N. CA) I end up having to give extra of both as our soils are deficient. My goats prefer Sweet Lix brand but that is just them. Any goat mineral should do the job.

Watch her closely for the first few weeks as the stress of a move can cause a parasite bloom and sometimes respiratory as well. I would get her another goat ASAP, they really do better with a goatie friend.

Skittish goats are sometimes very hard to win over, some you will never convert. I have a few of those. But for treats mine like horse cookies and when I had kids to tame I would use Fruit Loops.

Be sure and share pictures when you can.
 

Nariah01

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Welcome to BYH and the world of goats. They can be addicting so be careful.;)

As far as the horns, it depends on the goat but I found that my Boers did not use them as weapons of mass destruction like my dairy girls did. I always had horned Boers and hornless Alpines and it was fine.

Since you live where it rains quite a bit the worms could be an issue. I would try and find a vet that will let you drop off a fecal sample now and then to check but I wouldn't worm on a schedule, only when needed.

Minerals, any of those would be good. Goats need copper and Selenium and in my area (N. CA) I end up having to give extra of both as our soils are deficient. My goats prefer Sweet Lix brand but that is just them. Any goat mineral should do the job.

Watch her closely for the first few weeks as the stress of a move can cause a parasite bloom and sometimes respiratory as well. I would get her another goat ASAP, they really do better with a goatie friend.

Skittish goats are sometimes very hard to win over, some you will never convert. I have a few of those. But for treats mine like horse cookies and when I had kids to tame I would use Fruit Loops.

Be sure and share pictures when you can.

Thank you so much for the information! Oreo is officially home, I won't be able to get pictures until morning as its too dark here now. She is so sweet she was quietly talking to me while we got her set up in her Paddock. I can tell how nervous and lonely she is so first order of business tomorrow is trying to find her a friend! I am hoping by the end of the week she will have a buddy. My current equine vet also sees goats and I have dropped off my horse fecal samples before so I think it should be ok I just have to talk to her about cost and exams and such. She might not look at a fecal without an exam first, shes weird that way. I am already worried about her, my DH had to drag me back to the house as I didn't want to leave her out there. So far she is very sweet, she comes running when I can her in her paddock. So I feel good in my ability to befriend her. And that is good to hear about the Boers not being too bad with their horns.

Any suggestions for a good breed for a friend for her? I've been thinking of trying goat milk in the future so I thought about getting a dairy doe so that if I decided to do that I had one already to try when were ready. But Whether are so much easier to find, and are much cheaper and my DH is always like why can't we just get the cheaper goat, doesn't help that Oreo was free as a gift. Also what is a good price when it comes to buying goats so I don't get ripped off? Sometimes people in my area are just ridiculous when it comes to pricing livestock.
 

Nariah01

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Also when it comes to getting her a friend, do i need to get one about the same age and size as her? I am seeing lots of goats for sale that are around 4 months old, and there is a pygmy goat that looks nice but I don't know if that's going to be an issue as those options would all be much smaller then her. And when it comes to introduction do I just let them sniff through the fence then put them in and let them work it out? Or have them in side by side pens for a while and then after a week or so put them together?
 

babsbag

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You can drive down here to Redding and I can set you up with mini Alpine wethers or doelings for cheap, I have an abundance this year. LOL

But seriously, if you want dairy I would say any breed. LaManchas are usually pretty friendly, Alpines are usually bossy, and Nubians have a reputation of being noisy. Many people like the Nigerian Dwarfs, they are smaller, easier to handle and cheaper to feed. There are other breeds but those are the most common. A wether makes a good companion but they can be a little more complicated to feed when living with a doe...the wether should have very little grain.

I sell my kids for $50 for a wether and $150 for a registered doeling. I have sold unregistered doelings for as little as $75. But you want to make sure it comes from a healthy herd. The two main diseases in goats are CAE and CL with Johne's being a close third. They are all tested for by a blood test, but the kids need to be over 6 months. I don't know if your friend did any test on the goat or not but just be careful and ask about testing. You don't want to start off with sick goats.

I really wish you were closer. I could make you a good deal. I am building a dairy and I am about 20 goats over what I need right now.

Glad that your girl is being sweet, some of them are, and some are brats.
 

babsbag

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Being that they are both new and no herd there probably won't be much bossing or fighting for lead goat. I run big goats and mini goats together with no problems so I don't think that size is much of an issue. I would just put them together and see how it goes.
 
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