New Goat Mom (me!)

[Celeste]

I'm probably going to take a beating - definitely get laughed at and very likely deserve both My husband brought home a baby goat a few weeks ago. She was only 3 weeks at the time and was on a bottle so the farner (we'll call him Idiot #2 as I am definitely Idiot #1) let us take her. Per his instructions, she gets whole milk and seems to be doing fine except she tries to eat everything else in my house including but not limited to dust bunnies, chicken feed, silk plants and anything paper. He suggested bread crumbs which to date she has zero interest in. Shove some in her mouth - she spits it back out. I know she has chewing teeth now - won't go into detail about that discovery (I hear all of you snickering!)

I want to be a good goat mom but I'm pretty sure I'm failing miserably since I know nothing about goats and google provides too many conflicting pieces of advise - so here I am with my 10,000 questions.

She is a Pygmy and was born sometime between Christmas and New Year's so that makes her approximately 6'ish weeks old. I have no doubt she needs more than just milk now. When can I start her on "goat food" - what is goat food?

She is stupid spoiled - only goes outside when the weather is nice and when she is accompanied by my lab. TO MY KNOWLEDGE I don't have anything growing in my yard that wouldn't be goat-friendly - we're actually inside the city limits so just your everyday grass and weeds are out there - is there anything that grows commonly that I should be aware of that she should NOT eat?

At what temperature can I put her outside to live? The little goat poops all over are getting kind of old. She is quite capable of removing her diaper (yes, I have opted for the diaper route rather than pee puddles everywhere).

Do I need to consider getting her a companion goat (can't believe I'm even thinking in that direction!) Ultimately I do want her for milking purposes (husband didn't hear the part about milking when he decided to surprise me because I actually wanted a milk producer, not a baby!) but figured I could find somebody with a boy goat later. She does tend to cry - alot & loudly - when she is ready to come inside. Not sure if having a buddy would calm some of that racket down.

If anyone is able to stop laughing long enough to not be furious for such an UN-educated person daring to try to have a goat.......could answer any of my questions, I will be eternally grateful. I did well flying by the seat of my pants when I got chickens but there is only a world of difference between them and goats!!!

Respectfully,

Celeste - Goat Momma Wannabe

 

[marlowmanor]

1st make sure you are allowed livestock in city limits. It'd be awful for you to get things set up for her only to have the city make you have to rehome your goat because it is illegal to have her in the city limits.

2nd If you have a Tractor Supply (TSC) store nearby or a local feed store go and find her some goat feed. She also needs hay, and loose minerals (more things you can find at TSC, though the hay I'd try to find a farmer to get some from cheaper). She can have access to water too (which I would assume you are already doing). I'd be getting CDT antitoxin as well to vaccinate her.

3rd Goats are herd animals so having a companion for her would be beneficial for her.

4th If your yard is fenced in you could let her live in the yard. You would need to build her a shelter though. A large doghouse can work for small breed goats (like pygmies and nigerian dwarfs).

Good luck with her.

 

[Celeste]

Our ordinance is pretty vague - it addresses cows, horses & pigs, but not really goats. Fortunately, our yard is fenced (privacy on 2 sides - chain across the back but nobody lives in the house). Our plan is to use a dog run with part of the fence to give her (and eventually them) a large enough confined area but, as with my chickens - she would have supervised free range of the back yard during the day. I have a large dog house for her. Water is always readily available inside and out since we have other pets. She has not been overly interested in drinking from the bowls - but I have seen her once or twice so I know she knows what it is. I have not given her water from the bottle, only milk, so no worries about her thinking that's where her water comes from.

We have a wonderful farm services store here in town that can get us anything for her (we've talked with him but, like us, he's goat-information challenged). There is also a country vet not far down the road that we plan on taking her to this month to see about shots. The goat farmer said we would need a salt lick for her - is that one of the "loose minerals" you referred to or are these things that I mix into her feed?

I guess finding her a buddy that will actually stay outside with her is going to be a necessity. She loves Max and they play when they're outside - and inside - but he's not going to sleep outside once she moves out of the house. He's a wienie that way. Do girl goats get along okay? Heaven knows I'm NOT ready to be a goat grandma so don't think I want to go the male route!

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[marlowmanor]

loose minerals are different than a block. Blocks are not good for goats because they can't lick enough nutrients from it and can break teeth trying to bite it. Loose minerals will come in a bag and should have a 2:1 Ca (calciumhosphorus) ratio preferably. This means is Calcium is listed as 14% that Phosphorus should be listed as 7%. Manna Pro Goat Minerals are a good brand of loose minerals, though the price is roughly $1 a lb. Loose minerals should be out in a bowl for her free choice (all the time) and should not be allowed to get wet. She will eat what she needs of them when she needs them. This may means she eats a lot when they are first put out then eats very little or them after that. They should be freshened regularly. Fresh minerals are more tempting than old or wet minerals.

Since you have chickens make sure their feed is not accessible by the goat. Chicken feed can kill a goat if they eat a ton of it. There are plenty of stories on BYH of goats getting in the chicken feed, bloating and dying. Some of them were saved by owners who caught it in time and were able to treat quickly and aggressively, but if you can avoid her getting into the chicken feed in the first place you can avoid that disaster.

There are some plants that are poisonous to goats. Here is a list of plants that are poisonous to goats http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html

As for a companion for your goat. You could get another female or you could get a wether (castrated male). Wethers are usually pretty easy to find and cheaper too.

 

[rinksgi]

o.k. I confess, I did snicker a little, but didn't laugh, because i am almost as guilty as you.I just managed to squash my desire for a baby and got a grown goat,first. Last year at this time, we were bringing her home from an auction. Yes, I knew they were herd animals, I just couldn't help it. Now we have 6 goats. We bought a Nubian with a buckling, then I bought a Nubian buckling who is being bottle fed. Our first goat had twin does a little over 3 weeks ago.
I was lucky enough to have a kind and knowledgeable goat lady friend. We got Andrew when he was 3 weeks old. I fed him 3 bottles a day for about 2 months. He was already nibbling hay, so I made sure that he had hay and water. At about 5 weeks, he was nibbling goat pellets. You can just get a general 16% goat pellet. I got non-medicated. He had been disbudded(horns burned off), so he had had one tetanus toxoid shot. At about 5 weeks old, I gave himn a CDT shot,followed by a booster 3 weeks later. This is a very important shot.

 

[Celeste]

As to the horns........Izzy has hers - which feel kinda wiggly like a child's loose tooth? They're sharp too! She seems to take great pleasure in poking me in the belly when I'm putting her diaper on but then again, goats weren't meant to wear diapers

I've been told that I am close to a wonderful goat vet so that's my today project - find him, make an appointment to have her thoroughly checked and stuck with whatever she needs this month.

One thing we've been confused on.......how big will a pygmy get? I have a 70 lb lab as a size reference

OH - what kind of hay - she tries to sneak the rabbit's timothy hay but hasn't actually ingested any of it yet, just chews it like a straw then spits it out.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Hey, got your PM's and replied.

First, I would ask the goat farmer that you got Izzy from a couple questions.

We give ours an oral treatment for coccidiosis when they are a week or two old, did he do that? I'm not sure what the stuff is called, someone else on here can tell you that. It's demoxi something If no one tells you, I'll look at the bottle when we get home.

We give ours there CDT when they are about 3 months old, but we always time our does annual CDT about 2 months before they kid, so the babies get some natural resistance. That's why we wait til 3 months.

So, you might want to check with the person you got Izzy from what their schedule was. But, if they didn't tell you that you needed to have at least two, I'm guessing they may not be on top of things.

Now, the vet's name I gave you is good, but he has a minimum charge. You may want to work all of that out before you schedule. Hate for you to get sticker shock. He's mobile so he can come to you, but since you just have one tiny little Pygmy, you could probably take to his house, he isn't too far from you. Probably wouldn't charge you his normal minimum. If your country vet knows goat, might be good for you now.

What you need at this point, the coccidiosis prevention and CDT you can get from Tractor Supply. The coccidiosis stuff is oral, but the CDT is an injection, not sure how you are with shots.

Coastal Bermuda hay is relatively inexpensive and pretty abundant around here and adequate for goat nutritional needs. You can give it to them now and they will nibble some as they get older. You can get goat feed, but give them verrrry little.

Not likely anything in your back yard if just grass and weeds that would hurt her. Azaleas are bad so keep her out of those.

Take a deep breath. Don't worry, you'll be OK.

 

[rinksgi]

I was interrupted by the doctor. My daughter has the crud. Anyway, we kept Andrew in the house in a crate for a month or so because the weather was so nasty. Not just cold, but blowing rain cold. I cleaned out his crate daily and took him outside for a jaunt several times a day. He soon got spoiled beyond repair. he, and my boxer Jessie, became fast friends. At times they would both sleep in my lap. Jessie taught Andrew how to use the dog door, which is not a good thing. We came home from church one day to find Andrew on the couch,jumping up and down(there's a reason children and baby goats are both called kids). He is outside with the big goats now, but I can't let him have access to the porch,or he will come inside. I went to 2 bottles/day(12 oz) when he was about 2 1/2 months old. He will be 3 months old on the 18th. This weekend I am going to move him to 1 bottle/day for a few weeks and plan to have him weaned by 4 months old. He is eating hay and pellets,just like a big goat, but he loves his bottle! Goats like what they call weedy hay. Mine turned their nose up at Bermuda, but love this $2/bale mixed grass hay I bought. Don't be surprised when your goat passes up sweet smelling clover to eat leaves off of a thorny bush. They are browsers,not grazers. We still have to mow. I think you will do fine. Read a lot, but don't think you have to do everything and feed everything you read about. Find someone who knows goats and takes care of them. I got a mineral block for my goats before I new they needed loose minerals. I wet down the block and they ate it fine. They won't touch the loose minerals. Go figure. Oh, and they love chicken feed. I have to maneuver my feeding so the chickens don't eat the goat food and the goats don't eat the chicken food. They still eat a little,but not too much. Keep baking soda out for them. That will help against bloat. Bloat is not good. Not good at all.

 

[Celeste]

You guys are all my heroes The goat farmer we got her from had a number of kids - Izzy's brother wouldn't let her nurse which is why she went to the bottle and he let her go. I think we might have to take a field trip this week to have a talk with him, plus I can see what others he has for a potential companion.

Andrew sounds very much like Izzy, except she hasn't gotten a crate - yet (it's sitting in the front yard waiting to be cleaned & readied for her) One of her favorite things is bounding from every piece of furniture in the living room. The cats dislike her so she has now chosen to reward their disdain with a swift head butt which causes immediate chaos with the dogs. My house is a zoo.

Oh, and no worries on azaleas - I might have been born and bred southern but I hate azaleas! Ripped every one off the property the first year we were here!

 

[madcow]

Well you sound like you made a flying leap into goat world! Good for you! These guys are giving you good advice. Good luck with your little pygmy. Aren't they the cutest things? I can see how he came home with little Izzy!

I swear, I must have the pickiest goats in the world when it comes to feeding them. Our preggo one right now has been with the chickens for 3 weeks since our new pygmy baby has been born. She has access to the chicken feed anytime she wants it and hasn't ever touched it that I can tell. She just cries for her twice-a-day ration of black oil sunflower seeds and goat feed. They won't eat anything except alfalfa hay either. Of course they like dried apple rings and raisins, but those are extra special treats. Maybe your goat won't be as picky of an eater as mine are. Be thankful.....

Keep learning everything you can. Go to your library and see what goat books they have. Storey's books on goats are pretty good and there are probably lots of others that are just as good. Good luck with your baby!