Watering Goats?

[mylilchix]

I don't think my new goats are drinking enough or at all. I tried a bucket of clean water with them. They'd sniff it and walk away. This morning I've tried a smaller bowl and I still haven't seen them drink. I'm not sure what do? Anything else I should try?

Thanks, Sonja

 

[no nonsense]

If they're new to you, it sometimes does take them time to adjust to your water. Try adding some molasses to cover up the taste. I've always done that through the winter anyway, to encourage them to drink more, and the molasses will be beneficial toward the end of their pregnancy too. It's probably not practical to obtain water from the source of the goats, but doing that, and gradually changing it over, like you would do with new feed, is an idea too.

 

[mylilchix]

Thank you very much! I bought the same feed they've been eating, and I bought hay from their owner, so they're eating just fine. I didn't even think that the water taste would be an issue. I learn something new every day. Going to add molasses to their water!

Sonja

 

[lilhill]

When mine aren't drinking enough water, I put Koolaid in it and they love it.

 

[mylilchix]

I added some molasses and Cinnamon started drinking. I'm hoping Spice will soon. They're eating really well, I'm just afraid they'll get dehydrated. Thanks for the kool-aid idea! We've got that here too.

Sonja

 

[helmstead]

Mine prefer the red koolaid, of course, to have kissable lips!

 

[lilhill]

Yep, mine prefer the red, also. Bucks look a little strange running around with red lips, but hey, you do whatcha gotta do.

 

[mavrick]

Try some acv they love it its also good for them, Apple cider vinger

 

[cmjust0]

If there's clean water available -- or any water available, really, even if it's dirty -- they won't let themselves get dehydrated. They may ration themselves on it if they're weirded out or if it's maybe not the cleanest water or whatever, and molasses or kool-aid or gatorade or something to entice them to drink certainly won't hurt....but any goat in its right mind would drink whatever's available before becoming truly dehydrated.

Generally speaking, goats don't use much water anyway.. We carry a few gallons down to the barn at night and across 10 head, they'll drink maybe 2gal after they finish their grain and start in on the fresh hay. We fill it back up to the top and leave, and the next evening, it's usually still full from the night before. They also have a stock tank with a de-icer in the barnyard, but it's rare to see any of the goats drinking out of it. It was scrubbed and sanitized after the weather dropped off too cold for algae and all that good stuff to have come back, so it's crystal clear water...they just don't use it.

If it would help to make you feel any better, it's pretty easy to check a goat for dehydration. Just like parasitic anemia, dehydration shows up in the eyelids first. All ya gotta do is pinch their upper eyelid between your thumb and forefinger and then let it go... If it snaps back, they're fine; if it's stays tented up for a bit, they're dehydrated.

 

[FarmerChick]

Yes they will drink when they are thirsty. No goat will let itself die without drinking when water is available. I wouldn't worry. All drink when they must.

and yes mine seem to drink tons one day and practically skip the next.

my goats always drink after feeding, and usually one time during the day I see them hit the automatic waterer after they come in from the pastures.