- Companionship -
Goats are herd animals. They generally do not do well alone. "An
only goat is a lonely goat" A lonely
goat will let you know it, and no
one will be happy. They need other
goats, or at least other
livestock
such as
sheep,
pigs or
horses. When keeping
goats with
horses there are
some important considerations, such as the ability of the goat to
compete for food.
We recommend that you consider having a minimum of three
goats. This
allows for an interesting mix and keeps things dynamic. Also, with
three goats, if one
goat dies you will not be left with just one
goat
while you locate a new companion.
- Protection -
Goats are vulnerable, particularly to attack by dogs. Dog-proof fencing is essential. (see Fencing, below). If your
goats do get out and are running away from you, do not
chase them. Run the other way and they will follow you! Much has been
said of the cleverness of
goats, and they will find a way to escape from
time to time. Keep a container of grain (e.g. COB) handy. If the goats
get out, rather than trying to herd them, Just run and get your grain
can and start off in the direction you want to go while shaking it
loudly. The
goat (or the whole herd) will follow you anywhere.
It's a good practice to call out to the herd whenever you are offering
food or treats. If I want the herd to come back to the barn for food, I
call out "goat, goat, goat" and they all come running.
- Shelter -
Goats need shelter from rain and wind. They need a dry place to bed
down. A three-sided shelter is sufficient, as long as the open side is
on the lee, away from the wind.
Goats are bossy, and a dominant goat
might take over a particular part of the shelter. In that case it is
best to provide a variety of shelters, sufficient for the individuals in
your herd. We have found that large dog houses, or "Dogloos" are very
good goat houses, plus they are fun for the goats to play on. If you
live where it rains for long periods, consider that the goats won't want
to be stuck inside a small shelter. Then they need a nice big roofed
area where they can move around and still stay dry. When designing your
shelter, it's best to offer two ways in and out. Smaller
goats will
generally avoid a space they can get trapped in by a bigger
goat, and
bigger
goats will prefer the larger spaces.
- Bedding -
In cold weather, a bed of straw or left-over hay is very good.
We feed our
goats both from mangers and directly on the floor of the
barn, and let the left-over heay build up on the ground. This hay,
combined with their own poop, composts and creates heat, such that if
you were to dig down just a few inches with your hand you would find it
to be quite warm. When the goats bed down on this surface, they enjoy
the heat. The warmth from the floor heats their stomachs and actually
helps them digest their food.
For that reason, we suggest that a clean, bare floor is not really the
best thing for goats. Even though it seems hygienic, in a cold climate a
bare floor deprives the goats of the benefits of warmth.
- Fencing -
Four-foot fencing is generally sufficient to keep goats in.
Young
goats may jump over a fence that high, and we have had "climbers"
who will climb a four foot fence, but that is very unusual. Often these
climbers are pygmy goats. Full-sized goats are just too heavy to get
that high off the ground.
Several kinds of suitable fencing are suitable. We prefer "no climb"
fencing, which consists of 2" wide by 4" high mesh. "Sheep" or "Field"
fencing is OK too, but not quite as strong or impenetrable. Also, young
goats with horns may put their heads through the larger mesh and get
their horns caught. Recently we have been using a good compromise
between field fencing and the more expensive no-climb, consisting of a
uniform mesh of about 3" square, and designed specifically for
goats.
All fencing should be woven, not welded, since goats will butt and rub
against it, and break the welds. Be sure that your gate latches are not
too simple or too accessible.
Goats are very clever and will quickly
learn to open them.
If you are concerned about dogs getting into your fenced area (and
generally you should be), consider running a length of electric fencing
around the outside of the fence, near the bottom.
Electric fencing is inexpensive and easy to install, and can be
useful under certain circumstances. For example, you might use it to
fence off an additional area of pasture that the goats might not
otherwise have access to. However,
goats can get through it, electricity
can fail, and dogs and other predators might choose to jump it or
ignore it, so you should only use it when you are around, and you should
bring the goats in to sturdy wire fenced enclosures at night. In my
experiments with electric fencing, I found four-strand tape or cord
fencing to be much more effective than three-strands. The white tape or
cord is more visible to the goats and easier to work with.
Goats will girdle and kill some mature trees. To prevent this, wrap the tree trunk several times around with chicken wire.
Do not stake out your goat or put them on a tether. Not only is this
illegal in many areas, it can be very dangerous for the goat. A staked
out goat is prey to dogs. It can easily turn over its water and wrap
its tether around any obstructions. Also, a staked out goat is alone,
and goats don't like to be alone.
- Nutrition -
Goats are a lot like deer in their eating habits. They can live on a
steady diet of good alfalfa, but that is probably a little too rich.
They will be healthier and happier on a varied diet that includes of
shrubs, leaves, tree bark, etc. We feed our goats mostly local grass
hay. Even if there is plenty of brush, they will still need a little
alfalfa or oat hay as a supplement, particularly in the winter.
They need a salt/mineral block too. There are mineral blocks made
especially for goats. These contain copper -- which goats need, but
which is harmful to sheep. If your soil lacks selenium then it is
important to provided it. It is best to provide the salt and minerals in
granular form, as this encourages them to take as much as they want.
They need a source of fresh water at all times. Chopped apples,
carrots and a handful of grain makes a great goat treat. A few plants
are poisonous to goats. If you are not sure, don't feed it to the goats.
Be especially careful about trimmings you get from neighbors because
you might not know what is in them.
- Recreation -
Goats love to climb and to stand on top of things. They like it if
you introduce new things from time to time, or at least move things
around. They love to go for walks, and do not need to be leashed, as
they will follow you. However, do not take them where there might be
dogs.
- Maintenance -
Hooves: Goats need their hooves trimmed
approximately every three or four months. In general, goats with dark
hooves seem to need less frequent trimming than those with light-colored
hooves. It's easy to tell when they need trimming, because the horn
will start to splay out in the front or wrap under along the sides. You
can learn to trim the hooves yourself, using a sharp pair of pruning
shears or specially designed trimming sheers. My favorite sheers were
designed for sheep's hooves. During the winter, if the ground is wet,
their hooves tend to de-laminate on the sides. If this happens be sure
to trim as high up as necessary to eliminate any pockets that might get
packed and infected. If you do this, then the hoof will grow back out
during the summer.
Vaccinations: Except for worming, we do not
maintain a course of vaccinations. This type of treatment is probably
more suited to commercial settings. We give our goats Ivermectin shots
worms. This medicine is available at feed stores if you want to do it
yourselves, or through a veterinarian.
We keep some injection vitamin B and antibiotics handy for those situations that seem to indicate it.
- Horns and Disbudding -
Almost all
goats are born with heads that will produce horns. The
horns begin to develop (bud) within the first few weeks of birth. We do
not disbud our goats, but plenty of the
goats we rescue have already
had their horns removed. Any herd of
goats has a hierarchy, and the
horned goats are almost certain to be dominant over any goats in the
herd that do not have horns. That's usually not a problem.
We do not recommend removing the horns of
pet goats, although we do
recognize that there are situations and circumstances where people
might find this to be their choice. Certainly if it means the difference
between your taking a baby goat or not, it is better to satisfy your
concerns and disbud than to not take the
goat. Usually, though, you
don't have a choice, because if disbudding is done it should only be
done when the goats are very young. Very soon, the sinus passages grow
up into the horns, (sooner for males; sooner for some breeds such as
alpines, than for other breeds, such as nubians) and there is a risk of
infection. Once the horns are about an inch long, the sinus cavity has
probably already reached the horns.
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