I'm getting goats!!!

**charlie116** · 11-07-2011, 03:59 PM

Here are the details:
I'm in high school, & I'm very active in the animal science program. Each year, we borrow a couple goats & a calf from a farm, & give them back at the end of the school year, but this year we're doing something different.
A student knows a guy who has a herd of pygmy goats close to our school. 4 students (including myself) are getting their own personal goats.
We went to his farm last wednesday & picked out a mom with 2 babies (the babies are 10 days old now), & a pregnant goat that was due to give birth soon.
The pregnant goat gave birth this past saturday (I got to watch!!!

). She had 2 beautiful black babies (a girl & a boy). The girl is mine. I named her Genevieve

. Another student got the boy.
Once the babies are old enough to be away from their moms, the guy is going to take the moms back to his farm.
I'm going to visit his farm eventually & pick out another girl that's ready to be away from her mom.
At the end of the school year, I'm going to take my 2 girl goats to my grandparents' house in WV. They have 12 acres there (a combo of fields & woods). They're going to get my dad to transform their greenhouse into a barn & then they're going to put the goats in a fenced-in area that they used to use as a garden. My dad's going to build them a little shed in their pasture for shelter, & also some climbing toys for them

**charlie116** · 11-28-2011, 06:26 PM

So, here's what's going on with my goats:
Genevieve is doing very well. I was worried about her when she was born because she was quite thin, but she's beginning to fatten up

. Sometime soon, I will be visiting the farm to pick out another female.
Here's the info that I've gathered on basic goat care (please correct me if I'm wrong):
-don't use feed or minerals that say "for sheep & goats" (sheep can't tolerate the amount of copper that goats need)
-treats: they can have grapes, raisins, bread, crackers, animal crackers, & corn chips (all in moderation, of course

)
-they need a CDT shot once a year
-they need to be dewormed 4 times a year, & you have to rotate the dewormers you use
-they need their hooves trimmed at least twice a year (or as often as needed)
-feeding:
-in the spring/summer, they eat grass, & you have to rotate pastures to let the grass grow & to cut down on worms
-in the fall/winter, they get a handful of food every day & a flake of hay in their pasture

**kaycountrygal** · 02-20-2012, 12:29 PM

2.20.12 Hello, I just read your goat thread. You did good listing the things goats need. I have 3 pygmy goats. They are about 4 yrs old. I previously had 2 girl goats who lived for 12 years.

My goats are in a good sized pasture that is fenced in with horse wire I think it's called and it is 6 feet high--built to keep goats in and other animals out. It would be very difficult for any animal to get in and for my goats to get out. The posts are large and close enough that the wire does not get loose therefore the goats cannot push their way out. I have several gates that I can open and close off part of the pasture.

Yes, they do need shelter as they are not fond of rain or snow. Yes, they love to climb and I have some homemade stands they use.

I live in the country and once in awhile wild dogs come by and I do not want my little goats hurt which is why I paid for some fence people to put up heavy duty wire about 2x4 inch and 6 feet high. Also I'm told we have coyotes although I've never seen one and we do have foxes and these could get rabies. I dont know about the CPT shot (maybe they got that shot before I bought them-cant recall) but I have my goats vaccinated for rabies JUSt in case something got inside the pasture.

Mine eat goat chow (I use Southern States - pellet for them) and some hay every day. I did have a messy brushy area with trees and vines and they cleaned it up. I am glad you have more than one because one goat would get very lonely. I've heard people say "I want a goat" and I always tell them to get at least two. Two females are better than a boy and a girl unless you want to have more goats.

You mentioned your grandparent's farm. I hope you fence in the area with wire such as horse wire (something with small squares) so dogs and other animals can't get in and hurt them. Something such as barbed wire in strands would not be good enough to keep other animals out and I dont think it would keep goats in as they would just crawl under.

ok, that's it for now. I dont know if you still come to this site or not but if you do, please give an update and photos of your goats.