Basic Goat Care Guide

Feeding:

The average Nigerian Dwarf goat over 6 months of age needs only hay, browse, fresh water, and loose minerals to be healthy and happy. The exception to this diet are Does who are in the last month of pregnancy or who are milking. Browse is any type of shrubs, weeds, leaves, etc. Goats do not really eat grass like sheep or cows, they prefer woody plants. Loose minerals can be purchased at the feed store and are labeled for goats. I highly recommend Sweetlix Meat Maker goat minerals, without rumensin. These are advertised as being for meat goats but they are suitable for pets and dairy goats as well. Hay should be of good quality – not slimy, moldy, or dusty. Types of hay typically offered are bermuda grass hay, orchard grass hay, timothy hay, alfalfa hay or a mixture. Our goats eat alfalfa hay in the winter, in the summer they eat alfalfa pellets and pasture browse. Please note that straw is different from hay and should be used as bedding but not as feed. Goats should always be fed off the ground to prevent hay or grain from getting soiled. Water buckets should be rinsed daily and refilled with fresh water.

Housing:

Goats require shelter from rain - they think they will melt if they get wet! Shelter for two goats can be as simple as a dogloo house, or as fancy as a small shed. Leave the shelter open during the day so they can always go inside if they want to – this provides them with shade from hot sun, shelter from harsh winds, and of course a dry place to get out of the rain. They can be housed with other livestock: horses, donkeys, sheep, cows etc. In the summer I recommend horse pellet bedding – these are pine pellets available at Tractor Supply – and in the winter I pile up plenty of straw for warmth. I lock my goats up at night to protect them from predators, and I recommend that your shelter be lockable so you can secure your goats inside at night.

Goats also need a fence to keep them safe from predators and contained. Predators include coyote and foxes, but the most common predator is actually domestic dogs. Your neighbor’s sweet Labrador is the greatest danger to your goats, so make sure fencing is secure. Goats love to climb and a variety of climbing toys can be offered – old coffee tables and other furniture, discarded wooden wire spools, piled up stones, and old tires all make great climbing toys. Make sure the climbing toys are not close to the fencing, so that the goats cannot use them as a “launch pad” to jump over the fence.

Vaccines & Hoof Care:

I vaccinate my goats against tetanus and clostridium perfringens, common deadly diseases of goats. They are given a vaccination, called a CDT vaccine, and a booster shot 4 weeks later. The vaccination gets a yearly booster after that. This vaccination is available at Tractor Supply. If you have a livestock vet who is familiar with goats, they can give vaccinations for you. I can also give vaccinations, just get in touch with me a few weeks ahead of time. Aside from their yearly vaccinations, your goats will need their hooves trimmed. I do this every 6 to 8 weeks, it is easily done at home with a pair of $15 hoof trimmers from Tractor Supply.

Coccidia Prevention:

I recommend using a coccidia prevention medicine. Coccidia is a protozoa that is a dangerous parasite to small animals – it affects baby animals of many species, such as cats, dogs, chickens, sheep, and goats. Adult animals are not in danger from coccidia under normal circumstances because adults have strong immune systems. Coccidia prevention is usually a medicine such as Sulfadimethoxine (also called Albon) given at 3, 6 & 9 weeks of age.  I give the medicine by mixing the correct dose into their milk, and they never even notice it’s there. You may also simply squirt it in their mouth by inserting the syringe as far back as possible and pushing the plunger down. Please do not skip this important medicine! Coccidia kills many kids every year!

Training:

Like dogs and children, it is important to instill manners in your goats so that they remain pleasant pets and do not become a nuisance. Some behaviors that I discipline include chewing, jumping, and vocalizing. If your goat is chewing on your fingers, hair, or clothing, pinch their ear or lightly flick their nose and tell them no. Use the same discipline for jumping behavior. Be consistent with this training and you will find that they stop doing these things. If your goat is screaming for your attention every time he sees you – or if he is screaming at meal times – ignore him and make him wait until he is quiet. This can take a lot of patience but it is well worth the peace and quiet later. One behavior that is never acceptable in a goat is head butting. When kids are small it is easy to dismiss head butting as “play”, but they quickly grow up and you will get injured. When a goat head butts I put them in time out and completely ignore them. If this happens during feeding take the bottle away and walk away. Goats hate to be ignored and will learn that this behavior is never acceptable.

Goats are very smart and can be taught tricks. A lot of trainers have success using clickers to teach their goats, you can find information on this on YouTube. It is helpful to teach them to walk on a leash in case you ever need to lead them somewhere – to the vet, away from danger, into shelter, etc. You can give them a variety of treats to train them, including raisins, Cheerios, small chunks of cut up apple, banana or carrot, and horse cookies.

First Aid:

A basic first aid kit can be very helpful in taking care of your goats. I have a few recommendations for a goat first aid kit on my website giftsfromgoats.com, but I’ll list the most important parts here:

-          Thermometer, get 2 so you always have a spare

-          Wormers, I keep safeguard horse paste, quest horse paste, and ivermectin 1% injectable on hand

-          B vitamin complex, this is an injectable medicine

-          Syringes (3ml) and needles (20 gauge)

-          A can of beer, goats with upset rumens can benefit from a few ounces of beer

-          Universal antidote gel (or activated charcoal) and milk of magnesia in case your goat ingests a toxic plant

-          An OTC antibiotic such as LA200 or Tylan200, these are injected medicines

-          Blukote aerosol bandage and vet wrap (or gauze and medical tape) for minor injuries

FAMACHA Scores and Fecal Samples

Goats are subject to intestinal parasites throughout their lives. It is imperative that you learn to control these parasites. I highly recommend the website Wormx.info for learning about goat parasites and the best ways to manage them. I recommend checking your animals’ FAMACHA score weekly – this is looking at the color of the inner eyelid to determine if the animal is anemic. You can find a variety of YouTube videos showing this process. I also recommend having fecal samples looked at once or twice a year, preferably in spring and fall. You can mail fecal samples to MidAmerica Ag Research Labs for fast, affordable service, or your vet may be able to do fecals for you.