Buying any animal is an exciting time but can be overwhelming when getting a new type of animal. Here are some helpful hints when bringing your fainter goats home, from any breeder.
1. Make sure when getting kids they are at least eight weeks old and eating grain, good grassy hay and drinking water, unless they are a bottle kid of course. Kids should be active, clear eyed, and curious. Avoid kids that sleep excessively, don't play around, and have a dull demeanor, these are signs something is not right. Also beware of coughing, sneezing and discharge from eyes and noses. I prefer to leave the kids on their dams until they go to their new homes, except for eager young bucklings who can breed their sisters. If a breeder weans their kids early or before they leave, the kids do not get those extra nutrients they need. Kids fed stemmy/marsh/cover hay also do not get the nutrients they need from it and may have growth problems. Also deworm and start them on a cocci treatment plan as soon as you get them home unless you have seen the breeder deworm them before they left. It's easy for someone to say it's done and in fact it wasn't. Cocci and worms can multiple quickly in a stressed goat and if they have not been on a prevention plan, you could lose the goat. Any new goats coming to my farm are dewormed as soon as they arrive and if they are a kid, put on a feed mix with a coccidiocide and give a dose orally for 5 days.
2. Make sure your new goats of any age/size have a good, draft free, well ventilated shelter at all times. Try to avoid old, dark barns and do not let their bedding pile up to nearly the ceiling! This promotes bacteria growth and bad smells which can make them sick along with lice and worms. The more light the better and in the summer, make sure they get plenty of air inside the barn.
3. Give them plenty of space to roam for the amount you have. Keeping several in a small pen only promotes problems as they are cramped together which causes stress and fighting. Goats in general do not do well in small pens like cattle or sheep. Also, make sure they are not standing in mud and keep the old hay or bedding cleaned up as much as possible to avoid hoof rot, heavy worm populations, lice and cocci populations. Keeping their areas as clean as possible is the best as goats are clean animals and hate to be dirty. In winter, there can be a build up due to the weather, but as soon as possible come spring, clean out old hay/bedding. Then put down barn lime to dry out the areas before letting the goats back in. Lime also helps reduce slipping on ice during winter so if you have a lot of ice built up, you can use it for traction as well.
4. For hay, use a good grass hay with just a little alfalfa. If you can't get good grassy hay, you can feed straight alfalfa but you must give it in 2-3 feedings a day until they are used to it, and cut back on their grain so they don't become obese. My goats get free choice round bales of grassy hay with a little alfalfa in it in the winter months. They can eat when they want, day and night. If there is bad weather, they are fed inside the barn but still can choose to go outside if they want to. This encourages them to exercise instead of being cramped up all the time which is not good for pregnant does especially. Goats need pasture to roam and to eat. While goats prefer browse, they do just fine on a good grass/weed pasture when provided with free choice minerals and fresh water. During the summer months, they are out on seven acres of good grass/weeds/clover pasture and do not need hay supplemented to them. They easily maintain a healthy body weight and are in excellent physical shape from roaming around being goats. Goats are biters, not lickers, so do not use the hard, pressed cattle blocks for their minerals. The 37% protein mineral block from Fleet Farm is a loose pressed block that they can easily bite off and consume. I offer one free choice all the time along with loose cattle mineral salt (to provide the extra copper goats need) and they also get proper minerals in their grain mix. During the summer months after the kids are older and eating on their own, I cut down on their grain because they can easily get fat with all the pasture they are getting plus grain, getting fat before breeding season means more chances of problems not getting them bred. Winter through kidding and nursing they get a custom made mix from my feed mill made for goats. It has the proper minerals, vitamins and proteins they need. Do not feed sheep or llama mixes to goats, they do not contain enough copper. I also have Bovatec added which is a coccidocide which kills cocci before they can become a problem in kids. Since using it, I've never had issues with cocci in the kids born on my farm.
5. Goats need clean, fresh water at all times. A automatic fountain or drinking cup provides fresh, clean and cool water during the warm months. Goats will not drink water that is dirty, full of manure, old, or full of algae. Do not put your tanks in direct sunlight as it will make the water warm and bad tasting during the summer months and promote algae growth. If you do not have any other place to put a tank, dump it daily (NOT in the goat pen) and refill with fresh water. Some models of automatic waterers are heated and can be used year round which is the best way. However they do need to be kept an eye on to make sure they are always working, and that there is not dirt/algae in them which will make the goats not want to drink. Never force your goats to drink dirty water, or eat snow. Clean them out weekly in the summer with a little bleach.
6. Buy from tested herds when possible. Some diseases do not show up until years down the road so make sure the goat, if it is old enough, or at least the dam is tested negative for CAE, CL and Johnes recently. If a breeder tells you they have the paperwork but "can't find it, or misplaced it", request a current test. Breeders who say they don't test because they have never seen signs of the diseases in their herds are making excuses. Have the goat or it's dam tested and you'll save yourself a lot of heartache down the road if it does come up positive for a disease before it comes onto your farm. When visiting farms, use different shoes and clothes and do not use the same clothes/shoes with your own animals, take a hot shower when you return home before going in your goat pen. Be leery of farms with a lot of standing water or mud in the pens and dirty animals as that is an excellent way for the goats to pass diseases to each other. Granted sometimes the weather does not always cooperate, but if the pens have not been cleaned in a long time or there is a lot of hay/bedding building up, be careful. Also be careful when several breeds of goats are kept together on a farm, dairy goats tend to carry more diseases (even the little ones) since dairy herds generally have a lot of goats coming and going. Also beware of breeders who advertise goats as free because they are picked on and can't compete for food or aren't getting enough to eat, this in fact may be the beginning of a disease issue if the goat is actually sick. Free goats are rarely free and a healthy, well bred goat would never be offered for free by a serious breeder.
7. Disbudded/polled goats are the best all around, for pets, breeding or show. Horns can get caught in fences, collars and many other places and cause trouble for the goat and the owner. Goats with horns can accidentally hurt their owners as well. Don't keep aggressive horned goats with other goats they can bully. They can cause a pregnant doe to abort, break a leg, hook and rupture a stomach and flip kids around or kill them. Disbudded/polled goats can still headbutt but do not have horns to make them dangerous. Again, goats kept in small spaces are more prone to injuries from horned goats because they can't get away from the aggressor. If you buy smaller goats and have older/bigger ones, keep them separate until they are all the same size and can hold their own against each other. Give them plenty of space to eat, drink and sleep. Disbudded or polled goats are much less problematic in the long run. Plus most 4-H clubs in WI do not want horned goats to be shown.
8. Fencing must be strong and contain the goats. Goats tend to escape more then other livestock but fainters aren't as bad as the other breeds. Use 16 foot long, and 4 foot high cattle panels with T-posts every 8 feet for their main pen. It is a sturdy, permanent fence and will keep them in and other animals out. For their pasture or yard, you can use 1" poly tape with a strong fence charger. My goats are used to electric fence and respect it. They have never fallen onto it and never had issues with it. Do not tie goats out unattended or use barbed wire or broken wooden fencing or sagging wire fencing. It is very easy for them to get tangled up in it and if they faint and fall into it, they could die. Do not leave pieces of metal or junk in any of the areas they are in, they could be hurt. However, small stumps (without any cracks or holes to get a hoof stuck into) can be put in their areas to provide them something to play on and rub on. Bucks love to push stumps around to show off to the girls. You can use pallets (again, without gaps or nails sticking out) for them to lay on and the kids love listening to their feet making noise on them. Or make a "hill" of dirt for them, not too steep as if they scare and faint, they could roll down and be hurt.
Goats in general are very easy to care for, provided you provide them with what they need. It is much easier to prevent problems from starting as compared to having something happen and then try to fix it.
6. Buy from tested herds when possible. Some diseases do not show up until years down the road so make sure the goat, if it is old enough, or at least the dam is tested negative for CAE, CL and Johnes recently. If a breeder tells you they have the paperwork but "can't find it, or misplaced it", request a current test. Breeders who say they don't test because they have never seen signs of the diseases in their herds are making excuses. Have the goat or it's dam tested and you'll save yourself a lot of heartache down the road if it does come up positive for a disease before it comes onto your farm. When visiting farms, use different shoes and clothes and do not use the same clothes/shoes with your own animals, take a hot shower when you return home before going in your goat pen. Be leery of farms with a lot of standing water or mud in the pens and dirty animals as that is an excellent way for the goats to pass diseases to each other. Granted sometimes the weather does not always cooperate, but if the pens have not been cleaned in a long time or there is a lot of hay/bedding building up, be careful. Also be careful when several breeds of goats are kept together on a farm, dairy goats tend to carry more diseases (even the little ones) since dairy herds generally have a lot of goats coming and going. Also beware of breeders who advertise goats as free because they are picked on and can't compete for food or aren't getting enough to eat, this in fact may be the beginning of a disease issue if the goat is actually sick. Free goats are rarely free and a healthy, well bred goat would never be offered for free by a serious breeder.
7. Disbudded/polled goats are the best all around, for pets, breeding or show. Horns can get caught in fences, collars and many other places and cause trouble for the goat and the owner. Goats with horns can accidentally hurt their owners as well. Don't keep aggressive horned goats with other goats they can bully. They can cause a pregnant doe to abort, break a leg, hook and rupture a stomach and flip kids around or kill them. Disbudded/polled goats can still headbutt but do not have horns to make them dangerous. Again, goats kept in small spaces are more prone to injuries from horned goats because they can't get away from the aggressor. If you buy smaller goats and have older/bigger ones, keep them separate until they are all the same size and can hold their own against each other. Give them plenty of space to eat, drink and sleep. Disbudded or polled goats are much less problematic in the long run. Plus most 4-H clubs in WI do not want horned goats to be shown.
8. Fencing must be strong and contain the goats. Goats tend to escape more then other livestock but fainters aren't as bad as the other breeds. Use 16 foot long, and 4 foot high cattle panels with T-posts every 8 feet for their main pen. It is a sturdy, permanent fence and will keep them in and other animals out. For their pasture or yard, you can use 1" poly tape with a strong fence charger. My goats are used to electric fence and respect it. They have never fallen onto it and never had issues with it. Do not tie goats out unattended or use barbed wire or broken wooden fencing or sagging wire fencing. It is very easy for them to get tangled up in it and if they faint and fall into it, they could die. Do not leave pieces of metal or junk in any of the areas they are in, they could be hurt. However, small stumps (without any cracks or holes to get a hoof stuck into) can be put in their areas to provide them something to play on and rub on. Bucks love to push stumps around to show off to the girls. You can use pallets (again, without gaps or nails sticking out) for them to lay on and the kids love listening to their feet making noise on them. Or make a "hill" of dirt for them, not too steep as if they scare and faint, they could roll down and be hurt.
Goats in general are very easy to care for, provided you provide them with what they need. It is much easier to prevent problems from starting as compared to having something happen and then try to fix it.