General Goat Care Information

I've decided to add this page because of a couple of phone conversations that I've had with people looking to get their first goat and needed guidance.

I'll add topics as often as I can.

Choosing a goat

The first thing to consider is why you want a goat.  There are generally about 4 different reasons for people wanting to buy a goat.  I'll make suggestions how to go about finding the right goat for each category.

Companionship - Most likely a castrated male called a wether would be the best choice for companionship.  There is nothing wrong with females, does, it's just that you'd most likely be saving a life if you purchase a dairy type wether.    If size is a consideration then you can look at Pygmy or Nigerian Dwarfs.   Otherwise any dairy breed would be fine,  these will be the most reasonably priced anywise ($50-$100).  I DO NOT suggest getting a buck, an intact male, they will end up producing a very pungent odor in the fall, making them quite smelly.  I would recommend getting a wether from a reputable breeder that has been disbudded (no horns) and raised in a CAE herd with no abscesses. 

Meat - If family food supply is what your interested in then you most likely be looking at a Boer or Boer cross goat.  If you interested in showing or just papers you will be paying more.  But if you plan on processing all the offspring then papers are unnecessary.  There are other meat breeds like Kiko, and Spanish but these can get pricey and are harder to find.  There are quite a few Boers out there that have more than two teats.  If you purchase a doe lift legs and look at teats, I would not recommend getting any does with more than two teats.

     A typical Boer goat, stocky body, white with red head. This is Joules my 100% boer doe.

Dairy - If a home milk supply interested you there are several breeds to choose from, the following breeds are all registered by the ADGA.  Although registration papers don't put milk in the bucket, they do show you milking history and help to sell the offspring.  After all you can't get milk without making a baby first!

Cart/Harness goat - Again a dairy wether would be best for this.  But personality and conformation is very important.  You'll want a sound animal that can withstand hours on a trail with a heavy load.

Goat Health Care

Vaccinations -  Generally there is only one vaccine to administer CD&T, which is easily purchased at TSC (Tractor Supply Co) along with the syringes.  Learn to do this on your own, there is no need to have a vet come out.  Simply lift the skin on the neck area making a tent and insert under the skin, and give 2cc.   Give the annual vaccine about 2 weeks before a doe is due, but note, kids need it twice at about 2 weeks and 6 weeks.  Don't forget to vaccinate the bucks too.  Just a side note this vaccine can leave a permanent bump under the skin looking like an abscess.   Another place to give it is the loose skin at the elbow.

Worming -  Goats need regular worming.  I like to rotate wormers such as Ivomec and Valbazen.  I do not suggest using Safeguard or any wormers in that family.  It seems to be pretty ineffective, even though it is the ONLY wormer approved for goats.   Do not give Valbazen to pregnant does, it is however very effective on Flukes and Tapeworms.   Before getting too aggressive with wormers I would suggest collecting some goat berries and dropping them off at your vets office for a fecal.   Not only can the Vet check form worms but they can check for coccidia too!  COCCIDIA, the silent killer,  is a protozoan infection that can kill a goat in short order, especially kids. If you have a kid with severe diarrhea from coccidia it maybe to late to save them, if you do they most likely will be stunted from intestinal damage.  I would recommend a coccidia preventative, given orally, in the water or in the feed.  Talk to your vet or feed store expert on how prevent this quick killer, the signs are diarrhea, dehydration and polio (S-curving of the spine), but once you recognize the signs it's probably too late!

Hoof Care -   I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this, I've seen too many neglected goats with 'slippers' about 6-10in hooves curling up!  This is the easiest of goat care things to do. Get a pair of straight pointy type of pruning shears and follow the sole of the hoof and trim away.   The band of hair should be parallel with the bottom of the hoof, when you are done.   Take off little pieces at a time and if it gets pink...stop.   If the goat is growing too much heel trim that as well, it won't hurt them.  Keep an eye on this year round, but the hooves do grow faster in the summer.

Feeding - A non-milking doe should do fine on hay and maybe a small amount of grain.   Milking does need more.   I heavy producing doe will put all the food you give her into the milk bucket.  If you are not giving her enough, she'll take it from her body.  Once she loses weight and is milking its hard to put it back on.   Pregnant does will be fed as a dry doe during the early part of pregnancy and toward the end increase the grain, as babies grow quickly.  Be careful to not let a pregnant doe get fat, complications will arise.  Kids when weaned at 2-3 months should be on a quality grain and hay, don't skimp on grain they are growing quickly!   Bucks have a tendency to lose weight in the fall so build them up and keep them on a strong diet throughout the fall with hay and grain.  Don't give them grain with really high protein, they can develop stones (Urinary Caniculi).  I've heard of people putting apple cider vinegar in the buck's water to avoid stones, but I'm not sure if this works.

Raising Kids-  Newborn kids need colostrum, sticky yellow milk from the dam, initially (this is critical) then move on to multiple feedings of milk 3-4 times a day, watch the size of the bellies, they will over eat and scour.   See the Goatwisdom website for a really nice chart.   Kids should be bottle fed twice daily, with raw or pasteurized milk (depending on the CAE situation) if they are not on their dam.   I've found that if your herd is consistently CAE free then you can feel good about feeding them raw milk they'll grow so much better and have more immunity!   Offer them grain and hay at a week old.  NOTE:  It is very important, especially if you've purchased a new kid, to put them on a coccidia preventative.   There are feeds that have it in the mix, no hassle no worries.  Ask you feed supplier what they've got.  A kid new to the herd will have no immunity to your particular strain of coccidia and can die.

CAE - (Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis)  Is a pretty serious disease. It can kill kids, and older goats will have swollen knees and slowly degenerate, very sad.  Don't introduce this into your herd.   It's mostly passed from dam to kid through colostrum or milk.  Many breeders prevent this by pasteurizing the milk and bottle feeding the kids.   Make sure that either you purchase kids raised on 'prevention' or from a CAE free herd.  Ask to see test results.  If the breeder does not test, your taking a big risk.   Just because an animals is raised on prevention does not mean they will be CAE free, your taking the word of the breeder.  If the breeder is selling an adult animal have it tested before you pick up the animal.   

Abscesses - Some goats will develop small abscesses, they will look like a lump the size of a lima bean or bigger, then the hair will fall out.  It's then that you lance open the abscess and drain it.  Do this away from all the other goats on concrete and bleach afterward.  Do not reintroduce the goat to the herd until it has healed.   Why is this a big deal?  CL, Caseous Lymphadenitis, is a type of  abscess that will go to the lymph nodes and is very contagious!  Never take a goat with an abscess to a Fair or Show, you'll be tossed out on your ear!  Have the material from an abscess analyzed by a vet and cull any goats with CL.  There are other options, you'll need to research this one!

Pink Eye -  Goat can pick up pink eye as easily as school children.  I got it once in my herd from someone coming to the farm looking to buy when his goats at home had it.  He pet my goats and  BANG... everyone had red, gunky eyes.   It's easy to treat with NFZ puffer found at TSC (Tractor Supply Co).  Do not take a goat with pink eye to a Fair or a Show, you'll be tossed out and make a lot of people angry in the mean time.  

Delivery- Ok, this deserves a lot of time, but I'll just give you the low down.   Watch the does closely (we have a camera in the barn), if she lays down for a long time and doesn't get up test her for ketosis (get strips at local pharmacy).    Before delivery she'll start to udder up (sometimes days before).  She may or may not produce a discharge.  She will be swollen.  I have one that will paw violently at the straw.  Separate her from the others and make sure the pen is clean and she's got plenty of water.  Don't be in a hurry to jump in and help, let her do her thing.  You'll want to see two legs and then a nose.  If not then maybe its time to help.  If a leg or head is bent back it's too tough to deliver naturally you'll have to put on a sterile glove and go in.  It's weird the first time you do it, put KY jelly on the glove and just go slow.   Get things straight and let her finish.  Do not pull if she's not pushing.    If its cold in the kidding pen, get in there and help dry off the kids.   If you are pasteurizing the milk then separate the babies.   There are better websites than mine on this topic, read up before the big day.   Try goatwisdom.com  they are an excellent source of info.  Goats can go over their due date, I had one go 10 days over and do just fine.

Breeding-  Goats for the most part are seasonal breeders.   Depending on your preference you might breed for Winter or Spring babies.  Gestation is generally five months.  If you've got just  a couple of goats and there are NICE bucks near by, don't bother keeping a buck, they smell BAD!   Don't breed to just anything, even if its a terminal line and your processing the kids for meat you still want a decent buck.  Breed junk and you'll get junk.  If you're breeding for milk look at the bucks dam, she'll have an influence on the kids.   If you can detect heat (I stink at this) you can throw her in your vehicle and drive to the buck for a day of breeding.    If you can't detect heats run her with the buck and watch for breeding and/or a discharge.   Mark this date on the calendar.   I think, this is my opinion, that if you run the doe with the buck she'll be more fertile and release more eggs.  The smelly guy has an impact on her cycling.  This might be why people who artificially inseminate are not always successful.   I actually have two bucks and board/breed other people's does, I've been nicknamed the "goat pimp."    This is a good way to have the buck pay for himself, but be careful of what you are introducing to your herd!

Milking-  Cleanliness is the most important thing.  Make sure the doe is clean (don't keep her with the buck!) and not eating smelly items, you'll taste it.    Brush off the doe (belly area) before milking and keep the udder shaved.   Next take a baby wipe and clean off the udder and then your hands.  Milk out a couple of squirts and toss, there is older milk in the teats that you don't want.    Then milk her out completely, massage the udder - this looks strange - then finish milking.  To practice milking start by  holding two fingers pointing down then with the other hand squeeze at the base of these fingers with your index and thumb with your palm against the fingers, then wrap your other fingers around forcing the blood down to your finger tips.  If it feels like you're fingers will pop, BINGO you've got it!  It would be best, however, to have an experienced person show you how to do this on a real goat! 

Horns - Never buy a goat with horns.  This is my advice.  It's too dangerous.  They know how to use them and you never know when you'll be in the middle of a squabble.  My mother had a horn go through her upper lip.  I know of a woman have a buck catch her between her legs with his horns and toss her over the fence.   I've heard of a goat with horns getting stuck in an electrical fence and be slowly electrocuted.  It's simply not worth the risk - end of story.   If you have kids you can disbud them yourself with an iron at about a week old.  I won't go into details.  You need someone to show you, maybe your vet.  But it is easy to do if you can stomach it, buy the best disbudding iron you can afford. 

Housing - Goats don't need complicated fancy housing but they need to get out and off of the elements.  You can build a simple three sided shed out of landscaping timbers and plywood.  I would suggest that you put a raised floor down to keep them off the wet ground.  I would also put a raised platform for them to play and lounge on in the pasture.  Make sure that goats have a place to get out of the sun in the summer besides a stuffy shed.  These can get quite hot in the summer without cross ventilation.

Fencing - A solid mesh fence of horse type would be your best bet.  I actually prefer the heavy welded wire cattle panels that get smaller at the bottom (babies can't crawl through).  Goats love to visit over the fence line and will stand on the fence pushing it down.   Both serve two purposes, keep goats in and predators out.

Tattooing/Tagging - Dairy goats registered with  ADGA require ear tattoos, if you're going to breed them, spend the money and get a tattoo set.   It's easy to do.   Clean the ear, hold the goat, punch holes in the ear and rub the ink in.  Be careful to not hit a vein or they'll bleed and the ink won't take.  For more info on this see the ADGA website.  Boer goats are tagged.  You can pick up tags at TSC or any animal supply place but many states like OH will mail you the tags and an ear tagger for free as part of APHIS.  

External Parasites -  Hardly anyone will admit to having them but lice are everywhere.   They really get to be a problem in winter.  I dust with a livestock dust powder and it seems to be pretty effective and keeping those little buggers out of site.   Don't worry, goat lice don't like humans as a host.   So stop scratching your head...you don't have any, or at least you didn't get them from your goats.   

Minerals  - Always make a salt block available to your goat.  I look for blocks that have selenium in it since I'm deficient in my area.   Be careful offering sheep minerals, this really won't have enough copper in it for goats.  Also consider putting out baking soda as well, they'll use it free choice if they need it for a belly ache.

Probiotics - Good Bacteria are very important to goat health.  I keep a bottle of Acidophillius in my cabinet, I purchase it at the drug store.  Yes, its the same stuff humans use, don't bother buying the expensive stuff from goat suppliers.   It comes in oil like caplets that can be easily punctured and added to a bottle or squirted in the mouth.   This is extremely helpful to goats that have diarrhea or feeling under the weather.  It puts good bacterial back into the gut.  I would also recommend it if you have goat on antibiotics.

Just a note:  The American Dairy Goat Association has a video on goat care that shows almost all the things I've described here.  I would recommend you spend the $5 and rent the video.  They've also got one on showing and cheese making!

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