# How much time do you spend with goats ?



## JAR702 (Apr 28, 2014)

I have read many posts and sometimes I feel that I am not spending enough time with my animals. My hubby does the feeding so I don't spend a lot time with the animals, do I need to start doing at least one feeding a day? I read posts on this goat is constipated, this one is not acting right, this one is in heat, etc. I am a very busy woman cleaning, cooking, canning, gardening and such. I do spend time with my goats, have all the girls eating out of my hand and able to handle them, still working on the bucks. When reading the posts I feel I am not in tune with my animals. Is this feeling of inadequacy due to being new with all my animals ( only had animals for less than a year) or because I am not with them enough or not paying enough attention to them?
Also do you keep a separate pen to put buck and doe in when breeding? How long do you keep them together?
onder:


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

I think this is going to be one with many answers....one may spend all day in the barn where another may go out twice for enough time to feed.

I tend to go out several times a day from 5 min to a few hours depending on the day, on busy days I feed and see them for maybe 20 min total other than feeding, Saturdays I go out as much as I can even to nap on a towel in the pasture when I have time.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You do need to learn your goats. However much time you need to spend. You shouldn't have to do it for a long time period. But I would take a week or however long and really get to know your goats. It really is critical to catch things when they are slightly off.


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## chuckles (Aug 7, 2014)

I do a thorough walk through at least once a day, more if the temps are fluctuating a lot as that is perfect for pneumonia, usually at feeding. Yes, I would say you need to start doing one feeding each day. Before you start feeding, check them over. Is someone off by themselves? Do they have bright and alert eyes and demeanor? Is anyone limping or favoring feet? Feed them and, when you're done feeding them, take a moment to see who is eating, who is not eating, who is hanging back a bit or not eating well, etc. I also check feet, and do random eye checks at this time. The better you know your goats, the easier it will be to spot when one of them is off, and the earlier to you can nip it in the bud.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I agree knowing your goats is very important. That way you will know if they are off. I have a doe that is naturally stand offish if this was a goat I didn't know I would think something is wrong. Same as I know if my gabby is bred and close to kidding and she seems to want to be around me more and cries when I walk away one day she will kid by that night. It will make things so much more easy. 
I make sure I check out my goats morning and night. If they are not being fed I still go out there and just walk threw them or love on them. 
It also makes it more easy to do something with them. My husband will feed every once in awhile and he'll go out threw them from time to time but when they see him they don't like him and will have nothing to do with him.


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## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

I spend atleast a few hours with mine a day. But mine are strictly pets.


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## JAR702 (Apr 28, 2014)

Thank you for your replies. I'm thinking if Craig feeds them when he feeds the rest of the animals and I go out during morning feeding, mid afternoon and after dinner that will make 4 times a day they will be seen by me and twice by hubby. Also if I go at times beside feeding I can spend more time with them and the goats won't be preoccupied during feeding and I can still observe the feeding in the am. I can't go out during evening feeding because I am feeding dogs, brooder chicks, making dinner and doing dishes. 

Now, all I have to do is figure how I can add a couple of hours to my day


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

If you figure out that trick be sure to tell us!


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

Yeah! Same here! I would like to add a few additional hours to my day!


Samantha

"5 minutes of fresh air is equivalent to 5 mg Valium"


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I usually say Hi and Goodnight when I feed them AM and PM, but don't always have the time to spend as much time with them as I'd like. So I made "Friday Picture Day". Friday, I make it a point to go take pictures of them. Not only is it fun, but I end up sitting and waiting for a good moment - snuggling my goats.


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

JAR702 said:


> I have read many posts and sometimes I feel that I am not spending enough time with my animals. My hubby does the feeding so I don't spend a lot time with the animals, do I need to start doing at least one feeding a day? I read posts on this goat is constipated, this one is not acting right, this one is in heat, etc. I am a very busy woman cleaning, cooking, canning, gardening and such. I do spend time with my goats, have all the girls eating out of my hand and able to handle them, still working on the bucks. When reading the posts I feel I am not in tune with my animals. Is this feeling of inadequacy due to being new with all my animals ( only had animals for less than a year) or because I am not with them enough or not paying enough attention to them?
> Also do you keep a separate pen to put buck and doe in when breeding? How long do you keep them together?
> onder:


Well it just depends on how you want your goat... Very sweet and lovable I would spend a good 1-2 hours with them also it's very important to observe your goats behavior so if they are acting funny you can tell right away also the more time you spend with your goats the more you fall in love with them and you can learn alot more about them by just observing them


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## 4seasonsfarm (Jan 22, 2014)

This is my routine- I usually visit them in the mornin an after lunch then about 6pm I let them graze for 1-2 hours the I shake there grain and get all come running to the barn. After grain I do hay. Then I leave so they can eat peaceably I love goin out at night and just sitting with them it's the most pleasant thing to me ever. I also etch for babies to kick in there stomachs or watch them and pet them


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

I work 8 hours a day and have a half hour commute each way, so during the week, I can't spend as much time with them as I would like. My weekday routine is usually feed and let out in the AM, feed and milk when I get home from work, then I put them "to bed" aka in their pen around 8 at night. I usually spend about 10-20 minutes with them in the morning and evening, just getting their food out and loving on them a bit (unless I'm super tired or running late for work), but I spend a bit more time when I get off of work. 

On the weekends, I try to take some extra time to hang out with them. My husband set up a metal fire pit in the pasture, so sometimes, if it's a nice evening, we'll go down there and chill out with the girls for a bit. 

It can definitely be difficult to balance a busy life with spending quality time with your animals, but it's worth it. And if you can't spend as much time with them on certain days, just set aside some time to relax with them another day.


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## Hollowdweller (May 5, 2011)

ariella42 said:


> I work 8 hours a day and have a half hour commute each way, so during the week, I can't spend as much time with them as I would like. My weekday routine is usually feed and let out in the AM, feed and milk when I get home from work, then I put them "to bed" aka in their pen around 8 at night. I usually spend about 10-20 minutes with them in the morning and evening, just getting their food out and loving on them a bit (unless I'm super tired or running late for work), but I spend a bit more time when I get off of work.
> 
> On the weekends, I try to take some extra time to hang out with them. My husband set up a metal fire pit in the pasture, so sometimes, if it's a nice evening, we'll go down there and chill out with the girls for a bit.
> 
> It can definitely be difficult to balance a busy life with spending quality time with your animals, but it's worth it. And if you can't spend as much time with them on certain days, just set aside some time to relax with them another day.


I work full time too. I usually spend around an hour in the morning milking and feeding and an hour in the evening.

My wife recently retired so she has been taking over the morning milking so I don't have to rush so much because I have a 1 hour commute.

I believe that if you milk, and especially milk twice a day, that you have the advantage over people who do not, even if they actually spend more time in the barn.

That is because that you are right beside and have your hands on that goat twice a day. You are close enough to hear her respirations, to see if she's eating more or less. Does the udder feel hot? Is she jumping up on the stand slow like her feet are bothering her or something else??

Your milk scale is one of the best peices of health monitoring equiptment you have. If the doe is getting sick the milk scale will often show it before the doe will.

I have always found that over the years the goats that have gotten sick have done so when not milking and I believe it is because milking allows you to catch problems so much earlier.

Also feeding the kids on the lamb bar vs the doe you can really watch the behavior and feeding and notice if a kid is off.


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

While agreeing with all of the above...if at least _your husband_ is out a couple of times a day, keeping an eye skinned, petting them, listening, watching them, that will probably meet _the herd's_ needs--as long as one of you is monitoring them, that's good. But for your own enjoyment of the herd, well yes, do chisel out a few minutes of your day to take a goat break, and just hang out and get to know them. You won't regret it!


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## springkids (Sep 12, 2013)

Don't beat yourself up....sounds like you are doing fine.
Me and the hubby work 10 hour days. We leave the house at 5:45 am and return and 5:30 pm. We only see ours in the evenings. We spend any where from 30 mins to an hour with them. Feeding, petting, and watching them. We have a herd of 37 right now and I can usually tell you if someone is on heat or acting sluggish and so forth. I would like to spend more time with them but I also have 2 human kids and a house to take care of so there isn't much time to go around in the evenings. We usually save the tasks of deworming and hoof trimming until the weekends if possible.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm closer to what springkids mentioned. 

Note: I raise meat goats so no milking and mine are truly livestock, I do love & care for my breeding stock, but not all of them crave my affection 

I do a visual check from my car on my way out for work in the morning (Note: this sometimes results in me going in to the pens in work shoes & clothes and therefore arriving to work with goat poo & fur.) I just make sure all are accounted for, alive, clean butts, etc. At night I spend somewhere around a half hour filling hay racks, water, feed, doing minor medical items like deworming kids or such, and harassing preggos/feeling udders, checking random FAMACHA scores, etc. Sometimes this is only 20 minutes if I have somewhere to be and other times up an hour or more. Definitely weekends are when I spend a lot more time doing goat tasks etc. and goats that crave my affection will approach me throughout chores.

I would not beat yourself up on this topic, but my qualification would be that if you can't tell which goat is hollering just by hearing it through the kitchen window while canning then you should try to get to know them a bit better  They all have different calls!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

SalteyLove; said:


> I would not beat yourself up on this topic, but my qualification would be that if you can't tell which goat is hollering just by hearing it through the kitchen window while canning then you should try to get to know them a bit better  They all have different calls!


Lol actually that's very true

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