# New to the goat life



## bredalcerri (Oct 13, 2013)

Hello my husband and I brought home our first goat a female Pygmy she was fine the first few weeks but always tries to get into our home and be with the family. When we don't let her in she screams and rams the screen door. At one point in her 5 year old life she had a pack, she hasn't in the past year apparently. I am owning this behavior up to her being lonely and wanting companionship. My husband and I are going to purchase another Pygmy this week, what do y'all suggest? I do not know whether she is fixed or not, she was free and the family literally just handed her over and left which is very unfortunate. We are considering getting a 4 month old Pygmy doe. How do y'all introduce them? She is also only fed grass, weeds, etc. from our yard while the grass was high now that it is close to time for snow, what treats do y'all give? She does have a mineral block. Also, what toys? We built her a ramp to climb up to a look out and our building a shelter underneath it for her to go into and sleep during winter. What do y'all suggest for those goats who live in colder climates?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi, and welcome to TGS!
I am glad you are getting a friend for youy Pygmy doe. Since they are herd animals, you should always have at least two, but the more the merrier  
Second, generally female goats do not get fixed. It is expensive, and surgery is risky for goats. I would suggest getting a fixed male (wether) or another doe. But not a buck. 
If you get the young pygmy doe, put them both on a leash and then introduce them so they can see each other but not get too aggressive. Expect some fighting, they will figure out who is going to be herd queen or not. 
For food, I would start letting them have free choice grass hay. Usually goats will not get enough to keep a healthy weight on with just foliage from the yard. Since they are not pregnant or nursing, grass hay and what they eat from the yard should be plenty. I would also reccomend getting a loose goat mineral such as Sweetlix meat maker, instead of the mineral block. Mineral blocks are too hard for them to get enough minerals from, and usually don't have the right mineral content in them. 
Old wire spools are great toys, you can connect them with wooden ramps. Stumps, old kid pick nick tables, etc also make good toys for them.
For a shelter, make sure it can be fully inclosed to keep wind/rain out. A deep straw bedding should help keep them warm. 
Hope this helps, and ask me if you have any more questions!


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

Yes def a friend will help tons, and if you wanna really treat her get a bag of Purina sweet naturals goat chow or just sweet cob... they go nuts for it.... I dont think it hurts to give the girls a little treat now and then (maybe a cup of the sweet stuff once a day will go a long way...).....


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

What they all said.
-Give her a friend to bond with. 1 goat, just put them together, they should figure things out ok pretty easy. Introductions are harder when you have more but 1 on 1 should be easy. And with a friend, she won't scream for you so much
-Good shelter that is dry and draft free
-wooden spools or crates or cinder blocks stacked like stairs for toys
-Hay is a must (keeps the rumen healthy)
-a little grain isn't necessary but they do like it. If introducing grain don't add a ton all at once. Maybe 1/2 cup a day and at most 1 cup. It's not super necessary but they do like grain. Don't free choice it, she will pig out and make herself sick.
-loose grain mineral - much easier to eat.
-when the grass is green and lush again, free choice baking soda - for bloated bellies.

Have fun  Goats are awesome.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with the advice given...When we get a new goat who needs to be introduced to my goats, we go slow...sharing a fence line for a while to see how they behave is a safe way..especially is the new goats is smaller...after a few days of greet and meet at the fence line...put them in together and supervise the visit...they might be a bit of pushing, as long as one is not hurting the other..leave it to work out...but if one is really taking a good shot go back to the fence line..givea few more days...some goats except the other quickly others take more time...never leave them unattended until you are confidant they will get along...
I would add that you should begin building your medicine cabinet...a few needed meds are: 
*CD Antitoxin 
Fortified B complex 
*Antibiotics ( *nuflor from vet or tylan 20 from tractor supply)
*Penicillin 
*Banamine ( from vet)
a good wormer ( I like Valbazen, its oral and cover a large number of different worms, Ivomec plus is another I use, also covers a large number of different worms)
Pepto ( the human kind, great for soothing tummy and drying the bum when needed)
Milk of magnesia (human kind) for binding toxins or helping constipation
Probios

There is a medicine cabnet thread here that give a long list of things you might need, but this short list gets you started...just add a little at a time..the things with a * next to them is somehting you need on hand...if you need them, you will need them NOW and wont have timet o go find a store to carry them. Most you can order from Jeffers, some are from vet only and some you can find at your local supply store..

Congrats on your new goat! Sounds like you are looking out for her well!


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## LuvmyGoaties (Mar 9, 2010)

Another thing to keep in mind is, if you doe has horns you probably want another with horns, otherwise the one without horn will be at a big disadvantage and could get hurt, especially while they are sorting out who is boss.


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## Tris-Four (Jan 17, 2014)

I'm thinking about getting goats soon and I was wondering if I could keep them in my backyard and then let them out to eat weeds when I mess with my horses. I was also wondering about witch goat breeds are the friendliest. I don't want a dairy goat though. How are fainting goats?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Tris-Four said:


> I'm thinking about getting goats soon and I was wondering if I could keep them in my backyard and then let them out to eat weeds when I mess with my horses. I was also wondering about witch goat breeds are the friendliest. I don't want a dairy goat though. How are fainting goats?


Any breed of goat will be friendly if raised right. My friendliest are Pygmys and Boers. They do need more then weeds and grass, so you need to give them hay as well.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Are these pets or breeders? If pets it won't matter the breed including dairy. If you don't breed them, you don't have to worry about milk.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

bredalcerri said:


> Hello my husband and I brought home our first goat a female Pygmy she was fine the first few weeks but always tries to get into our home and be with the family. When we don't let her in she screams and rams the screen door. At one point in her 5 year old life she had a pack, she hasn't in the past year apparently. I am owning this behavior up to her being lonely and wanting companionship. My husband and I are going to purchase another Pygmy this week, what do y'all suggest? I do not know whether she is fixed or not, she was free and the family literally just handed her over and left which is very unfortunate. We are considering getting a 4 month old Pygmy doe. How do y'all introduce them? She is also only fed grass, weeds, etc. from our yard while the grass was high now that it is close to time for snow, what treats do y'all give? She does have a mineral block. Also, what toys? We built her a ramp to climb up to a look out and our building a shelter underneath it for her to go into and sleep during winter. What do y'all suggest for those goats who live in colder climates?


'

I agree with what you have been told. I also don't do the slowly introduce. I throw them in together...easier since you only have 2. I don't have the fence available for the slow introduction. How are they doing? Did you get the other one???


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Tris-Four said:


> I'm thinking about getting goats soon and I was wondering if I could keep them in my backyard and then let them out to eat weeds when I mess with my horses. I was also wondering about witch goat breeds are the friendliest. I don't want a dairy goat though. How are fainting goats?


If you are just wanting pets, I would recommend wethers. And I think the mini breeds make fantastic pets. So do the rest, but the minis are just plain old stinkin cute! I have no experience with fainters,so can't help you there. Depending on what is in your yard, they would need more than just that and weeds. Ours are out on a pasture during the summer with no extra hay given. They have a mix of grass and weeds and they do fine out there. A good loose mineral is key. If you do get wethers, make sure to include ammonium chloride in the mineral to avoid urinary calculi (kidney stones, basically) which can kill them


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