# New to the world of goats



## sarcios (Aug 29, 2014)

Hi everybody!
Me and my husband recently (about 2 weeks ago) brought our first goats home.
A 3 Year old Alpine and a 7 months old boer- nubian mix, both have horns. We are also (short-term) taking care of a 3rd goat, she is the 7 month old daughter of our Alpine and her dad is unknown. Id like to ask a couple of questions that have come up.

1. We live in the desert and Binki the doeling who isn't ours, has no horns. We love taking them for walks and hikes. Is it okay for her to be out in the heat? She is panting a lot but other than that she seems to be just fine.

2. Our Alpine has come to us with horribly overgrown hooves. My husband has been looking up on how to trim hooves but we feel insecure about it. Do you suggest just doing it since she is very tame or going to vet so we can watch before we attempt it by our self?

3. Our pen is about 1000 square feet plus about 100 square feet of inside space, is that enough?

4.We put a little seesaw that we build goat proof in there so they have somewhere to play when we aren't there, they also like playing king on the hill on a turned around horse food trough. What else can we make for them to play with (please take in account that two of them have their horns.)

4. In our little goat hut we have cedar wood bedding, how often are we supposed to change that? We have them inside during the night since their is predators here, they also like to hang out in there sometimes... 

5. On our walks we have just left them loose and they stick close to us, but now we want to leash train them and experience some problems. The Alpine is great with some treats she walks just fine. But the little boer-nubian mix is a little anxious is that okay? 

6. We feed them about a flake of alfalfa a day plus some oats and some fresh weeds, are we feeding enough? None of them is pregnant or being milked. 

7. As treats we give them oats grinded up a, with apples, carrots etc. whole wheat flower, molasses and some apple juice. Are the molasses okay for them? I know goat chow has it but still. 

Thanks in advance for any answers. We are open for any suggestions, ideas or opinions!!!!


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## ilovegoats (Nov 27, 2013)

1.) She is fine if she is out in the heat, as long as all she is doing in panting. Just make sure that she has shade inside her shelter or a tree that can give her shade.

2.)Depends how overgrown they are, do you have a picture/

3.)Yes that is enough 

4.)Look for a large cable spool on craigs list or something like a table that they can jump on. Ramp may help as well

5.)Yep, thats fine  Just make sure to be strict when training him so that he knows who is in charge

6.)Yep! I know people who dont even feed grain except for prgnant does, kids, and bucks in rut. Continuing the grain is fine though just make sure they dont get to fat lol

7.)Yes! molassas is perfect for treats. Many people use molassas in water for pregnant does because they love it!


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

Sounds like you have a pretty good start, the only thing I would change is the cedar bedding, the scent from the cedar can be harsh on an animals lungs.

For the one with overgrown hooves, if you post a picture here on TGS, someone can give you tips on how to fix them. It's really not that hard once you get over the "first time jitters". If you look on YouTube you can find all sorts of videos on trimming a goats hooves. Just watch a few videos, take your time, and trim away.


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## sarcios (Aug 29, 2014)

Thank you guys! I am impressed on how quick you get answers here!!!!
I will take a picture of the overgrown hooves in the morning! 
What bedding do you suggest? Just Hay?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can put dried pine shavings down and then straw. I just use straw and then the wasted hay ends up on top of the straw.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

Yep, same here, just straw down nice and thick. And of course, all the stemmy bits of hay they won't eat. Mine are inside at night and outside during the day.

I probably don't clean mine often enough, but every few days I remove any areas where the straw is wet and sift the berries out of the dry areas. I add new straw when it gets thin and strip everything out and re-bed as needed.

If you get cold winters, instead of stripping out the old stuff, just pick out the wettest areas and add a new layer of clean straw on top. The lower layers will start to compost and will add a bit of natural warmth under them when they lay down.


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## sarcios (Aug 29, 2014)

*pictures of hooves*



CritterCarnival said:


> Sounds like you have a pretty good start, the only thing I would change is the cedar bedding, the scent from the cedar can be harsh on an animals lungs.
> 
> For the one with overgrown hooves, if you post a picture here on TGS, someone can give you tips on how to fix them. It's really not that hard once you get over the "first time jitters". If you look on YouTube you can find all sorts of videos on trimming a goats hooves. Just watch a few videos, take your time, and trim away.


heres the pictures they are pretty awful do you think we should trim that or get the vet to?


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I think you can do it yourself...just stop if you start seeing pink flesh. Like with a dog, you can gradually get them shorter each trim


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

I think you can do those just fine. Slide one blade of you trimmers under that folded over flappy bit of hoof wall and snip it off, then just start at the toe and snip a little layer at a time until you start to see pinker flesh of the sole. Then nip the soft heal part down to the same level as the toe.

This video is a bit long but he tells you the why's along with the how's, and is from OSU. 




Just search "trimming overgrown goat hooves" and you'll find all kinds of videos.


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## sarcios (Aug 29, 2014)

Thank you guys !!!! I will upload a picture of how it worked out!


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## Sylvie (Feb 18, 2013)

This thread has some good pics of how to trim hooves. Scroll down almost to the bottom, should be on page 1041.  http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f187/pull-up-chair-come-d-159940/index1041.html#post1752383

Edited to add: There are more pictures on page 1042, too.


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