# Newbie Questions - Fencing, Feeding, etc. And Naming!



## CAfilly (Jun 27, 2012)

Hi everyone!

I just bought my first two goats, 2 Nigerian Dwarf wethers, to keep as pets and to start what I know is going to be a goat addiction :roll: They are from an out-of-town breeder, and she will be delivering them to a public site a couple miles from my house in about two weeks.

I have been around livestock (particularly horses/cattle) my whole life, and have seen adult goats, but have never seen 5 week old babies and don't quite know what to expect as far as height/weight. I have an extra large dog kennel that I will be transporting them in... Will it be big enough for both of them? What do I need to put at the bottom of it to keep them from sliding around?

I am going to be keeping them in a horse stall with pipe fencing, but I know the spaces are currently too big and won't contain them. What kind of fencing can I put along the outside of the stall? I was thinking some kind of mesh wiring?

Also, can I feed them regular Alfalfa hay that I use for the horses, or should it be something different? I am going to be bottle feeding them twice a day and giving 1/2 flake of hay per day, plus free serve mineral blocks. The breeder also suggested baking soda to prevent bloat... How do you give this to your goats? On top of the minerals? With the hay?

Sorry for all the questions.. I have been doing tons of reseach, but it all seems to be jumpled and I'm getting mixed answers, so wanted to see what you guys would suggest.

And last but not least... I need names for my boys! I want two male names that go together (famous duos/teams/matches,etc) - and something easy enough for my 2 year old daughter to say :greengrin:

Here they are...


















Thank you!!


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

Welcome!

The large crate is plenty big! You can put hay/straw or shavings down for them... You could put chicken wire around the stall.... or really any fence you can put up that they can't get out of 

As far as hay.... I am not sure, I have heard not to give wethers Alfalfa and I have heard you can... so I hope someone can help you on that!

I would use loose Minerals free choice, not a block... they can't lick enough of what they need off the block.... and the Baking Soda can be left out free choice in it's own dish of sorts as well...

And as far as names.... I am no good at that! LOL!


----------



## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

No alfalfa for wethers; especially wethers who were neutered at that age. Because of being neutered, their "pee place" will not grow as much as a buck's, so alfalfa could cause urinary calculi (which is sometimes hereditary, but doesn't hurt to try to prevent it). Wethers usually just need minerals, hay, and water. What we do is mix our minerals with sea salt and baking soda; they love it! The minerals keep them balanced, the salt encourages them to drink, and the baking soda prevents bloat (=

Ask the owners and make sure they're drinking hay and eating water regularly, because usually kids shouldn't be weaned until at least eight weeks ... Unless they are bottle babies and you'll be bottle feeding them for a few more weeks.


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

That is what I have heard on the Alfalfa and UC but I know some people still feed it with no problems so I wasn't sure.....


----------



## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

Congrats on getting goats! Those kids are so cute. =D

We zip-tied no-climb wire fencing to the bottom three panels on our pipe corral horse stall. The only trouble is that the goats shove under the loose fencing on the gate. Right now I put a plank of wood in front of the gate when they get locked up, with a few rocks or cinder blocks to keep the wood up. I think you could also use calf panels, but I've never used them before...they are rigid so they won't bend like thin wire fencing will.

For the baking soda for my goats, I took an empty plastic cream cheese container and cut a circle in the middle of the lid so the goats could stick their noses in and lick up the soda. I put a few rocks around it to hold it in place, but if you want it in a stall I guess you could tape it up or something. =)

Yes, that kennel should be plenty big. I'd recommend putting towels or an old blanket under the kennel so it covers some of your car's floor...just in case they pee...don't ask me how I know. =P You could try putting down a door mat, one that has good grip, on the floor of the kennel so the goats won't slide so much.

I can't think of any names right now, but I will let you know if I get any ideas. Again, congrats on the goats! =D


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

You can use cattle panels but you will still need to put chicken wire or something as the will sti be able to get out...


----------



## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

J.O.Y. Farm said:


> That is what I have heard on the Alfalfa and UC but I know some people still feed it with no problems so I wasn't sure.....


My aunts feed both her bucks and her does alfalfa with no problems, but I do not beleive she has wethers. :shrug: I just heard it's a good thing for the boys to stay away from.


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

^ That is what I heard too...


----------



## CAfilly (Jun 27, 2012)

Thank you for the replies. The place I get hay from also has good Oat/Wheat/Barley hay.. Would that be better than Alfalfa?


----------



## WhisperingWillowNDG (Jul 20, 2011)

Milo & Otis
Lewis & Clark
Sigfried and roy
abbott and costello
starsky and hutch
Tom sawyer and huck finn

 i love naming goats!


----------



## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I like the names Milo and Otis and Lewis and Clark!

Here is a thread I found on UC... hope this helps some! 
http://thegoatspot.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=31826


----------



## CAfilly (Jun 27, 2012)

Thank you for the article, it is very interesting. I will also ask the breeder what she thinks.

I absolutely love Milo & Otis as names too. So so cute! One of the kids at my daughter's daycare suggested Phineas & Ferb (their favorite Disney show). I thought that was super cute, coming from a little kid off the top of her head. Naming is going to be the hardest part of this!


----------

