# Daily Care of Nigerian Dwarf’s



## Kasee (Jan 5, 2021)

Hi, 

I purchased my first ever NDG in May of 2020 and soon to follow 2 more. I have been researching on my own as to the daily care but would like more information from others that have more experience. I currently have a buck here to start the breeding process. I would like input on what everyone gives their goats on a daily basis besides hay and water. I have minerals and baking soda out for them. I worm them the 1st of every month and I am currently feeding them a pellet medicated feed. Would love to hear everyone’s opinions, ideas & tips. I want to make sure I’m not missing something important. I have 3 does, 8 & 9 months old. Remi, Luna & Nova, they love laying together on our hot tub!


----------



## Ashlynn (Oct 1, 2017)

Daily wise for my Nigerians that are the same age as yours I feed Dumor goat pellets, a mineral (either Purina Goat mineral or Purina Wind & Rain or Sweetlix or Manna pro goat mineral are the ones I like), coastal and peanut hay (many different kinds of hay are fine for them this is just what I use). They don’t really need access to free choice baking soda. Have they been vaccinated for CD/T? I would also recommend giving some source of extra selenium and copper supplements if your area’s soil is deficient in these minerals. You can find this out by looking it up. For selenium they sell selenium and vitamin e gel. For copper they sell copper boluses. Don’t forget to keep up with hoof trimmings. Also you said you have a buck there? I would wait to breed any does until they are a little over a year if possible. What type of dewormer are you using? If you worm on a regular basis you need to rotate dewormer types occasionally to avoid resistance. They also may not need to be dewormed that often. Try checking their famancha scores which can indicate anemia from worms. There are many diagrams and videos online showing you how to do so. Signs of a worm load can also include dull coat and weight loss. Deworming on a schedule works for some just be careful to not overmedicate to where the worms become used to the medicine and it stops working. Your goats are very cute! Welcome to goat owning and the forum!


----------



## OpieDoodle (Nov 15, 2015)

I don't have nigerians but I have pygmies which most of the care is very similar. 

Mine get fresh water and access to minerals/baking soda 24/7 year round. They get animal cookies pretty regularly from the kiddos as treats too

My daily care depends on the season. We have our goats in a pretty decent size field and the entire boarder is surrounded by thick brush. 

In the spring/fall I don't feed anything to the herd, they stay fat from all the brush they're getting into. Anyone pregnant/nursing gets fed grain twice a day. 

Winter: I give hay twice a day just enough for them to finish in a few hours or else they waste it. Pregnant/nursing does get grain twice a day. 

As far as parasites I don't treat for them regularly. I watch the skin in their eyes to know if I need to treat. I only treat as needed.


----------



## Kasee (Jan 5, 2021)

Thank you for the information Ashlynn! I use the Manna Pro goat minerals and their pelleted wormer. We also have horses and we are familiar with Manna Pro from having horses. Yes, they all have had their CDT shots when I purchased them from the breeders. As far as breeding, the information I received was it was ok to start breeding around 8 months to a year. I spoke with the one breeder to get her opinion as well. So far 2 of them are in heat. I will definitely look into the selenium and copper. So you do not leave baking soda out for yours? Almost everywhere I read, it made it sound that they needed baking soda readily available to balance their PH.


----------



## Kasee (Jan 5, 2021)

OpieDoodle said:


> I don't have nigerians but I have pygmies which most of the care is very similar.
> 
> Mine get fresh water and access to minerals/baking soda 24/7 year round. They get animal cookies pretty regularly from the kiddos as treats too
> 
> ...


Thank you for the information! Is there much difference between pygmies & nigerian's? I have just been searching the internet for information & I'm sure I'm missing somethings here and there. We have horses and I know they can live off of fresh water and quality hay and forage but unfortunately in our area we lack quality hay and forage so we have to supplement with feed so they get their minerals and nutrients. Are goats pretty much the same?


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Deworming should be done on a as needed basis. Pellet dewormer is not effective. Deworm them based on fecal, famacha and condition.

Breeding age varies on who you ask. We don't breed until 18 to 24 months old and of good weight and maturity.

Baking soda should be as needed. Not free choice.

As for feeding...quality hay, alfalfa source and loose minerals. Feed for young goats, underweight or in service. (In service meaning bred, Breeding or in milk)

Extra mineral may be needed as mentioned. Many of us have to give selenium and copper along with the loose minerals.

Best wishes


----------



## Ashlynn (Oct 1, 2017)

Kasee said:


> Thank you for the information Ashlynn! I use the Manna Pro goat minerals and their pelleted wormer. We also have horses and we are familiar with Manna Pro from having horses. Yes, they all have had their CDT shots when I purchased them from the breeders. As far as breeding, the information I received was it was ok to start breeding around 8 months to a year. I spoke with the one breeder to get her opinion as well. So far 2 of them are in heat. I will definitely look into the selenium and copper. So you do not leave baking soda out for yours? Almost everywhere I read, it made it sound that they needed baking soda readily available to balance their PH.


Mine won't eat baking soda they never have liked it. Here is a thread that talks more in depth about baking soda. https://www.thegoatspot.net/threads/free-feeding-baking-soda.139308/. I have never found the pellet dewormers to be effective and it's hard to dose sometimes if the goat won't eat all of the feed you give them. I use paste dewormers meant for horses and cows. You ideally want the goats to be at least around 12 months old when bred. Breeding too early can effect their individual growth as pregnancy can take a lot out of a goat. I personally breed at 18 months minimum. I have had doe get accidentally pregnant at 10 months and she did okay but she was very healthy and large for her age at the time. Nigerians aren't too different from Pygmy s, but the breed are meant for different purposes. Make sure to give CDT annually. The first two shots are supposed to be given within a month or so of each other which I'm assuming the breeder did. Then after that they get it once a year so they're good until next year.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Ps..super pretty girls..


----------



## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Hi! Nigerian owner here (hence the name!)

Loose minerals, good hay, NO BAKING SODA. They produce their own bicarbonate. no preventative worming every month. No pelleted wormers. No medicated feed.

Good hay daily. Grain may or may not be needed, depending on the goat.

Daily care includes feeding, cleanup of poop, dosing of herbal dewormer as needed, water change.

We definitely need to make sure your goats have adequate calcium in their diet! Use this:


----------



## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

Welcome to TGS!
You have come to the best goat forum there is! Lots of friendly, knowledgeable people who love goats!
Your girls are very cute!!
I have NDs as well.
I waited for mine to be 18 months old before I bred them.
I was told to deworm by my vet in the beginning, but found out by having fecal exams done, that they didn’t need it. Now I do regular fecals during spring/summer/fall which is worm season here.
Besides hay, minerals and water I also offer a blue (cobalt) salt block free choice.
Are you eventually planning on milking?


----------



## OpieDoodle (Nov 15, 2015)

Kasee said:


> Thank you for the information! Is there much difference between pygmies & nigerian's? I have just been searching the internet for information & I'm sure I'm missing somethings here and there. We have horses and I know they can live off of fresh water and quality hay and forage but unfortunately in our area we lack quality hay and forage so we have to supplement with feed so they get their minerals and nutrients. Are goats pretty much the same?


They are different breeds but the care is not all that different. The big difference I guess is Nigerians are a dairy breed so when it comes to milking and such there is more to it for that if you're milking.

Feeding male goats grain can lead to health issues (regardless of the breed) so if you have males you'll definitely want to research that. I don't grain my boys at all.

If you don't have a field with adequate food for them you will have to supplement them with hay. They need the roughage in their diet. Goats unfortunately are not grazers, they'll graze if they don't have another choice but they really need and prefer other food. I am not sure how healthy it would be to just feed grain. Horses and goats have a very different digestive system so I would try not to compare them if possible.

For the first year I had a couple goats I got them in Feb/March time frame when around here hay was non-existent unless I wanted to pay $20+ per bale (around here it is normally $5-8/bale). So I supplemented a lot the first couple months with alfalfa pellets and cubes (I soaked the cubes in water to break them up) and then I did buy a couple bales of hay but that was given sparingly. Not an ideal diet but it worked for me. I would look around on craigslist, fb, etc and ask your horse/livestock friends for connections to people that have hay still. Don't wait for them to get here before you do it because they start to sell out, like the guy I normally buy hay from is generally sold out before the new year and won't have more until summer. I have three new girls on their own right now so I can give you a good gauge on how much they eat. I give them a flake of hay (split half in the AM and half PM) and grain x2 a day.

So I would plan on feeding 1-2 flakes of grass hay a day and a square bale of hay usually has 10-12 flakes of hay in it. So I'd plan on a bale of hay per week which should leave you some left over if you end up needing to feed more. Depending on your fields and how much grass roughage they'll have access to you can slow down on the hay once things start growing. So I usually try to buy enough hay to get me through April-ish so that's about 16 bales if you bought enough for the goats you have to last until end of April. I always plan on the side of caution and buy extra, say you have an accident and some gets wet or something and molds having extra will save you from having to buy expensive hay from the feed store. So if it were me in that case I'd by 20 bales if you have the space to store it. Store it away from the weather and I usually store mine on pallets to keep it from getting wet.

Then if they have any weight issues you can always add grain but you'll need them to have a good staple diet.


----------



## wheel-bear-o (Jul 6, 2020)

I want to echo the recommendation that you NOT do monthly deworming. Especially during the cold months (under 40F), when parasite loads in the pasture are low. Monthly deworming is almost never needed and what you are doing is creating a worse worm problem on your property by selecting for hardy parasites that will be resistant to dewormers. Once entrenched, resistant parasite problems are very hard to battle. Deworming is also hard on goats and some dewormers require a milk withdrawal period, so unless you want to be throwing away weeks' worth of milk every month, start doing periodic fecals and learning to do FAMACHA. We do a fecal every two months except for when it's very cold outside, and deworm when parasite loads tell us it's necessary. 

As to breeding age, it's better to go by weight than by strict age to ensure the dam is mature enough. Nigie does should ideally be a minimum of 40-50 pounds when they are bred the first time. Some will reach this weight faster than others - some ladies will make weight by 8-12 months, but others won't get there until 18 months or even later.


----------

