# Moving outside



## WIGoats (Jan 30, 2015)

Ok, so here is another question. I googled and of course can't find a real answer. 

We have 4 babies in the house. Two are just over 4 weeks old, two are just under 4 weeks old. We had a warm spell so they spent most of the day outside. The eat the timothy/alfalfa mix we have, drink water regularly, nibble on the 16% feed, I have minerals to offer. Outside they nibble on leaves, grass, whatever they can find. The are drinking milk from a bowl 3x's a day. 

They are very messy indoors, and seem to really like being outside. Well the husband said he wants them out now. He says they are animals and need to be outside. My issue is we only have the 4, so no adults to huddle with. The temps are about 20 - 33 at night and day temps are 40 - 56 this week. I have plenty of pallets and plywood to build a temp house, I already have a temp enclosure I can use. 

Would they be ok with temps in the 20's at night? I am heading out now to TSC to pick up a few bales of straw for insulation plus feed for the other animals. Do you think this will work, or since they've been inside it is to cold out for them? 

Thanks


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

They would need shelter. Do you have a garage or something they can transition to outside?


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## wintergreen (Apr 4, 2013)

Are they Nigerians? I have full sized goats so my answer might not apply if you have tiny adorable nigies...

They will be fine outside as long as they have a good shelter. I have three babies the same age as yours that are separated from the does at night so I can milk in the morning. They found a favorite shelf where they cuddle together. Temperatures here have been about the same as yours.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

We transitioned ours over the course of a week or so. They stayed in a pen in the garage to acclimate to the cooler temps. They do just fine outside when it is cold as long as they have shelter.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I just caught the part about them drinking from a bowl and that isn't a good idea because all young ruminants have a piece of tissue called the esophageal groove. When a baby is nursing in the normal, head up stance, this tissue closes and directs milk to the abomasum (true stomach), rather than the rumen. The rumen is not designed for milk and, until the baby is chewing their cud, it is not functional. Milk in the rumen can cause problems. Since they are eating other things I'm wondering if this would be an issue, since they are a little older now, but they probably wouldn't take a bottle now anyway if you have been doing this for long...

As far as being outside goes, they should be fine as long as they have a shelter that keeps them away from the elements...


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## WIGoats (Jan 30, 2015)

janeen128 said:


> I just caught the part about them drinking from a bowl and that isn't a good idea because all young ruminants have a piece of tissue called the esophageal groove. When a baby is nursing in the normal, head up stance, this tissue closes and directs milk to the abomasum (true stomach), rather than the rumen. The rumen is not designed for milk and, until the baby is chewing their cud, it is not functional. Milk in the rumen can cause problems. Since they are eating other things I'm wondering if this would be an issue, since they are a little older now, but they probably wouldn't take a bottle now anyway if you have been doing this for long...
> 
> As far as being outside goes, they should be fine as long as they have a shelter that keeps them away from the elements...


I assume they are chewing their cud, they are constantly chewing and grinding their teeth. I started the bowl about a week ago since it became crazy to feed 4 at once.


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## WIGoats (Jan 30, 2015)

Thank you for the comments. We made a shelter for them for now. I'll post a pic once I download it.


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## WIGoats (Jan 30, 2015)

Well, here is the shelter we put together with some stuff we had laying around. My husband checked on them at 3am and they were all huddled together and looked fine. This morning at 7:30 my son went out to give milk and they were all spunky and seemed normal. Today I work on the house to get it cleaned like it was before the goats lol. 

Thank you !


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Um... my thought....??? CUTENESS!!


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