# Where do I start? You've goat to help me!



## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hi guys

You might have seen my other post about finding a goat that eventually became our goat. So now we are officially goat owners we are trying our best to make sure we spall the right things which is hard because we keep getting told different things ...

So below is Gumpy our adopted girl. No idea what breed she is or how old (haven't been able to get a photo of her teeth yet)
















She seems fairly young. 
So far we have de-fleaed her as she was covered when we found her.

We also noticed her coughing a few times. Some people said this is a normal goat thing others said it was trouble. We went to our local farming shop and they gave us a paste that we have to her for worms I think? Her cough is almost gone and only happens occasionally now should we be worried? It doesn't sound chesty or anything and she is happy and healthy and eating 

On the topic of feeding what should we be giving her? Right now we have her on goat feed which is like a mix of chaff and grains? We give her a big bowl a day and also things like apples and carrots. Is there something else she needs? She samples a lot of our bushes lol

Since we are keeping her we are also getting her a friend as when our dogs are inside she gets super lonely and tries to come in the doggy door lol. So without further ado let me introduce Kuta
















Again not sure of he breed-he's a rescue, found down south alone in the middle of the road. We should be picking him up in 2 weeks once he's weaned.

We have a separate pen for him as I'm assuming he will be too small to be left alone with her and also, we need to wait till he is wethered (which the vet said they'd do at 5 months) so no alone time till then. Since they will be able to see each other through the pen will they cry a lot? Any issues with this? So far Gumpy has been super quiet, even when she went into heat but I don't want to risk upsetting the neighbours.

So is there anything I'm missing or should be doing? Please let me know. And thanks in advance for your help!


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Awe she looks likes she's settled right in.

I'd check a fecal with a lab or vet to make sure she's clean. ( as a goat can be anyways)

An occasional cough is ok as long as not associated with other symptoms and isn't a wet sounding cough.

Fence line company should be fine for now. 

I'd get them a goat mineral from the feed store if you haven't. Loose not a block.

Maybe test for CAE at some point especially if you plan to breed her at some point.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Thanks @nicolemackenzie

We will check out the farm store for some minerals. We don't plan to breed her she's just a pet but what is CAE?


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Caprine arthritic encephalitis.

I'm kids causes neurological symptoms

In adults causes hard udders and large arthritic joints.

There's lots of info on here if you do a search

It is spread mainly through colostrum and milk


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok thanks so much.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

Are you providing hay?


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

We gave her some hay but she wasn't really interested so it went to the chooks instead


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

She really should have hay available all the time, off the ground-maybe try a different kind? You can also get hay in pellet form.

Did you buy hoof trimmers & have someone show you how to trim them every month? If you give her rough things to climb on, that can help keep the hooves from getting as overgrown.


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## Retiredokjusttired (Jun 26, 2016)

They are both super cute!

I have read that male goats can begin breeding at a very young age. I have a 11 week old buck that has shown "rut" type behavior already and has "chased" one of my older girls....and she put him in his place..thank goodness. Cant' beat what an older female will do for a younger male in any breed or any animal as far as teaching them manners if you ask me. I mention this because you stated 5 months to castrate. Just be aware if they get together before he is castrated he may "get to her" and you may have a surprise pregnancy.
We banded our boys at around 7/8 weeks. You might google breeding ages of goats if you get a chance to get info or maybe a more experienced person here will post about it. I am also pretty new to goats.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok guys I will try getting some hay for her any particular type maybe we just got the wrong kind? 

No hoof trimmers would have no idea how to do it. I'm not sure if she would let us either. How regular do they need to be trimmed? We have some rocky ground and right now she also has access to the pavers.

We will be keeping him separate from her so no "sexy time" happens.  I'm not sure why we have to wait so long to get him done, I just hope he doesn't start acting all manly before then


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

They say wethering older allows the urethra to grow and makes them less likely to have problems with urinary stones.

Frequency of trimming varies by goat and terrain. Every 4-6 weeks?


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok worst case we may get a vet/farrier out for her. She's friendly enough but as soon as you try to hold her or corner her she freaks out. Poor thing


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

You might look into building a milk stand for her. My wild girls are easy to trim if I put them in the stanchion!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

This is her hoof now-overgrown I'm guessing?  poor girl. We don't ever plan to breed her so we won't be milking her


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Oooh yes, quite overgrown. I understand about your plans not to milk her but, just gotta say that I have no does in milk and use mine at least once a week!! Whether it be for hoof trims, shots, deworming, or any other care they may need, it sure does come in handy!! I know many people tie them up tight to a fencepost and it works as well.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok cool I'll look into it then. The issue we were going to have was she was very feral when we found her. She was found running down the road terrified and it took a whole bunch of us to catch her. By that point she was so stressed she was in shock and gasping for air.  we have been slowly taming her with food and now she's at the point where you can pat and scratch her-pick up her foot etc but as soon as you restrain or corner her in anyway she freaks out. 

I really want to take things slow and get her used to us so she trusts us a bit more. Will she be ok for a little longer with her hooves? Or should we try and trim them anyways. I don't want her to be any more scared than she is.


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## jschies (Aug 15, 2014)

When you need to hold her still, you can loop a dog leash or rope around her horns and tie them to a fence. Tie it so that her head is very close to the fence then use your body to push her side against the fence. You can do that to give vaccines, trim hooves, give dewormer, etc. She won't really mind it too much.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok I may find a goat-y person to help me when we attempt this haha. I just feel terrible as it looks like she had a tough time of it before we found her.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

What helped our girls, who were were wild and had never been touched before we got them, was to just feed them while restrained so they get used to it and associate it with positive things. Then daily touch and handle them while eating their grain and they get used to it. Now when I open the door to the garage they run in and jump on the stanchion, putting their head through no problem!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

That's a good idea I will start doing that.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Gumpy and Kuta are both beyond adorable! 

I prefer not to tie by the horns unless the goat is very wild and must be controlled rather than trained. In my experience, goats don't like having their horns manhandled and it can make them fight back really hard. Gumpy is small enough you can probably just tie her by the collar while you trim hooves. Before you trim hooves, though, you want her to be used to standing tied. Practice tying her 2-3 times/day while you pet, feed, and groom her. She will soon stop fearing the restraint and will learn to respect it instead. You can even practice picking up her feet before you try trimming them. 

The first time you trim hooves you want to tie Gumpy to a fence with no slack in the rope. Use your body to push hers against the fence so she can't move much. Don't lose your cool if she goes berserk. If you release her when she panics she'll only panic worse the next time because it worked! Speak to her gently but hold her firmly until she settles. When you pick up a foot, hold onto it for dear life until she calms down, then release it. You may not be able to trim the first few times you pick up feet and that's ok. You don't want to stab yourself or the goat with the trimmers or accidentally cut her to the quick because if you hurt her you will teach her that restraint really IS as bad as she suspected! I like to carry a pocketful of treats when I trim hooves so I can reward calm behavior.


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## Nab58 (May 8, 2016)

I've been following this post. Good advice, thank you!


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## camooweal (Jun 27, 2015)

To be honest those front hooves don't seem overgrown to me at all. I wouldn't say either way on the photo where the leg is being held but where she's shown walking on the brickwork I'd say those hooves are quite normal. In the diagram provided by deerbunnyfarm what's shown as overgrown there really is overgrown but I don't see any similarity between that and Gumpy's hooves on the bricks where the sole is level, not raised at the toe or heel. And if Gumpy really has overgrown hooves then our goats are in strife!!!
camooweal


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

I guess I just keep my girls' hooves trimmed short then, because I would consider that overgrown. I try to keep it so that their weight is distributed on their "tippy toes" and there is no bend in the pasterns.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I'd say the feet could be trimmed but they are not horribly long and probably still comfortable. It's easier to keep them trimmed then to let them get overgrown though so I'd start.

If you look at the bottom of the hoof take off anything that is folding over.

I like to use a wood rasp to make a smooth level bottom. ( Wear Gloves!) stop if you see pink.

If you make them bleed you can use qwik stop or corn starch or worst case flour and pressure.

Again they aren't horrible but probably due for a trim


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Thanks for all the advice guys. I picked up her feet this morning while feeding so hopefully in a few weeks she will be comfortable enough for a trim


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

She's lucky to have wandered into your lives and hearts


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

We feel lucky to have her. I spent a bit more time with her tonight trying to lift her legs while she ate but she kept pulling away. She'll get it eventually.

Hopefully Kuta is weaned and here soon!







Grumpy tonight! Lol


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## Sfsanders (Jun 2, 2016)

I give mine free choice hay and they graze in the spring summer months. Fall winter months they get free choice hay and a little goat feed once a day. 

Our vet banded our new little boy at about 1 week old. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I guess because he is so little. . . not much to fall off. .lol


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Gumps grazing last night

















I'll probably call the vet and see why they can't do it sooner I don't mind waiting but if I can avoid puberty for him that'd be nice lol


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

She's just so beautiful! Such a sweet, intelligent face too. Her markings remind me of a cou blanc Alpine doe I used to have.

Perhaps some day you'll want to breed her & you can locate a pretty buck for hire.

Little bucks can start to stink at a very young age, so that part of goat puberty is probably unavoidable! Just don't pet him on the head--that's where most of the odor comes from & your hand will smell worse. Once he's wethered, the smell will gradually fade away.

When you ask the vet about castration you can ask about urinary stones (UC.) I've read that diet can also be a factor in lowering or increasing their risk for it. There have been some very alarming & horribly sad threads here lately on male goats who were stricken with UC--I do suggest you read up on it as it's VERY bad. Knowing how to prevent it & recognise early signs would seem very important for your wether. I don't want to scare you--I've never had a wether beyond a few weeks of age & I don't know how commonly the problem occurs.

You'll have such great fun watching your 2 goats play! I hope he arrives soon!

Send photos of him once you get him!


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## wndngrvr (Dec 10, 2011)

I castrate my males at about 8 weeks old. Used to band but now use the burdizzo. Don't know why your vet said to wait so long unless it is just the UC they are concerned about later. I have found 8 weeks good as I wean the boys then and get them sold as pets. Girls I keep longer. I personally don't want a male for pet left as long as 5 months and one escape from his pen could mean that your doe will be bred. 
You can purchase the bander and rings pretty cheap and do it yourself. Your feed store will probably have some. There will be online pictures on how to do it I'm sure or maybe instructions come with the bander.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hey guys

Yeah I'm not so sure why the vet said 6 months maybe they meant six weeks. I'll ring and check with them once I've got him. If I can do him straight away that would be awesome. The lady I'm adopting him from reckons he'll be ready in a week or two 

I'm not so worried about him escaping as we built the pen to withstand goat escapes (part of our fence will be coming down for a few days when we renovate sometime in the future)

I've been spending heaps of time with Gumpy-we started building her a new shelter. She follows me around now and was even happy enough to lay down next to me so we should be trimming her hooves in no time!








Supervising dad while he works








Scratches








Managed to get a good look at this hoof has a crack in it  she will let me touch it and isn't limping so I'm assuming (hoping) it's just a surface one and nothing to worry about








The back of that same hoof








Draw me like one of your French girls!








Time to prune the trees mum!


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

She looks healthy, happy, and cute! Like others have said, though, do try hay again. She will probably run out of leaves that she can reach in your yard before too long, and not enough roughage can cause trouble. Mine will only eat citrus leaves when they are really desperate, so that may be a sign she is running low on more desirable leaves to eat in your yard. 

Probably, the last time you tried hay, she had arrived pretty recently, and there was a lot of tasty green stuff to eat in your yard, that she preferred to hay. Now that she has been there a while and eaten that down a bit, she may prefer hay to what is left. Also, if you didn't have a hay-feeder, and the hay was on the ground, that could be another reason she did not prefer it.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

I will get some hay either today or tomorrow what's the best type to get her?


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## margaret (Aug 30, 2013)

nicolemackenzie said:


> They say wethering older allows the urethra to grow and makes them less likely to have problems with urinary stones.
> 
> Frequency of trimming varies by goat and terrain. Every 4-6 weeks?


This is actually not true, for a while they thought that banding young doesn't allow the urethra time to grow, but this theory has since been disproved though many people still hold to it.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

margaret said:


> This is actually not true, for a while they thought that banding young doesn't allow the urethra time to grow, but this theory has since been disproved though many people still hold to it.


Do you have links to studies on that?


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Hey guys got her some hay today she's super happy


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## teemogoat (Mar 14, 2016)

Nice that Jesus is watching over her lol


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

HA! I didn't notice the "JESUS" sign before. 

One thing I did notice was the hay net. Most folks avoid using hay nets with goats because of the entanglement danger. The holes are big enough for them to get their heads through and strangle. I would suggest putting the hay in a tub for now just to keep it off the ground, but for long-term you should look into building a hay rack. There is a huge variety of safe hay racks you can build from wire, wood, fencing material, plastic barrels, laundry tubs, etc. Some folks get really creative! The main thing is that you want a feeder that the goats don't get their heads, horns, or legs caught in and that they can't destroy. Glad Gumpy likes the hay!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

At least the vandals are religious lol


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Ok thanks for that I will get rid of the hay met asap I didn't even think of that!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

New shelter

Hay net is gone


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Looking good.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Looks good! I like the fencing too! The green metal is the same color as my barn!


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

I think we should enclose the other side too but my bf wants to leave it open. What do you guys think?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

It depends on where you live, climate and prevailing wind and rain.


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## Clehmanktm57319 (Aug 6, 2016)

*Grumpy*

alfalfa or alfalfa mix that tree will be done soon


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I would enclose the third side so rain can't blow in. They hate rain.


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## ThingsGoatSerious (Mar 14, 2016)

Yeah that's what I was thinking.


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