The Basics
What do you call boy and girl goats?
Girls: Doe or Nanny. Boys: Buck or Billy. Castrated Boy: Wether
How important is my buck?
Your buck is the foundation of your herd. Each kid bears half his genetics. Ask sellers about udders and milk production of the buck's dam and other female relative. He won't be making milk, but he will pass down milk related genes.
Why does my goat look fat?
The right side grows to carry babies. The left side grows after a good meal because it contains the rumen. This is similar to what you call a stomach, but it has four digestive chambers. If your goat is consistently fat, then it may simply be fat. If you are giving it grain, you may want to give less. If the left side feels hard and goat appears in distress, it could be bloat which is a life-threatening condition.
What does polled mean?
The goat will never grow horns. It is an inherited trait.
Girls: Doe or Nanny. Boys: Buck or Billy. Castrated Boy: Wether
How important is my buck?
Your buck is the foundation of your herd. Each kid bears half his genetics. Ask sellers about udders and milk production of the buck's dam and other female relative. He won't be making milk, but he will pass down milk related genes.
Why does my goat look fat?
The right side grows to carry babies. The left side grows after a good meal because it contains the rumen. This is similar to what you call a stomach, but it has four digestive chambers. If your goat is consistently fat, then it may simply be fat. If you are giving it grain, you may want to give less. If the left side feels hard and goat appears in distress, it could be bloat which is a life-threatening condition.
What does polled mean?
The goat will never grow horns. It is an inherited trait.
General Care
Vaccination: Most people give annual CDT vaccine which helps protect against tetanus and enterotoxemia (commonly called overeating disease). There is a new goat CL vaccine available. Research “CL goats” to learn more about this disease. Due to antibodies created, your goat will test positive for CL if vaccinated.
Housing: Goats need protection from rain, wet ground, and wind. Rotating pens, not overcrowding, providing clean and dry areas help prevent worm overloads. Nigerian dwarfs grow a winter coat. Provided you have adequate shelter, heat lamps usually are not necessary unless in extreme weather conditions or for newborn kids during freezing weather.
Feed/Minerals: Goats are browsers (like deer), not grazers. They will eat grass, but prefer weeds, flowers, herbs, tree leaves, bark, etc. If you have a good pasture area, you may not need hay. Fresh water is a must. During winter time, you may need to add warm water to encourage drinking. Some people provide grain daily, others only provide when does are near kidding, lactating or to bucks in rut. Black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) are a tasty treat and provide nutrients. Read "Minerals" section below for more info.
Hooves. Every goat is different, but hooves generally need trimming every 1-3 months. Not trimming can cause structural issues such as bad pasterns and lameness. What's a pastern? For a human, it's like your ankle. Imagine the area of your leg above your ankle crumpling backwards. Wouldn't that feel uncomfortable? That's similar to what happens when goats have bad pasterns. The "ankle" is not strong enough to support the weight of the body. Don't let that happen to your goat. Trim their hooves. Youtube has lots of videos showing how to trim hooves. Some tips to naturally trim hooves: 1) Lay square stones in heavy traffic 2) Build a stone mountain. 3) Cover a board with asphalt roofing sheets. Use the board like a ramp or lay on ground.
Disbudding/Dehorning: This is a personal choice. Horns help regulate body temp, but can cause injury. Goat shows often require no horns. Disbudding should be done between 3-21 days. You should be able to feel the horn bud bump. Males are prone to scurs, so try using a Figure 8 pattern on bucklings to prevent it (even then, those pesky male hormones may still make scurs grow). YouTube has videos showing how to disbud or have an experienced person teach you. Messing up could kill your goat. Dehorning is not the same as disbudding. Dehorning is a surgical procedure that removes the horn and exposes a pocket to the skull. I do not advise doing this.
Castration: Wethered (castrated) males can keep your girls company year round and sometimes become what I call "heat seekers." They can tell when a doe is in heat and stand near her, but typically do not try to mount and pester like bucks do. To castrate, you can band or Burdizzo. Research both methods and decide what is best for you.
Eyelid Check: SUPER IMPORTANT TO DO! Aside from external changes such as rough or discolored hair, this is one of the easiest ways to keep an eye on your goat's condition. The inner, bottom eyelid should be a medium to deep pink color. Lighter colors indicate low iron. White means death may occur and you need to take action. Low iron is often caused by worm load, especially barberpole, but may be due to other things such as other minerals interfering with iron absorption. Click for more info on FAMACHA
Housing: Goats need protection from rain, wet ground, and wind. Rotating pens, not overcrowding, providing clean and dry areas help prevent worm overloads. Nigerian dwarfs grow a winter coat. Provided you have adequate shelter, heat lamps usually are not necessary unless in extreme weather conditions or for newborn kids during freezing weather.
Feed/Minerals: Goats are browsers (like deer), not grazers. They will eat grass, but prefer weeds, flowers, herbs, tree leaves, bark, etc. If you have a good pasture area, you may not need hay. Fresh water is a must. During winter time, you may need to add warm water to encourage drinking. Some people provide grain daily, others only provide when does are near kidding, lactating or to bucks in rut. Black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) are a tasty treat and provide nutrients. Read "Minerals" section below for more info.
Hooves. Every goat is different, but hooves generally need trimming every 1-3 months. Not trimming can cause structural issues such as bad pasterns and lameness. What's a pastern? For a human, it's like your ankle. Imagine the area of your leg above your ankle crumpling backwards. Wouldn't that feel uncomfortable? That's similar to what happens when goats have bad pasterns. The "ankle" is not strong enough to support the weight of the body. Don't let that happen to your goat. Trim their hooves. Youtube has lots of videos showing how to trim hooves. Some tips to naturally trim hooves: 1) Lay square stones in heavy traffic 2) Build a stone mountain. 3) Cover a board with asphalt roofing sheets. Use the board like a ramp or lay on ground.
Disbudding/Dehorning: This is a personal choice. Horns help regulate body temp, but can cause injury. Goat shows often require no horns. Disbudding should be done between 3-21 days. You should be able to feel the horn bud bump. Males are prone to scurs, so try using a Figure 8 pattern on bucklings to prevent it (even then, those pesky male hormones may still make scurs grow). YouTube has videos showing how to disbud or have an experienced person teach you. Messing up could kill your goat. Dehorning is not the same as disbudding. Dehorning is a surgical procedure that removes the horn and exposes a pocket to the skull. I do not advise doing this.
Castration: Wethered (castrated) males can keep your girls company year round and sometimes become what I call "heat seekers." They can tell when a doe is in heat and stand near her, but typically do not try to mount and pester like bucks do. To castrate, you can band or Burdizzo. Research both methods and decide what is best for you.
Eyelid Check: SUPER IMPORTANT TO DO! Aside from external changes such as rough or discolored hair, this is one of the easiest ways to keep an eye on your goat's condition. The inner, bottom eyelid should be a medium to deep pink color. Lighter colors indicate low iron. White means death may occur and you need to take action. Low iron is often caused by worm load, especially barberpole, but may be due to other things such as other minerals interfering with iron absorption. Click for more info on FAMACHA
Minerals
Providing daily access to minerals is essential for goat health. I recommend goat specific, loose minerals that can easily be gobbled up, rather than blocks that are licked. For a natural mineral mix, I like Vitalerbs (www.landofhavilahfarm.com). We also like Manna Pro Goat Mineral and use Replamin Plus (sold at JeffersPets) when our goats need an extra boost. In my experience, bucks seem to need a bit more attention in the mineral department.
IMPORTANT: I only cover the most common minerals that cause deficiencies. If you are providing good minerals but still have issues, research what minerals interfere with absorption of other minerals. It may solve your problem.
Copper: Many issues are often tracked back to low copper, so this will be a longer read. Goats need a level of copper that is usually toxic to other animals. If your goats are not kept with other livestock (especially sheep), I recommend using a goat specific mineral. We provided a good mineral, but still noticed signs of copper deficiency: coppery or sun-bleached hair tips, fish-tail, rough coat, lack of growth, and worm issues. We were at our wits end until a friend suggested checking iron levels in our barn water. Iron can interfere with copper absorption. Problem solved, but our area is still extremely copper deficient so we started doing copper bolus (Santa Cruz brand, can find on Amazon). Bare minimum dosing is 5 gram per 11 pounds. I'm a cheapo and will often break open capsules and weigh out myself to get more "bang for my buck." Or use capsules "as is" with 2mg for less than 50 lbs and over 6 months of age, 4mg for over 50lbs. Most of my goats love to suck out a mixture of generic strawberry yogurt & copper rods out of a 60ml syringe w/end cut off, but others are stinkers and I must shove it down their throats with a bolus gun (click here for this gadget that was worth every penny). Here's a good article about the importance of copper (includes photos)
Selenium: A good mineral should provide enough but you may need to supplement. Use caution. There is a small margin of error with selenium. Signs of deficiency are similar to signs of excess selenium (both can kill a goat). Selenium deficiency can also mimic low copper symptoms. We once had a goat lose hair to the point it would fall out when running hand down his back. We thought it was lice, but discovered it was a selenium deficiency.
Salt/Iodine: Deficiency causes changes in thyroid gland which presents as a goiter under chin (often confused with milk goiter which occurs when kids eat lots of rich milk). You can test for deficiency by painting 7% or more iodine on hairless part of body such as tail web (underside of tail). If it disappears soon after, your goat is deficient. You can increase levels by continuing to paint on iodine (temporary solution). If your mineral does not contain enough salt, provide extra salt or kelp.
B Vitamins: B12 helps boost the immune system during and after illness or during times of stress. I use a liquid B12 found on Amazon. You can also use injectable Fortified Vitamin B Complex. I highly recommend keeping injectable on-hand because it is the ONLY thing that can save a goat with Polio. Polio is caused by a B1, or Thiamine, deficiency.
Calcium/Phosphorus: Provide in 2-2.5:1 ratio to prevent urinary calculi.
IMPORTANT: I only cover the most common minerals that cause deficiencies. If you are providing good minerals but still have issues, research what minerals interfere with absorption of other minerals. It may solve your problem.
Copper: Many issues are often tracked back to low copper, so this will be a longer read. Goats need a level of copper that is usually toxic to other animals. If your goats are not kept with other livestock (especially sheep), I recommend using a goat specific mineral. We provided a good mineral, but still noticed signs of copper deficiency: coppery or sun-bleached hair tips, fish-tail, rough coat, lack of growth, and worm issues. We were at our wits end until a friend suggested checking iron levels in our barn water. Iron can interfere with copper absorption. Problem solved, but our area is still extremely copper deficient so we started doing copper bolus (Santa Cruz brand, can find on Amazon). Bare minimum dosing is 5 gram per 11 pounds. I'm a cheapo and will often break open capsules and weigh out myself to get more "bang for my buck." Or use capsules "as is" with 2mg for less than 50 lbs and over 6 months of age, 4mg for over 50lbs. Most of my goats love to suck out a mixture of generic strawberry yogurt & copper rods out of a 60ml syringe w/end cut off, but others are stinkers and I must shove it down their throats with a bolus gun (click here for this gadget that was worth every penny). Here's a good article about the importance of copper (includes photos)
Selenium: A good mineral should provide enough but you may need to supplement. Use caution. There is a small margin of error with selenium. Signs of deficiency are similar to signs of excess selenium (both can kill a goat). Selenium deficiency can also mimic low copper symptoms. We once had a goat lose hair to the point it would fall out when running hand down his back. We thought it was lice, but discovered it was a selenium deficiency.
Salt/Iodine: Deficiency causes changes in thyroid gland which presents as a goiter under chin (often confused with milk goiter which occurs when kids eat lots of rich milk). You can test for deficiency by painting 7% or more iodine on hairless part of body such as tail web (underside of tail). If it disappears soon after, your goat is deficient. You can increase levels by continuing to paint on iodine (temporary solution). If your mineral does not contain enough salt, provide extra salt or kelp.
B Vitamins: B12 helps boost the immune system during and after illness or during times of stress. I use a liquid B12 found on Amazon. You can also use injectable Fortified Vitamin B Complex. I highly recommend keeping injectable on-hand because it is the ONLY thing that can save a goat with Polio. Polio is caused by a B1, or Thiamine, deficiency.
Calcium/Phosphorus: Provide in 2-2.5:1 ratio to prevent urinary calculi.