Care for a Goat
This article will show you what kind of toys your goat will like, the best food to feed him, good shelters, and more.
Contents
Steps
Creating a Safe Environment
- Put in good fencing. The fencing for your goat should be tall enough for your goat to stay in and to keep predators out. About five feet tall is good.
- Provide adequate shelter. Goats can live in a small shed or large dog house. The shelter should be well ventilated but free from drafts. The bedding should be made of straw. A concrete floor is expensive, but easy to maintain.
Feeding and Grooming
- Feed properly. A healthy goat diet consists of hay, and concentrates like oats, bran, and barley. Keep all food off the ground to prevent mold and insects from eating or infesting it. If you so choose, you can put the feed in waterproof trash cans it will keep it elevated and clean. If food is kept on the ground, it could cause diseases.
- Allow permanent access to water and provide a salt-lick block preferably containing Selenium. If you live in a Selenium deficient area (low Selenium in the soil, hence, in the hay), it's a good idea to have your Vet give your goats a "BoSe" shot once yearly. This shot contains Selenium and Vitamin E, which is extremely important for muscle/bone and reproductive health.
- This is very important for pregnant dams (given about a month prior to kidding), as it helps the kids in utero to have proper heart and other muscular development, as well as helping the dam avoid kidding complications.
- Avoid foods that will harm your goat. Goats must avoid ornamental plants, especially those in the Rhododendron family. These can cause severe GI problems including vomiting, diarrhea and even death if the goat has ingested enough and the condition hasn't been treated by a Vet. Be careful of "friendly" neighbors who are giving your goats a treat over the fence that may contain rhododendron type plants. This is more common than you might think!
- Groom often. A complete grooming consists of a long bath and thorough brushing.
- If you have children around, they love brushing goats. Make sure you supervise this activity.
- Trim-Goat-Hooves. Doing it once a month is a great procedure and does not take a lot of effort. If you don't want your goat's hooves to bend, crack, or get infected make sure you trim them once a month.
Keeping Your Goat Healthy
- Exercise your goat. Help it to climb a lot. Goats love to climb so give them toys that would involve climbing. They may also enjoy something like a seesaw, which allows them to balance and move up and down in the same climbing method.
- Deworm. Most goats are very susceptible to internal parasites (e.g. worms), and should be dewormed on a regular basis. The common worms that prey on goats are known as strongyles (bloodworms), hookworms and a different species known as coccidia. Depending on the environment, parasites can cause many health problems (even death) such as weight loss, poor hair coat, reproductive failures and more.
- Young kids should receive their first deworming between 6-8 weeks of age. There are commercial dewormers available for goats at your local feed store (such as Safe-Guard). Be sure to follow label directions.
- However, the majority of goat dewormers are not effective against coccidia, which can be particularly harmful in young kids and older or immune compromised goats. There are several products available for treatment of coccidia, but the most available is called Corid. Signs of coccidia infestation include difficulty in weight gain, lethargy, inappetence (lack of appetite) and clumped stools (rather like something you may see from a dog)
- If there is any question if there is a worm problem in your herd, have your Vet run several fecal analyses on different goats. This will provide a definitive answer, and your vet will be able to recommend the proper treatment.
- Get the needed vaccinations. All goats should also be vaccinated once yearly with a vaccine called "CDT", which includes tetanus.
- Kids should be vaccinated at six to eight weeks, then boosted in four weeks. After that, it's once yearly.
- Be aware of bloating. Giving them too much lush green food can cause them to bloat and this can kill them if not treated.
Tips
- Make sure that if you do not know how to trim hooves, take them to a vet or a professional in hoof care.
- Make sure the latch on the fence is on the outside!
- They love to climb and jump so give them some sort of big rocks or other items they can jump on.
- If you choose to have a dehorned goat, the recommended age is about one week old. Matured goats should be dehorned by a veterinarian.
- For more information on raising goats in your region, visit your local 4H-Club.
Warnings
- Some of this information is not so relevant, depending on the type of goat you have. Always read suitable information and ask questions of breeders.
