* A general takeaway. PREVENTION IS KEY! It is always easier to prevent an issue before it arises, than try to solve it after it becomes an issue*

Taking home a new kid

Friends!:
Baby goats do so much better if they are brought home in pairs with a similar age buddy. We learned this the hard way and decided is it not worth it AT ALL to hear them scream all day and stress themselves out (they can also become sick easier) and we ended up sitting with them for hours on end. I very much recommend purchasing a wether friend from here or another clean-tested farm if you do not have any same-age babies. 

Feeding Goats:
Contrary to popular depiction, goats can be very picky and fickle eaters so it's important to get it right. 
     Forage: Hay or pasture should always be accessible to goats and is their primary and only necessary food . Orchard grass and alfalfa hay are the best quality for goats. We like a mix of the two. Timothy can also be a good choice. I do not feed alfalfa to wethers or bucks because of the high calcium content. Boys Calcium: Phosphorous ratio should stay as close to 2:1 as possible to avoid urinary calculi stones, which can often be fatal. Does require a higher calcium intake than males. Too high calcium content for males can also cause zinc deficiency. Many Facebook marketplace or other hay ads advertise hay as "goat quality". I avoid "goat quality" hay at all costs! It is likely the lowest quality hay, it very likely has been rained or not stored ideally, and it may contain mold spores. The goats not only won't eat it, it can cause them to be sick! Listeria is a bacteria that can flourish in poorly fermented hay. It can cause severe neurological symptoms and even death. We've had the best luck with small, square hay bales and almost all round bales we tried had mold spores near the center. Fescue is a poorer quality hay that we found the goats wasted most of and it ended up costing more money than buying quality hay. Fescue can also be infected by endophytes known as Acremonium coenophialum. They can cause fertility and health issues in livestock. 
     Water:  Of course, all goats should have access to fresh, clean water at all times. It can reduce the risk of urinary calculi and is especially important for nursing does. They are princesses and will refuse to drink dirty water or  their "boba tea" they like to make, so it is important it is changed 1-2x daily. Goats are ruminants, animals that use their 4 stomach chambers ferment and digest plant material. You may see them chewing  "nothing". They are chewing their cud, this is re-gurgitated food which they will eat again for further digestion. Water is particularly important to goats because they are ruminants. They need adequate amounts of water in relation to the dry plant material they are eating to keep their rumen going all the time. 
     Grains: Grains should not be free-fed or very overfed. This can lead to bloat. Bloat is defined as "a buildup of gasses in the digestive tract when an animal is unable to burp to release the gas, causing swelling of the abdomen". Goats should also not have access to chicken feed as it can lead to bloat. We keep our chickens and goats separate for this reason. We feed varying amounts of grain depending on if they are growing kids, does in milk (may need a lot), pregnant does, and according to each goats body condition score. This is a great video explaining how you determine a goat's BCS. This is another good resource with visuals of each body scoring.
     We feed Purina Grower pellets to our kids (free access to explore and nibble the grains until they are eating well enough to overdo it). It gives them some coccidia prevention and we find they grow better on this grain. Adults are fed 16% protein goat pellets from our local mill. It is not reccomended to feed sheep grains to goats and definitely not the other way around. Goats being fed sheep grains are not getting enough copper, and sheep will get toxicity if they are fed grains with the amount of copper needed for goats. This is part of why we do not feed "All-Stock" feeds to any of our livestock. Someone is not getting the nutrition they need. 
     Goats do their best to poop in their food and water containers, so try to get them up off the ground to prevent this as best you can and change them daily.
     Minerals: It is very important that goat's have free-choice loose mineral access due to the soil deficiencies in most areas of the country. Below is a link to a map so you can check the deficiencies in your area. We recommend minerals high in copper and selenium which are some of the most common deficiencies and some of the most important minerals (*please note it is possible to overdose copper and selenium at high volumes*) . Copper and Selenium in particular are crucial to a goat's health and reproduction. Some good choices are Purina Goat Mineral, Sweetlix Meat Maker Goat Minerals, or Purina Wind and Rain Cattle Mineral. Block minerals are generally not recommended as they wear down the goat's teeth. Note: Selenium paste supplements contain virtually NO selenium.
     US Map Link: (Can click on Selenium and Copper maps)

Feeding kids (dam-raised): 
     *Update: We are no longer dam-raising most kids. Kids will be bottle-raised and able to go to their new home around 3 weeks of age*
Dam-raised kids will leave at no sooner than 8 weeks of age, preferably 10-12 weeks. They will be eating hay and grain sufficiently.  They will be sent with a baggy of grains that can be mixed in to their new grains to help them transition. They should have access to hay and clean water 24/7.  They will have received both CD&T shots and have been wethered if applicable.

Feeding kids (bottle-babies):
     We will make sure kids are taking a bottle well before they are allowed to go to their new home. We will show you they are taking a bottle before they leave the premises. This chart gives a good idea of the amounts and number of feedings a bottle kid needs. They can be weaned at a minimum of 8 weeks, but I typically wean bottle babies at 16 weeks or later and see only benefits to later weaning. Kids left on their dam often aren't weaned naturally until around 8 months. Kids should have access to clean water and hay 24/7 and can be given a small amount of grains so they can start nibbling on food as they choose. They will be given coccidia prevention in the form of Baycox. 

Wethers:
     *Update: All of our kids will now be bottle raised and leave at 3 weeks of age, so wethering is the new owner's responsibility. We can answer questions and guide, but unfortunately we cannot allow kids back on the property after they have left due to biosecurity*
     Bucklings to be wethered can be wethered by their new owner (bottle babies will have to be wethered by their new owner) or they will be held until 12 weeks of age to ensure their urinary tract can fully develop first. They will be banded and watched for a few days to ensure they are doing well. If done properly, they may lay around for a day or two and then be back to their normal self. You do not have to do anything to the band, just wait for it to fall off in 4-6 weeks. You may apply Blu-Kote or similar if you choose, but this is mostly for the owner's reassurance rather than the health of the goat. 

Shelter and bedding:
     Shelter: Goats only require a 3-sided shelter minimum. This is not a bad choice (at least in our generally mild climate) because you are not locking goats up in their excretions which helps with parasite control. The biggest downside I see with this choice is higher exposure to predators. We choose to lock our does and kids up at night. Insulated barns may sound like a great idea, but this is actually a big no-no. Ventilation is one of the most important requirements when building your barn or shelter. Especially in winter, you may be tempted to close up their shelters but this can cause the ammonia levels to get to a dangerously high level and lead to higher rates of your goats getting sick.
     Bedding: We use pine shavings changed out weekly or biweekly. Previously, we have used Pelletized Equine pellets you can get at Tractor Supply, wet them so they disentegrate, sifted out daily, and completely changed biweekly. This method worked decently, but it was a bit time consuming, unsustainable, and I prefer to change all of the bedding more frequently.  Some people use a "deep litter" method for the winter months. New hay or straw is placed on top of the old. This can create some heat as the lower layers break down throughout winter. I am not the biggest fan of this method because it does not stay as clean and parasite-free as cleaning out the bedding frequently. 
     Predator protection: Predator protection is a big deal for us. It may be the most common, preventable, and devastating cause of death in goats and other livestock. After all the stories we've heard, we have concluded that you either get the Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) first or you wait until you have a predator attack and then decide you need LGDs. We have electric wire, Great Pyrenees dogs, and lock up our animals at night. We will never be without a Pyrenees with our livestock and sleep so much better at night knowing we have them (some with our livestock and some in our home!). Livestock Guardian Dogs are a few specific breeds that have been selectively bred to guard livestock for thousands of years. Common LGD breeds are the Great Pyrenees (our favorite of course!), Anatolian Shepherds, Maremma Sheepdogs, Karakachans, Kangals, and Akbash dogs. Please take notice that they are NOT herding dogs and not ANY dog can be an LGD. Using breeds not historically bred for this purpose is setting yourself up for failure. LGDs have a very low prey drive as opposed to other farm dogs that have very high natural prey drives among other differences. 
     Why Great Pyrenees?:  *This section is our personal opinion for our personal situation. It is always best to research and find the breed that fits you and you're own farm.* Great Pyrenees have been guarding livestock like sheep and goats for thousands of years. They are very much more human-oriented than you may guess, being bred to roam thousands of acres on their own. They become very bonded to their humans or their "shepherd" and we find that ours require human attention and love. Some people frown upon treating your LGDs like pets because they think they will not do their job, but ours require a strong bond with their humans the same as their goats. It's pretty hard to mess up an instinct that ingrained in a dog! If you are looking for a less needy LGD, you may prefer Anatolians or Karakachans. One of our favorite things about the Pyrenees is their calm and lazy personalities. They are very intelligent and can very quickly learn basic commands. They like to do things on their own terms so they're not "trick" dogs by any means and aren't very food motivated. If you want a dog to play fetch with look for a different breed or ask Maverick! Working at a dog training facility, I see many different breeds of dogs. Everyone LOVES the Pyrs that come in. They don't cause any trouble and are such loving, gentle giants. I can confirm that they all give the best hugs, for sure! They really are a unique breed and we are lifetime lovers of them. 

Parasites:
Please check our other tab completely dedicated to parasite control in goats