Are goats right for your hobby farm?
Well that depends. Are you looking for a cute critter for your hobby farm? Like goat’s milk? Like goat meat? Like taking care of animals?
If you answered yes to the above then you might want to think about getting a goat. In comparison they do require less maintenance than a cow. That’s per goat-some of us can get a little crazy on the goat math.
So first you want to ask yourself what the purpose of your goat keeping is. It could be milk, meat, or companionship for your horse. If the latter is true, companionship for a horse, you may want to consider a bigger goat for a regular sized horse and a dwarf goat for a miniature horse. We’ll get into the why on that in a minute.
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Space
As always, you need to have space for a goat. Since they are ruminants, they will want plenty of forage. You will need to think about pasture rotation as well to keep the worm load down as well. They are subject to the usual culprits but can easily have a worm – bloom of barber pole worms and Coccidia develop in what seems like overnight. Rotating the pasture helps to keep the chance for worms lower. So you will want enough pasture for 20% of your goats body weight per day. You can alternatively just feed hay, or feed hay as a supplement if you don’t have enough pasture. But they like to roam so they will need about 30x30ft each regular sized goat.
Shelter
Shelter is something that your goat will seek out when the rain starts to fall. I have some goats that don’t want a drop on them, and some that tolerate a little bit, but all-in-all they want out of the heavy rains.
You could use something simple like a dog-igloo. Or you could build them a three sided shelter or an enclosed barn. One thing I’ve found is they are not picky about their habitat. Clean, dry, and has hay in it? It’s home to them.
If you are planning on babies, make sure that you have a draft free area for momma. The babies that are born in the colder months for sure need to be out of the cold, drafty areas.
Food and Water
Feed is something that can easily be taken for granted. Most commercial feeds or even those mixed at the co-op require you to provide forage like pasture or hay with it.
Male goats can be susceptible to urinary calculi if they get too much calcium to phosphorous ratio in their diet. This can cause blockage and the inability for the to pass urine (pee). There are treatments that can be started if this happens to your buck or whether. You will want to seek veterinary treatment since this can be fatal to your goat and it’s incredibly painful. You can start by giving apple cider vinegar, something they call snipping the pizzle(the end of the penis) (**I am not a vet, please consult a professional before doing this**) and providing massage to help move the stones so the goat can empty it’s bladder. Try to limit grain and corn and just provide good pasture or hay. But, when you are feeding hay, watch the content of alfalfa which can also cause urinary calculi.
You can add ammonium chloride to the male goat’s diet and bolus it if you suspect urinary calculi while waiting on your vet.
General Healthcare
1st and foremost, learn how to check a FAMACHA. This is the inside of the goat’s eye. There are plenty of videos and charts you can get to show you the ranges. This will indicate anemia in your goat if it is pale. It runs on a scale, so you want to make sure you know this information to relay to the vet along with a rectal temperature for any ailment or injury to your goat.
Check your herd often. Watch them for signs of illness. For example, they are not socializing with the other goats, they are standing with their back hunched, they have loose stool, or they don’t come running for their food or your attention like they used to.
Other than urinary calculi, there are some other health concerns for your new furry friend. Two parasites to watch for are barber pole worms and coccidia.
Parasites
Coccidia is highly contagious and can run through your herd and kill your goats quickly. It is host specific, so if you have chickens with it, your goats won’t catch it from them. Goats between the ages of 1-6 months are more susceptible, but any age goat can get it. Some things that cause an outbreak at your farm could be dirty conditions, getting a goat from a farm that has it, and even harsh weather.
The goat might show signs of lethargy, reduced feed intake, might self-isolate(not play with it’s mates), and you will most likely see the evidence on their rear end and back legs.
You must treat quickly with medication. Although it is expensive, I recommend this Toltrazuril 2.5% Solution – 500mL – HorsePreRace.com .
For barber pole worm, I have wormed with two classes of wormer at a time and then hit them with the same 10 days later. I would worm with a fenbendazole and ivermectin the same day. Again, this is my personal experience, and you should contact your vet for specifics. One of the classic signs of barber pole worms is bottle jaw, this is a soft swelling on the chin of the goat. I saw it easily on my goat and also treated him with red cell since it does cause anemia quickly.
I use horse dewormer and dose for my goats:
I’ve used Safe-Guard for years with my goats.
Check out this page FAMACHA© Eye Anemia System (wormx.info). This is from wormx. I am not affiliated with them, but it does show you how to check the FAMACHA.
Vaccines
Make sure you have CDT on hand. This is for overeating disease and tetanus. An annual booster is recommended. Multiple doses are recommended for kids, and there is also a schedule for moms to be. This can easily be found online.
Tetanus toxoid is good to have around the house in case one of your goats are injured. This will give them immediate protection against tetanus which lives in the ground.
Check out this page: Sheep and Goat Vaccine and Health Management Schedule | OSU Sheep Team
I’m not affiliated with them, but the information is valuable.
Vitamins
Having vitamin B complex with high doses of vitamin B1/ thiamine of at least 100mg/mL. Goats can get polio which is a vitamin B1 deficiency. It can come from an improper feeding program, moldy hay, sudden changes in the diet, and feeding too much grain.
The symptoms for polio include stargazing, or looking up, staggering, circles, muscle spasms, blindness, convulsions, arching the head to the back. The goat can die in as little as 2-4 days so fast treatment is a must. High doses of that B1/Thiamine could save your goats life. The recommended dosage of fortified b complex is 2-3 times a day at 4cc/100lbs according to www.thefreerangelife.com. They have some great information regarding polio identification and treatment.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics
The government is putting a ca-bosh on farmers being able to buy and administer antibiotics to their own livestock as of June 2023. My recommendation is stock up if you can buy some time to get friendly with a vet that is comfortable prescribing your meds over the phone. This could be essential if you have a goat to come down with pneumonia on a Friday and the vet is closed on the weekends, causing an emergency visit which can be devastating as a bill to a hobby farmer. It might help to learn some herbal remedies that can be safe for your goat to supplement them if you need to in an emergency.
Bandages
Keep bandages and coban wrap handy. Your goat will get hurt. They are playful and they play rough especially with each other. They will find the dumbest ways to die.
Ointment
Keep triple antibiotic ointment on hand for scrapes and cuts.
Iodine
Keep iodine handy for cleaning out wounds and also if you prefer to, you can dip umbilical cords in it after birth. I find it helps to maintain cleanliness and also dry it up faster.
Castrating Tools
There are a few ways you can castrate your male goat. There are a few schools of thought about the age. I like to wait until 6 months old. I have banded them with a Castrator Bander, but, I think I want to try the emasculator called a Burdizzo. From what I hear, it is much less traumatic than the bander. You essenitally crimp the spermatic cords. With the bander the testes lose blood flow and ‘rot’ off. The Burdizzo they may be left with a pouch after the testes shrink.
Disbudding
If you have dairy goats and even meat goats that you want your kids to be able to show, you are going to need to take the goat kids to the vet or you will need to disbud them your self.
2 options come to mind when thinking of disbudding. First, is a disbudding iron. This gets super-hot, takes some practice, and can have some serious consequences to the goat if not done right. It’s applying very high heat to burn the horn buds. You have to be very careful not to heat up their brain during the procedure. Sad to say, even vets mess this up. Second is paste. This also takes practice but is a tad more forgivable. I recommend, if using paste, to put duct tape on the goat’s head. Yes, it looks funny, but you want the paste to stay put and not end up where you you’d least expect it, like the kid’s siblings’ eyes. Just be safe and watch a lot of YouTube videos for either method. Have an experienced goat farmer show you if possible. Or even ask your vet for tips when you take your kids in to be disbud or castrated. They will probably castrate them surgically. Which can also be done at home with some skill and a scalpel.
Hoof trimming tools
These are very handy for hoof trimming. They are just garden shears/trimmers. I find them very easy to use and you can find them in nearly every store. But they are pretty cheap online.
A word of caution: be careful as they are super sharp and pointy. You can easily stab yourself if the goat gives you a fuss.
You are less likely to have an issue when trimming if you build or buy a stand. This will come in handy for everything. From trimming hooves to mending injuries.
Conclusion
I will take the time in another blog to go over the different types of goats. For now, just know that there are breeds that are bred specifically for your needs. A Nubian is a great milk goat, a Nigerian Dwarf is a cute meat/milk goat, and a Boer is bred for meat. There are so many to choose from and some special considerations to think about. You want to be sure you are acquiring your goat from a clean herd. You do not wan to start your heard with sick or sick-prone animals. For that reason, I’d stay away from the sale barn.
Be sure to get your land, shelter, and box of veterinary supplies together before bringing home your first kids or adult goat. And, you must have at least two as they are pack animals.
See you in the next installment!!!!
Mini Hobby Farmer
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