Dw they’re friends they spar all the time, they live together with the females and it’s not rut so ik they’re not going all out, but I love watching them spar with one another because it reminds me on how strong they are and they’re not even going all out, they seem to enjoy it and a good way to blow off steam
(The pony is part of the trio.)
We were about to buy some new feeders. But we had an extra panel (2"x4" slots) leftover. Decided to just add it to the existing fence, tie wired it in middle then bowed a gap in just big enough for leftover 4x4. Tied up the extra space. Now we have two feeders for both males and females on either side. And theyre separated by nearly 10' so they aren't fighting while eating. You can see the other hanging basket we wont use now. Works well. Really cuts down on wasted feed compared to what we were doing with more open feeders. Each one can hold 4 pads (2 over 2).
Gate ate some bread that we suspect was mouldy. Now it’s seated, not moving, groaning. Any suggestions?
Hey goat people! Im interested in buying about 50 goats from a goat man who lives close to dallas (im willing to drive an hour and a half away). Im looking for goats that are a year old or older but not older than 3 years. Looking for a price range between 100-150. Let me know!!
I’m now taking care of a single billy goat who was a bit neglected by the previous owners. He’s friendly with us but I know he needs a proper herd as they are social animals.
Current plan is to use two separate sections of the paddock and introduce a few more goats to him gradually through the fence, then later on open the fence. I know it’s good to quarantine new goats against sickness or parasites and have separate feed troughs and water available for a while too.
Things I’m not sure on are when going from one goat to multiple will the newcomers bully our original goat if the newcomers are already an established and stable group? And is it hard to break it up if that does happen? Our buck is a bit older so I could imagine some young bucks being competitive perhaps.
And is it better to add a mix of bucks and does, or just bucks or just does?
Any other advice or tips from folks who’ve gone from one goat to a herd are appreciated!
Heya, I've got a ND who is due to have her kids in about 2 weeks. First time mom. She started bagging up and I noticed this growth on her teat. It almost looks like an extra teat that maybe got caught on something and tore? Can y'all just look and see if you agree or not? And let me know what you would do about it. I text pics to my vet but I figured I'd ask y'all as well. I cleaned it up and put some blue-kote on it as well as some alu-shield to protect it. Lemme know if I should do something else. Thanks 🩷
Coming up on 1 year with Nigerian dwarf goats. Any tips on feeder designs?
If I were to get a couple (2) dwarf goats for a 2 acre wooded lot with lots of brush, how long would it take them go through most of it before I had to switch to bringing in food?
Also, how are goats ok with children in the 5-7 range if they are purchased young?
My husband, my myself, and our two kids (both in car seats) are picking up some goats tomorrow. We have a ford explorer so I’ll be able to put the back seats down but obviously need to keep the middle row up for my kids. They are Nigerian dwarf goats around 12weeks I believe. We are getting 4 that will have a 2 hr drive home with us, and picking up another 2 an hour back home into our drive so they will just be in the car for an hour with us. Will they have enough room if we just put them all in the back together? Should I try to hold in my lap to give them a little more space? The thought of fitting them all didn’t even cross my mind until now and now we get them in a day🤣
I am new to goats so excuse me if I get all the terminology wrong. My nigerian dwarf doe who is a 2nd freshener is a real pain in the a** to milk. About 6 weeks ago I got her, her baby (born 2/17/26), and another doe from the same breeder. At first I kept her baby with her 24/7 because I didn't have a way to separate the baby because I didn't wan't to leave her by herself. Anyway, I knew not to expect much milk but I milked her twice a day. Now, I'm separating the baby at night by putting her in a dog crate where they are all together and see each other but physically separate. Anyway, the difficult doe will let you milk her a little at first but then she starts kicking. I've tried hobbles but she kicks out of them ( I think they are too big). It's also really traumatic for everyone to have to hold her down. When I milk her at night, there's less drama and she will usually let me milk her all the way, but there is hardly any milk at night. I wouldn't even bother to milk her then but it's a positive milking experience for both of us and I'm trying to show her that milking doesn't always have to be traumatic. In the mornings I let her go when she starts getting agitated (instead of trying to fight with her to get her milked... I have a friend who helps), but as a result I'm getting so little milk from her. Her baby is still nursing so I'm not too worried about mastitis (unless you tell me otherwise). The difficult doe's previous owner swears she never had any problems like this before. Maybe she's lying or maybe the doe hates me. Maybe she's mad about being in a new place (when she first came she screamed all day long but she's been seemingly settled in for weeks now). I hand milk and she was both hand milked and machine milked at her last place. I don't want her to be miserable but I also paid money for this dang doe and I want to get milk from her without drama. I'm at a loss for what to do.
I’ve got a wether who is seeming to strain when peeing. I noticed the behavior yesterday and didn’t even realize it could possibly be UC. He did go pee after trying a second time. Currently following the protocol file but my ammonium chloride expired three years ago. Will that be okay? I’m not sure if this is an emergency or if I should treat him with the ammonium chloride for a few days and see what happens. He does shake his head when he pees too, however, he has been known to do that in the past. I noticed today he was straining to pee again and this time he didn’t go.
Anyone think this could be cl? 1 year old goat came from a tested farm I got him at 2months old roughly. All my other goats have always tested negative on yearly blood tests. This picture was a month ago and the hair has fallen out since then and I’m gonna lance it tonight and send in a sample of the puss to be cultured. He is in his own isolation pen and will stay there till results come back. There is also a quarter sized lump on the opposite side of his face in almost the same spot. Also not sure if it makes any difference but I noticed the lump starting to form almost 2 months ago. It didn’t just pop up over night.
Sorry for the goat vulva pics. I have an almost two week doeling that has me second guessing myself. Her vulva is more turned up and pointed than any of my other doelings. Her teats are a normal size and she doesn’t act obnoxiously bucky. Neither of her parents are polled. Realistically, I know she’s probably not but I wanted to get some other opinions to (hopefully) put my mind at ease! Thanks in advance!
I have 2 goats with crusty/ gooey eyes. One has a wet sounding cough and mucus. Neither have fever. They’re eating and are perfectly normal otherwise. Any ideas what I should do?
These are my sweet hearts, figured I'd share since I always come to this subreddut for questions, and because I love seeing everyone else's goats ❤️
Hi everyone,
My girlfriend and I are completely new to raising goats. We recently got a mom and her kid — we believe they are Nigerian Dwarfs (they are our first ones ever, so we are still learning the ropes!).
Yesterday, we noticed some lice and wanted to treat them for both external and internal parasites. We got a pour-on medication from our vet (10cc for the mom, 7cc for the kid). The vet told us to keep them isolated for 5 hours so it could dry, which we did (actually kept them separated from our dogs for about 13 hours just to be safe).
However, since we are total beginners, we might have messed up the application technique. Instead of parting the fur to expose the skin, we just pressed the tip of the syringe against their backs (over the fur) and squirted the medicine along their spine.
Today, the lice are still very much alive and crawling. Also, the fur on the mom's back looks a little bit stiff and "raised" (the kid's fur looks okay).
Realistically, will the treatment still have any effect?
If it fails, how long should we wait before reapplying the dose correctly so we don't risk toxicity/overdosing them?
Any advice for clueless beginners would be highly appreciated. We want to do right by our goats! Thank you!
EDIT: Just to clarify, our vet's main goal right now was definitely to treat the lice, since they were very visible and bothering the goats. He just gave us this specific product because he said it treats both endo and ecto-parasites at the same time. EDIT 2: The product is eprinomectin. His protocol is to apply it twice a year as a routine treatment for both endo and ecto-parasites, without any booster dose a few weeks later.
Back in February my Mama Pearly Baker (Suppossedly half Pygmy/ half Fainting) seen in the corner birthed triplets Ruben, Cerise, and Stella (Right, left, and Bottom respectively. Also born in that order.) Stella was the runt and smallest and Mama rejected her so she's lived indoors as a bottle baby while her siblings stayed with Mama.
Now though they are crazy different sizes. Stella pulled a Clifford the Big Red Dog and went from the smallest runt to the tallest and longest (only 'est' she isn't is the fatest...), Cerise is the next biggest and is a complete butterball but still small compared to Stella, and then there's Ruben. Look at him by his mom's head. He's a goddammit circus peanut!
I've kidded Nigerian Dwarfs and so far have had pretty consistent sizes, but these are my first Pygmy babies and I'm just wondering if varying that much is normal? Or maybe it's the suppossed Fainting genes in there somewhere? Or maybe Ruben is just a Munchkin among Pygmys...?