# Goats



## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

i really want a goat as a pet. like one of the pygmy ones or a nigerian dwarf. there so adorable. does anyone have anything theyd like to share/say about them?


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

They eat ribbons at the county fair!


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

I love goats! We only have one right now and he's a pygmy cross. He only gets locked in his pen when we aren't home. The rest of the time he just wanders around our property like one of the dogs. He's extremely attached to me and follows me everywhere.

I don't know many people who really like goats (my husband included) because they can be kind of destructive and they can be escape artists. Because I let ours roam free I'm not able to have nice flowers and bushes because he eats them and I have to sweep our deck regularly of goat berries because that's where he likes to hang out most of the day. He's great in the fall though, because he eats the dead leaves and weeds.

Here's Domino:


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

3neighs said:


> I love goats! We only have one right now and he's a pygmy cross. He only gets locked in his pen when we aren't home. The rest of the time he just wanders around our property like one of the dogs. He's extremely attached to me and follows me everywhere.
> 
> I don't know many people who really like goats (my husband included) because they can be kind of destructive and they can be escape artists. Because I let ours roam free I'm not able to have nice flowers and bushes because he eats them and I have to sweep our deck regularly of goat berries because that's where he likes to hang out most of the day. He's great in the fall though, because he eats the dead leaves and weeds.
> 
> Here's Domino:


i really want one as a house pet. do they need to get there feet done like horses??


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

> i really want one as a house pet. do they need to get there feet done like horses??


Yes, but you can easily do it yourself. I use an old pair of Pampered Chef kitchen shears.

Oh, I also give him a tetanus/anti-bloat vaccine once a year.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

3neighs said:


> > i really want one as a house pet. do they need to get there feet done like horses??
> 
> 
> Yes, but you can easily do it yourself. I use an old pair of Pampered Chef kitchen shears.
> ...


hmmmm......i wonder if it would be easy for me to clip his hooves. :lol: i cant believe how cheap some of the nigerian and mini goats are.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Yeah, you can get a wether (that's a castrated male) fairly cheap. That's what I would recommend as opposed to a doe or buck. I would also recommend getting a kid over an adult.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

3neighs said:


> Yeah, you can get a wether (that's a castrated male) fairly cheap. That's what I would recommend as opposed to a doe or buck. I would also recommend getting a kid over an adult.


yeah thats what i was planning on getting since there cheaper ($50-$75) and i thought theyd be better. can they sleep in a cage, like a big dog crate? and be taken out during the day? he would be a house pet (cuz technically we cant have farm animals, but we had a pig so...) and i just LOVE dwarf goats so i would be afraid something would get him outside.


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

GOATS ARE NOT HOUSE PETS.... thats all I really have to say.. Mine are so annoying and destructive that I really want to sell them but Mom will not let me. :roll:


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## DashAwayAll (Jul 19, 2008)

Their fat bellies and then their teeny weeny poopie balls make me laugh. But in the house? Hell no, I'd rather have 100 puppies, It would be less destructive.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Whoa, hold on now! I didn't realize you meant IN the house! Yeah, as lacyloo and Dash said they're not house pets. They need a proper fence and shelter outside. You could use a doghouse as an outside shelter, but it would have to be kept in a fence. A goat in the house...have you heard the term "bull in a china shop"? :lol:


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

3neighs said:


> Whoa, hold on now! I didn't realize you meant IN the house! Yeah, as lacyloo and Dash said they're not house pets. They need a proper fence and shelter outside. You could use a doghouse as an outside shelter, but it would have to be kept in a fence. A goat in the house...have you heard the term "bull in a china shop"? :lol:


**** it would sorta be indoors/outdoors but would sleep in a big dog crate at night (if i can do it) hed be aloud outside whenever and if i have enough money ill buy an outside shelter for him so he can be outside alot.


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## Pinocchios Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

I LOVE GOATS. haha well at least our goat. We have one at the barn. He's a mini goat. and he's adorable. He's a brat. and gets into everything. but he did live in the house at one point. not with us though. with his old owners. but he wore a diper. but he's soooooooo cute. It could easily stay in a dog house at night. I'm seriously considering taking Gilly home for a night. No joke, I'd let him sleep in my bed. As long as he had a diper on. haha I think you could make it work. haha It would be kinda hard and you'd have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he got plenty of outside time but it would probably work. haha


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

Pinocchios Girl said:


> I LOVE GOATS. haha well at least our goat. We have one at the barn. He's a mini goat. and he's adorable. He's a brat. and gets into everything. but he did live in the house at one point. not with us though. with his old owners. but he wore a diper. but he's soooooooo cute. It could easily stay in a dog house at night. I'm seriously considering taking Gilly home for a night. No joke, I'd let him sleep in my bed. As long as he had a diper on. haha I think you could make it work. haha It would be kinda hard and you'd have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he got plenty of outside time but it would probably work. haha


lmaoo diapers are good! but expensive. someone on here has to teach me how to do there hoovess.


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## Pinocchios Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

haha yeah. we just kinda buy the cheep ones here and there for when we need them. cuz they don't really have to be the right 'baby shape' haha. and yeah i have no clue how to do their hooves. we have our ferrier do them. haha we just bug him non stop till he does them for us. =P


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

do goats smell?


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## Pinocchios Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

they smell a little bit. Like every animal if you don't clean up after them, they smell. haha but in Gilbert's goat house we have shavings down and stuff and it doesn't smell too bad as long as we clean it regularly.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

i inquired about pygmy goats and ill see what pictures she sends me. is it better to get a baby or an adult or yearling?


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## Pinocchios Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

I only have experience with one goat and we got him as a baby. and he's really attached to us. But he has bonded, and won't run away. haha. I would think baby but I'm not totally sure.


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

I had a goat once!! Her name was Fancy...she used to ride with me in my truck like a dog 8) 

She would sit, shake, and walk on a leash. She also came when she was called. I took her to Petsmart a few times...we got the dehydrated fruit in the bird section, and one time she tore open a bag of alfalfa :lol: 

She could also jump a 5 foot fence from a standstill :shock: 

I love goats!!


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Get a baby!


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

3neighs... Did you let your goat just run about your yard? I am wanting to get a goat and my hubby keeps saying no because they jump on EVERYTHING... :lol: Some friends of ours had one until the coyotes got it. Everytime we went to visit them the goat was standing on top of the truck hood. Bill won't go for that. He would be furrious if the goat was standing on our suburban! :twisted: 

How did you keep the goat off of stuff?


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

But if you really want a goat...get a pygmy.. They are small, smart and very friendly.. If you get just a plain ol meat goat, He prolly will not do what you want him too lol..

I had a pygmy, I would take her to petsmart all the time, one time she crapped in there store lol A lady that worked there Cleaned it up lol... But we could never keep her in the pen. so we sold her for 3 bags oh horse feed,, her name was pebbles


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

i jsut talked to a lady about pygmys. she has a black one that has horns but is very friendly and doesnt use then and she said she keeps him with the babys (i think hes a wether) and she has a weater caramel one. and a black buck. i asked her whats the differenc between a buck and a wether and she said wethers dont smell so im going ot get a wether if i can. she also has some does.

ETA- the caramel wether doesnt have horns and hes $150 i think, she said shed give me the black wether with horns for $75 since she was originally asking $175. also what type of hay should i feed them? what other foods?


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

You feed them the kind of hey you feed your horse.. and find out from her what brand of goat food she is feeding.. SO you can get that kind .. I feed my goats when I feed my horse. twice a day.

Yea you should get a wether. Preferably (sp) no horns..


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

ill pm you


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Dumas, we have two trucks and a Jeep Grand Cherokee and I have to say that they have never tried to jump on them. They were babies when we got them and not much bigger than a cat. Now, if the back of the jeep gets left open (such as when unloading groceries) they wouldn't hesitate to jump in. I say "they" because up until this spring we had three goats. One (Checkers) I bought at the same time as Domino and then last fall a Boer (floppy eared kind) was given to us. Checkers turned mean when we got Puzzle (the Boer) and became aggressive toward the girls. I wasn't going to tolerate that so he had to go and Puzzle went with him. 

Yes, Domino just roams our property, but he can still be destructive. Like I said before we don't have a nice landscaped yard because he has eaten everything we've planted except for some spruce trees we planted this spring. It's also embarrassing when people come over and there are goat berries everywhere, but I love the little guy and just put up with it. They're very curious animals and will get into everything. Goats are a "you either love them or hate them" kind of animal! 

Gingerrrrr, a wether is going to be your best bet. You DO NOT want a buck. As babies I gave mine alfalfa hay and a little pelleted grain. I also let them roam free to "browse" as they pleased on grass, leaves, weeds, etc. Domino is four years old now and doesn't get grain anymore.


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

Ok.. I'll try to sum up all the goat info for you..

Female =nanny
male=buck
nuetered male=wether.

Wether's are very docile and will not be stinky like bucks.. I feed my wethers in the morning only because to much grain for a wether can be deadly. Give a couple of flakes or a good legume hay to them everyday.

Like when you nueter your dog he becomes a couch pototo..
Wether make awsome pets and many people prefer them over females. Normally you should buy 2 goats. But If you really want a pet then you should just get one wether and let him bond with you. I also think you should get a younger goat so he will grow up with you that way he will have a good bond with you.

GOAT FEET,, Goat hooves look like deer hooves and they need to be trimmed monthly. I normally do this the same day As I worm mine. I use sharp sissors or garden shears.. (I use this method)
I put a collar on the goat and attach him to there fence, so the goat can not run away from you while clipping. gently pick the goats foot up and just clip of the rugged bottoms untill they appear smothe.(ill give you a link to a website that has this on) 

I was so scared that I was going to kill my goats when I first bought them,, I was worried about feeding them the wrong thing or doing something and end up killing them... 4 years later and they are still alive. Goats are pretty hardy animals but If they do get sick , THings can get bad fast. One of the big killers in goats is colic/bloat.. I almost lost 2 of my goats to it.,. They hopped the fende and pigged out on horse feed. We took them to the vets and we had to give them alot of meds and the made it. But you have to be carfull leaving open feed containers open..

Heres a link to (Fiasco farms) you need to put this on your favorites. just in case you have ay questions. They have ton's of goat stuff on there site and I highly recomend it. They raise lamachan dairy goats but THe info still aplies to any breed goat.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm[/b]


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## buckaroo2010 (Nov 7, 2007)

awww I like goats I think theya re cute when there little  the only thing I dont like is how the poop everywhere! lol :lol:


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## Angel_Leaguer (Jun 13, 2008)

Lacyloo covered quite a bit of goat raising... Growing up I raised Nubians. Bucks stink something terrible, they pee all over themselves, but you have to have them to breed..lol. When I first started out we lost one to bloating, we didnt know they could over eat. You can give them a shot when they are a couple months old that helps prevent that. 

I really like goats, they have tons of personality. If I were you I would buy one that is already de horned. It pretty much requires a vet to remove them once they get bigger (can gouge them out like cattle) when they are babies you can burn them off. 

I showed them for 4-H and then sold them also.. we milked a couple just so that I could show milking does but we just feed the milk to the cats/dogs. I have a attched a pic of me like 6 years ago, we were junior doe reserve champion at the mn state fair...the doe was only 5 months old.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

aww i love the pics!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

I don't like them. They stink and they make horrid sounds.


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## Angel_Leaguer (Jun 13, 2008)

My2Geldings said:


> I don't like them. They stink and they make horrid sounds.


Horses stink in their own rights too...lol. It is all about keeping everything clean and not owning a buck. Ya sometimes they sound like they are dying when the cry....


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## Pinocchios Girl (Jul 28, 2008)

^ahahahahahahahahahaahah yeah they can deff sound like they're dying when they cry. lol Gilly totallyyy does. specially when he's reallyyy freaking out and wants attention. haha


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

Pinocchios Girl said:


> ^ahahahahahahahahahaahah yeah they can deff sound like they're dying when they cry. lol Gilly totallyyy does. specially when he's reallyyy freaking out and wants attention. haha


i still want a goat  there so cutee.


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