• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Feather and Scale Farm

One family. One small farm. One ongoing journey.

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Chicken Keeping
    • Cooking and Recipes
    • From Our Farm
    • Gardening
    • Goat Keeping
    • Self-sufficiency
  • Our Goats
    • 2019 Kidding Schedule
    • Does
    • Bucks
    • Goats Currently For Sale
    • Goat Sale Policy
  • Shop Feather & Scale Farm
    • Your Cart
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Goats Currently For Sale
You are here: Home / Goat Keeping / Bringing Home New Goats

Bringing Home New Goats

September 29, 2016 by Carrissa 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. Making a purchase with an affiliate link does not cost you any more, but I may receive a small commission to help keep this site running. Learn more here.

 

So, you’ve decided to bring home goats- great! But are you prepared? Bringing home new goats can be incredibly stressful both for the goats and the goat keepers. Making sure you’re well prepared can make a world of difference for both of you.

Basic Goat Needs

Before you bring home new goats, there are some basic supplies you will need:

  • Another goat. You can not own just one goat. They are herd animals and need at least one goat companion. I cannot emphasize that enough.
  • Plentiful good quality hay to be free fed at all times, and a safe and stable feeder to put it in
  • Water bucket
  • Mineral feeder that can be wall mounted
  • Goat specific loose minerals, free fed at all times. Goats do not care for mineral salt blocks due to their lack of upper front teeth.
  • Baking soda, free fed at all times. This helps the goats to keep their rumen regulated again bloat and general acid upsets
  • Hoof trimmers
  • Rubber bowls or wall mounted feeders if you plan to feed grain
  • Good, draft free shelter with ventilation. A three sided shelter is good in more moderate climates, but in areas where there are very winters, it’s best to have a four sided shelter than be closed up against sub zero temperatures. If the goat are shut outside of their primary shelter during the day, they will need some kind of run in to get out of the rain. Goats hate rain. For real. Make sure the shelter has clean, dry bedding.
  • A well fenced, outside area for them to be able to get plenty of sunlight, fresh air, and safe forage
  • Basic medications/treatments for common goat ailments, such as electrolytes and probiotics.

Bringing Home Baby Goats

Most people start with goats by bringing home babies. This can be one of the most challenging ways to get started with goats. When getting damn raised kids, make sure they are over 8 weeks old, and fully weaned before you bring them home. Make sure they are drinking water and eating hay and fully prepared to be away from their dam.

If you take home young bottle babies, make sure you know the basics on bottle feeding, and you are prepared to commit to the time and attention they need to be fed often, on a regular schedule.

bottle-feed

Bringing Home Adult Goats

When bringing in adult goats, it’s always nice to bring them in with another adult goat from their previous herd if possible. This will give them a buddy they know, and keep them from being lonely if they need to be quarantined before entering your existing herd. Be sure you are familiar with the personalities of any adult goats you will be taking on, as a wild adult goat can be a challenge to tame, and established bad habits, hard to break.

Starting with a few mature goats can be a great way to go, as they will he heartier and less dependent on you. It’s easy to be excited about cute baby goats, but mature goats can be just as much fun, and far more relaxing.

image

Do your Homework First

Before you bring home goats for the first time, make sure that you are zoned to be able to keep them on your property. Nothing is more disappointing than investing the time and money into getting goats established, only to be told they have to go.

Find a good veterinarian in the area that sees goats. There will come a time when you will need one, I promise.

Read! Make sure you’re getting the right kind of goat for what you’re looking for. Do your research to make sure you’re buying from a well-established breeder with a disease free herd. Do what you can to learn about basic goat behavior, proper nutrition, and basic health concerns. The more you know about your new goats, the more days you will have only filled with good surprises.


GOAT GOODNESS IN YOUR INBOX
As a thank you for subscribing, we will send you a 10% off coupon to my shop of handmade goods.
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
Love it? Share it!
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Reddit
Reddit

Related posts:

So You Want Dairy Goats Raising Goats: Selenium and Copper Deficiency How to Make Money With Goats Dairy Goats: Lessons From our First Year

Filed Under: Goat Keeping

« My Farm is Not A Petting Zoo
I Don’t Always Fail »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. So You Want Dairy Goats - Feather and Scale Farm says:
    July 21, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    […] way you decide to go, make sure you are fully prepared for bringing home your new goats. You’ll save yourself a lot of stress and heartache if you’re well prepared for your […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Me

Goat farmer, chicken guru, garden geek and self-sufficient wannabe. Building a better life in southern Maine one DIY project at a time. Hoping that by sharing our joys and our woes we can pass on a little wisdom, divide the heartache, and multiply some joy.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Topics

Shop Our Handmade Goods

  • Equinox - Goats Milk Soap $6.00
  • Mizi's Memory - Goats Milk Soap $6.00
  • Beak Balm - Blueberry $2.00
  • Udderly Healing Balm $4.00
  • Shaman - Goats Milk Soap $6.00

Featured Posts

Kidding in the Cold

Goat Bedding

The Story of Ztargate

BiteMe! Goat Treats

Contributor at the Homestead Bloggers Network

Footer

Affiliate Disclosure

This site contains affiliate links. Making a purchase with an affiliate link does not cost you any more, but I may receive a small commission to help keep this site running. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You can learn more about our affiliate relationships here.

Copyright

All photos and posts are the property of their creators. Feather and Scale Farm grants non-exclusive use of one photo and up to 50 words from posts with attribution and link back to the original post on this site. Please contact me for more information.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Shop

Farm Store
Goats for Sale
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress