Basic Supplies
- leather gloves (for protection when trimming hooves)
- exam gloves
- hoof trimmers (aka hoof rot shears)
- brush
- collar & leash (or lead rope)
- syringes with needles (I prefer the 20G 3/4 inch)
- syringes without needles for giving oral medications like dewormers – 3cc syringes for young kids and 10cc syringes for adult goats
- hanging scale and sling or dairy goat weigh tape
- hay feeder/rack (we use a rack for alfalfa and horse hay bags for grass hay)
- feed buckets/pans.
- water bucket (we like automatic ones)
- mineral feeder (for loose minerals)
- rake.
- pitchfork.
- broom (goat berries are hard to rake!)
- horse brush.
What is the best loose mineral for goats?
- The diet should contain adequate levels of calcium and phosphorus and have close to a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio.
- Provide a free-choice, loose mineral supplement with appropriate levels of calcium and phosphorus and trace minerals deficient in the region.
- Monitor intake of the mineral to make sure the animals are eating an appropriate amount.
What do minerals do Goats require?
What Minerals Do Goats Need?
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Chloride
- Sulfer
- Magnesium. Microminerals are those required at the part per million (ppm) level. ...
- Iron
- Copper
- Cobalt
What is the best mineral block for goats?
What is the best mineral block for goats? The most commonly used are white or yellow salt blocks. These are generally fine, and will do for a bit of salt in the goat’s diet.
How to raise and care for baby goats?
- Don’t buy too young kids. ...
- In case of raising castrated bucks, don’t castrate them when they are too young. ...
- Try to feed the castrated bucks less amount of grain. ...
- Don’t play rough with your goats, especially with very young babies. ...
- Try to teach your baby goats that, they should not chew almost everything they find edible in front of them.
What do goats need to feed?
Mineral feeder. Goats need minerals that are available free-choice, so get a mineral feeder to hold them. This is also what I use to feed grain to my milking does on the milk stand. This particular feeder hangs over a fence; others attach to the wall with screws.
What to use to clean a goat shed?
Here's what works best for me when cleaning the dirt-floored goat shed or barn: a fan rake or leaf rake from the garden department of the hardware store.
Why do goats put their leashes on the end?
A goat-owning friend put one on the end of each of her leashes so she could loop the handle end around a tree or a fence and snap it back onto the leash, without letting her goat off the leash to do it.
Why snap goats to fence?
I snap each goat to the fence at milking time with these so that they won't rush the milk room gate. I've also used one to hold a gate closed in my goat barn.
What is the best way to give a goat a syringe?
A Drench syringe is the easiest way to give a goat any liquid medicine, vitamins, NutriDrench, electrolytes, and so on. Your goat won't break the metal nozzle by biting down with her back teeth.
Do you have to have a collar on a goat?
Collars and leashes help you to control your goats. For safety reasons I don't keep collars on my goats all the time, but I have them handy to grab when I need them, in several places in the barn and tack room.
Can you use a dog collar on a goat?
Dog collars work fine if you can find them with a metal buckle - I've found that the plastic buckles such as the one in the image below don't last as long. If you plan to leave collars on your goats all the time, you can buy plastic chain collars that will break easily if the goat gets caught on a fence or a branch.
Why do you put a blanket on a goat?
Having a blanket on your goat can prevent unnecessary washings and protect their skin and hair. If you are going to get into showing goats, you will not want to be without one.
How to make a goat's muscles bulge?
One of the best ways to ensure that your goat has bulging muscles is by giving them access to quality foods, hurdles, jumps and walking them.
What is a goat trailer?
A small goat trailer may be the answer for you if you are only hauling a few goats to shows and want to save on fuel. Cimarron Trailer Company has a great Truck Stock Box that you can put in the back of a truck to carry your goats to shows.
How much does a leather goat blanket cost?
The Weaver Leather Mesh Goat Blanket comes in many sizes and costs $39-$50. To determine the size you will need you can follow their sizing guide on their website. Using this blanket will help keep your goat clean and protected for their shows.
Why make goat halters?
Making your own goat halters will save you money and lengthen the life of your show halters.
How much does a goat collar cost?
One good goat collar is the Weaver Leather Webb Goat Collar that only costs $15 and is easily adjustable for multiple goat sizes.
Can goats be dogs?
Goats are not dogs, but they can benefit from a collar and lead like a dog can. Using a goat collar can be another way that you save your show halters from overuse and keep track of your different goats.
What do you feed goats in a pens?
Soda/Mineral Feeders – Feed dishes to hold the goat mineral and baking soda so that they can access them free choice. These are usually attached to the wall inside the goat pen.
What to use to keep goats from peeing on the floor?
Bedding Material – Within the goat shelter or pens, a bedding material should be used to help soak up urine and to keep the goats from lying directly on the flooring surface. Straw or pine shavings are frequently used for this purpose because they are absorbent and relatively inexpensive.
Why should goats not be tethered?
Fencing – Goats should never be tethered because they cannot protect themselves from predators or the weather and they may injure themselves. Tethering a goat is like offering a meal to a hungry coyote, feral dog, bear, or other wild predators because the goat cannot run away.
What is goat grain?
Goat Grain (goat concentrate) – again preferably what they were previously eating, at least to start. Weight Scale – To measure how much feed they’re getting. Black Sunflower Seeds – This is used by some goat owners to top dress the goat grain to provide vitamin E and selenium.
How to tell if a goat is sick?
Rectal Thermometer – This is really a must because one of the easiest ways to tell if a goat is sick is to take its temperature. Digital rectal thermometers are inexpensive and quick, which makes them your best bet when trying to get the temperature of a wiggly goat.
Why do goats need Bose?
BoSe – Many areas of the United States are considered selenium deficient and this prescription drug is given to goats living in these areas to prevent problems caused by selenium deficiency.
How to give goats aspirin?
To administer baby aspirin, simply dissolve it in warm water and give it as an oral drench. Make sure to use real aspirin. Ibuprofen and Tylenol should NOT be used for goats.
What are some good foods for goats?
Minerals – These minerals will help support any missing mineral gaps in their diet. Kelp meal is also another good source of trace minerals for goats. You don’t have to do both, just one is fine.
What to feed a goat when pregnant?
Watering & Feeding. Hay – A green hay like alfalfa, timothy, or bermuda or a mixture of those. Any feed store will carry it. Grain – Grain is only necessary if your goat is pregnant or in milk. Even then you’ll only give about a handful or two per day.
What to use to strain goat milk?
Milk Strainer & Filters – After you milk your goat, you’ll definitely want to strain it with a stainless steel strainer & filters.
Do goats need to be hobbled?
Goat Hobble (optional) – Not every goat needs to be hobbled in order to be milked, but if you have a goat that kicks more than you can manage, try this goat hobble. Stainless steel Pail – When you’re dealing with milk, it’s important that you use a seamless stainless steel pail.
Goat Shelter
Learning what do goats need for shelter is a key component to learning how to raise goats. Shelter is a key component to the survival and well being of your herd. Following is a quick goat starter list in regards to the shelter they need.
Goat Food
There are a lot of misconceptions about the diets of goats, so you may be wondering: what do goats need in terms of food?
Goat Play
Goats are naturally playful and curious creatures, and they love to have fun. There are all sorts of ways to give your goats plenty of playtime.
Goat Vet And Grooming Care
Before or as soon as you acquire your goats you will want to look up a vet that can treat goats just in case of an emergency. You will also want to put together a basic kit of some necessary medical and hygiene supplies.
Grazing Opportunities
If your goats have a dedicated fenced area for grazing then this step is not as important for you. Grazing is important when it comes to raising goats, so learning what do goats need to graze should be a top priority.
What to feed goats?
There are different options that you can feed your goats: 1 hay (alfalfa, bermuda, blend) 2 grain 3 pellets (alfalfa, bermuda, blend)
What do goats eat?
A goats diet is not difficult at all. We feed the goats alfalfa hay and garden scraps. Pippy LOVES her some banana peels and Lilly loves her some greens.
How many feet of fencing for goats?
You have to take into account how many goats you are getting and what their size will be when they are full grown. We went with 100 ft of livestock fencing from our local store. We added about 25 feet by adding doors made out of pallets (post coming soon- so stay tuned!). We figured this was good for them for a while. We plan to add another pen the same size next to it with a door in between them.
Can you lock goats up at night?
A lot of people just use a regular ‘ol dog house for their goats. Some people don’t even lock their goats up at night but we live in a rural area with predators so we lock ours up (and they are like my children, so….).
Do goats eat anything?
Feed. Contrary to popular belief (like Mountain Man thought) goats do NOT eat anything and everything. They are browsers- not grazers and they are very picky eaters. Ours will NOT eat off of the ground.
Do goats need fencing?
All good (and bad) goats need fencing. If not, they will be running around like a recent high school grad the day they moved out of their parent’s house. Just sayin’. You have to take into account how many goats you are getting and what their size will be when they are full grown.
Do you need hoof trimmers?
Last but not least you will need hoof trimmers. We bought THESE off of Amazon. They work super duper great!
