# Getting new goat have a few questions *PICS NOW*



## countrygirl911 (Aug 19, 2011)

well right now we have a nubian male goat that is 6 weeks old that has been castrated either tonight or tomorrow morning we will be getting a new goat that is almost 2 weeks old and it will be a pygmy female. our nubian drinks 16 to 20 oz of milk 3 times a day my question is how much should i feed the pygmy goat she is much smaller so i know she should eat less but how much is the question and when to i increase the amount. also when should i start to introduce her to the goat feed. now since my male has been castrated but still likes to mount things he would not be able to get her knocked up correct i just have to watch closely to make sure he does not hurt her due to her small size. also what do you usually use to trim their hooves i am going to attempt to do mystery for the first time with no help or anybody showing me how i just hope i do it right and not hurt him our vet does everything else with goats but the hooves or antibiotics which he said i can get at the co op. how will i know if i did it right or wrong. sorry for all the questions i am new to goats and i want to make sure i do it correct.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 19, 2011)

These are both pretty good hoof trimmers ,but we like the green handled onse a little better, most feed stores sell one of the other. 

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....50e9-4ec4-831e-27d28f18847d&gas=hoof trimmers

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....8fc9-43db-bc05-c0c3247ade56&gas=hoof trimmers


No your buckling can NOT get the doeling pregnant. 

As far as bottle feeding, i would feed her what the seller is feeding her,, but a good rule of thumb would be 3 times a day and allow her to eat what she wants , with out her looking bloated afterwards, If she makes a pig of her self and looks uncomfortable afterwards I would cut back. Regular feedings are very important so they have their feedings properly spaced out for proper digestion, another words, they shouldn't go 12 hours with no milk and then fed twice in 4 hours, because you were gone and couldn't get around to getting it done. this is hard on their digestion. 

We offer grain starting at 3 weeks of age. Just a sprinkle in the bottome of a dog food bowel, we freshen it daily, at around 6 weeks they starting showing a good amount of interest in their grain. they grain should be put out fresh daily, and not left out to get old.  Around 2 to 3% of their body weight would be the expected amount when they are getting near weaning age, 10 weeks or so. 

a 16 % pelleted goat developer/grower feed would be ideal for the kids, especially the whether who should have a feed that has ammonia chloride in the ingredience to help prevent Urinary calculi.  Do not feed you whether straight corn.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 19, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> These are both pretty good hoof trimmers ,but we like the green handled onse a little better, most feed stores sell one of the other.
> 
> http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....50e9-4ec4-831e-27d28f18847d&gas=hoof trimmers
> 
> ...


ty i will look into those trimmers she was on the mom the past 10 days but the mom got sick and she was taken from the mom so she would not get sick so she has been on the bottle for a few days he said she is getting better at it but it might take us a few days to completely get her to eating real good. i figure i will start with a 12 oz bottle and see how much she will take i do not want her getting bloated or sick but i will be asking him how much he has been giving her. about how big should she be will she be very small. this would be my first pygmy


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 19, 2011)

I have large breed, can't help you with pygmy sizes.


----------



## Okie Amazon (Aug 19, 2011)

There's a great hoof-trimming video on youtube, just go and search there.


----------



## Blue Dog Farms (Aug 19, 2011)

Well her size really depends on if she is a true pygmy or a "miniature". A lot of people call any small goat a pygmy. There are some that are tiny, like a cat size and up. Did you see mom? That should give you some idea. My pygmies are mixed with Nigerian dwarf and come to just below my knees, and Im 5'2.  Good Luck!!


----------



## elevan (Aug 19, 2011)

Lots of good info can be found on the NPGA  website.

You'll be able to find size info for true pygmies as well as some pictures there.  Unfortunately some people will call any small goat a pygmy...so if yours isn't a true pygmy you'll have variables thrown into the mix.


----------



## Goatmasta (Aug 19, 2011)

Pygmy only come in 5 colors.  Black, gray roan, light carmel, carmel, and brown.  The only whte allowed is broken belly band, full belly band, frosting, and a star.  That may narrow it down a bit for you on if it is a pygmy.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 19, 2011)

ty everyone for the great information here is a few pictures of cupcake daughter named her sorry about how the pictures look but my camera was acting up


----------



## Roll farms (Aug 20, 2011)

That girl has either Nubian or Boer in there somewhere.   She is a cutie, congrats.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 20, 2011)

I agree, with Roll, She has a mix large breed in her. She  looks way bigger than she should be for just pygmy, I would  make sure she is getting enough milk and not under feed her because you think she is pygmy. How much did the seller say they were feeding her?  She looks like she is healthy and feeling well. The little nubian looks very happy and healthy as well.  

Do you have some coccidiosis mediciain on hand?


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 20, 2011)

no i do not have the med on hand should i go buy some and what is it for. she is not wanting to take the bottle much from me she is 2 weeks old and she had been with the mom but the mom got sick a few days ago so he took her from her so she would not get sick and was taking 10 to 12 oz. the picture does not do her justice on how small she is i have a 10 lb chihuauha i will try to take pictures of them together so show how small she is. she is maybe 3 inches taller than him. the man has pygmys i saw the mom she is a pygmy but i did not see the dad he was off grazing in the field but the man saif he was suppose to be a pygmy. now in another seperate feild he did have some bore but they were mostly female with only 2 or 3 boys and no way he could get in the same field as the pygmys he had each field locked down tight and the fience to high for them to be able to jump over to get into the pygmy field but it is possiable. anything is possiable.


----------



## Blue Dog Farms (Aug 20, 2011)

WOW 2 WKS, YES SHE IS DEFINATLY NOT FULL PYGMY. MY 2WK OLD PYGMY IS VERY TINY, BUT SHE IS CUTE ANYWAY. I WAS ALSO THINKING NUBIAN  HER EARS, WHILE NOT AS LONG AS A NUBIAN THE ARE DEFINATLY DONT LOOK PYGMY. AND BEING THAT YOUR WETHER IS FULL SIZE THAT MAY BE GOOD. CONGRATS! SHE LOOKS LIKE A SWEETY


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Aug 20, 2011)

Very cute but I agree-not full pygmy with those ears, but that's fine because she beautiful.  You could start your own mini-nubian herd!


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 20, 2011)

the only thing is i did not see nubian there at all just pygmys and boer i hope i spelled that right now that she is not to scared of us her ears have perked up some and is not tucked down and she is now letting her tail stick straight up some but not quite there yet hopefully by togight with all the love she is getting she will be happy and use to us and she will start to wag her tail i got her to eat an ounce this morning will keep trying. i will post better pictures of her later. in these pictures she was very scared and not to happy with the sitiuation. since she seems not to be full blooded like the man said she will not be able to be shown for 4h will she


----------



## redtailgal (Aug 20, 2011)

0


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 20, 2011)

ty but she has not really wanted to eat i just hope she is ok and that she will eat soon we have gotten her to eat a couple of oz but that is it and she crys alot


----------



## redtailgal (Aug 20, 2011)

z


----------



## Blue Dog Farms (Aug 21, 2011)

Try putting it in a bowl and dip her mouth in it. I brought home 2 does at 1mnth old that had been dam raised and had to bottle feed them. One took right ot it and dod great, the other never really did so I would put it in a bowl and she would take it that way. Has she been being bottle fed before you got her? And fyi she will probably step in it and spill it so maybe put it on a towel if she is inside.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 22, 2011)

Are you using the same kind of nipple that the seller used? It can make a difference.  Are you using the same milk? heating it to 103 degress? 

I wouldn't try constantly forcing her to take the bottle, I would put fresh water out and a bowl of milk as well.  dam raised kids are used to nursing under a shelf, sit or squat down and hold bottle under leg so their is a shelf above her head. They are also used to squating down to get to the udder.  


As far as her breed, I would be curious what she weighs, but I wouldn't be surprised if she has some boer in her, based on rolls comments and the fact that he has boer, but personally, I wouldn't no any different. But she does seem pretty big sitting in your daughters lap, for a 2 week old pygmy.  

Coccidiosis medicine is the first type of parasite a young goat will have problems with, it runs a 21 day cycle, so if liquidy brown scouring starts at 3 to 4 weeks of age in any  of your goats that can be the cause.  It doesn't always appear as scours, it can just cause slow growing, pot bellied looking kids, that show signs of fairly to thrive.  A fecal test can be run to help determin coccidiosis amounts. 

Corid and sulfa-dimethoxine are two common medications used. Come in powder and liquid forms and dosages depends on which product you get. 

Have they been vaccinated for CD&T? To preven overeating disease and tetnus

pnuemonia would be the next thing I would watch out for in young kids, having a thermometer to take their tempurature can help a lot. A young kid standing around looking lethargic, head hanging, and running a fever. more than likely would have a respiratory infection. 

As they get older parasites would be the next thing to consider(hook worms, tapeworms, round worms, and a fecal can be done to determine what parasites they would have. 6 to 8 weeks of age.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 22, 2011)

i am heating the milk up to 100 to 101 she drinks about 2 ounces each feeding but most of the time i have to force that down her. she is walking around crying sometimes but she is also running and jumping for a little while then takes a nap she just turned 2 weeks old today she weighs between 5 to 7 lbs. my daughter is very small and the goat does see bigger looking in her lap compared to her actual size my daughter only weight 43 lbs and is 9 years old and can still fit 24 months in the waist but needs the bigger sizes for her length. she does nibble on some grass when she is outside and trys to eat some of the pellet food she does love to try to eat our hair lol. she was on the mom when we got her but the man said that we shold be able to transfer her to a bottle with no problem the man has lied after eating the 2 ounces her tummy looks and feels full. she is very active and alert as of now but anyadvice on how to get her to take the bottle would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 23, 2011)

well to nights feeding went a little better we made 4 ounces i held her close placed the nipple to her mouth she kind of mouthed it and once it was in place she sucked down 2 oz on her own then did not want more so i gave her a little break about 5 min did the same thing again she sucked down an oz by herself then she acted like she was done i knew she needed to at least eat all 4 oz so i gave her a 10 min break but this time the last oz i had to make her eat it hopefully by tomorrow she will eat the whole bottle by herself and maybe even eat 6 oz at least if she does than that will be 18 oz a day then as she gets use to it we can up the amount. she is onlt 2 weeks old so how much should she eat in a day.


----------



## freemotion (Aug 23, 2011)

Has anyone mentioned giving her a B complex injection yet?  Stress can deplete B's and she was taken from her mom and moved to a new place.....B's can really help a baby with appetite and sucking reflex.

I'd warm that milk up a little more to 103 as that can make a bit of difference to a reluctant one.  Insulate the bottle to keep it warmer during your efforts to get her fed.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 23, 2011)

this morning she ate 5 ounces as long as she was in my lap she took the nipple and dranked it on her own very slowly. she has a way to go to get to where mystery is when he see us at the microwave he thinks it is eating time and when he sees the bottle he comes running. she seemed to get full because afterwards she went to pee then came back inside and fell asleep now she is up and moving and every once in a while you see her tail wag. mystery scared her he is our nubian wether that is 6 weeks old. she likes to chew on everything even our hair and clothes she eats the gras outside real good and we have hay for her also. we have the pellets out for mystery and she sniffs it and mouths it but does not eat it. She has her first apperance next friday at my childrens school i would bring mystery but not sure how he would do since he is bigger and likes to pee to much.


----------



## jodief100 (Aug 23, 2011)

Put a diaper on him.  

Glad to hear the little girl is doing better.  I sugest waiting 6-8 hours between feedings.  Let her get hungry and digest what she ate.  A hungry baby is much more cooperative during feeding time.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 23, 2011)

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction with her.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 23, 2011)

It drives me crazy when sellers say that it wont be a problem getting  a 2 weeks old dam raised kid on a bottle. It can be very difficult, then the added stress and lack of nutrition can cause other health problem from the stress of the transition. Not saying it is impossible, Just saying it isn't always that easy.  

Did you say what kind of milk you are using? If you are using whole milk, you can add a tablespoon of evaporated milk to it to add more calories.


----------



## countrygirl911 (Aug 23, 2011)

jodief100 said:
			
		

> Put a diaper on him.
> 
> Glad to hear the little girl is doing better.  I sugest waiting 6-8 hours between feedings.  Let her get hungry and digest what she ate.  A hungry baby is much more cooperative during feeding time.


how would i put a diaper on him


----------



## RayofHopeFarms (Aug 24, 2011)

VERY CUTE BABIES!


----------

