# Bringing Home New/First Goats



## MsLadyChickens (Mar 20, 2012)

Hi there!

Any advice for transporting the two Nigerian dwarf does that we are getting (boyfriend has a F150 and I have a ford escape...and a large dog kennel. I heard they can ride in the car for an hour in your back seat until they need a break?)

And is there any special "coming home" ceremony or gestures that I have to do lol? Just walk them to the barn? I plan to pick up the does (one is in milking) that afternoon, I plan to milk her that evening to keep her on schedule and to relieve her...unless someone doesn't agree?

Thank you guys!


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## dhansen (Mar 20, 2012)

A dog kennel in the back of my Prius is how I transport the little guys.  An F150 sounds much easier!  I usually get them to the barn area, give them a treat, and check on then every few hours at first.


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## MsLadyChickens (Mar 20, 2012)

That is amazing that you fit them in a Prius! Good for you!!!

Thank you! I'm hoping they'll adjust well and enjoy their newly built goat palace lol


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## hcppam (Mar 20, 2012)

dhansen said:
			
		

> A dog kennel in the back of my Prius is how I transport the little guys.  An F150 sounds much easier!  I usually get them to the barn area, give them a treat, and check on then every few hours at first.


 Prius that's what I'm going to do too when I pick up my girls!


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## Teeah3612 (Mar 22, 2012)

I took my bottle baby back and forth to my farm with me all fall while I worked on the house. He rode in a dog crate in the front seat of my mustang. I would stop 1/2 way there to let him pee at the on ramp to the interstate. There was a big grassy area. I know people driving by thought I was some sort of crazy woman!


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## fortheloveofgoats (Mar 22, 2012)

I put my nubian mix doe in the back seat of my chev malibu, I also did that with my boer goat. He was a little bit more excited. He put his head out my window. It was pretty cute. We now have a van, so I will be using that, when/if I get my nigerian dwarfs. Good luck. Would love to see some pictures when you get them.


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## mydakota (Mar 22, 2012)

If you are going to put the kennel in the back of the pickup, make sure you secure it to the bed so it doesn't slide wildly around.  I know that is probably obvious. But had to say it just in case.


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Mar 22, 2012)

I put down a tarp, then put down old towels, then put my new, heavily preg ND in the back/trunk of my Honda van.  She had no problems and slept the whole two hour ride home. She only pooped a little and it was an easy clean.

I also put 2 ND babies in the same trunk a few days before that. No crate, but the trunk on my van is very deep, so little goats cant really jump over the back seat, and the towels give them something not slippery to stand on.

If your crate fits in your car or cab of your truck, by all means, use it. If you are getting babies, you could even hold them in your lap (if youre a passenger of course). Thats one of the nice thing about dwarf goats- they fit darn near anywhere!!


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## Mamaboid (Mar 22, 2012)

We brought our two three year old goats, one doe, one buck with very large horns, home in the back of our station wagon.  They both stood the whole hour trip, and we got lots of really funny looks from the people passing us on the interstate.  Our Dusty girl we brought home riding on my husband's lap in the front seat.


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## CocoNUT (Mar 23, 2012)

We brought our two boer x nubian kids home in the back of my Forrester.  After the first few minutes they laid down and hung out for the two-hour ride home.  Having some kind of blanket or towel to lay on also helps in case of accidents!  

We had collars and leashes on our kids...we didn't want them to run away the second we opened up the back hatch when we got home!  They were pretty mellow after the trip but you never can tell.


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## Jenni (Mar 23, 2012)

We brought my 3 ND adults home in the back of my CRV with the seats down.  I laid down plastic and towels.  They had a 4 hour trip and didn't pee till I opened up the back at my house.  The first one went, then the other two followed.  I thought, "wait one more second"!!!!  It was kinda funny.  They looked at me like "ahhhhhh."  The plastic and towels held everything fine.


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## MsLadyChickens (Apr 12, 2012)

Jenni said:
			
		

> We brought my 3 ND adults home in the back of my CRV with the seats down.  I laid down plastic and towels.  They had a 4 hour trip and didn't pee till I opened up the back at my house.  The first one went, then the other two followed.  I thought, "wait one more second"!!!!  It was kinda funny.  They looked at me like "ahhhhhh."  The plastic and towels held everything fine.


Hahhaha!!! That is too funny! I have a close call! I opened the back and immediately she flew out and relieved herself lol! They fit nicely in the back of my Escape so I was very happy about that. Still need to clean the carpet in the back from the "nervous pee" she had when she first got in...oh well lol!


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## drdoolittle (Apr 12, 2012)

Well, I found out my mini-van can hold 4 dog crates quite nicely!  I put a couple of sheets down and put straw in each crate.


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## jarvisqh (Apr 13, 2012)

pics ?     i put a (not yet sure what she is .. but   nubian /alpine size goat )    in the front of my single cab dodge 1500 truck   she jumped right in layed down in the floor board and  didnt want out when i got her home !! lol      i also put colar and leash on her ..       usually i put them in a big dog kennel in the back of the truck but .. didnt have it .. wasnt expecting to bring home a new member of my goaty herd   (  now i need more  )


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## SheepGirl (Apr 13, 2012)

This is how I transport my sheep when I take them places. It is a bull mastiff-sized kennel (back when we had a couple) bungee corded to the back of our truck. Sometimes we put straw in as bedding, sometimes we don't (just depends on if we have any or not). I have transported up to 280 lbs worth of sheep in it and the ride is roughly 15-30 minutes when we go places. They are not crammed in there at all, they both fit very comfortably (next time I transport them both I will take a picture).







Whenever you bring an animal home from ANYWHERE--auction, breeder, vet, petting zoo--quarantine them! Have a separate area just for them where they can go and not transmit any diseases between existing animals and/or infect your pasture. (All the pens in our barn have concrete floors. I like that because once we take up the bedding, we can burn it and then thoroughly disinfect the concrete without worrying about any bacteria/viruses leeching into the ground if it were a dirt floor.) Usually my sheep just go to school or carnival petting zoos and they are the only ones of their species there, so when we bring them back, we quarantine for a week. This past September, I took my sheep to the fair for an exhibit on wool. Well it POURED down rain, the tent got flooded and they were 'evacuated' to the sheep barn. (This happened overnight when I wasn't there.) But they were penned next to two ewes with soremouth lesions on their face  so I had them quarantined for a good 5 weeks. Luckily they didn't get soremouth. (We are a soremouth-free flock & farm.)


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## Tapsmom (Apr 14, 2012)

When we got our goats the kids carried them home in their laps











Of course, they are Nigerian Dwarfs so size does make a difference lol.  When we have had to take them anywhere we put them in a large dog crate in the back of our van.  If I am taking just one they fit in a smaller dog crate in my car


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## lapiloto (Apr 19, 2012)

I just brought my three home in the back seat, they were really good, lying on a blanket and my lap- granted the trip was only about 20 minutes- no messes.


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