Flat collar or slip lead for bringing home kids?

[Southern by choice]

Very sad.
You will find that owning goats can be difficult sometimes especially if you have no real livestock vet around. Even most livestock vets don't know much about goats.

Cocci prevention is key.
First place to start is asking your breeder if they do cocci prevention (they may or may not) if they do ask what they do and their protocol.

There are several ways to do prevention. Some better than others.
We can get to that later.

I would ask what their protocol is for CD & T vaccines, any other vaccines etc.
Make sure you either buy a bag of feed from them so you can transition or buy a few pounds from them so kids adjust over time. Schedule this in advance. Same as hay. For little Nigerians we send home a big bag of our hay so they can adjust. If someone is buying a small herd we send home a bale.

 

[Miranda Kurucz]

I think it's smart to start simple and see how it goes. So many get this idea of starting a farm and jump right in, but this isn't always best. Some people do fine but I have seen quite a bit folks getting overwhelmed and end up failing. See how you like goats, get an idea on their care, just learning about them for the first year or so. Yes the thought of having kids/milk sooner is great sometimes waiting and learning really pays off. Who know, if it all goes well you could end up buying a doe in milk etc.

I agree on using the harness! It's also easier to take them in and out with the harness.
Very glad you are buying from a tested herd!

I agree with learning how to run fecals! I can't imagine having goats without a scope. Some vets might be great farm or pet vets, but many don't 'know' goats. Goats are very different than cattle and other farm animals. (Cattle vets will most likely think you are crazy LOL)

Ask the breeder what they use for cocci and parasite treatment/prevention. It might be wise to buy some of the meds directly from the breeder if you cannot find them locally.

Will these kids bottle babies?
Try to make sure there is enough room in the crate and have a was to offer some water on stops. I wouldn't walk them around though. Keeping them in the same crate will have less crying/screaming and less stress overall.

Keep us updated on the progress!

They are going to be getting their milk from their mom -- but the breeder had mentioned she could also get them on the bottle so they could have some milk for the drive.

I don't know what is the best option in that situation --- would you recommend having them weaned to a bottle so they can be fed milk along the way -- will this help with stress/parasitic bloom etc?

 

[NH homesteader]

I can't answer your question but wanted to agree that starting with wethers is a good idea. That's what I did. Now I have a buck, a wether and 4 does. Wethers are typically quite friendly if you spend time with them. Plus it sounds like you will be able to potentially get does in the future from them if all goes well. Perfect!

 

[Miranda Kurucz]

Very sad.
You will find that owning goats can be difficult sometimes especially if you have no real livestock vet around. Even most livestock vets don't know much about goats.

Cocci prevention is key.
First place to start is asking your breeder if they do cocci prevention (they may or may not) if they do ask what they do and their protocol.

There are several ways to do prevention. Some better than others.
We can get to that later.

I would ask what their protocol is for CD & T vaccines, any other vaccines etc.
Make sure you either buy a bag of feed from them so you can transition or buy a few pounds from them so kids adjust over time. Schedule this in advance. Same as hay. For little Nigerians we send home a big bag of our hay so they can adjust. If someone is buying a small herd we send home a bale.

They are sending us home with a bale of hay to adjust -- and I have found a place in Terrace that supplies a similar hay mixture. I will ask about grain -- but with wethers I was under the impression that they mostly just need hay on top of their browse and you can offer treats such as beet pulp etc. Baking Soda, and free loose minerals and salt on very hot days. Kelp mix was something else I was told they love. I was told finding the right copper requirements in the minerals here can be a little tricky.

The goats are vaccinated with Tasvax 8 -- I will email about Cocci etc to get confirmation on perventions used if any.}

I'm going to have like a 10 page checklist!!!!!! Hahah

 

[Miranda Kurucz]

I

I can't answer your question but wanted to agree that starting with wethers is a good idea. That's what I did. Now I have a buck, a wether and 4 does. Wethers are typically quite friendly if you spend time with them. Plus it sounds like you will be able to potentially get does in the future from them if all goes well. Perfect!

I am a bit of a freak with my animals -- I will be spending lots of time in the yard with them and my father-in-law likes to come putter in our yard and he spends a tonne of time with the chickens etc. When Dave is home he is outside in the shop by the pen most of the day so they'll get a week of him around all the time. Our chickens are some of the most friendly and tame chickens that you could possibly imagine but I was a nut and made sure to handle them several times a day for 15 minutes once they settled into their brooder! I have no doubt we will have two well adjusted boys!

Can't wait to maybe get into milk in a couple years.

 

[Miranda Kurucz]

OK... just a point here... Typically buying a weather knocks the price down substantially as the wether is never going to breed and is only good as a companion animal either for humans or other goats, or for your freezer. Typically buying a NON papered animal is substantially cheaper than buying a papered (registered) animal, and the papers are only pertinent if you'll be breeding the animal as heredity is important for breeders. Having said that, I hope you're not paying major "bucks" for a non functional buck (wether)! There's really no need to have a wether registered.

If you want milk from a/the/any doe, then you're going to need a functional buck to breed her with. OK, so here's where goat math rears its ugly... I mean beautiful head... You say you're planning on 2 goats and said one was going to be a wether. The result of this is two years or more before you'll have milk. You'll need your doe to be 8 months to a year old before breeding, then since you have a wether, you'll need to find/buy/borrow a buck, and if you get a buck kid, you'll need to wait for him to mature... Then after the breeding it's 5 months till the doe delivers, then you'll need the does milk for the kids, especially if she has twins or more, so figure another 2 months before you can start milking her for you. Depending on weather and insects where you are, most prefer to breed in fall for spring kids... not too cold, but not warm enough for insect infestations (yet).

So here's the "deal"... what I propose is that you buy TWO does and TWO males... one a good dairy quality buck and the other a whatever quality wether to keep the buck company when you DON'T want the does bred. Nigerians can breed basically year round and come into heat ~ every 21 days or so though their strongest heat is during the fall/early winter months and the bucks typically rut during the fall/early winter.

"Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats go into heat, or experience an estrus cycle approximately every 21 to 28 days. Therefore they can be bred all year round. Most breeders prefer the fall for breeding as Spring allows for the optimum in kidding temperatures. There is no fear of kids freezing in winter cold and no pests such as flies during summer heat to spread disease. This is not to say you can't breed all year, it just means more precautions need to be taken into account.

The heat cycle in Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats as in all goat breeds, lasts for 1 to 3 days on average with the doe in a standing heat to accept the buck during that time. The standing heat is a very short duration of the heat cycle (standing heat can be anywhere from 1 hour to 3 days) and the owner needs to be alert as to when this time occurs for breeding to be successful. A standing heat means a doe will stand for a buck and not run from him to be bred. Procreation will not take place generally outside of this time" http://www.cornerstonefarm.net/gtcareof.html#pregnancy&kiddingsupplies

They are very small and don't eat much... feeding 4 would double the amount of feed you'll need but since it's such a small amount anyway, it shouldn't prove to be too painful on the wallet. This way the does can be kept together and the buck and wether can be kept together separate from the does until you want to breed them. If you breed them a couple of months apart, then you'll have staggered deliveries and milk for more months of the year

Enabler? yup!

I don't mind a little pusher and enabler <3 hahah

 

[Goat Whisperer]

They are going to be getting their milk from their mom -- but the breeder had mentioned she could also get them on the bottle so they could have some milk for the drive.

I don't know what is the best option in that situation --- would you recommend having them weaned to a bottle so they can be fed milk along the way -- will this help with stress/parasitic bloom etc?

If the breeder dam raises I would just leave them do it how they normally would. I wouldn't put them on a bottle just for the trip, they will be fine and will still have have a bloom regardless. They should be weaned before you get them.

I would still give some feed. People can overreact a bit when comes to feeding bucks/wethers. If you feed a balanced feed with a CA: P ratio of 2:1 they will not get stones from the feed. Look at the hay you are feeding too, people worry about the feed but often forget the hay and "treats". You can get a feed or mineral with AC in it if you are worried about stones.

We probably have more bucks than anyone on this forum. All of which get feed (my standard breed bucks actually have free-choice feed right now) and not one has ever had a stone. So you are fine to give some feed to them- as long as it is balanced.

I don't leave baking soda out, I have never really felt the need to. It will also render any AC you may feed useless.

Loose minerals should be feed free-choice.

Kelp is great!

When you go to pick the kids up, have the breeder show you how to trim hooves too

 

[Miranda Kurucz]

If the breeder dam raises I would just leave them do it how they normally would. I wouldn't put them on a bottle just for the trip, they will be fine and will still have have a bloom regardless. They should be weaned before you get them.

I would still give some feed. People can overreact a bit when comes to feeding bucks/wethers. If you feed a balanced feed with a CA: P ratio of 2:1 they will not get stones from the feed. Look at the hay you are feeding too, people worry about the feed but often forget the hay and "treats". You can get a feed or mineral with AC in it if you are worried about stones.

We probably have more bucks than anyone on this forum. All of which get feed (my standard breed bucks actually have free-choice feed right now) and not one has ever had a stone. So you are fine to give some feed to them- as long as it is balanced.

I don't leave baking soda out, I have never really felt the need to. It will also render any AC you may feed useless.

Loose minerals should be feed free-choice.

Kelp is great!

When you go to pick the kids up, have the breeder show you how to trim hooves too

That was my first question when I e-mailed breeders! "Can you show me how to trim their hooves!" hahaha so I will have a lesson on pick up.

Do you have a feed you recommend? A lot of my supplies will be getting bought online -- and our local feed store is going to be adding products just for us haha so I can ask for specifics to a point. For hay I have been looking at orchard grass and I had someone mention that weedy hay can be a good choice as well.

For wethers what kind of a feed schedule would you recommend? Just once a day or ?

Also -- free mineral recommendations. I've seen jefferspet.com mentioned as a good supply stop -- they have Manna Pro minerals -- but also AC separtely. Would you recommend this product? https://www.jefferspet.com/products...84a49fa2600f000003c1/533884a69fa2600f000003dc

 

[Goat Whisperer]

That was my first question when I e-mailed breeders! "Can you show me how to trim their hooves!" hahaha so I will have a lesson on pick up.

Do you have a feed you recommend? A lot of my supplies will be getting bought online -- and our local feed store is going to be adding products just for us haha so I can ask for specifics to a point. For hay I have been looking at orchard grass and I had someone mention that weedy hay can be a good choice as well.

For wethers what kind of a feed schedule would you recommend? Just once a day or ?

Also -- free mineral recommendations. I've seen jefferspet.com mentioned as a good supply stop -- they have Manna Pro minerals -- but also AC separtely. Would you recommend this product? https://www.jefferspet.com/products/goat-mineral-8-lb-bag?via=533884a29fa2600f00000395/533884a49fa2600f000003c1/533884a69fa2600f000003dc

I really like the manna pro minerals! I have used them for years.

It wouldn't hurt to have the separate AC "in the medicine cabinet". I'm the type of person who is more likely to stock up on things that I may never use, but to still have it on hand for an emergency. I have some that has never been used, but when a goat is sick you need to act fast.

I don't know what feeds you have over there, but I feed Bartlett goat pellets
http://www.bartlettmillingfeed.com/images/bmc goat plt non-med white 0712.pdf

Noble goat pellets are good too, but again I don't know what y'all have. I try to stay away from sweet feed. Ask the breeder if they have recommendations. You could feed a small amount 1 or 2x daily. I would ask the breeder their feeding schedule. I feed my kids 2x a day. The breeder will know their lines best and the best way to feed them.

 

[Southern by choice]

I think your choice of getting wethers is a good one. Especially given the cost of animals in your location as well as not having vet care anywhere near.

Not that these guys aren't going to be just as loved and cared for but let's face reality. Learning curves can be costly and best to learn on animals with lower investment.

@Latestarter $200 is not unreasonable. First look at the region second, for those of us that breed quality animals and go through the expense of testing and keeping a clean herd it is reasonable.

Caring for, kidding, bottle feeding, vaccinating, CAE, CL, Johnes testing, Cocci Prevention all adds up. Castration costs as well. The only reason you see wethers going for less is so people can minimize their expenses especially in a buck year. It also sometimes separates the chaff from the wheat so to speak. People that won't spend money on a goat generally won't take care of the goat.

Some regions there are so many goats you can get a top of the line goat for 300-400 other areas 600+.