I am getting the impression the goats are very stressful to care for

[breezy B ranch]

i'm pretty new and I don't think goats are hard, I think its just scary when your new and have a lot of conflicting information coming at you as to what you should do for them. Once you stick with info from only a couple sources, and see your goats thriving you realize its not that bad.

 

[lilhill]

So sorry you lost your little one. I agree that it was not your fault. Starting out with healthy animals is the first step, and it is a wonderful journey from then on. Routine maintenance and lots of love. I wouldn't trade my life raising these clowns for anything.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I didn't read everyones posts, but I am just going to say hands down sheep are easier to raise. I suggested to my huband about 5 years ago that we sell the goats and raise sheep. He hates sheep, so we still have goats. He doesn't like lambs personalities.

 

[secuono]

Should of gotten that lamb!
I hardly notice mine...no problems at all from them.

 

[ksalvagno]

I'm sorry you lost her. Find your other little one a healthy friend and it will make all the difference in the world. It doesn't matter what the livestock is, if you are trying to take care of a sick animal, it makes it much harder. I give you a lot of credit for trying and caring.

 

[manybirds]

keep it up they really arn't that bad. its bottle babies that get the hardest. we never have any horrible problems with the goats, infact i find chickens much less hardy and more stressful. I'm very sorry u lost her i know it can be hard. sometimes they just die, maybe we know why maybe we didn't.it happens and i know its hard but we've gotta move on.

 

[heatherlynnky]

Thanks all, I am gun shy now but I have a very lonely 4 week old in the pen. I spent most of the day with her. She needed my company and I needed her affection. I know this sounds stupid and I have already been told its just a goat BUT I am having a very hard time dealing with her dying. My husband is worried about me owning goats since I got attatched to the baby so quickly and deeply. For now me and Mrs Holly are on our own. Just for a little while.

 

[fairview610]

so sorry for your loss! It does not sound stupid I am the same way when I lose one. Just breaks my heart because to me they are more than goats, they are my babies.

 

[redtailgal]

Heather......

I get EXACTLY where you are coming from.

Let me tell you about my intro to goats, lol.

I've always had cattle and horses, no problem. Then I decided I wanted goats. I did some research and a former friend told me that she had three orphans I could have, so I went to look.

I found three very skinny babies, and they were all three attempting to nurse their bloated dead mother. She'd been dead for over 24 hours and had just been left in there with them. She was COVERED in lice, and was WAY too thin.

I am a sucker and couldnt leave them there to starve to death while nursing a dead udder, so I brought them home, naming them Spider, Shadow and Piglet. Within a week or two, a dog got in a killed Shadow. Piglet was so traumatized that he got SEVERE bloat and died that night, leaving me with only Spider.

Two dead goats.

Spider never really thrived. He was lethargic and just not a good eater. Meanwhile, while I was working with him, my "friends" ENTIRE herd was dropping dead, one by one, necropsy revealed a SERIOUS copper deficiency and ALL of the goats were emaciated.

SInce Spider was now an only goat, I went and got Hoover, a beautiful nubian wether, so Spider could have a friend.

Eventually, Spiders health got so bad that I had to put him down. He died peacefully in my arms, again leaving me with one lonely goat.

Three dead goats.

I became INCREDIBLY attached to Hoover.

So I got Socrates and Plato to keep Hoover comfortable. Then Hoover got a respiratory infection. The vet came out and we treated with Pen-G. On my birthday of last year, Hoover was to get his LAST injection of that Pen-G. I ALMOST didnt give it to him, as he seemed fine, but I am a stickler for finishing the entire course of antibiotics, so I ventured out to the barn to give my baby boy his last pen-g shot. He reacted to it, and died a horrid horrid death.

Four dead goats.

I felt like a failure. I was very traumatized by the death that Hoover had, and my heart was shattered at losing my beautiful boy. That lil goat! He was so sweet, would wag his little tail when he saw me, and call to me, follow me everywhere........he was my boy and I LOVED that goat. I was shattered and frustrated and terrified that I was going to kill Socrates and Plato.

I'm normally pretty tough emotionally, but I really wigged out when Hoover died. I put Socrates and Plato up for sale, but my bull headed husband refused to sell them, so I refused to have anything to do with them for over a month. I wouldnt even go to the barn. Then one day, I HAD to go down there. I threw up when I walked past the place where Hoover died.

It's been over a year, but there is a little place in the wall that is marked from where his hooves hit it when he was having his death seizures.....it still wracks my gut to see that little spot.

Anyway, after I threw up, I sat down in the barn floor and bawled for my Hoover boy.........and Socrates and Plato came over to check on me. Socrates figured out that my tears were salty and that he LIKED salty things, so he kept licking my face............and I fell in love with another goat. I quickly realized that a goat can make me smile even at my worst.

He's not my Hoover, but he is my Socrates, lol.

In the end, I ended up getting MORE goats. I added two does to the "herd" and have every intention of breeding them next year.

Like you, I had a rotten rotten start, but I learned from it. A sick goat can make you cry, but a well goat will make you laugh. Goats can break your heart into a million pieces, but a goat can mend a broken heart in an instant.

I understand being gun-shy. Even after a year, I am terrified to give Pen-G.........even though I have finally come to terms that Hoover's death was not my fault, but just one of those unfortunate events that reaches out and slaps us all in the face from time to time.

I also understand that its those of us who care this much that make great goat owners. I buried my first four goats.......within months of each other, but things turned around and I have four healthy goats. I take good care of my goats and they show their appreciation with beautiful slobbery goat kisses. I did all I could for the first four..........like you, I am a GOOD goat owner. Now, I am reaping the rewards and I love my goats.

Hon...........its time for you to do the same. Cowgirl up, hike up your big girl panties and get another goat. Sure, a goat is what broke your heart, but its a goat that will mend it.

 

[boykin2010]

Ok so who else is getting this impression. Cows I've done, pretty easy. Horses I've done, still pretty easy. Chickens, ducks, geese.....so easy its pathetic. Dogs, cats, and even exotic birds. Easy easy easy. Goats, not easy, not easy at all and it sounds like no one else is finding it so either. My children wanted a lamb for a 4h project and I said no. They are too hard to keep alive. I said goats instead because they are hearty. I had sickly silkies and fall baby wyandotts. Do you know how sickly fall chicks can be and still it was not this stressful. The fact that their cries and moans are baby like does not help the situation.

Why do you think sheep are hard to keep alive? I think the opposite really. Every time I go somewhere people find out I have sheep and go on and on about how hard they are to raise and how they are just looking for ways to die ( even though they never owned sheep.) Sheep are one of the easiest animals on my entire farm. They are my pride and joy. I do not worm my sheep ( they are naturally parasite resistant) and they are the sweetest animals ever. I have hair sheep so I do not need to shear them. All I do is give them grain while they are pregnant and lactating. I have a 4 wire electric fence and have never had a sheep escape out of it. ( Try that with goats and they will be out of there in a minute.) I am not saying goats are any harder to raise because I love goats too but I do know sheep are NOT hard. My best memories ever are my bottle babies. Every year I go and buy a bottle baby. They make the best pets ever and come when called. They love to be in your lap and be loved. Please reconsider sheep if you are wanting to find your baby a friend. This year I have sold 3 different people in my area sheep because they got rid of all their goats. They could not keep them alive because of the parasites in my area. Sheep do not have to be wormed if you get them from good stock