Is having only 1 Goat a bad idea? Will she get lonely? Nigerian Dwarf

[ABHanna4d]

We live in the city and have a large back yard about 115'x75'. We have 4 chickens and 1 dog (tremendously friendly lab). We have been trying to get a goat for about 6 months and finally have all the signatures we need to be allowed a goat in the city, but today I just heard that if I only get 1 goat then it will be tremendously lonely and will cry all the time. That they are naturally herders and cannot be without another one of thier kind.
How true is this?
Will the goat bond with me and my family and the dog and chickens and accept us as its family or will it get lonely and cry. We are pretty much always home and definately consider all of our pets "apart of the family" and give them all alot of attention. I have 2 small children that are in love with animals and I know they will play with the little goat all day.
We are wanting a Nigerian Dwarf Goat so it will not get too big to be a nusance to the neighbors (since we live in the city) but still be a productive animal. We are also having a terrible time with poison ivy and have spent hundreds of dollars on treating it but it still comes back and we heard a goat (even a miniature goat) will conquer the poison ivy (and everyhting else back there too for that matter).
I just need some advice on if this would be a bad idea or if we should give it a try.
The breeder said she would do a "loan situation" so if it doesnt work out then she will take the nannie back and refund part of our money. She also encouraged us first to try and petition the city to let us have 2 since they only get to be about 17" tall and definately smaller than the average size dog...but that is a whole other battle and the city ordinances are never easy to get around.
Thank you
Abby

 

[ksalvagno]

The goat will get lonely. They really do need at least one buddy of their own kind. If you aren't around, that single goat will constantly call for you and the neighbors will probably be annoyed. At night the goats like to snuggle up together to sleep. At least mine do and I have Nigerians. Also if you are wanting milk, probably getting milk from 2 Nigerians for your family will work out better than one.

The goat will bond to you and your family but they are always happiest with another goat. Even with a second goat, they will like your attention.

 

[ABHanna4d]

The goat will get lonely. They really do need at least one buddy of their own kind. If you aren't around, that single goat will constantly call for you and the neighbors will probably be annoyed. At night the goats like to snuggle up together to sleep. At least mine do and I have Nigerians. Also if you are wanting milk, probably getting milk from 2 Nigerians for your family will work out better than one.

The goat will bond to you and your family but they are always happiest with another goat. Even with a second goat, they will like your attention.

Thank you
Do you suggest I try to petition the city to allow me to have 2 or would 2 goats and 4 chickens get to be a REAL neighborhood annoyance. The breeder who Im wanting to get her from said that 2 goats would be alot less of an annoyance than 2 dogs. We have dogs in the yards all around us (one of which has 2 bull mastives...very kind but huge!) and the neighbors are all supportive of the idea of a goat, but I dont want them to change their minds after we get them (and spend all the money on the goats, permits, supplies, etc).
Since you have Nigerians do you think that 2 would be relatively unnoticeable?
Any other advice you have Id love too

 

[ksalvagno]

My lab mixes are larger than the goats. So as far as size, they should be fine. Goats will be goats though, they do make noise. My goats are very loud in the morning when they want to be fed. If they see me and want attention, they will also make noise. But if they don't see me and have been fed, then they are pretty quiet. It is so hard to say with having close neighbors if it will get annoying or not. It depends on the individual goats.

Some people say that Nigerian Dwarfs and Nubians are the most noisy but I have never had anything else so I have no idea if it is true or not. Also some of my Nigerians are noisier than others.

I would spend time at the goat farm where you want to buy your goats and really pay attention to how loud they are and how often they are noisy. Figure that they will do the same thing at your place. Then you can decide if the noise will be too much or not.

Also, as with any livestock, there will eventually be an odor. I go out to my barn and I love the smell in my barn but it is away from the house and neighbors aren't close. If the goats are out your back door and the wind blows the right way and your windows are open, you are going to smell them.

Do you have adequate storage for hay. You will need to find out how much hay they will need for a year and be able to store it. Some people can buy hay as they need it but around me, if you find good quality hay, you better buy all you need right then. I buy a year's worth of hay at one time.

What will you do with any manure and straw/hay. Can you have a compost area somewhere that won't stink up the neighborhood? They will need a bedding of straw in their shelter and they will poop and pee in it. It will have to be changed on a regular basis and you will need to be able to put it somewhere. Believe me, the smell of that can get bad just sitting around in a big pile.

Just some things to think about.

By the way,

 

[ABHanna4d]

My lab mixes are larger than the goats. So as far as size, they should be fine. Goats will be goats though, they do make noise. My goats are very loud in the morning when they want to be fed. If they see me and want attention, they will also make noise. But if they don't see me and have been fed, then they are pretty quiet. It is so hard to say with having close neighbors if it will get annoying or not. It depends on the individual goats.

Some people say that Nigerian Dwarfs and Nubians are the most noisy but I have never had anything else so I have no idea if it is true or not. Also some of my Nigerians are noisier than others.

I would spend time at the goat farm where you want to buy your goats and really pay attention to how loud they are and how often they are noisy. Figure that they will do the same thing at your place. Then you can decide if the noise will be too much or not.

Also, as with any livestock, there will eventually be an odor. I go out to my barn and I love the smell in my barn but it is away from the house and neighbors aren't close. If the goats are out your back door and the wind blows the right way and your windows are open, you are going to smell them.

Do you have adequate storage for hay. You will need to find out how much hay they will need for a year and be able to store it. Some people can buy hay as they need it but around me, if you find good quality hay, you better buy all you need right then. I buy a year's worth of hay at one time.

What will you do with any manure and straw/hay. Can you have a compost area somewhere that won't stink up the neighborhood? They will need a bedding of straw in their shelter and they will poop and pee in it. It will have to be changed on a regular basis and you will need to be able to put it somewhere. Believe me, the smell of that can get bad just sitting around in a big pile.

Just some things to think about.

By the way,

Thank you for the welcome! I am very excitted to get a goat but REALLY want to completely think it through.

We do have a small feed store right around the corner from us (less than a mile away) that carries everything we need for goats and chickens year round. They have straw on a consistent basis, but the hay is more sporatic and can be every other month or so, but at least we wouldnt have to stock up for a full year and they said they would hold some for us if we call ahead. (They are GREAT I love them being so close!)

As far as the smell and waste issue. We have a "compost area" that we rotate regularly (a 4 pile rotation about 25' x 25' area) and if it gets to be too smelly we have some friends that have a lot of acreage that said we can come dump whatever we need to anywhere on thier property but they would love to incorporate it into thier compost. So if we do have a buildup problem at least we have options to quickly get rid of it all.

My only problem and hurdle at this point is the city ordinances and I just dont know if they are going to be flexible at all. And since they can do whatever they want I have a feeling they are going to be really difficult, but at least I can say I tried! And until we can afford to move out to the country and have a lot of property Im gonna do my best with what I have...and hopefully that can include a goat or two

Assuming I can get 2...(cause I probably wont get just one if she would be terrbly lonely)
How much feed (Purina Goat Chow) on average will they eat a day/month?
How many bales of straw/hay on average will they eat a day/month?
Do they need suppliments of any kind?
Do they need vaccinations or medications?

Do you have any other things that I should think through and consider that a city girl like me would probably never think about!

 

[ksalvagno]

Everyone has their own idea on how much bagged feed to feed. I feed my Nigerians a cup a day (measuring cup) of feed. I do have some pregnant girls that I will up their feed as they get closer to their due date. You always want to increase feed slowly or introduce new foods slowly.

I have to admit that I'm not really keep track of how much hay I use but if you are using small square bales of hay, the hay kind of comes apart in flakes or smaller sections. I give 6 Nigerian Dwarfs 5 flakes of hay per day and they pretty much eat it all. Now it also depends on how big those flakes are. If they come off in a large amount, then they wouldn't need as many flakes.

Goats need a good quality goat mineral. I am using Sweetlix mineral. I was using Purina Goat Mineral but found that in the cold weather my goats refused to eat it and there was a greater amount of salt in it than Sweetlix. They love the Sweetlix and are eating it well.

Naturally fresh clean water is a must.

Usually people give an annual vaccine of CDT. If you are in a selenium deficient part of the country, you may give them a shot of BoSe once or twice a year. It would be best to talk to a vet or the goat breeder in your area on what vaccines are routinely done in your area because it differs in different parts of the country.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm would be a great site to really read up on things

I think the other thing you need to think about is if you want milk, then you have to have kids every year. So will the goat breeder you are working with allow you to use their bucks every year and will you be able to sell the kids quickly. You will have to decide what to do with the kids that you will have every year.

It really is great that you are researching and thinking this through. That is half the battle.

 

[savingdogs]

I'm new to goats and don't have any advice to add better than the last post by ksalvagno, I'd be worried (judging by my last "city" neighborhood) about the local dogs being able to get into my yard and hurt my chickens and goats. We had a real problem with people letting their dogs stray. And one goat alone would be very scared in those situations. I have dogs here and when my three see a dog through the fence, they just want to huddle together for protection.

 

[ABHanna4d]

We've decided that if we cant get 2 we wont just get 1. So its either 2 precious little nannies or nothing. Our neighbors are all really getting excitted (which is extremely encouraging to me) I thought they wouldnt be very supportive but they sure are
Anyway, we are heading out to the breeder to meet them tonight and I know after I meet them I will just want them terribly bad!

 

[ksalvagno]

Good luck on your goat quest and hopefully the city will be ok with 2.

 

[jlbpooh]

I have 2 Nigis too, and in the little more than four months that I have had them, I have only gone through 5 1/2 bales of hay and not quite a bag and a half of feed. I only give mine an average of about 3/4 cup of feed each a day split between 2 feedings. On the days that it is going to be really cold, I actually skip the evening feed so fill up on hay to stay nice and warm all night. They are wonderful little creatures, we love them very much. Mine do not make any noise at all unless they see me coming, or if I am walking away from them. They LOVE attention and will "ask" me to come spend time with them.