Newbie with goat questions......

[momto5lilrascals2angels]

I have a chance to buy two Nigerian dwarf goats ( a 2 yr doe and a 2 yr old buck). The doe is registered but has never been bred. The buck is intact and has been disbudded but not properly so his 'spurs' need fixing or whatever the terminology is for that.
They are asking $200 for both. Does that sound like a fair price? We wanted to get goats for our kids to show in 4h. I was hoping to get something to where we could breed them and they could show mom and baby. Would it be rough on this doe since she is already two and has never been bred? If not I was thinking about trying to breed the two in October/November. Also what would be involved in fixing the botched disbudding?
I have one more question about housing. What do you house them in? Do they need a shed, fenced pasture etc? Or would a dog kennel/oversized dog house work? I would love to see pics if you have them of what you use for housing your goats if you only have a few. Thanks and sorry for all the questions.

 

[lilhill]

The doe is not to old to be bred and if she's healthy, shouldn't have any problems kidding.

$200 total for a registered Nigerian buck and doe is a steal around here.

Unfortunately, you will find that the best disbudding job on bucks can still result in scurs. Their testosterone just seems to push those scurs out. If they have grown pretty big, you can band them or have them surgically removed.

A draft free three sided wooden shed with metal roof is what we use for our bucks. We have four buck pens, and each pen has one that can accommodate a couple or three bucks each. An oversized dog house works, too, but it's harder keeping the inside clean, unless you like crawling in there to do it.

Our fencing is 5' 2x4" welded wire. We have coyotes here, so we needed a taller fence with hot wire run along the bottom outside to discourage any preditor from trying to crawl underneath. The buck pens also have the hot wire on the inside to keep them off the fence.

 

[momto5lilrascals2angels]

Thanks for the information. Does anyone have any trouble with predators, coyotes, dogs, foxes etc going after their goats? If so, how do you keep them away?

 

[lilhill]

Coyotes and dogs packing up are the only problems we have. For those, around here most farmers just SSS (Shoot, shovel and shut up).

 

[momto5lilrascals2angels]

Coyotes and dogs packing up are the only problems we have. For those, around here most farmers just SSS (Shoot, shovel and shut up).

So they aren't as vulnerable as say, chickens or ducks.

 

[helmstead]

The babies are vulnerable like chickens, much more so than adults, but all can fall prey.

 

[momto5lilrascals2angels]

Well we have 25+ chickens and two peacocks but we haven't had any problems with anything getting to them b/c we put them in at night. We don't have a barn so we don't have the typical housing for our animals. Right now we have our chickens/peafowl living in a very large dog kennel that is tarped on all sides and there is poultry type fencing on top with yet another tarp over that. So far we've never had any problems but I think that has to do with the fact that we have 6 outside dogs. However we are seriously contemplating getting the two goats(2+ yrs old) but wanted to know what type of housing would be good since we do not have a barn for them to go in. We just bought an aluminum shed that we were planning on making into a coop but I am considering using it for the goats instead. Any other suggestions?

 

[momto5lilrascals2angels]

Do you need a pedigree to register nigerian goats? There is someone who wanted to sell me 3 nigerians but they aren't registered. I asked her if she has their pedigrees and she said no. is there anyway to register the goats without having that?

 

[ksalvagno]

I would think the metal shed would work fine for the goats. You may have to reinforce it since they like to jump around and will literally jump off the walls. Make sure it has ventilation though if you do close them up at night in it.

As far as registering, I'm too new to goats but my suspicion would be that you can't register them. But I will defer to the experts for a final answer.