How We Do It....

First off I really want to stress that you should contact your local extension office and find a Veterinarian who knows goats and who you can establish a working relationship with.

We grow our own hay, it is a alfalfa mix. All goats have hay free choice.  Trace mineral/salt is available at all times, as well as clean fresh water daily.

Goats require shelter from wet weather and wind. A simple structure will work just fine, if it is sturdy and draft free. Be aware of the natural desire for a goat to climb and build your shelter to either be climbed on safely or build it so that they can not climb onto the roof at all (best choice).

We follow a strict vaccination and worming schedule here. Again please consult your veterinarian for the proper procedure to follow for your own animals.

My best advice is to find local breeders and arrange for a farm tour and ask plenty of questions! Goats are fantastic, loving creatures and can do more for you when you do things right for them.

Here are some things I have found useful over the years.

Bottle Baby Milk recipe:

2 parts Whole Milk

1 Part Half & Half 

Warm milk to 102° and feed 10-15% of babies body weight per 24 hrs. Babies need to be feed on a schedule. For the first two weeks I feed at 8am,12pm,4pm,8pm  then switch to feeding at 9am,3pm,9pm. Then in a few weeks going to 9am and 9pm, then the last two weeks I feed only once per day generally at night.  I start to add water to the milk the last full week and slowly wean them off the bottle. Ending at 12 weeks.

Bottle babies are a lot of work! It is much better to have the Dam raise them when at all possible. I do not like the powdered milk replacers nearly as well as the recipe above. I have never had a kid scour using this method.

Electrolyte solution

(this works in a pinch if you are caught without any electrolyte on hand)

1 Beef Boulion cube

1 packet of canning pectin

1 Tblsp. baking soda

1 Tblsp. low sodium salt

2 quarts water

(Bottled water if you have it, if not it is a good idea to boil the water for at least 10 minutes)