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PLEASE GET TWO. You could have more than two, but you should have at least two. Every goat needs a companion.
Having witnessed multiple testimonies regarding single-goat ownership I agree that some goats are capable of living alone. The question, however, is not if they are capable, but if they will thrive in your care.
Nature dictates, by the very essence of the beast, that a goat should be part of a herd. Your goat has a long ancestry of wandering plains, mountains, and deserts with at least a few of her own kind. A horse, cow, or ewe will make a fair companion animal, but to pair them up this way is to stray from thousands of years of instinctual programming. You are not ever likely to see see a goat partnered with a horse or cow, wandering together in the wild.
Animals that are designed by nature to live in a herd will experience stress when forced to live without their own kind. Internalized stress often manifests as illness, compromises immune systems, and lowers production. Stress will also affect longevity. Goats need goats.
Where to Find Your Goats
If a particular goat hasn’t already caught your eye and captured your heart, it’s time find the best stock that suits the goat shed you’ve created, the role you’d like them to fulfill, and your budget.
One of the best places to find local breeders with third party opinions is your feed supply store. The staff or owner of your local store know the people who purchase goat ration and medications. They should be genuinely happy to help you out; you are a potential new customer after all. Be sure to elicit their opinion on the breeder. You want to find the person in your area who has the best goats and is a knowledgeable and attentive owner.
Goat owners are fanatics. We love to talk about goats, our favorite breed, other people’s goats, and to help out new goat owners. Good owners are happy to give advice on all aspects of care at any hour of the day or night. Each one that you meet can open up an entirely new network of nearby breeders and goat husbandry associations.
While you are at the feed store getting a referral, check the bulletin board for advertisements. If you don’t see a goats-for-sale sign, be proactive and write up a quick “Goats Wanted” ad and post it to the board before you leave. On your way out the door, look for a farm newspaper or magazine distributed by, or available at, your feed store.
Your goats could be just one click away! Over the last few years, the Internet has grown enough to easily find nearby breeders or associations for every breed. Type your state or province, plus the breed you seek into a Google browser window. You should find hundreds of listings.
Goats need other goats. If one is a charming addition to your barn, just imagine how much fun two can be!
Five years ago I bought two prized horses as the result of an online search. I also made a new friend as a result. We e-mailed, passed photos back and forth, and haggled on the price, all without actually seeing the horses in person. After one visit to the farm, I knew I was dealing with a hands-on breeder who kept excellent care of her animals, and the deal was sealed. If I can buy horses (of a breed that are at risk of endangerment) online, you will surely find your goats there.
Other viable options are your local newspaper classifieds, livestock auctions, and county fairs.
At the fairs, you’ll find livestock shows where the owners are present. Ask about upcoming stock they might have for sale and exchange phone numbers or get a business card if they have one.
The auctions are another great place to network and learn if you’re the friendly type. On occasion, you may luck out and find a beautiful animal at a decent price. I once picked up a gorgeous doe with a buckling at her side at less than market rate. All the goat buyers kept their paddles down once they saw me place a bid. Later in the crowd, I heard a boy about ten years of age whisper to his mother that the money didn’t matter, his goats were going to a home and not a butcher. It seems they brought the pair to auction simply because they didn’t have time to wean, disbud, and castrate that little buckling.
Until you are experienced at picking out healthy stock and know all the potential dangers of bringing a sick or infested animal home, leave your pickup truck and livestock trailer at home. If you bring it to auction with you, you’ll be tempted to fill it up with animals that other owners are trying to move out. These animals, often just a step away from being culled at home, are not the best option for a new goat owner.
Most sellers that you meet are happy to arrange a private showing at their farm at a later date. Trade phone numbers and give them a call in a few days. Networking is a golden opportunity to make new friends who share your interest, and you might end up purchasing a special goat that a seller was apprehensive to sell to “just anyone.”
Viewing a goat on their own farm gives you the opportunity to observe housing arrangements, discuss registration, ancestry, and temperament, and view barn records for the goats you’re interested in.
There’s more to purchasing a goat than price and paperwork. Health, age, production (current and in ancestry), and temperament are all key considerations. Whether you’re buying purebred registered stock or crossbred goats, a responsible owner can quickly answer most of your questions regarding birth date, veterinarian visits, and ancestry. He will have documentation on last worming dates, blood tests, vaccines, and any medication used throughout his ownership of the animal. The barn will be clean or at the very least, not fragrant with ammonia.
The goat you consider should be easily handled and exhibit neither shyness nor aggressive tendencies. They will be as interested in you as you are in them. If a doe isn’t looking at you with shining eyes and an air of curiosity, move on to the next potential.
Know your breed. The body type should be a fair match to the breed you have chosen. Some goats have wide faces, some are without ears, others have height ranges they should have met by maturity. In all goats, look for a wide and strong back and chest, straight legs with trimmed hooves, and a clean shiny coat. Avoid any goat with a sway back, a pot belly, bad feet, or a defective mouth.
The only way you’ll develop an eye for healthy productive goats is to closely observe as many of them you can. Whether you subscribe to a goat magazine, spend time at county livestock judging, discuss conformation with local breeders, or surf the breeder sites online, you will soon build up enough of a breeder’s eye to distinguish the difference between a strong healthy animal and an unproductive under-performer.
Ask to see the dam and, if possible, the sire too. By all means get your hands on any goat you are considering. Perform the body condition scoring assessment that you learned in the previous chapter before investing your heart and finances. Look for signs of external parasitic infestation. (See Lice in the chapter on Goat Health.)
Viewing goats on their own property will give you a better idea of their personalities, their past care, and their ancestry.
Allow personality to play a role in your decision. You will be spending some time with your goats, so make sure you get along with each other. You can tell a lot about a goat’s personality when you handle them. If you can’t easily touch a goat for assessment before the point of sale, you won’t be able to manage that goat on your own property.
Steer clear of the extremes. Goats purchased for brush control or to grow for meat will still need to be caught and handled for routine care. If you come across an erratically active or painfully shy goat, you might want to take a pass until you have more experience with the nature of a goat and are up for a challenge. Gaining the trust of a seemingly wild or shy animal can be a great blessing, but it requires great skill and patience.
Goat Speak: More New Terms You Need to Know
On the day you buy your goat, you might hear some new terms.
• Registered Purebred—Comes with a traceable pedigree (much like a purebred dog comes with registration papers and a family tree).
• Advanced Registry—Pertaining to milk does. This goat has been noted and registered as supplying a decent volume of milk over the course of a year. Dependent on her current age and health, Advanced Registry does have a proven record of milk production.
• Star Milker—Pertaining to milk does. The star system is based on a one-day test by volume (see sidebar).
• Grades—A grade goat may or may not be a purebred animal. It is without papers and registration. If your goat meets certain requirements and you desire it, you might be able to register it as a “recorded grade” with the issuing authority in your area.
• American, Experimental, Native on Appearance (NOA)– These are also grade goats. Americans and Experimentals are the result of crossbreeding programs and are not purebred animals, but a NOA might be.
• Polled—A goat without horns. The goat may have been born that way or had the horns removed later in life.
The Grade Debate: Do You Need Papers?
Although registration offers some reassurance that the animal you’re buying is of notable heritage, it is not to be mistaken as a guarantee of production. A registered doe with an impressive ancestry may not be such an impressive milker. She could have problems producing enough milk to keep the barn cat interested, have trouble kidding, or both.
Goats are naturally inquisitive and friendly. When viewing goats to purchase, you will want to select one that seems as interested in you as you are of them.
Registration papers matter most to those who plan to show, breed, or otherwise profit from the animals. If your strategy of keeping goats is for personal use or meat, the added expense and paperwork (both now and in the future) might just be a waste of your resources.
Although my view isn’t popular, I contend that registration of a farm animal is similar to the registration of a purebred dog—an unnecessary expense for the average person. You can look at a purebred dog and know that it is purebred without seeing the paperwork and general assumptions of production, personality, and growth rate based can then be made. For personal or farm use a registered dog or goat is paperwork shoved in a desk drawer. unless you are planning on breeding, showing or selling registered animals.
Somewhere on your adventure of keeping farm animals you’ll discover your own comfort level or need for paperwork and registration. At the end of the day, no amount of registration and paperwork beats trusting in both the seller and your own ability to assess the age, health, and potential of an animal.
Any change in a goat’s surroundings and routine will cause stress. Know your goat’s current feed program (right down to the very hour) and bring a week’s supply of her previous ration and hay home with you. For a few days, don’t alter her old routine, then slowly switch her over to your farm’s hay, grain, and any supplements. This is true whenever you are making changes to a goat’s feed or routine, make the change gradually over the course of a few weeks.
The seller should supply you with the following:
• registration papers (if applicable)
• veterinarian contact information
• list of past medications and vaccinations
• feed (grain, ration, and hay) for the first transitional week
• hooves trimmed and horn buds removed (if applicable)
Although this doeling looks shy peeking out behind the tree, she is just playing coy. As long as she’ll let you catch and hold her at this age, you should have a good match for your farm.
These does look like purebred Oberhasli, and their output was good when you visited on the farm but they didn’t have registration papers. Would you buy them anyway?
Most sellers will worm the goat twenty-four hours before you pick her up. This ensures that she does not introduce more worms to your land. If the seller has not wormed her, do so a few days into quarantine on your own farm.
Kid goats can be transported in a pet carrier or dog kennel in the backseat of your car. I have seen people transport full-size goats in the backseat of the family car, but I wouldn’t do so unless the trip was twenty minutes or less and your route accommodated slow driving.
The back of a pickup truck with a cap is perfect for transporting goats if you don’t own a livestock trailer. Add three to four inches of straw, cover any metal loops or clasps in the box, and you’re set for the ride home. Take it easy on the turns, curves, and bends in the road.
You’ll probably want to stop and check on your new goat after every turn in the road. Twenty minutes into the ride, and I’m a bundle of nerves. After half an hour, I’m stopping to check. The goats we’ve transported have always been fine when I open the truck hatch, staring back at me as if to say, “What’s the holdup? Let’s get going.”
Kids can be wrapped in a towel and transported on your lap if they are small enough.
If you live more than ninety minutes away, I suggest borrowing a trailer or hiring a livestock hauler to transport the goat.
Once home, plan on quarantining all new goats for thirty days. During the first week she will be adjusting to new sounds and surroundings. The worming medication will have worked its way through her system, and she will start settling in.
During chore time, the quarantined goat should be attended to last. You’ll be entering her stall with your other goats’ scents, and you won’t be potentially transferring any germs to your existing herd.
Pick up some disposable painter’s slippers from your hardware store and slip on a new pair every time you enter the quarantine area. I started doing this when I was visiting chicken farms to ensure I didn’t bring diseases home with me, then adopted it as a habit when bringing new animals in as well. Disease is often spread by feces and bodily fluids.
Call the vet in for a checkup, booster vaccinations or blood work. If you can schedule your new acquisition’s arrival with other veterinarian work needed, you’ll save the cost of a farm visit.
Ensure all test results are back and cleared from the veterinarian before you release the goat on your property or into an existing herd. By the time the quarantine is over, you will have spent ample one-on-one time together and your goat will be bonded to both you and your property.
Star Milker System Explained
The star milker system is a series of calculations on the three factors of milk production: quantity, duration, and quality. If a doe earns eighteen points at the end of the calculation, she’ll receive one star. If her dam or grand-dam also had a star, she can earn two more and be labeled as a three-star milker. A lofty and valuable title indeed!
Point Calculation:
Factor 1: Total pounds of milk produced in one twenty-four-hour period (1 point per pound).
Factor 2: Total number of days in lactation (.1 percent for every ten days). To a maximum of three points.
Factor 3: Butterfat content (percent x points/pounds, divided by .05)
As an example:
Factor 1: Your doe gives 6.0 pounds in morning and 7.5 pounds in the evening. She earns 13.5 points.
Factor 2: She’s been lactating for the last 42 days. 42 x .01 earns her .42 points.
Factor 3: Her butterfat percentage was 3.8. She would gain 10.26 points based on this equation: 3.8 x 13.5 = .513 divided by .05 = 10.26
Factor 1 + Factor 2 + Factor 3 = 24.18
In the example above she will have earned one star.
Once a star has been earned a doe can inherit more from her ancestry. (e.g., a doe has earned her own star and her dam and grand-dam had been registered star milkers, then that doe would be considered a three-star milker.)
