How to Care for Goats

Goats require constant care

Goats require a delicate balance of minerals, nutrients and manual care to keep them healthy and happy. They need daily tending and close monitoring to catch any problems. If you notice anything abnormal with your goats, contact a veterinarian. Caring for goats is difficult and there are many differences between sheep and goats. For example, sheep cannot tolerate the amount of copper that goats require in their diet

Things You'll Need

• Hay
• Alfalfa
• Raisins
• Oatmeal
• Metal bucket
• Mineral block designed for goats
• Salt block
• Grain (with 14 to 16 percent protein)
• Hoof trimmer
• Bo-Se supplements
• Copper supplements
• Wood shavings
• Draft-free housing (such as a barn)
• Hay feeder
• Cattle panel fence

Instructions

1. Prepare an area to house the goats. This can be a large yard, or just a small pen to hold the goats during the night while they roam during the day. Fence the area with cattle panel fencing, to protect the goats from mouth injuries or from ingesting harmful materials.

2. Provide an area for the goats to rest in at night. This area should be draft free, but it should also have a window to receive fresh air and a breeze in summer. Line the inside of the pen with wood shavings and change regularly. Ideally, you should change the shavings every day or every other day.

3. Feed each goat about five pounds of hay, or a mixture of hay and alfalfa, every day. Provide a water trough, or bucket filled with water, for drinking. Feed goats with a hay feeder hung just below the eye level of the goats. If the feeders are higher, goats will get eye infections from hay in their eyes.

4. Supplement the hay diet with grain and oatmeal. Give goats grain or oatmeal about once a week. Goats do not need much grain to stay healthy, but it does provide more protein than hay.

5. Provide goats with a treat about once a week. This can be raisins, vegetables, bread, animal crackers or leaves.

6. Keep a block of minerals and a block of salt in the pen with the goats at all times. The goats need these blocks to maintain their proper mineral and salt intakes.

7. Give the goats copper and Bo-Se supplements twice a month. These minerals are often too low in caged goats. Goats who are low in these minerals will start to loose hair, or their hair will loose color. Increase the supplements if this problem occurs.

8. Trim the goat's hooves every four to six weeks. Use the hoof-trimmer to shave the bottom part of the hoof away. Trim the hoof into a smooth, flat surface.

References

• Goats 4H: Caring for Goats
• Olson Acres: Goat Care