Goat Care
Caring for your goats
Goats make wonderful companions, but like any animal, they require proper care. Here you’ll find an overview of their needs so you can be confident your goats will thrive.
If you believe a goat is unwell check its vitals that way you can determine if you need to call the vet.
The Cornell University has a great write up on how to check vitals.
Have a quiet are set up so you can contain an unwell goat. This especially comes in handy if an unwell goat needs to be quarantined.
Record the vital signs and symptoms so you have it on hand to tell your vet.
Goat playground
Facts by Nikki Bird from Malurus Miniature and Pygmy Goats
For young and old
Goats are very active and intelligent animals. They are curious and sometimes mischievous animals so an easy way to bust their boredom is to make them a playground.
From a plank of wood on the ground or custom built structure your herd will love it.
Our aim
Our herd loves climbing and getting to the highest spot. They also love jumping and and stretching up to reach branches on the back legs.
They laze in the sun and go into their various shelters to get out of the wind and rain.
Providing a safe playground offers your goats enrichment and keeps them happy.
We have a few different areas for our goats, tyres for jumping stacked on top, a sandstone (sourced from our property in Bothwell) play area, A childs plastic cubby house, one of their houses is built from pallets and its low enough for them to jump up onto the roof an lounge on it.
Our Back hoe tyre stacks have a pallet on top (securely fastened) so they have a place to lay. We also have half cut water tanks (sharp edges rounded off) for shelter and for goats to jump up on.
Market place is a great place to find inexpensive items to put in for your goats example trampolines (for jumping on and shade underneath), wooden cable spools (sometimes available from electrical suppliers, pallets (shelters and platforms), tyres. Timber sleepers can be used for ramps, bridges between platforms, timber off cuts can be used to make wobble boards and seesaws. Tree stumps or logs. Large rocks can help wear their hooves down.
Safety is paramount for your goats slippery surfaces can have cleats added or be covered in artificial turf. Gaps and holes can trap hooves, legs or heads.
Thoroughly clean any items you may pick up from a garage sale, tip or roadside before adding to the paddock.
Using ply is great for covering holes and its a good idea to male sure things are fixed to the ground.
Setting up your property for goats
Facts by Natasha Groeneveld Springhill Farm
There are three key elements to setting up your property for miniature goats, preparation in advance of introducing your animals will mean less headaches once they arrive. Goat proof fencing is a must and appropriate shelter and easy access to water.
Our aim
Fencing is the most important thing you will need in place before bringing your new goats home.
Secure fencing is vital and we have ours around 1-1.2 metres high and we have used heavy duty wire netting on all our goat paddocks, we have also used dog mesh.
We will be updating our boundary with hingelock fencing. We also use electric fencing on our buck paddocks during the breeding season.
Miniature goats are more likely to try to go under the fence then over so we wire our fence to a strained bottom wire and routinely check for gaps.
Building good fences from the beginning will ensure the goats will stay in, because they will test it and if they learn they can get out they will keep testing it.
Shelter is important for keeping your goats safe and out of bad weather. There should be ample room in your shelters to allow room for space between goats. We have found they like their space. It also ensures they have enough space to lie down comfortably.
If you live in a high rainfall area you will need to provide a shelter that can provide everything if they need to live inside it for a few days as they are unlikely to venture out to eat and drink. Feed stations inside will stop your hay getting wet and allow them to eat while staying dry.
A good shelter should be well ventilated with openings to allow fresh air to circulate but also shouldn't be drafty.
We use straw bedding and have a variety of shelters, Half tanks, full tank, pallet houses, old cubby houses, chook sheds (thoroughly cleaned), purpose built kidding stalls.
Goats need at least a 3 sided shelter, Generally a 2m x 2m space will work between 2-4 miniature goats. Overall a good shelter helps ensure the health and wellbeing of your goats.
Goats consume a lot of water. Setting up water access in each paddock is a good idea. You can use horse troughs, automatic water systems or buckets. 24/7 access is a must.
So you want to take me home
Facts by Fe Everett from Zodiac Mini Goats
Buying baby goats - its a 10-15 year commitment
Just like puppies, baby goats are unbelievably cute! And just like puppies they grow up into adults- miniature goats grow to around the same size as a medium dog breed.
Goats generally are hardy animals and live 10-15 years but also like dogs they can live longer so its good to understand this is a long term commitment from the get go.
Our aim
There are legislations around buying goats.
Before buying goats (livestock) and having them on your property you need to have a PIC Number this is a Property Identification Code. A PIC allows tracking of all movements of livestock in Australia. Anyone can apply for a PIC number and it takes a couple weeks to come through. biosecurity.tas.gov.au
In more built up areas you may be required to gain local Council approval. Some Councils have a minimum land size for housing goats.
You will need a good setup, enough space and secure fencing.
Goats are livestock suitable for acreage lifestyle. Of course goats are pretty famous as escape artists if there is a weakness in their boundary they will find it. We have never had a goat jump (fingers crossed that doesn't happen).
For the first 6 months or so kids will need to housed somewhere safe overnight.
Wethers are desexed males and by far make the best pets. A lot of people ask for does but once breeding age does will cycle or ovulate every 18-21 days this can present in many ways tail flagging, rubbing against the fence, and often very noisy.
Intact males (bucks) are not suitable for pets and ideally are only kept by breeders.
Goats need a goat friend or two while they get along with pretty much human and animal goats are a herd animal and need at least one goat friend to live with. We will only sell baby goats as pairs.
Start your own herd
Unfortunately for me as much as I would love to we can’t keep them all, this opens up the opportunity for you and your family to purchase one of our beautiful goats, please be aware they are addictive in the best way.
Please fill out the EOI form and we will be in contact.
Gallery
Resources
If you'd like to read more about how caring for goats, please check out the resources below.
