A goat shows up at my door, HELP.

OK we got an unexpected guest last night, A large male goat. I happened to have an area fenced off with a shelter in it. So I put him in it for the night and started looking around for someone looking for a goat. No luck.

Put out "Found Goat" flyers this morning, still no luck.

So I guess I need to know if I have to buy food? So far he has eaten: clover, peach branches, comfrey, Nasturtium, Gumi branches, grass, potato chips (he stole them), maple leaves, and blackberry leaves. Is there anything I need to keep it from eating???

The ram is dehorned, but may need a hoof trim.

I have raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys. BUT never any thing like goats, sheep or cows. Some quick advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cliff

P.S. Yes I'm searching these threads right now.

A basic introduction to goat care by Happy Hobbit


Here is a pretty extensive list about edible and poisonous plants for goats. I also found an article online specifically about plants toxic to goats.

I checked Fiasco Farm's website, and they appear to have a quite of lot of information about goats.

Ooh! Here's a pretty extensive goat care guide from the Internet. Goat World also seems to be a good resource.

Fiasco is pretty informative. Keep trying to find the owner, otherwise you'll need at least one more goat because they are social animals and don't do well without more of their own kind. It would actually be cruel to keep one goat. Nightshades are poisonous to them. Tomato, potato etc.

Do you live somewhere where someone might have dumped him because they couldn't figure out how to get rid of him? It happens here a lot with dogs and I know of once with a horse.
Is this goat intact? Keeping a full-sized intact goat is not for the faint of heart. You definitely need to get him a pal (not another intact male! a wether is probably best) if you are keeping him.
How do you feel about goat meat?

OK folks, the drama has ended and the goat has been returned (for now).

I was just pulling into our "Drive Through Feed" place and got a call from a lady who was house sitting her sisters place. The goat had escaped from her. Not only that, the sister was supposed to be babysitting the goat for a friend of hers!

We loaded up the goat and brought it to their place over a mile away! They were keeping it in the backyard surrounded by a three foot high fence. No wonder it left, no friends and a low fence, what could go wrong? LOL

Actually, it was a very nice goat. The only problem was he did not like to be alone, and somehow developed an attachment for me. he loved to hang around me wherever I went. He seemed to listen to males much better than females for some odd reason. Maybe he is like the rest of us males (LOL). When I went out to the feed store he decided to wait on the porch, and DW took a picture of him waiting for me on the porch.



I did learn that I will probably go with sheep if I put in a grazing system.

Thanks to all for the timely advice.

Good learning experience Clifford. If you do need some experienced goat advice in the future, you have my contact information.  Actually our family got started with goats back in 1950 when one showed up in a jersey dairy herd where we came for a trail ride and they did not know what to do with it so it started out as a horse companion until it had kids.  P.S. the male goat is called a buck, and their preferred perfume is not acceptable to human companions.