New Goat Owner Experience

I've been lurking on this board for nearly a decade, and this is my first post. More than anything, I want to introduce myself and what I'm doing, so that when I participate in future discussions, you all have a bit of perspective on where I'm coming from.

I've always been an animal person and have wanted goats for a long time. I decided to pull the trigger this fall. I recently purchased a bandsaw mill. I have lots of good timber on our property, but the buckbrush and honeysuckle and rose and grapevines are so thick, there's no way I could get a log out without an skidsteer mulcher, which is way out of my budget for the foreseeable future. Goats seemed like they might do the trick. So far, they have!

I purchased six nannies and a billy. The nannies are sort of kiko / spanish mutts; the buck is a registered kiko. I'm not too hung up on having registered animals, but I figured the buck is a big investment, registered or not, and if I decide keeping goats isn't for me, I think it might be easier to find a new home for a registered animal.

So far, things have been going really well. They clean out all the brush really well. I've been averaging about a quarter acre per week. I use Gallagher Smartfence with a solar charger. It's pricey, but its by far the easiest thing to navigate in the woods. I lucked out in getting pretty tame goats. They could easily jump over the fence, but they mostly stay put. Every once in a while I find one on the wrong side, but I figure, they're herd animals, and as long as most of them stay in the fence, one or two getting out won't go very far.

I'm kind of nervous about health care. I'd rather not pay vet bills, since a single trip might be more than the goat is worth. But I also want to treat them humanely and protect the investment I've already made. So far, they appear to be in good overall shape. One looks to be have a bit of mange issues on her face, ears and the back of her neck. I've been treating her with permethrin once a week for a couple of weeks. So far, I haven't noticed much improvement. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear. Two others seem a bit wormy, with loose stools (I wouldn't quite call it diarrhea) and pale eyelids and gums. I've treated them with morantel. I'm really hoping that rotating them once a week will help them out eventually.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to participating more in this forum!

Hi Karel;
Welcome to Permies!
We are super glad you have finally come out of the closet and made your first post!

I know nothing about goats or sheep but it sounds like you have a good start on goat management!
I raise piggys each year.  I have almost always had good healthy animals.
One year I had a pig start acting off.  I researched online and ended up giving her an antibiotic shot.
She was cured in one day.  
Unfortunately, after you give an antibiotic shot you can not butcher for 30 days.
Her piggy buddies went off to meet the butcher and she had to stay alone for over a month!
Let me tell that was not fun! Without her buddies, I became a part of her herd...
A #450 piggy can flatten a fence when she wants to come to hang out with her herd!

We do have goat people here maybe one of them could help guide you about goat health issues.

Oh and one last thing...
Do you know about Rocket Mass Heaters?
The best heating system EVER and they are taking the country by storm!   (I might be a bit biased there...)
Pop on over to the RMH forum and read all about them!

Howdy!
I don't know a lot about goats, we had three (2 Miniature Fainting does and a Meat goat buck) many years ago before I discovered that I just didn't like goat milk or meat. Since we have a rule of not having any livestock that don't have multiple uses, the goats found new homes.

I have some minor experience, and can recommend a few books and some advice - find a vet you like that's willing to do telephone consultations, make sure you train your goats to be able to transport quickly and easily in what you have available for them (they do eat the most outrageous things), and that you have a medical kit as well as a good general care and grooming kit.

Trimming hooves, brushing, getting my girls used to the milking stand, and general stuff like that was the extent of my handling and I haven't studied anything goat-ish in recent years. I will head for my library to see what books I can suggest.

I wish you luck with you digestively upset goats. I would probably double check the plants in that area and make sure they aren't getting into anything that might be upsetting to them. They are great critters for clearing land and have tremendous constitutions, but they will eat everything. Poisoning from something growing there is a problem and might cause the kind of tummy trouble you've noticed. I'm more concerned about the goats with pale tissue and tummy problems than I am with the mange.  

If you have a microscope or powerful magnifying glass, taking a skin scraping of the "mange" might help with diagnosis and treatment of that. If it's a mite, then the permethrin *might* work. Ivermectin is better for that, but you might be able to find something that fits your philosophy and needs better. It it's not mite related, you can change treatments to something that would work.

Again, telephone consultation with a local vet is an alternative to an office visit or a farm visit. Finding someone who will work with you is important now. If you have an emergency, getting in touch with someone who can walk you through basic care before they get there, or your larger local goat community assistance might be important. Networking can help, too.

Bets of luck and welcome to the posting at Permies!