...or stall, or house, or whatever you choose to call it needs to meet some minimum standards to make sure your goats will be safe and you will be a happy goat owner. My goat barn is a converted one car garage, but I've seen goats in old horse stalls, large dog houses, and modified pre-purchased garden sheds. First and foremost, goats can be, how shall I put this. . . mischievous.  Some goats can jump extordinary heights for their size. Some can wriggle through unimaginarily small spaces. Some will do just about anything to get into your garden and eat those new little lettuce sprouts that you have lovingly coaxed into existance. And, some goats are perfectly happy on their side of the fence and will never cause an issue. When you are setting up your goat facility, you need to keep a few things in mind.

-Bringing Your Goat Kids Home: Remember that when you first bring your goats home, they will be in a completely new space with new smells, tastes, looks, etc. It will take them a little while to get settled in (sometimes it is a few hours, sometimes it is a few days). You should plan on getting them home and into their enclosed 'housing' - whatever that looks like for you. This should be a fairly small space (their stall or shed, for example), with access to hay, grain, and water. Give them some time to familiarize themselves with this space. Sit with them quietly and talk to them so they can get used to you and their new home. Eventually, though, you need to leave them be - let them get settled for a few hours without people hovering. I know you (and maybe your human kiddos) will be super excited to have these new animals, but their introduction to your space can dictate how they will be over the next several weeks to months - try to keep it low key.

-Fencing and Outside Space: I genuinely hope that your goats will have access to outside space - this is really essential to long-term health of your goats! However, I do not recommend bringing them home and putting them right into a big fenced in area. It may seem big and overwhelming and can cause some stress for your goat. There is a lot of information out there about the best fencing for goats and I recommend you do some additional reading/research to see what will work best for your home. I have mobile electric netting fence because I move my goats around the property to give them access to a variety of forage (and to help keep my steep hillsides cleared so I do not have to weed-wack it). I have solar fence chargers that move about with them to keep the netting electrified. I  put them out to forage during the day and I bring them in every night and shut them into the barn where I know they are safe. Keep in mind that when you bring your goat kid home at first, they will be small. They usually weigh 20-25 pounds and can easily make it through the spacing in fences that are rated for goats - that is because the fencing is rated for adult goats. My goat kids will have been exposed to electrified netting fence, but I use a poultry fence while the goat kids are here because they cannot fit through the spaces.

All kids are up to date on their CD/T vaccine when they leave the farm at 8 weeks old. Goat Mommas are given their annual CD/T vaccine about a month before they have their kids. Kids are then vaccinated between 5 and 6 weeks old and should be given a booster vaccination 3-4 weeks later. Then they will need an annual booster. I use BarVac CD-T, which I purchase at my local Tractor Supply Store. Goats are given 2 ml regardless of age or size. The vaccine is administered subcutaneously (SubQ) using a small gauge needle. There may be a bump at the site of injection – this is not a problem – sometimes it goes away and sometimes they have it for years.

I give my goats a selenium booster prior to kidding. I live in a selenium poor part of the country and this vaccine can greatly improve kid health. I get BoSe, a particular brand of selenium vaccine, from my vet. I also keep a selenium and Vitamin E gel on hand to give to kids if they seem a bit floppy or weak within the first couple of days of life.

Goats need both selenium and copper in their diets, but can be poisoned by both. You should contact your local state university extension agent about selenium presence in your area and to ask if you should give your goats a selenium supplement. Copper is present in most grains labeled as 'goat' grain, however, I also give my goats free choice salt/mineral mix. I recenty switched to a goat specific mineral from Redmond and am combining in with their goat Conditioner, a volvanic mineral clay. I have tried a number of goat-specific minerals in the past, but have found my goats still come up short on copper (some of my girls have the quintessential 'fish tail' symptom of copper deficiency almost year round). I am following recommended mixing rates for the goat salt and conditioner. My girls also have dull coats sometimes during the year - particularly late winter and early spring around kidding time. I will be looking into a selenium supplment for that season! 

Both the salt and baking soda should be available to your goats pretty much all the time. I use a plastic feeding bin made by Little Giant - it is attached to the wall at a level that the goats can get to it when in their pens.

When I have given my goats an addition copper supplement, it is in the form of a copper bolus - these can be given by balling gun, or opened and springled on grain to individuals.

I am not affiliated with Redmond, nor do I receive payment for promoting this brand. I have found that these products work well for my animals on my farm and encourage you to do your own research to find what will work best for your animals.

Your goats should have second crop hay. Second crop tends to be a finer hay with a higher clover (and therefore, protein) content. My goats will eat first crop hay, but they don't love it. I often will offer first crop hay to my herd when they are in their pens at night if they have been out foraging on rich grass and browse all day. However, they get second crop most of the time and DEFINITELY all winter while they have no browsing opportunities. Any chance for goats to get out and forage on their own is really great! I use portable electric netting fence and a solar fence charger to move my goats about my property throughout the green months in northern NH. If you choose to do this at your home/farm, you will want to find out what potentially harmful plants/trees/shrubs might exist in your area - there are some plants that are harmful to goats if ingested.

I’ve used portable fencing products from Premier 1Supplies. Their website and products are first rate and their customer service is fantastic! They are a good company to go with if you are using portable fencing and solar chargers for the first time because they are willing to work with you over the phone to get your products set up and running correctly. They also have great online resources (videos, pamphlets, and how to’s).

Your goats should have access to fresh, clean water ALL THE TIME!!!

I milk my goats, so I give them a grain ration. I have  used Green Mountain Feed - Organic Grain in the past, but starting in the summer of 2022, I switched over the Poulin grain because the Organic options went out of my price range. I use the 16% dairy pellet from Poulin. When my girls are in milk, I give them about ¾ cup grain, ½ cup alfalfa pellets, and 1/3 cup whole black oil sunflower seeds – they get this ration twice a day at milking time. This helps their milk production and keeps them from getting too thin while raising their kids and then producing milk for me. Later in the milking season, I usually back off on their grain ration. Their bodies will begin to wind down as their milk production drops - sometimes when this occurs, their twice a day grain ration will be a bit too much and they start to put on weight. At this point, I slowly back off on their grain ration. Make sure that any changes in grain feeding are done over several days - no abrupt changes.

Graining Goat Kids: If you are taking some of our goat kids home, you'll need to provide grain for them also. I do not wean the kids prior to them going to their new homes at 8 weeks old. My facility is not big enough to separate everyone from eachother and when I have tried doing this with kids I've kept, it causes a lot of stress in the barn. As such, your kids will need to have grain to replace the nutrition they were getting from nursing. I introduce grain to the kids when I separate them at night starting at 2-4 weeks old. I start with just a small amount of grain for them to try out and work up to larger amounts as they grow. I do not overdue it with grain for kids while they are still nursing since it is not good for them to get chubby. I use a different grain for the kids than for the milking does - Poulin Medicated Meat Goat Grower. I follow the feeding program listed on the bag, but adjust as needed - if they seem to be growing quickly or getting chubby, I back off on the grain.  If you are purchasing kids from us that are more than 8-weeks old, they are likely weaned and feeding on just grain and hay.

I am not affiliated with  Green Mountain Feeds or Poulin Grain, nor do I receive payment for promoting this brand. I have found that these products work well for my animals on my farm and encourage you to do your own research to find what will work best for your animals.

Make sure your goat’s hooves stay trimmed just like your own fingernails. Long and unruly hooves can become uncomfortable (or potentially painful). Really long hooves, if not tended to, can cause your goats to modify their gait and cause muscle or tendon issues. Long hooves also collect manure and mud and can result in fungal/bacterial/parasite issues in their hoof tissue. This is something you want to avoid, since once you have an issue in their hooves, it can be difficult to get rid of.

All of the goats in my herd have been disbudded. If you’ve chosen to get your kids with horns, then you do not have to worry about disbudding spots. Keep in mind, it is a bad idea to mix goats that have horns in with goats that have been disbudded – the horned goats can do damage to the ones without and the goats without horns cannot defend themselves. If your goat has been disbudded, you have to keep your eyes out for two things. 

First, you need to watch their disbudded spots to make sure that no infection occurs. This is not something that happens often and I will make sure their disbudding spots are in good shape before you take your goat home. Often scab material will build up in these areas and there can be blood and pus that leaks from the area. Although pus is usually a sign of infection, its presence during bud healing is not necessarily cause for concern. When a scab occurs over the whole bud spot, it often means that the new skin is healing over the bone under the scab – the blood, pus and other serums are helping this process along! If your kid has blood or pus leaking down the side of its face, this would be a good indicator you might need to contact a vet. Any lethargic behavior, going off feed, or an increased temperature can be signs of infection. Take a close look at the bud spots every couple of days to evaluate.

Second, you have to keep your eye out for scurs. These do not occur often when the disbudding is done early and well. However, bucks and wethers horn growing tissue is very stubborn and sometimes small horn-like growths will occur – these are called scurs. These usually do not present a problem and will grow a little bit and then get knocked off. Sometimes this will be accompanied with a bit of bleeding, but is usually not an issue. This is just another thing to keep an eye on in case of infection.

"Wether" is the term given to a goat or sheep who has been castrated. Intact male goats, referred to as "bucks", are super smelly and can exhibit some natural but unsightly behaviors. Although female goats adore these characteristics, they can be problematic and unpleasant for the hobby goat owner. As such, many people choose to purchase wethers as pets. 

I put a band on all wethers at 6-7 weeks of age. The testicles will shrivel and fall off and you probably will not even notice when this happens. However, it is good to keep an eye on the site to make sure that there is not any open sore or infection. Sometimes the area can get bumped causing some irritation and it is important to check on it - especially if the flies are really bad in your area and may cause irritation! It’s also important not to overfeed or give too many treats to your wethers because they can develop urinary calculi, which is very painful and can be deadly. Feeding them the Blue Seal Medicated Meat Goat Grower will help with this because it contains ammonium chloride to aid in the prevention of the urinary calculi. Also stopping grain all together around 6-12 months is a good choice, unless they need to add a bit of weight (for example in the cold months of winter).

-Iodine - I have a spray bottle of iodine on hand in case I discover any scrapes or open bumps or scratches. I make sure the area is clean and then spray with the iodine to help heal. I believe sunshine, cleanliness, and being open to the air (and close attention to observe for any signs of infection) are big factors in any healing process on my animals.

-Probiotic gel for ruminants - This can be helpful for when you bring your goats home. Sometimes their rumens get a little funky in the transition and this gel can help them get regulated again (signs of some rumen trouble might be sluggishness and runny droppings).

-Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats - This is a great book to have on hand for reference. Be weary of information available from random sources on the internet – this book has information based on research and is written by folks with years of goat raising experience. I’d be happy to make other recommendations on literature and other resources if you are interested.

-Find a good vet. I worked with Dr. Andy Krauss and his team of vets at Wood Pond Vet out of Haverhill, NH for years, but unfortunately they are unable to service my area. I have started to work with Cold Hollow Veterinery Services out of Newport, VT. 

Link to ADGA Pedigree: https://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=D001650508