Your First Goat Info.
Beginning with Fainting Goats
Picking your first myotonic goat. First you have to decide if you want them for pets or breeding stock. Find out if you have a large animal vet in your area. You’ll need to know this ahead of time, not during an emergency.
Pets can be kept together in the same living quarters. If you choose to breed goats, it’s best if you have separate pens for your bucks and does. Common terms for goat genders: Buck- male goat, Doe- female goat, wether- castrated male. Then there are Horned, Disbudded (horns taken off) or Polled (naturally hornless). At Wonder Fall Farm we don’t disbud our goats. The horns are the goats’ natural air conditioners and help keep them cooler in the hot summer months. Our goats have never used their horns on us to head butt. (See playing with your goat)
You must always have at least two goats together. They are herding animals and don’t do as well on their own. Fainting goats should not be used as companion animals for horses. The horses find out that if they scare the goat it will stiffen up and sometimes fall over. Then the goat becomes a toy for the horse and no longer a companion.
The best pets are wethers (castrated males). People sometimes think that a wether will get the “buck smell”. I assure you that they don’t. A wethered goat is like a dog in a goat suit. Sometimes you can find an older doe that needs to retire from kidding to have as a pet.
Fainting goats are easy keepers. They don’t challenge fences, are generally calm in nature and are parasite resistant.
Once you’ve decided whether to get pets or breeding stock, you need to prepare a place for them to live before you get them home.
Shelter: This depends on where you live climate wise. Here in the northeast, we have some cold winters so it’s best to have a four sided shelter. In milder climates you can have a three sided shelter. This is to provide a place for you goats to get out of wind, rain, snow and even just get into the shade on really hot days. It’s very important to provide a sturdy shelter for your goats to get out of nasty weather and have a place they feel safe. We like to have a way to shut them in the barn in very bad storms.
Feed: Goats prefer woody browse (weeds, branches). First the goat will eat all the flowers, bushes, and "highly prized" plants of your yard. Then the goat will nibble the leaves, twigs and bark of any yummy trees it can reach and only then will it start on the grass. Good fencing will keep them out of your gardens.
We provide hay (2nd cut) and grain for our goats. Always provide fresh water. Goats waste a lot of hay, so a good hay feeder with a shelf on the bottom helps. Our goats get different grain rations depending on their gender and the time of year. Basically it’s about 1 cup per day for does and ½ a cup per day for buck and wethers. Bucks will get a little more during breeding season.
Supplements: We always have loose minerals and baking soda available “free choice” (they can get to it all the time). Block minerals aren’t as good for goats as they find it hard on their teeth and may not get enough minerals. We use Golden Blend mineral from Hoeggers Goat Supply. You can use regular baking soda from the store or you can get animal grade bicarbonate soda from your feed store.
Fencing: For our does we find that welded wire fencing works just fine. We use 4ft high with 2x4 inch square openings. That way they don’t get their horns stuck. For our bucks we use woven wire. It’s stronger and the bucks can’t beat it up as badly. The woven wire is more expensive, but if you use it, you won’t have to replace it as often if at all. For the main pens we use wood posts and cross pieces. For the field areas, if there aren’t already wood posts there, we use metal T-posts. This allows us to move fencing whenever we need to.
We don’t use electric fencing for our fainting goats. It is our belief that a goat could get startled by it and faint into it, causing them to get electrocuted. If we use electric fencing or wire it is on the outside of the goat fencing to keep predators out.
NOTE: We have started using an electric netting for outside of our regular fenced areas for supervised browsing times.
Fainting goats love to play but it’s important that when you play with them you follow a few simple rules or you could end up with a goat that thinks it’s ok to play roughly with you or other humans.
1. Never play roughly with your goat, don’t push them on the head even if they act like they like it. That’s how goats play, by head butting. If you do it to them, they think it’s alright to play with people like they play with goats and when they get bigger you’ll have problems.
2. When you want to pet or scratch your goat, always scratch them under the chin. This makes them lift their heads when they come to you for some attention. Rather than head down (which is the head butting position). Scratch their necks and shoulders too. Try not to mess with their horns too much. Most goats are sensitive to having their horns touched. There are the exceptions, if you get them used to it when they’re young.
3. Provide safe toys for you goats. A simple platform with a ramp is lots of fun. A log to climb on. Use your imagination!
Maintenance:
Worming: We worm our goats as needed. We use one wormer at a time until it no longer seems to be working and then change to another. This keeps from building up a resistance to the wormers you use.
Probios: We always give a dose of probios 3 days after worming to get the rumen back to good working order. We will also give probios after an antibiotic shot.
Hoof Trimming: We trim our goats’ hooves when needed. But we generally have a look at them at least once a month. Make sure your goats always have a dry place to go if the ground gets wet after a good rain. If they have to stand around on wet ground for extended periods of time they’ll most likely get foot rot. It’s better to prevent it than deal with it once you have it on the farm.
Shots: We vaccinate our goats annually with CDT. When the kids are born they get a 2cc shot SQ at 2 months and again at 3 months. Then 1 shot of 2cc SQ annually thereafter. We do our own shots. Have your vet show you how to give an injection. It’ll save you time and money in the long run.
Cleaning: We clean our barns once per week in the spring and summer, and about once per month in the harder winter months. Our barn has a wood floor, so we clean it down to the wood. Then we put a layer of lime down (we just kind of sprinkle it over the floor, especially the wet spots) then we add a layer of shavings. If you have cement floors, we suggest stall mats.
We rake our outside goat pens daily.
Things to have on hand: (available online or at your local feed store)
Medicine cabinet:
Wormer
Nutri-Drench (for when they’re off feed, stressed or need a boost)
CDT, needles and syringes
Hoof trimmers
Stop bleed powder (just in case)
Probios
Halter & Lead
Places to get supplies online:
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com (this is where we get most of our supplies)
http://www.jefferslivestock.com
http://goatsupplies.netfirms.com
Helpful information:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Faintinggoatlovers/
You need to join, but this group is made up of all fainting goat people and they’ve always been very helpful to me and many others. We share help, stories and pictures.
www.myotonicgoatregistry.net
If you purchase fainting goats from us they will already be registered with the MGR. You can find all kinds of helpful information, history, shows etc here.
Enjoy your new goats!
Feel free to contact us anytime you have questions.
www.wonderfallfarm.com
E-mail us at goat-lady@wonderfallfarm.com Call us at (603) 823-8003
Picking your first myotonic goat. First you have to decide if you want them for pets or breeding stock. Find out if you have a large animal vet in your area. You’ll need to know this ahead of time, not during an emergency.
Pets can be kept together in the same living quarters. If you choose to breed goats, it’s best if you have separate pens for your bucks and does. Common terms for goat genders: Buck- male goat, Doe- female goat, wether- castrated male. Then there are Horned, Disbudded (horns taken off) or Polled (naturally hornless). At Wonder Fall Farm we don’t disbud our goats. The horns are the goats’ natural air conditioners and help keep them cooler in the hot summer months. Our goats have never used their horns on us to head butt. (See playing with your goat)
You must always have at least two goats together. They are herding animals and don’t do as well on their own. Fainting goats should not be used as companion animals for horses. The horses find out that if they scare the goat it will stiffen up and sometimes fall over. Then the goat becomes a toy for the horse and no longer a companion.
The best pets are wethers (castrated males). People sometimes think that a wether will get the “buck smell”. I assure you that they don’t. A wethered goat is like a dog in a goat suit. Sometimes you can find an older doe that needs to retire from kidding to have as a pet.
Fainting goats are easy keepers. They don’t challenge fences, are generally calm in nature and are parasite resistant.
Once you’ve decided whether to get pets or breeding stock, you need to prepare a place for them to live before you get them home.
Shelter: This depends on where you live climate wise. Here in the northeast, we have some cold winters so it’s best to have a four sided shelter. In milder climates you can have a three sided shelter. This is to provide a place for you goats to get out of wind, rain, snow and even just get into the shade on really hot days. It’s very important to provide a sturdy shelter for your goats to get out of nasty weather and have a place they feel safe. We like to have a way to shut them in the barn in very bad storms.
Feed: Goats prefer woody browse (weeds, branches). First the goat will eat all the flowers, bushes, and "highly prized" plants of your yard. Then the goat will nibble the leaves, twigs and bark of any yummy trees it can reach and only then will it start on the grass. Good fencing will keep them out of your gardens.
We provide hay (2nd cut) and grain for our goats. Always provide fresh water. Goats waste a lot of hay, so a good hay feeder with a shelf on the bottom helps. Our goats get different grain rations depending on their gender and the time of year. Basically it’s about 1 cup per day for does and ½ a cup per day for buck and wethers. Bucks will get a little more during breeding season.
Supplements: We always have loose minerals and baking soda available “free choice” (they can get to it all the time). Block minerals aren’t as good for goats as they find it hard on their teeth and may not get enough minerals. We use Golden Blend mineral from Hoeggers Goat Supply. You can use regular baking soda from the store or you can get animal grade bicarbonate soda from your feed store.
Fencing: For our does we find that welded wire fencing works just fine. We use 4ft high with 2x4 inch square openings. That way they don’t get their horns stuck. For our bucks we use woven wire. It’s stronger and the bucks can’t beat it up as badly. The woven wire is more expensive, but if you use it, you won’t have to replace it as often if at all. For the main pens we use wood posts and cross pieces. For the field areas, if there aren’t already wood posts there, we use metal T-posts. This allows us to move fencing whenever we need to.
We don’t use electric fencing for our fainting goats. It is our belief that a goat could get startled by it and faint into it, causing them to get electrocuted. If we use electric fencing or wire it is on the outside of the goat fencing to keep predators out.
NOTE: We have started using an electric netting for outside of our regular fenced areas for supervised browsing times.
Fainting goats love to play but it’s important that when you play with them you follow a few simple rules or you could end up with a goat that thinks it’s ok to play roughly with you or other humans.
1. Never play roughly with your goat, don’t push them on the head even if they act like they like it. That’s how goats play, by head butting. If you do it to them, they think it’s alright to play with people like they play with goats and when they get bigger you’ll have problems.
2. When you want to pet or scratch your goat, always scratch them under the chin. This makes them lift their heads when they come to you for some attention. Rather than head down (which is the head butting position). Scratch their necks and shoulders too. Try not to mess with their horns too much. Most goats are sensitive to having their horns touched. There are the exceptions, if you get them used to it when they’re young.
3. Provide safe toys for you goats. A simple platform with a ramp is lots of fun. A log to climb on. Use your imagination!
Maintenance:
Worming: We worm our goats as needed. We use one wormer at a time until it no longer seems to be working and then change to another. This keeps from building up a resistance to the wormers you use.
Probios: We always give a dose of probios 3 days after worming to get the rumen back to good working order. We will also give probios after an antibiotic shot.
Hoof Trimming: We trim our goats’ hooves when needed. But we generally have a look at them at least once a month. Make sure your goats always have a dry place to go if the ground gets wet after a good rain. If they have to stand around on wet ground for extended periods of time they’ll most likely get foot rot. It’s better to prevent it than deal with it once you have it on the farm.
Shots: We vaccinate our goats annually with CDT. When the kids are born they get a 2cc shot SQ at 2 months and again at 3 months. Then 1 shot of 2cc SQ annually thereafter. We do our own shots. Have your vet show you how to give an injection. It’ll save you time and money in the long run.
Cleaning: We clean our barns once per week in the spring and summer, and about once per month in the harder winter months. Our barn has a wood floor, so we clean it down to the wood. Then we put a layer of lime down (we just kind of sprinkle it over the floor, especially the wet spots) then we add a layer of shavings. If you have cement floors, we suggest stall mats.
We rake our outside goat pens daily.
Things to have on hand: (available online or at your local feed store)
Medicine cabinet:
Wormer
Nutri-Drench (for when they’re off feed, stressed or need a boost)
CDT, needles and syringes
Hoof trimmers
Stop bleed powder (just in case)
Probios
Halter & Lead
Places to get supplies online:
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com (this is where we get most of our supplies)
http://www.jefferslivestock.com
http://goatsupplies.netfirms.com
Helpful information:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Faintinggoatlovers/
You need to join, but this group is made up of all fainting goat people and they’ve always been very helpful to me and many others. We share help, stories and pictures.
www.myotonicgoatregistry.net
If you purchase fainting goats from us they will already be registered with the MGR. You can find all kinds of helpful information, history, shows etc here.
Enjoy your new goats!
Feel free to contact us anytime you have questions.
www.wonderfallfarm.com
E-mail us at goat-lady@wonderfallfarm.com Call us at (603) 823-8003