I might get a baby goat! What to know?

[Strawberrygirl]

I know nothing at all about goats, let alone baby goats! What are the most important things I need to know about shelter and food? It will be a milking goat and will be with my mare, and baby pony (pony grew up with goats). We have a three sided shelter for the horses and a combo of white fencing tape, t-posts, and in the big pasture we use two strands of wire along with the other items. THANKYOU!!!

[Karen Cole]

What kind of goat and how old, boy or girl, horns no horns? Goats have to be trained to the electric wire just like horses. Ours will run right through it but do well with woven wire or cattle panels.

Goats do well in the cold but not wet or drafty areas. Babies have a hard time regulating thier body temp and need to be watched really close.

Karen

[AngelPA]

goats can be so cool! I worm mine the same time I worm Angel. They hang out all together like they are one big 'herd'. I have 1 big lamancha goat wether (boy), and 1 nigrian dwarf, a doe that could NOT take to breeding. They eat the same feed my mare does,(Strategy) once in a blue moon they'll get a belly ache in the summer time, usually a bad weed they found, but I just put a bit of baking soda in a dish and they nibble at it as they need too. It's like an alka seltzer for them, they burp and feel better They LOVE to climb on things so through out a little box or an old play house your kids don't use, they'll have a blast with it. Dairy goats are awsome! You can make the SOFTEST soap and lotion out of thier milk. Goats are really easy keepers, I think you'll really enjoy them. Let us know what breed. They all have thier different pro's and con's but the pro's out weigh any cons no matter what the breed. If they are very young, and will grow horns, I highly suggest you get them dehorned ASAP, you can save yourself many vet bills by doing that simple deed. (They get there heads stuck in the stupidest places with horns, and can gore each other later on when thier bigger, not to mention what they can do to you) The only other major thing about them fella's is they are masters at escaping, so good fencing is a must, but they are smart, so after a zap or two they'll know the electic fence is there.... untill a branch falls down on it and they want to eat it.....

[Strawberrygirl]

The breeder I am going to buy from debuds both male and female and castrates the male . . . before they sell. I don't know what breed they are yet, I'm going to ask