Page 23 - Back to the Basics - Homesteading

Veterinary Care

Many veterinarians do not treat goats or don’t have much experience with goat care and treatment. Do some research and find a veterinarian near you that
has experience with and is willing to offer veterinary care for your goats. Ask what experience they have and talk to other goat owners nearby for
veterinarian referrals.
Many medications are not labeled for goats and many are prescription only. Finding and establishing a client patient relationship with a veterinarian is
crucial to the health of your herd.

Quick Facts About Goats
Goats are browsers.
They love trees, leaves, bushes, and weeds. They don’t typically graze like horses.
Goats like to climb.
They will climb on whatever objects are available to them including benches, cars, platforms, trees, etc.
They have a pecking order.
Like horses, goats will establish a hierarchy. The dominant female in the herd is called a “queen”.
Goats are herd animals.
They do best with goat companions. You shouldn’t own just one goat as they will be really lonely and won’t thrive.
Bucks and does should be kept separate.
Bucks can and will breed beginning around 8 weeks old. You should wean bucklings and separate them at this time. It is extremely dangerous for
does to be bred at a young age and can result in death of the doe. Does can get pregnant as young as 3 months old.

Reasons You SHOULDN’T Get Goats

1.Your property zoning prohibits goats
2.You like to travel often and don’t have a reliable farm/pet sitter
3.You have very young children and you want them to learn responsibility but aren’t willing to do the work yourself
4.You have dogs that you are unwilling to keep separate from your goats
5.You don’t have the financial ability to provide medical care when needed

Terminology

Buck – a male goat with reproductive organs intact
Doe – a female goat
Kid – a baby goat
Doeling – a female baby goat, usually under a year old
Buckling – a male baby goat under a year old
Wether – a castrated male goat, unable to breed
Kidding – when a female goat has babies
Freshening – when a dairy goat kids or has babies, replenishing her milk supply
Junior doe – a female goat that is under two years old and has never had babies
Senior doe – a doe that has had babies
FF – first freshener, a doe that has had babies for the first time
Yearling – a goat that is one year old
Disbudded – a goat that has had their horn buds cauterized so they will not grow horns
Polled – a goat that has no horns, this is a genetic trait
Dry – the doe is not currently producing milk
In milk – the doe is currently producing milk
Dam raised – a kid that was raised by its mother, not bottle raised
Bottle baby – a kid that was raised by bottle feeding, not by its mother