Hi, We just moved to the country and I am trying out goat keeping just for fun. I bought 2 one year old half-sister Pygmy crosses from one guy and 2 more of the same thing from another guy. They all have horns. Only one was bred. She had twins(a boy and a girl) in the beginning of March. They all have had a tetnus shot, wormer, and critter killer(lice). I feed them alfalfa hay all day and about 2 cups each of horse feed(corn, oats, sweet feed and minerals) twice a day. They are in a 32x12 chicken house with windows and a cement floor. They have tables to sleep on and sawdust in that area. The mom and kids were in a closed area in the same building. They could hear and see the others, but not mix. We are going to put in a chain-linked fence exercise area with climbing rocks adjacent to the building that is the same size as the building with a hole in the wall so they can go in and out as they please. The babies have been castrated and dehorned. They have been with the mom until yesterday(5 weeks old) in which I turned the mom back out with the others. They do nibble at the hay and grain but not enough to sustain themselves yet. I got lamb milk feeder and bottles and am going to feed them 2 times a day. So far they aren't too interested. Maybe when they get hungrier. I'm not a serious goat person, just an animal lover. My plans are to have my herd be as friendly as petting zoo goats. I want little kids to be able to pet, feed, and brush them. I also want the goats to enjoy the attention, rather than dreading it. I have basically given up on the does. I tried starving them and then hand feeding them. I've tried making all their experiences with me pleasant. It's just not working. They are not mean, just scared. They have decided I am the enemy and thats it. Hence their names Fright, Panic, Jitters, and Shout. I guess I'm just going to breed them for replacements and then sell them. That's why I seperated the babies so soon. They were beginning to get skittish. I'm hoping that bottle feeding them for a month will bond them to me. What do you all think? Here's my questions: Do you all have any advise on any thing I said? How's my setup? My feeding? Have I done the basic health stuff? What basic stuff should I know about keeping a small herd? What size herd is good enough for what I want? Do does and castrated males mixed make for a good herd? Which is better personality-wise? Will the babies relearn the skittish behavior from the others if I remix them in a month or so?(I will only sell the does this next spring after they have babies) Will the mom's udder dry up on its own? I plan on borrowing a buck this fall to breed to all 5 females. How long should I keep him in with my does. When's the soonest I could breed.(I can't wait to get my people-friendly herd started)I heard Pygmys breed year round. Any tips on getting my future batch of babies real friendly? All of them will be dehorned and the scared does will be gone soon after. How long should I keep the moms with the babies before selling them? There will probably be 10-12 babies all at once.

-- Amy Sabino (seansabino@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001

Answers

Response to Help! I want my herd to be as people friendly as possible.

I raise Pygmies & know just how you feel. I had a few that no matter what I did they would bolt as soon as they saw me. I finally got rid of them as they did get the others worked up with their wild behavior. They also had horns which I did not like. If you want them for friendly pets, either bottlefeed all kids or spend a good hour with them everyday from birth. I bottlefeed all of my kids. That's just what works for me. That way they are bonded to me. If you're going to bottlefeed it's best to take them away right away. Make sure they get colostrum from the mother for the first two days. You can milk the mom & feed it to the kids. If you leave them on the mom for a week or two they sometimes will just refuse the bottle. Hunger usually wins out, but I have had them absolutely refuse which is why I remove them at birth now. You might cut the grain back to once a day because Pygmies tend to gain weight easily & get fat. If too fat it can hinder breeding. Housing sounds fine. Make sure they have either a mineral block or loose minerals available. Also some baking soda is good. Did you give them a CD/T shot or just a Tetanus?? They should have the CD/T which has Tetanus in it. It protects from overeating. If you want to stay small I would stick with 4-6 does. You can keep a buck also, but would be just as good if you can just rent one. Wethers & does together are fine. Personalities vary from goat to goat, I don't think I have a preference. I would keep the kids seperated if you can because they may tend to do what the others do. When I dry up a doe I just let her go. They will be really full for about a week. As long as you would milk, they will keep making milk. Supply & demand. If you don't take any milk, they will quit making it. Just watch for mastitis. I would keep the buck with the does for 2 months, through 2 heat cycles, to make sure they get bred. They sometimes do not settle the first time. Pygmies do breed year round. I have bred them twice in a year too, but you don't want to do that too often because it can drag them down having kids twice a year. I do not breed until they are at least 10 months old. Preferably a year old. I go more by their size. Make sure the buck you use isn't a lot bigger than your does. This will help give easier kiddings because the kids won't be so large. If you have any human kids to turn in with the goat kids, that is the best way to get them people friendly. Let the kids play together! That's good to de-horn. Even friendly goats can accidently poke a child with their horn. If you bottlefeed you can sell the moms after a couple of days. Just so you can get the colostrum from them. You can bottlefeed milk replacer. I use lamb milk replacer & have never had any trouble with it. Best would be fresh goat's milk. I have milkers now & they supply for the bottle kids. I'm sure I'm missing something, but this covers most of it. For people friendly goats, just spend as much time with them as you can. Have fun!

-- Wendy (weiskids@yahoo.com), April 10, 2001.

Amy:

The kids won't care for taking a bottle after being mom fed. They may starve. The mom will be very distressed to hear her kids starving and it won't help in your bonding process. You want to keep everyone happy and calm! Kids do bond better with people if they have been bottle raised but I have found that they are healthier in the long run if the moms feed the babies themselves. I have had great success raising wonderfully tame kids and adult goats by just spending time with them. It takes lots of time. I enjoy hanging out with the herd and observing their behaviour. There is some interesting insight into goat behaviour in the book "The Pack Goat" by John Mionczynski I wouldn't feed them that many goodies unless they are milking. The disbudded kids will be at a disadvantage around the horned goats. Keep an eye on the situation. You have asked some good basic questions about goat keeping that you should spend time researching. There are lots of great books at your local library. Start reading!

-- Susie (seberts@earthlink.net), April 13, 2001.