Oh great, thanks! We’re about 2 hrs south of Charlotte, so it’s definitely do-able.
While waiting for the horses to finish eating tonight I played around with some clicker work with my shy goatie-girl. I don’t know how much sunk in, but she was interested at least 
Great goat info… but now I REALLY want one!
You never want one goat.
You must want at least two, though three in my professional opinion is a far better “minimum.”
I actually want 4, with three the lowest in the herd seems to get doubly picked on.
Just like with horses, it can definitely depend on the goats involved! What always kills me is seeing the bottom of the pole in such a large herd. Poor things! I’ve had cases where does simply could not learn to live in a large setting, and improved by leaps and bounds when I placed them in a smaller group environment.
Their behavior absolutely fascinates me and makes up the bulk of my research.
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I recently used a goat-based landscape service to start to clear out a brushy area, and to remind myself what having goats was like.
Well, I’m hooked again
I’ve bought one of theirs that they were selling, but I’m trying to find a few more. I’m keeping an eye on Craigslist and a few local ag/livestock type FB pages, but so far I haven’t found anything that suits. (They’re letting me keep two others that they want back eventually as company, until I find a couple of my own)
I want big goats - Nubian for a preference (because I love the way they look) but any breed or mix will do. As I’m not breeding for meat or dairy I don’t need registered or top dollar, I basically want nice big muttly goats of any age.
On the various sale pages I’m seeing a lot of Nigerian & Pygmy goats, also a lot of bucks and bucklings. I have no problem with having the boys but not entire - they’d need to be castrated and I haven’t yet found a vet that does livestock other than horses.
So, they boys go cheaply enough, but how do I get them castrated and does it matter if they’ve already been in rut? (As in an older buck, not a kid)
And where else can I find “pet quality” goats that aren’t going for $400 ea?
I’m in central SC, Columbia-ish.
Any info or leads would be much appreciated :)[/QUOTE]
i know where you can get some really cute fainting goats in PA.
Thanks but I’m in SC. Plus I just mentally can’t do fainting goats. I’m sure they’re lovely animals, I just have a thing about it. Thanks though!
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I actually want 4, with three the lowest in the herd seems to get doubly picked on.[/QUOTE]
I have two traditional type Boer does and decided I wanted a third (pretty colored one, natch), so I talked to my breeder friend, who said she’d be happy to place another one with me, but it was far better to get two so the newbie wouldn’t be lonely. Before I knew it I was talked into an additional one (FOUR GOATS?!!!). I’m picking them up next week. I must be crazy.
That’s how it works!
I also don’t like to buy a goat by itself - it’s extremely difficult for them to settle into a new herd without a familiar companion, and I dislike putting them through that. Of course, many do just fine.
But it’s one explanation of how I started with two goats and now have over 150 in my care, with a little less than 100 of those expecting kids in January.
When I got my Saanen doe she had never been away from her home and her family… her owner unceremoniously dumped her in my yard at 8 AM on her way to work and poor goat was so distressed and upset, she cried and cried. I sat out in the yard with her all day long and she was never quiet! I named her Blair that day b/c of all the noise but I did feel terrible for her. She’s still super sweet and both of my goats will come sleep by the front door if they are out of the pens and can reach the house. Such sweet creatures, I love goats.
Epona I hope some day to have a lot more like that too!
Just for fun, here’s my mini-herd
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Morning walk
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I have a small yard with a shed near the house where they spend the night, and then they go out back every morning for the day. Usually they make a beeline for the back gate (well, with detours for nibbles sometimes) but today they were SURE the phone was something yummy to eat.
They crack me up, even as I’m getting thigh bruises from random horn pokes when they insist on being right next to me as we walk 
Bwahaha!
If I may make a couple suggestions - looking at their hair tells me they are in need of copper and (possibly) a deworming. A goat’s hair can tell me many many things!
Have you heard of copper bolus? It’s made for cattle. You will not believe the difference copper bolusing will make in improving your goat’s health - including hair, skin, eyes, hoof, immunity.
Fecal before you deworm if you can, but if not, use the Quest Plus every ten days for three doses. 1cc per 100lbs - OVER dose. Do not ever ever underdose dewormer. I may have already said this before, I have a memory like an empty fishbowl, so people get used to it.
A 3cc dose of Vit AD injectable, given either orally or subq, will give you some great benefits. I like to give it every month in the winter if I can, at least for the ones who need a little boost.
Otherwise it cracks me up how they keep looking back at you!
Feel free to friend me on Facebook, that’s where most folks reach out to me about goat questions, and it’s where I tend to respond the fastest. Kristina Epona Saucedo
Epona do you do copper boluses for all yours? Just about every source I’ve read says it’s extremely difficult to feed enough copper. I know mine need boluses again now and you’re right, the hair tells it all. I’ll put the AD on the list too.
The other night we had a blizzard, 0* before the 20 mph winds and for some reason my crazy doe chose that night to get her head stuck in the fence. 
She has her horns and unlike my wether, she hasn’t learned what she can and can’t do with them. Unbelievably she stood in the worst of the weather for about 7 hours, at an angle where she couldn’t quite stand and couldn’t quite lie down. I saw her at first light when I look outside to check everyone and ran out there with the bolt cutters-she wasn’t even shivering though she was upset-got her out and she walked off just fine, though happy to tuck into a pile of hay. She’s way fat right now and I think that must have helped. It was -5 when I ran out to get her out of the fence. Glad she’s ok but I hate those horns!
Absolutely we do. Twice a year. I would honestly prefer three times a year, but when it comes down to it, we simply don’t have the time.
Loose minerals are great, but the copper levels never are enough.
Using copper bolus is quite safe - the little rods lodge in the rumen and release slowly.
We bolus it - using a pill gun. This is quicker for us and we can be sure the goats get it. Many folks hide the rods in marshmallows or bread, which works fabulous for those goats who inhale what you hand them. I used to use the marshmallows, and would give a couple, slip in the “laced” one and follow it up quickly. Often went down the hatch without a problem.
The ones that chew it are the annoying ones.
Other folks top dress feed, and some studies into that with radiography and liver biopsies showed it to be effective on some level, but I prefer to know how much they got.
I believe it’s 1g per 22lbs of goat. As with dewormer, overdosing by a small amount is fine.
Another good example of why horns can be a real danger in domestic goats! Man I love them, I love looking at a beautiful animal with a beautiful set of horns, but reality is reality. Glad she was okay - watch her the next couple of days, her immunity will be low from the stress and parasites can explode overnight.
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