The girls enjoying some apple peelings from making applesauce.

One of my ND wethers does this. I thought he was itchy or just wanted pets, so I scratched and petted him, but he still does it, even while I’m petting him lmao.

He’s the biggest and the orneriest out of my six, is he just being silly? Or is he scratching his head on my leg?

I’m building him a bigger one this weekend but man he loves that itch.

And also a second question, she isn’t letting her baby nurse off of her, what should I do

Hi r/goats, sorry for the bad pictures, but this goat is so hard to get a picture of. I live in Japan. There is a big culture of raising goats where I live and we have a few goats, but veterinary care is way behind parts of the US where there is access to university veterinary centers and what not. It's also really hot here and we never have any freeze, so parasites are out of control.

Anyway, I rescued this goat and it had all kinds of issues when I got it, but everything has healed up aside whatever this is. Both of her rear dewclaws are super crusty. I took her to our vet and was prescribed an antibacterial ointment, but after using it, there is no improvement. I suspect perhaps something to do with hoof rot or even something fungal? Please let me know your thoughts. My goats are super well fed, hobby goats with free access to minerals and baking soda. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I live in ohio, and I collect bagged leaves from my neighbors every year as bedding for our chickens and snacks for our goats in the winter. I usually tell people I can't take the leaves if the lawn has been treated with any kind of chemical, but I'm wondering if it makes a difference. What are your opinions? Obviously, I want my goats to be healthy, but I'm just curious what everyone else thinks.

He has not been without water, he had the same bucket of water all day, it's clean and what not he had hey the entire time, along with minerals and baking soda and all of a sudden he decided to drink a little over a gallon almost at once.

He is still eating but moving a bit slower, he's missing part of one of his hind legs and I assume the weight of the water is what is causing that but I was just wondering if I should be concerned about this? He's never done it before...

He is 7 months old and will be 8 months the first, still fully intact although after I have my baby I will probably have him castrated.

I'm very new to this whole goat thing and have only had my girls for 2-3 weeks. I was told that they were with a buck and would currently be 1-3 months from birth if they are pregnant. Are they pregnant or just fat?

I know that a blood test or ultrasound is the most definitive way to tell but our vet is overpriced and I'm not yet comfortable enough to take blood from them to do an at home test

I also noticed a small amount of clear discharge coming from the vulva of the second goat so I think it may be her heat cycle?

Hi, before anyone comes from me I understand that goats are herd animals and need goat friends. I am going to work on either rehoming or getting another goat.

I have two young female goats that have grown up together. Last night I suddenly lost my sweet girl Blossom, so now her partner in crime Betty is left alone. Does anyone have any husbandry tips and tricks to help Betty cope while I look for a solution? I don't expect it to take too long either way, but in the meantime I want to keep her as happy as I can. I saw a couple of posts about setting out a large mirror or playing a radio for her, but are these scientifically backed methods, or anecdotal? Is there anything veterinary recommended I can provide during this time? Thanks for everyone's input!

Pearl and Ruby enjoyed this stump once again..

Hello everyone,

I made a hay feeder out of an IBC tote and since then my 5 ND's dont use their shelter anymore. It got down to like -6c last night and when i went to chrck them this morning they were all laying inside the feeder. Does this mean that -6 isnt all that cold for them and itll be fine? Are they rejecting the shelter? I spent so much time and money on the shelter and i cant make something new now. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you

I know it's not a good idea to give it to Bucks or Weathers but honestly I'm not sure about females.

The one in the picture is buttercup she will be two in May, she's half Nubian and I can't remember how to spell the other one but the first three letters is SAA of the name of the breed, I just can't remember how to spell it nor how to say it.

I know it's recommended to give nursing and Pregnant does grain, but is it okay to give them a small amount if they're not either? The reason I'm asking is because I have to walk through my goat pin to feed the pigs and chickens and she always tries to mug me...... always

So I was wondering if I could give her like a small handful to distract her, I've already tried hay pellets and she doesn't have any interest in those

I commissioned the Amish to build me a shelter for my two small dwarf goats. We drew up some plans and this is what we got! It’s about 6ft tall and the roof is metal.

I unexpectedly became a goat owner due to this goats unique situation, and she has grown fond of me so I’ve decided to keep her I guess lol.

My custom goat halter I got handmade my goat is not a fan! Any tips for halter breaking an older goat they were rescues

My understanding when it comes to goats, darker fur tends to mean a goat has black to gray skin, and lighter fur means it is more pink or a mix. Am I correct that a pure black goat would have darker skin pigmentation, or is it still possible that one would have pink skin?

I got 2 small goats. I have chickens and a automatic door, works very good, after sunset chickens are all in side the house.

I installed same door for goats house but the problem is that they dont go on time to their house. Sometimes its 1am and they are still outside in the dark eating grass. I dont live on the place and I am afraid of big dogs or fox. If the door closes, they will have to stay outside.

What can I do to make them go to the house before 10pm, for example.

Thank you

Hi everyone! We have 3, 1 year old does who have been with a friends buck for the past month and a bit (we’re hoping for two heat cycles at least). They’ve definitely been getting it on during their heats so we are expecting kids (hopefully). The buck is quite fertile it seems as he’s had a bajillion kids with his usual herd. But our girls have never kidded so we don’t know about them yet.

I have a few questions for anyone willing to chime in.

1. What signs of pregnancy should we be looking out for? Two of our girls are Nubian/Alpine and the other Nubian/Boer.
   
2. If they do become pregnant, I’m so nervous for the kidding event! We will have a few months but I want to start preparing mentally and learn as much as I can! Along with getting any items that you all might recommend.
   
3. If we get to the kidding phase, what emergencies should we be looking out/be prepared for? From what I’ve read it’s super important that the kid gets & stays warm and is able to cue mama to feed/bond. How would we know if they’re not warm enough? What behavior is a cause for concern?
   
4. Should we create some kind of separate shelters? Right now we have one decent sized shelter but is it ever good to separate the kidding doe/freshly born baby from the rest of the heard or will they be better all together? There is definitely a defined hierarchy with the gals so I worry a little about them being bullies to each other..
   Any pointers/tips would be appreciated! I feel so grateful to be a part of such a knowledgeable and helpful community here. So thank you in advance! :)

I'm a first time goat owner and I've got 2 pregnant goats. They're fairly friendly but still a bit skittish as they were in a large herd previously so 1 on 1 working was pretty limited.

For their kids, I'm intending on only keeping two after weaning (for personal breeding purposes) but I want them to be as friendly and easy to work with for milking and other general husbandry later.

Is it doable to have my girls dam-raise their kids part time while I bottle feed the rest of the time? I know it can be done with kid-sharing (I plan to do so starting around 1 month) but I'm unsure of how realistic it is

Tips and advice welcome!