Owning Goats - Basic Goat Care

Shelter

Goats despise the rain unlike other farm animals, and require 2 SQM per goat, A simple shelter should have at-least three sides. It should be draft free, ventilated and dry..

Company and stimulation

Goats are herd animals, they can get lonely without a friend. Unless you’re going to be there for it like a dog companion, we need to be assured that if you only get one goat you have another one to keep it company. We sell pet wethers.in pairs. The more things you can keep them engaged with, whether it be rocks, logs things they can jump on the better and more healthy they will be mentally.

Fencing

Use sturdy fencing at least 90 cm high to prevent escape, some sort of dog mesh is ideal. Goats are notorious for escaping, however Nigerian Dwarf goats are friendly and can be homed (taught to stay in one area).

Health Care

Goats are quite hardy creatures, however some essentials to keep them healthy are; clean water, good hay, and a clean shelter, They should have there hooves checked every 6-12 weeks to see whether they need their feet trips depending on if rocks are wearing them down. Worming your goats with a simple oral solution every three months. Vitamin/mineral/salt blocks are a must.

Paddocks

Ideal amount of space for a couple of goats atleast 500sqm+, you can have a smaller fenced area that you then let out into a larger low/unfenced area if you home them correctly.

Food and nourishment

Depending on how you would like to feed them, goats preferences are leaves, scrubs and then certain grasses and weeds. We feed our goats Oaten and Lucerne hay (Alfalfa) and goat pellets. We allow our goats to have access to a large paddock during the day so we adjust feeding depending on weather conditions and their access to extra food.