Thank you for choosing a Foggy Mountain Ranch goat/goats to add to your herd! Included is some helpful information regarding the care and health of your new goat.

 

Feeding:

Your goat has been on pasture and free-choice good quality orchard grass hay. Forage in the form of pasture and/or hay should be available to your goat at all times. Growing kids can be fed a small portion (1/2-1 cup daily) of a properly balanced goat grain until they are 16 weeks old. Our goats are not routinely fed grain unless they are pregnant/lactating. You should also have free-choice loose minerals available at all times, make sure they are minerals for goats that include copper, which is an important mineral for goats, unlike in sheep where copper toxicity is a concern. I recommend Sweetlix Meat Maker loose goat minerals. Mineral blocks are not recommended for goats. Clean water should be available at all times – some goats can be very picky and wont drink if the water isn’t clean and fresh.

**It is very important for goats (especially bucks and wethers due to urinary calculi risks) to be fed a diet that has an appropriate calcium to phosphorous ration. They ratio should be fed around 2 parts calcium to 1 parts phosphorous, and this is across all feed types including hay, grain and minerals, so be sure to do your research and look at feed tags before adding in a new food. Depending on where you live, mineral deficiencies may need supplementing beyond loose minerals. Talk to your vet about whether they recommend giving copper boluses and Selenium injections or paste.

 

Treats: Goats LOVE food, but try not to overdo it with unhealthy snacks/treats. Fruits and veggies make good snacks. I like to use a handful of orchard grass or alfalfa pellets as a healthy option for treats or training. It can be very handy to train your goats to come to the sound of pellets being shaken in a bucket or cup. They will soon come running when they hear this sound, and you can reward them with a handful of pellets. Other treats to be fed in moderation that are a big hit are animal crackers and commercial goat treat pellets that you can find at Tractor Supply and other feed stores.

**If you have chickens, ensure there is no way for the goats to get into chicken feed. Chicken food can cause rumen acidosis and lead to severe sickness and/or death

 

Bottle Babies:

**Bottle babies will only be sold in pairs, unless you currently have another bottle baby of similar age you are looking to get a buddy for. It’s very important for bottle babies to have another similar aged kid to snuggle, play and learn with.

Your kid(s) have been bottle fed warmed, raw goat milk. This is the best option for feeding, but if you are unable to acquire raw goat milk, the best substitute is to use regular whole cow milk from the store (warmed to 103-104 degrees before feeding). I do not recommend using powdered milk replacer, kids often have trouble digesting these formulas leading to scours, which can be life threatening. A bottle feeding chart will be provided to you, along with information containing your kids current weight, number of bottles per day, and volume to feed at each feeding. I recommend weighing your kid every other day (at least), and adjusting their feeding volume according to their weight/age as indicated on the chart. I leave free choice hay and grain out for bottle babies from day one. I make sure they have access to fresh water once they are a week old or are nibbling on solid food (make sure water bowl/bucket is shallow enough for them to not get stuck/drown if they fall in). They should have draft-free, secure housing with plenty of clean bedding/straw to stay warm. Try to avoid temperature fluctuations (such as being in a 70 degree house and going outside in 40-50 degree weather) as this can lead to pneumonia/sickness. Healthy kids do not need heat lamps as long as they have the above shelter/housing needs met.

 

Housing:

Goats need secure, sturdy fencing at least 4 feet high. They like to rub their bodies against fences, so I recommend running a strand of hot wire along the inside of your fence to keep it in good condition. Do not place any objects within 6 feet of the fenceline – goats love to jump on things, and will easily jump over the fence if there are objects nearby. They need at least a 3 sided shelter to provide shade and protection from wind/rain. Unless you have livestock guardian dogs, I highly recommend locking your goats in a stall/shed/secure building at night to protect against predators. 

*A note about heat lamps – Heat lamps are risky (even the safe ones), and a healthy goat does not need supplemental heat as long as they have adequate shelter and dry bedding.

 

Health Guarantee:

A great deal of time and expense is invested into ensuring our goats are healthy, up to date on vaccines, de-wormings and hoof trimmings. At the time your goat goes home, it is deemed to be healthy and in good condition. Once the animal leaves our property, it’s health is NO LONGER guaranteed or a variety of reasons. Once the animal leaves, we have no control over the care, safety, health monitoring or well-being of said animal. It is also stressful for animals to leave their home and travel to a new environment with new animals. This stress can have negative effects on an animals health leading to illness, internal parasite burdens, or even death. We are not responsible for anything that happens to our animals once it leaves our ranch. No refund will be given for any animals that get sick and/or dies after leaving our property and care. In the event an animal gets sick or dies PRIOR to leaving our property/care, a refund of your deposit or purchase price will be given or you will have the option to transfer this deposit/purchase price to another goat (be aware that goats may be priced differently based on conformation/breeding lineage, so there may need to be a price adjustment made).

 

Health/Medical Information:

Our herd has fecal tests performed twice a year, and the most recent fecal results will be noted on your goat’s medical record provided to you at the time of pickup. Our animals are only de-wormed in the event of positive fecal results (see below information on deworming). CD&T vaccines are given at 8wks and 12wks of age, so depending on the age of your goat at the time they go home, they may need additional vaccinations (this will be reflected on their medical record). CD&T vaccine is recommended to be given annually, and you can purchase this vaccine to give yourself, or you can have it given by a vet. Hooves were trimmed prior to your goat going home (unless you purchased a bottle baby not yet needing a trimming). Hooves should be trimmed every 6-8 weeks and is pretty simple to do. Goat hoof trimmers can be purchased at many feed stores or online/on Amazon. There are many helpful YouTube videos that demonstrate how to properly trim hooves. Having rocks, cement pavers, roof shingles on climbing areas, etc for them to jump and play on can help wear down hooves in between trims. You goat is either polled (no horns) or has been disbudded. With disbudding, as your goat ages you may notice small, odd shaped pieces of horn growing. These are called scurs, and are spots where the horn cells weren’t fully destroyed during disbudding. They will not develop into full sized horns, and are often knocked off during playing or when rubbing their heads. They may bleed when this happens, but it is usually just a small amount. You can clean the area and apply wound spray if needed. The Foggy Mountain Ranch goat herd is a closed, clean herd is annually tested (with negative test results) for CL, CAE, Johne’s, Q-fever & Brucellosis. Copies of test results are happily provided upon request.

 

Urinary Calculi/Castration:

Wethers (castrated males) and bucks are at higher risk of developing urinary obstruction due to urinary calculi. As mentioned above, one of the most important factors in preventing this is a balanced ca:phos ratio in feed. Another important factor is the age in which castration is done. Studies have shown that delaying castration until 12 weeks of age to allow hormones to increase the size of the urethra, decreasing the risk of obstruction. Your wether was castrated with the banding method at 12 weeks of age and sprayed with a fly-repellant spray. The testicles will fall off after 4-6 weeks – monitor the area to ensure its healing well and there are no signs of infection. If it is fly season, you should continue to apply fly spray to the area. In the event you took home a buckling (intact male) under 12 weeks of age, it is with the agreement that this animal will be castrated at > 12 weeks of age, and/or not to be used for breeding purposes). Bucklings will NOT be sold with registration papers.

 

Deworming/Parasites:

I do not recommend preventative/”blind” deworming due to parasite resistance. I run herd fecals twice a year in the Spring and Fall (or more frequently if a goat is showing signs of a parasite burden). Goats are then dewormed individually if needed based on fecal results. I would recommend that you run a fecal on your new goats in the Spring and Fall, or sooner if they start showing the following symptoms: diarrhea, weight loss, low energy, rough coat, low FAMACHA (FAMACHA refers to the color of the goats inner eye mucous membrane and is an indicator of anemia/parasites. You will want to familiarize yourself with how to check this and should routinely check it on all of your goats).

 

ADGA Registration

All of our does/doelings are ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) registered or eligible to be registered. Paperwork will be provided/transferred online at the time of pick up. Wethers and bucklings will not be sold with registration paperwork. The ADGA website has a wealth of information and FAQs to help answer common questions if you’re new to goat registration. 

 

Educational Resources:

A couple of very helpful Facebook groups I would recommend joining related to goats, nutrition, medical emergencies, etc are:

-Goat tips & tricks

-Goat Emergency Team

Both have very helpful members/admins if you are having an issue with or general question regarding your goats. They also have tons of pages regarding health issues, medications/dosages and more that you can print out and add to a binder to keep in your barn. I highly recommend printing their handouts from their files and starting a medical binder for your goats to keep track of their health status, vaccinations, common medications and dosages, and more.

 

*I also recommend that you start building a medical kit for your goats – having these items on hand during an illness or emergency is very helpful rather than trying to get it at the last minute or in the middle of the night. I am including a list of some of the basics/bare minimum I recommend to keep on hand in case of injuries/illness/emergencies. It’s also very important to establish a relationship with a large animal vet who cares for goats. I would advise establishing this vet relationship before an emergency comes up.  

 

Goat Medical Kit Essentials

  • Pen & notepad (write notes on injury/illness as you go and what you use to treat. Very helpful when calling the vet to give timeline, what meds given and when, etc).
  • Common medication & dosages chart (trust me, it’s nice to have this handy in an emergency rather than trying to look it up)
  • Print out: vet name & number, normal goat vital signs (temp, heart rate, respiratory rate)
  • Flashlight or headlamp
  • Disposable Gloves
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Digital Thermometer (always have 2 on hand in case 1 fails)
  • Scissors
  • Lubricant or Vaseline
  • Ammonium Chloride (to treat urinary calculi)
  • Dewormers (often more practical to purchase specific dewormer after fecal results)
  • Coccidia Medication
  • Electrolytes (to help dehydrated/weak goat)
  • Iodine (wound cleaning)
  • Vet wrap
  • Gauze pads / rolled gauze
  • Iron (Red Cell – for anemia)
  • Rubbing Alcohol (for disinfecting thermometer, supplies)
  • Bloat Release
  • Copper Boluses (if vet recommends)
  • Molasses (can help boost sugar in sick/weak goat)
  • Milk of Magnesia and/or Pepto Bismol
  • Probiotic paste (use when giving antibiotics, or to help populate healthy rumen bacteria)
  • Activated charcoal (to treat toxicity)
  • Wound spray (I like Alushield and Vetericyn)
  • Syringes and Needles (various sizes and gauges – I usually use a 1” 20g for injections)
  • Drencher

Medications:

  • CD&T Vaccines (OTC)
  • Antibiotics (RX)
  • Banamine (RX pain reliever)
  • Fortified Vitamin B Complex (OTC)
  • BoSe (RX - if vet recommends)
  • Tetanus Antitoxin (OTC)
  • Epinepherine (RX)
  • Terramycin Eye Ointment (RX)
  • Pain relievers (OTC Aspirin, Ibuprofen)