[daninz]

Hi, I was given a wee kid for a christmas present, and whilst at first I thought "what a stupid gift to give someone" (not the fact its a goat, but giving any live animal as a gift is silly in my opinion, especially when its a "surprise" and the new owners have no preparation or idea of how to raise the animal)

oh yeah, introductions....Im Danielle, I live in New Zealand with my husband, 5 kids (children lol) a cat and now a goat.

Anyway now wee Ba-art is part of our family we love him to bits. he is approx 8-10 weeks. and is still on a bottle.

Whilst I have many questions (mostly HOW THE HECK DOES ONE CARE FOR A GOAT???)

Everything seems to be pretty hunky dorey so far.
Two concerns we do have, is why do they cough? ( a bit like a corse smokers cough, which he does a few times a day, not a lot, but noticable)

And over the past week weve noticed he has lumps on the top of his nose. which have grown. I doubt thats normal. Ive added a few pics so you can see him. its summer here in New Zealand and we live in the country where it gets very hot and humid.

him when we got him

With his nose

Any help would be appreciated, Also if anyone knows what type of goat he is, that would be helpful, I didnt realise there were so many types of goats!

thanks in advance

Danielle

 

[sparks879]

Hi welcome to the goat spot and goat ownership! YOu will find out that goats are very sweet affectionate creatures, not the big smelly mean creatures so many have made them out to be. Im not really sure about the lumps on his nose i have never heard of that before. You may want to get him a friend, goats are herd animals and very social and though it might be cute when he is little as he gets older and is out by himself more he will start to call for companionship. Goats are very playful and full of wonder. He will investigat everything with his moth sort of like a young child. when he wants to know what something is he will put it in his mouth. Does he cough right after his bottle or is it at other times as well?
beth

 

[alyssa_romine]

Well I am not sure about the lumps so I will let someone else answer that....Has he been castrated??? If not you may want to get that done since the males tend to be very stinky! I would also get him a buddy because goats stress when they are the only one.

A good quality grass hay should be offered and a low protein feed such as 12% crude protein horse feed. He will need a mineral block made for goats and not sheep and goats as the sheep and goat block won't have the copper in it that goats need.

 

[alyssa_romine]

He looks to be a boer goat

 

[daninz]

Hi there, thanks for the reply. I will admit hes much more affectionate than we ever realised a goat could be! hes a bit like a puppy! and chases the kids around and follows my husband like a second shadow. hes a real cutie.

I just added pics while you were posting.

I have heard he might need a friend, the only problem is, we dont know where to get another goat as theres not many here in NZ, but will keep our eye out, he has had his neither regions banded so I guess hed be alright with a girly goat if we ever could find him a companion. I will have to ask my friend where she got him so we could see if they will have more in the future.

As for the coughing, it is sometimes after a bottle, sometimes before and sometimes hell be out eating my husbands pride plants and cough a bit.

I have heard that some plants are poisionous to goats does anyone have any info on that?

My gosh, I feel like such a novus !

 

[sparks879]

the pictures didn;t come through the first time i looked at this post. The bumps look to be some sort of bacteria infection, i would wash them with antibacterial soap a couple of times a day, make sure they are dry and then put some iodine on a q-tip and rub a little fo that on them.
He looks to be a boer goat to me as well. And like alyssa siad if he is not fixed yet thats something that is really easy to do.
beth

 

[daninz]

Hi Alyssa (beautiful name by the way, thats what I named my 11 yr old daughter) thanks for your reply, at the moment he is on milk, I didnt realise they need all that, as most people not in the know like me, think all they need is grass lol. so Im thankful for this site as I would like him to be a healthy goat.

I will definately keep my eye out for more goats, we have an ebay type internet board here, which sells animals too, and there are NO goats for sale on there at all at the moment, though I know my friend who bought me him got him off there, so it might just be the time of year.

I dont want my goat to be the type you see tied to a post on the side of country roads, Id like him to be a pet, not a lawn mower, but Id also like him not to be lonely as I know my kids will find him less fun as he gets older and is less playful.

 

[sparks879]

we must have posted at the same time....thats ok we all have to be newbies at one point, we can;t all instantly learn everything about goats.
here is a website that has a good variety of information about goats.
http://fiascofarm.com/
If there is a band around his parts then he is fixed, it will fall off in a few weeks time.
I would do like you said and see where your friend got him to see if you can find him a friend. Someday you may decide you do want a doe and may even want to breed her for your own cute babies and own yummy milk. I don;t know what new zealand has for goats as im in the US. I have an aunt that lives there but we havn't heard from her in years, she may not even live there anymore. Maybe i will see if i can dig her up and see if she knows anything about where to find a goat.
his cough could be due to worms, has he been wormed yet? He is right about the age where he would need his first worming.
And now that i look at those pictures again, if its not a bacterial infection on his nosw it could be he is allergic to something yes goats can have allergies, and that could be contributing to his coughing as well.

beth

 

[alyssa_romine]

Thanks Daninz! Welcome the The Goat Spot....can't believe I didn't already welcome you..silly me.

 

[daninz]

Thanks guys for your replies and welcome

 

[LiddleGoteGurl]

Welcome Danielle! That is one beautiful young man you have there . And yes, I agree with everyone else.. he certainly looks just like a Boer.

 

[sungoats]

Your little guy is very adorable! Just a thought about getting him a friend... Perhaps if you cannot find a goat friend you may be able to find a smaller breed of sheep and get him a little lamb friend. Do you think you may be able to find sheep in New Zealand!!??? :lol:

Seriously, I've had single goats that I put with my sheep and they were quite happy. Then again, the only thing better than a goat is MORE goats!!!

 

[StaceyRosado]

hi there!! Welcome!

everyone has given you great advice so I won't bore you with the same stuff.

Beings that it is summer there the bumps could be from ant bites or a bug bite. If you see him rubbing his nose on something that would be a big clue that it itches and are likely bites.

Cute fellow - glad you are on the look out for a friend.

The suggestion about sheep is a good one - sometimes sheep breeders know goat breeders as well.

 

[PACE]

Welcome! And congrats on your cutie! He looks so cheery!

As for the cough, does he have a snotty nose? Clear eyes? Do you notice it mostly after running around? It could be that with the weather he just has a dry throat or something, and that's fine. He may (and I kind of doubt he does) have lung worms. It's good to worm goats every now and then, probably every few months, with something like Ivermectin. You can get a tube of horse paste wormer and give it to him triple the horse dose (that's what I do, anyway, and it works well) Some people advise to give at the horse dose, so you can go either way. He could be stressed from the move, depending on when you got him. That can give them a bit of a cold. You could get Vick's vapor rub (Something like that, anyway) and put a little under his nose to open and sooth his airways a bit.

Another thing you'll want to do is trim his hooves every few months.

Start offering him grass hay free choice and maybe 1/2 cup of grain twice a day, so he learns when breakfast and supper time is. Goat minerals are important as well, to be left out all the time. And of course water.

You deffinitely want to be careful of what plans he eats, as many ornamentals are poisonous. Rhodedendrons (sp) and Japanese Yews are common, in the US anyway, and are highly toxic.

I'd also strongly suggest you find him a buddy. It's great that you are already looking. Goats do so much better when they have a friend.

You sound like a great goat owner already, and it's wonderful to do your research. We love pictures here, so post away

 

[StaceyRosado]

poisonous plant list. Drop down the box on the top right to go to individual plant pages

http://www.goatworld.com/health/plants/

 

[Sweet Gum Minis]

Welcome to the list! I agree with you that animals don't make good gifts unless there's someone genuinely willing to care for the animal should the gift not work out.

Congratulations on such a cutie though!!! I would deworm your little goat friend for the cough. Lumps, can't help you there.

 

[sweetgoats]

Welcome to the forum. Even though you might not know anything about goats, you came to the right place to get the information.
He is sure a cute little guy. I just love those babies. (did I miss his name)?

I agree with everyone, get another goat as soon as possible. I know you said you have to find one, so that will work. I do not agree with putting sheep with him. The ONLY reason is goats need a LOOSE mineral that they can have free choice, and it should have a copper in it, and sheep can NOT have copper. So if you put a lamb in with him you either do not give the goat the copper that they really need, or you give the goat the copper and hope that the lamb will not eat it.

I do understand what you mean about getting a animals like that as a gift, but I will promise you he will be the best gift you will have ever received. They are like Potato Chips. You can't have just one. Before long you will be telling us that you have several and you will be playing the waiting game with us, (having babies).

:greengrin:

 

[StaceyRosado]

as much as I push loose minerals now I also know that for 9 years I never used minerals and my goats were fine. To me a companion is more important at this time.

 

[Crissa]

Welcome! Well, I keep my sheep and goats together and I just give the goats a mineral supplement every now and again. (like a couple times a week)

 

[liz]

Hello and Welcome Danielle! Every one has already given you great advice to keep your little Bart healthy and happy. As far as worming goes, a good vet that deals with sheep can give you answers on what you can use for your kid.
As far as his nose goes, where does he sleep? Is he in a cage in the house with you or a dog crate? If you have him in a crate then it's entirely possible that the top of his nose is being rubbed as he sticks it in between the wires. A wash with an antibacterial soap daily and a bit of iodine dabbed on should clear it up.

Get him started on grain and hay as soon as you can...go a little at a time with the grain as he will be a piggy and end up with a tummy ache as well as diarhea. A12 percent protien sweet feed is good , as Alyssa said. Once he's on the hay and grain he won't need the milk though having him on a bottle is great cause then you can give him water with it and know that he is staying hydrated thru the summer months. BTW...He really should be eating most of his food and not drinking it by the time he's 3 months old, a milk bottle once a day after he's on solid food is good enough til he's at least 4 months after that give him water. Also, even though he's on a bottle now, make sure you provide a small pail of fresh water at all times.

Good Luck and before you know it you'll be a pro!!