Lets talk about goats!

[MakelaNJoe]

Never give him water in a bottle again. He is getting plenty of fluids from his milk. He needs to only drink water from a bowl or bucket, on his own, as he desires. Kids will easily overdrink more than their body needs, whether it is milk or water, when given a bottle.

Goats are sensitive to hemoglobinuria induced by drinking large volumes of water from a bottle.

Ok is it normal for a 4 week old not to drink water on his own yet? That was my main concern i havent yet seen him drink water just his bottles! I have plenty of water spots buckets dog bowls even a mini kid pool all that i fill daily with fresh water but havent seen him go near yet.

 

[Stacykins]

Ok is it normal for a 4 week old not to drink water on his own yet? That was my main concern i havent yet seen him drink water just his bottles! I have plenty of water spots buckets dog bowls even a mini kid pool all that i fill daily with fresh water but havent seen him go near yet.

He doesn't have another goat to learn from, so it will take him longer to drink from a bowl or bucket. And yes, it is normal. A kid that age, even one who does learn from their mother, only takes a few sips of water here or there because the fluid needs are being met through milk which amounts for most of the diet. When he gets old enough to start reducing the amount of milk he is getting bottle fed, he will feel an increased thirst drive and will drink water elsewhere.

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Here are some undated pics I took this morning. Those others did no justice. They are beautiful. Now just need some does.

 

[potagergirl]

Thank you for the welcome!
The excitement of days with La Mancha continues.... Each goat took just a tad longer then 30 minutes each. We actually got milk to keep this morning and nobody fussed after the first 45 minutes because we didn't go that long! Yippppeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm getting this milking thing down better. I did watch videos again last night and this morning. Though my steps were clunk at least I made it through each one =)
Here are pics of my 2 darling new additions to the family .....

 

[MakelaNJoe]

[COLOR=333333]Here are some undated pics I took this morning. Those others did no justice. They are beautiful. Now just need some does.[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333] [/COLOR]

How adorablbe!!! I love the blue eyes!

 

[lizardandchicks]

Soooo excited! We got our two La Mancha today. They are soooo sweet. Neither seem to be very happy they can't get out of the pin we have them in which is a good thing for us. We have never owned goats before so with two milking goats let's say it was a revelation in how wimpy I really am =) I knew it would take a while to figure out how to get the milk out a bit more then an hour for each goat. No milk to show for it both were able to get their foot into the bucket. That's okay though, the chickens will sure love all that milk tomorrow. They can eat while I am once again learning to milk the goats correctly. I was very proud at the fact I milked until the teats were completely empty. I'm really praying it takes less then an hour each in the morning. I have to say they really did try to be patient with me. Each one has an adorable name: Emily and Delilah just so precious! I'll try to get some pictures of my precious girls tomorrow as well

Yay! Congratulations. Our only goat is a boy, so I don't get to have experience with that yet. Good job with getting the milking down this morning, in only half the time. They look lovely. Keep us updated!

 

[MakelaNJoe]

Yay! Congratulations. Our only goat is a boy, so I don't get to have experience with that yet.  Good job with getting the milking down this morning, in only half the time. They look lovely. Keep us updated!

Have you had any problems with having only one goat? I just got a nigerian dwarf hes about a month old and hes a bottle baby im going to be getting his brother once he is weaned but everyone keeps telling me how horrible i am for only having one goat

 

[potagergirl]

New to goats here. We purchased two because of all the reading I had done stating they are social animals and if you do not have more then one they tend to have increased problems including stress and disease. I do not know if this is true but the books I read and info on the net all leaned towards this. Also, if it is not another goat it should be a hoofed animal as a companion like a donkey etc.. Just thought I would mention what I read but the others have real experience.

 

[MakelaNJoe]

I can see your point ^ my little Napoleon doesnt seem to realize the girl dogs he runs around with dont have hooves maybe he is still too young? But anyways his brother will be joining is in a month for his company just waiting for him to be weaned.

 

[lizardandchicks]

Have you had any problems with having only one goat? I just got a nigerian dwarf hes about a month old and hes a bottle baby im going to be getting his brother once he is weaned but everyone keeps telling me how horrible i am for only having one goat

We got him back in March when he was 4 hours old since his mom rejected him, out of the 3. He does seem lonely some times, and I feel guilty about having only one, but he is fine when we let him play with our dog. One thing I do find interesting is that our dog is a girl, and he has attempted mating with her several times. We have began to neuter him, but let me just say, I am glad she is fixed. Look! It is the first goat-dog! Yeah, I think he needs another boy goat for a friend. Here he is a bit ago.