How to Raise Goats: A Beginner’s Guide to the Essentials
Are you interested in raising goats? If so, you might want to learn from the experience of other homesteaders who have made mistakes and learned from them. There is nothing like making a mistake to teach you a valuable lesson that you will never forget.
And now you can benefit from the lessons I have learned by following this checklist of how to raise goats in your backyard. This is your goat care 101 guide to raising and caring for your new herd.
- Safe Shelter Goats need some kind of shelter, no matter where you live. They need a place to escape from the weather–the rain, snow, wind, even the sun. A sheltered area to stay cool or dry.
The kind of shelter you need will depend on the seasons where you live. If you live in a warmer climate, a lean-to will do, but a colder climate will need a barn or shed.
- Productive Pasture Goats love to graze, so you need to have some pasture for them.
A few acres will be enough for a medium-sized herd. If you have any trees in your pasture that you want to keep, you need to protect them somehow. A cattle panel that is bent into a square and staked out far enough is all you need to protect the tree.
Goats will eat the bark and any leaves and branches they can reach.
- Quality Fencing You know the saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” I bet a goat owner came up with that. No matter how good the pasture is on the inside of the fence, your goats will think it is better on the outside. That’s why you need good, strong, and reliable fencing.
There are many kinds of goat fencing, but I like an electric fence. I find that this fence will keep a trained goat in at all times.
Notice I said trained. That’s because having a reliable fence is not enough. Your goats need to be trained to respect the fence and stay away from it.
- Appropriate Feed It’s true, goats can live on pasture alone but most of the time, you will need to give them some grain and/or hay. This depends on where you live. Know what your area is lacking in so you can give them the right goat feed and herbs.
Preventative health care is much easier than dealing with sick goats. Give them the right feed so you can be sure your herd is healthy at all times. 5. Fresh Water And I mean fresh water. Goats are very picky, and they need fresh water at all times (or at least daily) to make sure they drink enough. Use waterers that are easy to empty and fill.
When it’s hot, I find that giving them fresh cool water makes them drink more often. This stops them from getting dehydrated on really hot days. 6. Hands-On Care If you want healthy and happy goats, you need to pay attention to them. Touch your goats, look at your goats, walk around your goats every single day. This will make it clear when something is wrong. Goats are good at hiding their symptoms, and by the time they show, it might be too late.
Know how your goat looks and acts so you can spot the slightest sign of trouble and treat it quickly and effectively.
Goats are some of the most rewarding animals to have on a homestead and taking these extra steps will help you have a herd that is healthy and happy.