Hi guys! My name is Nicole and I signed up a little while ago. I just went today to go put a deposit on my very first goat ! He's 4 weeks old I have to still get him dehorned and neutered. But I pick him up in the next couple weeks and will be picking up another goat since bucks or any goat should be alone
Just wanted to welcome myself and will be posting more in this community ! Here's a pic of Ike !
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your little guy should have been disbudded when he was a week old or younger. You should NOT dehorn goats like cattle. If you buy a goat from a reputable breeder, they will disbud and castrate the goat for you. This is NOT something that you need to do after you buy the goat. With the size of his horns -- and if you are not going to get him dehorned for another two weeks -- you would need to take him to the vet, and he should be anesthetized, which will get expensive, and some goats don't do well with anesthesia. Plus recovering from dehorning is terrible, and some goats don't survive.
Also, if he is being dam-raised, he should not be taken away from his mother at six weeks. Goats need milk for at least eight weeks.
I know it's exciting to bring goats into your life, but this doesn't sound like a great way to start. I'm worried that either you've misunderstood information from the breeder, or the breeder is new and doesn't know all of this.
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Welcome to the group!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your little guy should have been disbudded when he was a week old or younger. You should NOT dehorn goats like cattle. If you buy a goat from a reputable breeder, they will disbud and castrate the goat for you. This is NOT something that you need to do after you buy the goat. With the size of his horns -- and if you are not going to get him dehorned for another two weeks -- you would need to take him to the vet, and he should be anesthetized, which will get expensive, and some goats don't do well with anesthesia. Plus recovering from dehorning is terrible, and some goats don't survive.
Also, if he is being dam-raised, he should not be taken away from his mother at six weeks. Goats need milk for at least eight weeks.
I know it's exciting to bring goats into your life, but this doesn't sound like a great way to start. I'm worried that either you've misunderstood information from the breeder, or the breeder is new and doesn't know all of this.
Sweet! Best wishes!