Hi guys! I am new to the group, but before I introduce myself and my goats, I have a more pressing matter that I need some very experienced goat owners to weigh in on....
I am very new to owning goats. I rescued a bonded pair of approximately 1.5 year old Nigerian Dwarf Goats, a buck and a doe, from an animal hording situation where they had been living in horrific conditions. My female (Jelly) gave birth to her first doeling (Nutella) on Jan 31, so I've been keeping the girls separate from my buck (Peanut Butter) for the last 5 weeks, with short supervised visits every day or 2. Peanut Butter became very sick Wednesday evening, so we rushed him down to the vet the night before our first and worst snow storm of the winter. Unfortunately, after 4 days of treatment, his condition declined and there was nothing more we could do. Thursday morning was the start of 4 straight days of snow, so the girls had been hanging out inside their stall the entire time Peanut Butter had been gone. Yesterday afternoon was the first time they were able to go outside, so Jelly almost immediately noticed Peanut Butter wasn't in his stall or out with our LGD. After the sun went down, she stood out in the snow bleating every few minutes, which is abnormal for her, as she's very quiet and usualy only ever bleats in response to Peanut Butter talking her head off. My LGD immediately fell in love with both of them, the moment he met them. He spent every single day, for the past 5 weeks, out in the field with Peanut Butter keeping him company in Jelly's absence. I know bonded pairs can become so sad, stressed or depressed when they lose their partners, that it could possibly effect their health. Not only did she lose the only other goat she's ever known, before Nutella's arrival, she also just experienced her very first snow storm, hasn't been out to forage for days, so her diet abruptly changed back to a much more boring hay/feed. My lil mama is going through a lot of drastic changes this week, so I really want to keep a close eye on her. If she starts to get too depressed or experiencing stress, is there any signs that I can look for or specific things that I should be concerned about? My other main concern is if she does become sad, depressed or stressed out, could this effect her ability to continue to nurse/care for Nutella. I know goats need companions, so I wasn't sure if Nutella will be enough to occupy her and make this transition easier. I would ideally like to get her another companion about her age and/or size or older in the future, but I also want to give Jelly plenty of time to adjust to all of the changes. My fear is that she could become over-protective of Nutella, or possibly become aggressive towards a new goat if she isn't ready or simply didn't like them. Is there a specific age Nutella needs to reach before we expose her to new animals? I apologize if I asked too many questions or not the right ones. I feel like I'm underprepared and too inexperienced to navigate this situation on my own. Any and all suggestions, comments or advice is greatly appreciated!!!
Replies
It's great that she has her kid for company. As long as she keeps eating, she'll be fine.
I wouldn't get a new goat until the kid is a couple of months old. There WILL be head butting, so be sure you get a goat that will be an even match in terms of size and whether it has horns. If you just want pets, get a wether (castrated male).