Hi! I'm Elise, I just joined. I'd like to introduce myself and ask a few questions.
My family and I are looking into purchasing two or three young NDG wethers to have as companions/pets in our backyard (don't worry, there's space.) Since we will likely be bringing them home around mid-July, I'm doing all the research I can to find out how to care for them.
I know that I'll need a shelter (we're probably going with a large dog house), plenty of water and wire fencing around where we'd like to keep them, and some sort of hay and grain supplement. But that last thing is what I'm struggling with, as I get lots of different complicated answers online that I know depend on the age and gender of the goats as well as what's available and the climate.
Here's basically the situation most likely: there will be two young (under 6 months, probably around 2 or 3) NDG wethers living in a roughly 300 sq ft enclosure with mostly regular sod grass and a couple other random plants and low-ish hanging branches of trees (no poisonous plants, I checked) in southwestern Tennessee in a suburban area.
What I need to know is:
What type of hay should I purchase and how much?
Should I give them a grain/mineral/protein/whatever supplement?
If so, what kind?
For how long?
Do they need a salt or mineral block?
Any other things to know?
Anyone who can help, thank you so much!!
Replies
Rich hay is like alfalfa hay or any others that are rich in protein and calcium and very fresh. Mixed grass hay should be fine.
You're welcome Elise, I'm fairly new to goats myself so I can just share what seems to be working for my critters.
I made a rookie mistake when I first got my kids and gave them Noble Goat by Purina without noticing that it's medicated. For me personally, I don't like giving medicated feed to animals that aren't sick. There are other feeds that aren't medicated. I gave Dumor goat feed from Tractor Supply. There are amount recommendations on the bag, and it will depend on how much they are getting from other food sources.
You can probably wean them off slowly from about 6 months to a year. As far as Chaffhaye goes, I have tried it twice and didn't have good luck with it. My goats weren't crazy about it so they didn't eat much of it and it molded before I was even halfway through the bag. However, some people swear by it and it is a highly nutritious food for a young goat.
Regarding the citric acid, what I do is buy it where you get canning supplies in the grocery store. A common name is Fruit Fresh, but there are others. The label should say 100% citric acid. I give it at a rate of 1/2 a teaspoon a day, top dressed on the grain. It's really a preventative, it keeps the urine acidic so they (hopefully) don't develop calculi. Cheap and easy, and for me, effective.
Also, I read about this thing called Chaffhaye, is that a good choice?
Elise Rollen said:
Thanks so much! I may need more detail on how to supplement young growing wethers' diets with "goat ration" as you put it - would this be a different type of hay or an extra grain supplement or...? And when should I wean them off of this richer diet and just give them grass hay? Do you have any brands you'd recommend?
Also, when you say to give them citric acid, in what form?
Again, thanks so much.
Julieanne Cook said:
Hi Elise, I'm your next door neighbor in North Carolina. Welcome.
I have a wether, I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. They're a great choice if you just want pet goats because they're pretty low maintenance. And they can be sweeties, which mine is when he's not being a butthead. hehehe...
To answer your questions, I can tell you what I do with my wether. His main diet is mixed grass hay and some browse, i.e. tree and shrub leaves, bark, etc. He gets a TINY amount (about 2 tablespoons) of a mix of grain and black oil sunflower seeds when I'm graining my girls at milking time, just so he doesn't feel left out. Depending on how much browse you have available, you should need about a large flake of hay a day for two wethers. They have a tendency to overeat, but they don't need a lot since there's no real demands on their bodies.
You want to be careful not to give too much grain or rich hay to wethers because they have a tendency to develop urinary calculi on a rich diet. One way to avoid this is to give ammonium choloride to them, or you could do what I do and just give them some citric acid. Make sure they have plenty of fresh water at all times.
All goats need supplementary minerals. They should be given in loose form as a free choice feed. They need to have the right balance of magnesium and phosphorus, and adequate copper and selenium. Most people here use Sweetlix or MannaPro minerals as they meet these requirements. You can also offer salt and baking soda free choice if you like, some goats need that and some don't. Mine seem to get what they need from the minerals alone.
With all this being said, I should note this is what I do with my adult wether. If you are getting kids, then you can give them a goat ration in greater amounts to help them grow. Just watch carefully for signs of urinary problems, which can be nasty if left untreated. Hunching up to pee is a sign they are having blockage problems.
But for the most part, wethers are easy keepers. Goats are very adaptable. With enough care and attention, they will do fine in a backyard setting,