Urban Newbie

Hi all!

I am a teenager from Tucson, Arizona, and have been looking into getting goats. I have several questions before I can get goats, and one big problem: Mom hasn't agreed yet. Any tips on convincing her a couple of nigis would be the perfect addition to our family would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have two 30 lb German shepherd mixes from the Humane Society. One of the dogs is very sweet, but can get a little freaked out by new animals as a result of his limited eyesight. Because of this, he is actually nicer around less defensible animals, especially younger animals. However, once he is friends with an animal, he has never had any problems. The other is just about the most sociable animal you can imagine, having made friends with cats and any other animal she has come across. So I guess my questions here are

1. Is there somewhere I can introduce my dogs (on leash, of course) to some nigis? I know when we got the younger of the two, the HSSA had a "meet and greet" yard where we could see if the dogs got along, and I thought it would be a good idea to do something similar with goats.

2. Would goats be able to learn to understand puppy play? I have seen some videos of goats playing together, and know that they can be rough players. I was planning on getting dehorned goats anyway, so I don't think the goats would hurt the dogs while playing, and my dogs are small enough I don't think they could accidentally hurt nigis, but would my dogs chasing each other around the yard freak nigis out? Would they be more likely to be okay  with this kind of play if they were younger when we got them, and grew up around it? (The dogs do know that baby means be gentle)

3. One of my dogs is an escape artists. I have read that nigis can be contained by a 4 ft. fence, but my dog likes to jump our 6 ft. wall when she gets bored. (because, you know, going to school without her is such an abuse). I'm pretty sure she does that "double-jump" thing that should only be possible in video games, taking a flying leap and then jumping again off the vertical wall. We do have a shock fence installed, but when we are not home, we currently have to keep her locked inside when we are not home because I guess the neighbors' cat food is worth a slight shock to her. We are trying to retrain her so we can actually use our dog door again. Anyway, I guess I have two completely unrelated questions here: Any ideas for stopping escape artists? and I know goats are not supposed to be able to get over anywhere near 6 ft, but if she goes, will they follow?

Another is, I live backing a wash, and while coyotes are not a concern during the day, they run the wash at night. Because of this, we keep our dogs locked in the house at night, and would probably do the same for the goats. I have heard about people's kids teaching their goats to sleep in bed with them, so I know it's possible to house train them to some extent, but would they be able to hold their pee for eight hours, or would I need to provide them with some variation of a litter box? Also, any tips on house training?

I know this one sounds a little weird, but would goats be able to use a dog door? The one we have installed is definitely big enough for a Labrador, which is a size comparison I have seen used with nigis several times, and has been used as an entry by adults who forgot a key. Since where we live is so hot, I would like the goats to be able to go in and out at their leisure.

I am pleased to have joined this community. Thanks in advance for any help, and I would also appreciate insight on indirectly related issues, and things I might not have thought of.

Emily

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  • When my youngest daughter was a teen, she loved having baby goats in her room. Many even slept with her. However, that never lasted more than a couple of weeks. She kept one goat in there for a whole month, but that was the longest. Although you can teach them to pee on a towel or something soft, assuming you have hard floors so they can tell when they're on the towel, you can't teach them to poop where you want them to. They just let it fly when the urge hits.

    You are right that goats need to be protected from coyotes, but all the goats I've known spend their nights in a barn or goat house. It sounds like you don't have a shelter outdoors, so that would be my biggest suggestion. You could even buy one of those backyard sheds at a home supply store like Home Depot. 

    Keeping goats in the house can be very dangerous. Some of the babies we've had in the house wound up eating paper or chewing on electrical cords.

    And be VERY, very careful about having your dogs around the goats. German shepherds have a very high prey drive. I know someone who got a GS mix from a shelter, and he came home one day to find the dog eating one of his goat kids.

  • Thank you for your advice. I would still feel more comfortable having them in the house at night, because like I said we have a wash behind our house and the coyotes like to run through it, but we do have a family room that the previous owners had converted from a garage, so that tells you about how far away it is from the bedrooms. Would it be feasible to give the goats a place to sleep there, or even in the laundry/storage room beyond that? I have heard of people crating their goats inside to keep them safer from coyotes.

    I don't think the coyotes have ever come in the yard, but they might do so for tasty goat meat. I guess part of the reason I don't want to leave the goats out is because we have always locked the dogs in to protect them from the coyotes, and they could probably stand up to them a whole lot better than a goat. It just seems silly to leave them in potential danger when their protectors are safely locked away.

    I do have a shaded porch in my backyard already, and possibly even a large dog house on said porch.

    Thanks for the advice about goats' nocturnal habits, I would not like being woken up in the middle of the night.

  • Hi Emily, and welcome. I thought I'd offer my opinion on your plans, and maybe it will help you in your quest to get Nigerians.

    I should start off saying that I'm a mother, and because of that I can kind of see why your Mom isn't saying yes to your plan. It takes a LOT of time, patience and dedication to "house train" goats. While ND's especially can be loving pets, they are still livestock and really should be outdoors. Since you say you're a teenager and likely still in school, you probably won't have the time to train your goats to be indoor animals. And the hours you are away from home, it will have to fall to someone else to look after them. I don't know if your Mom works or not, but if she's home during the day it will be she who has that task. And while they are in the training process, they can make an awful mess in the house. 

    As far as sleeping with you goes, I really don't think that will work. Goats wake up with the dawn, and especially the young ones will be raring to go. That can be difficult for a teenager like you, who if you are anything like my sons were when they were teens, need lots of sleep and like to sleep in. Goats will probably not sleep straight through the night either. They may wake up, chew cud, want water, etc. That can really disturb your rest.

    I don't want to discourage you from getting goats, but I do think you and your family would be better off if you make a plan to have them outdoors. Goats' needs are very simple as far as shelter goes, you certainly won't need a barn or anything. Just a place where they can get shade and stay out of the rain. Goats hate rain! 

    As far as your dogs go, you mentioned that they are German Shepherd mixes. I have always had my German Shepherds around my livestock and because they are a herding breed, that instinct kicks in pretty well and they tend to be protective of their "charges". That being said you do have to have an initial training period so that they know not to get too rough with them. But most dogs seem to know when other animals belong to their pack, and behave accordingly. 

    I hope you take my advice in the spirit in which it is intended because I think it's great you want to get into goats. I always try to remember that the needs of the animal, according to its species, are the main thing I need to consider if I want to have a happy and healthy animal. It can be easy to think of what we want in a pet, but that doesn't always mean it's what's best for them. Just some food for thought!

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