Do I regret purchasing my goats? Deeply.
Just kidding! I love them so much and they are a beautiful part of my life. That being said... there are things I wish I had known before I brought them home.
Before I tell you a few of my most painful life lessons, I should say that I was probably overly confident because I had owned horses for so many years and if you know anything about horses, you probably know that they are notoriously expensive, accident prone, and sensitive. I freely admit that my thinking was pretty much: if I can deal with horses, goats are going to be a breeze.
It's ok. You can laugh at me. I deserve it.
Ok so let's get into it... What 5 things do I wish I had known before I got goats?
1. Goats are ROUGH on fences.
They lean and jump and push and test any and all fences to the limit. Hot fences will be your friend with goats but you better have those fences HOT because some goats just give ZERO fucks. Also... they can and will jump on things in order to get high enough to clear the fence. I mistakenly put a wooden spool semi close to a fence shortly after I brought home my two Nigerian Dwarfs and let's just say they escaped before I had time to make it back to the house. If anything, err on the side of having fences that might be a bit overkill.
And here's a photo of the aftermath of that incident and one of my cheeky little girls hanging out on top of my chicken coop while we revised her fencing situation.
2. Goat minerals matter!
And no, I'm not just talking about having access to minerals that are made for goats. I'm saying that not all minerals are made equally. I was using whatever goat mineral I found at my local feed store and my goats hated it, they never ate it and they looked honestly a little rough around the edges at times. I switched to Sweetlix Meat Maker Minerals and I am obsessed and so are my goats. They actually eat their minerals now and their health has never been better just do your research when it comes to minerals.
3. Get a proper feed set up and save yourself time and money
I have tried a LOT of options when it comes to feeding and it took a hot minute before I found a solution that really worked for me. I come from the horse world where hay on the ground doesn't usually mean wasted hay but with goats, once it touches the ground they won't touch it. It is THE most infuriating thing imo. I do think I have found a solution to this struggle though without buying an expensive goat pasture feeder for $350+. Before I show you my new set up, let me tell you what has NOT worked for me:
- Hay bags - still a ton of waste and I worry about them jumping on the hay bags and catching a leg
- Putting it in a big tub on the ground - they simply laid in it and then peed in it -_-
- Putting it straight on the ground - I was just throwing hay away with this set up
At this point in my life I just cannot imagine spending upwards of $400 on a fancy feeder for my goats even though I'm sure they are super useful. It just isn't for me. So what I did was get a cattle panel from the feed store, some clips or carabiners, and zip ties and created my own wall feeder.
*A note about the cattle panel: it does not have to be a cattle panel, it could be a hog panel, whatever. There are lots of names for this type of fencing but it is basically thick welded wire with various sizes of holes. It doesn't matter what type you get. Also, bonus points for checking in the "damaged" section of your feed store for one of these because they are usually a lot cheaper and it does not matter in the slightest if they are bent up a bit.
So here's what I did... I used bolt cutters to make the panel exactly the size I needed and then I used zip ties and carabiners to attach it to the wall a little loosely. You want it to be a little loose against the wall so you can stuff hay into it. And boom, there is a very functional hay feeder for very cheap.
I actually ended up putting two of these in my goat stall because I have one very bossy goat who is terrible at sharing so now the food is spread out and everyone has plenty of space to eat.
4. Not all vets will see goats
In case you didn't already know, there are small animal vets and large animal vets and all sorts of vets in between and I assumed that goats would fall into the large animal vet category. My assumption was correct. Sort of. Except goats are ruminants and, in my experience, not all large animal vets have a lot of experience (or desire to gain experience) with ruminants.
In a nutshell, goats fall into this in between place of not expensive enough that owners are willing to spend big bucks on care and they also aren't common enough that there is a ton of research done about goat specific veterinary care.
I can already hear people yelling at me that goats are common. Yes. I hear you. They aren't rare by any means but generally it is more cost effective to simply put down the goat and buy a new one. Harsh? Yes. But hi, welcome to the reality of farm life. Most people don't have the money to treat their goats with the same care that they might treat their family dog.
All of this is to say that before you bring home your sweet chaotic goats, make sure you have found a vet that is knowledgable about their care and willing to see them on an emergent basis. Unfortunately, emergent veterinary visits are simply unavoidable when it comes to creatures as chaotic and cheeky as goats.
I would start the vet search by reaching out to large animal clinics near you but don't be surprised or discouraged if they don't see goats. Just keep calling and you'll eventually find someone!
5. Poop
Ah yes, ending on the subject of poop might not be the most GLAMOROUS ending to this little list but it is something to consider. I'm not just talking about their hard little bunny turds either, they pee too and it is rather stinky. This isn't necessarily a problem, you just need to plan for the litter disposal. Whether your goats are in a shelter in a field or in a stall in a barn, you're going to need to clean that out at some point.
For me, my goats spend their evenings and the rainy days in a large horse stall that I have converted for them. It has bedding in it and I pick out the pee from that bedding once a day, every day, 365 days a year. That bedding adds up so you either need to have a compost pile, a large poop pile or simply a yard waste bin to dump it all into. Planning for litter removal and disposal is key for your farm if you want to keep the bugs and the smell to a minimum.
If you have read this list and are feeling rather overwhelmed or discouraged, I encourage you to grab a glass of wine, a dog to snuggle or a big bowl of pasta (whatever coping method you prefer) and reassess after a good nights sleep. I will say from personal experience that I have NEVER added on a new animal and not experienced at least a few moments of intense and crippling panic. Could that be an underlying and undiagnosed anxiety disorder? Possibly. But it is normal and ok to feel all those feelings AND to still want to get goats.
So strap in. Brace for a little chaos (and a whole lot of shenanigans) when you bring your goaties home and know that these bumps in the road are inevitable.
