New to the world of goats, or just catching up on info?
No worries—your interest in them is already a positive sign! We’re not vets, , but Alexia and I have six years each, of goat experience we’d like to share (and then learn some from you, too)

Basic Needs (if someone gave you a goat right now, what do you need to do immediately?)

So, what do these fascinating creatures need, eat, and do? While you could go all out and construct a lavish goat hotel, their needs are quite simple: safety and comfort are paramount. Nigerian Dwarf goats, for instance, aren’t fans of rain; even a few drops can send them scurrying back to the kraal. The veld goats are not too worried about getting a little damp, or so they try to convince us. Providing a shelter with a sturdy roof is essential, offering protection from rain, chilly winds, and the scorching summer sun. While grazing, they’ll seek shade as necessary and may return to the kraal periodically throughout the day. Our shelters, sized at approximately 3×3 meters per ten dwarf goats (or three veld goats), promote a cozy huddling atmosphere, especially during winter months.

New Kids. Yes, kids, not lambs.

Newborn kids are remarkably resilient to both hot and cold weather, provided they’ve dried off before facing frosty winds. It’s generally unnecessary (and best) to leave them be; allow them to bond and be themselves for a while, while you enjoy the sight from outside of their personal space.
Our experience has shown that goats are quite adept at giving birth even on rainy winter nights, typically without issue. Funny enough, in afrikaans there is a term “boklam-weer”, which translates to “goat kid weather”; it’s the absolute worst weather.  Our opinion is that they do this to spite us 🙂
While it’s best not to interfere with the birthing process, being present to offer assistance if needed is perfectly acceptable—and advisable. Labour can span several hours and may initially be stressful for both the doe and yourself. Grab a chair, watch and learn. If things go weird, you can step in.  Some folks like to call a vet to come around and help, but Alexia learnt to handle these situations herself. You do whatever you are comfortable with. In the end, there are almost never issues with goats, especially in the types that humans didn’t have too much say in.

A Note On Breeding (If you’re really new to this, and not a breeder, you probably shouldn’t)

Remember that keeping your goats happy and healthy, means that they will produce and perform at their best, too. Bred responsibly, from no younger than one year old, they are able to produce twins most of the time (sometimes even triplets). Goats can get pregnant earlier on, but it is inadvisable. They are good dairy providers, and can even be further bred for dairy conformity. The high butterfat and protein percentage of the milk makes it very suitable for culinary use, cheese-making and drinking. It is also healthier and stays in the human stomach for much shorter than cows milk, as the lipase enzymes in humans break down the fats in goat milk a lot quicker. While not as common (but growing), they are formidable quality meat producers for their size, if this is your inclination. They are alert, protective to the herd and juveniles (up to a point, where they start getting annoyed with them). Keeping them healthy and happy is a matter of feeding them correctly, giving them space and keeping an eye on them. Proper animal husbandry counts for you, here. Bucks can be castrated, while still young, to preserve their pre-buck’ish temperament and avoid breeding.

If you plan to breed, PLAN to breed. The best thing you can do is research. You will have to know when to isolate bucks from does, and what to do. If there’s one thing we find most important, it is to keep detailed notes on each animals to track its lineage. Even when we sell, we ask the new owners about the fate of the goat, it’s new name and to let us know, kindly, when it is resold. This sounds intrusive, but it helps a lot to know which animal is where in the distant future. This avoid inbreeding and causing problems when the son of daughter of a goat you previously owned, comes back your way. The world is small, and it happens. Information is power. By protecting your own goats, you are also protecting the future of the breed you are working with. Collaborating with other breeders is much more useful than it seems, and in many cases, referring ‘leads’ to each other is just as useful, and it happens. There are too many breeders who mix in a little of this and that, and try to get away with it by just advertising a goat in simple terms. Be honest, and be be critical about your information and that of your suppliers. Ask for photos, lineage, information, follow up. A breeder that finds it offensive, probably has something to hide, or worse, doesn’t actually know. Harsh, but true.

Accidental Mating and the differences between line-, in- and cross-breeding

We sometimes have accidental break-outs in enclosures, or a miscalculation that leads to a pregnancy between siblings or up to a grandparent. Line breeding is one thing, but knowing when it’s not good, is another. When this happens, we give our goat a name, as we always do, and mark it as tainted. It lives a normal life, and goes through normal sales if needed, but with transparent information. In many cases, a buck can be castrated and makes for a good companion to humans or other goats (called a wether); at other times, some folks may prefer it as a meat’er, or to use it simply to breed meat’ers. As long as animals as treated with love, respect and given a goat’s good life, we do not judge. Again, information and communication is paramount. We will never sell you a goat, without telling you about these things…

Line Breeding

Line breeding is a controlled form of breeding that involves mating individuals who are distantly related, often sharing a common ancestor several generations back. The goal is to concentrate the desirable traits of that ancestor while minimizing the risks associated with closer inbreeding. Line breeding is commonly used to reinforce specific qualities in a lineage without excessively narrowing the gene pool.

Inbreeding

Inbreeding refers to the mating of closely related individuals, such as siblings or parent-offspring, to intensify certain traits within a population. While it can be effective in creating uniformity, inbreeding also increases the risk of genetic defects and reduced vitality, as it amplifies the expression of recessive, potentially harmful genes.

Cross Breeding

Cross breeding involves mating individuals from different breeds or genetic lines to introduce new traits, enhance genetic diversity, and improve hybrid vigor (heterosis). This method is often used to combine the strengths of different breeds, resulting in offspring that may exhibit better health, productivity, or adaptability than either parent breed.

Like all livestock, they eat and poop. If you’re like us, you’d want to close that nutrient cycle as much as possible. Goats waste a lot of dry matter (sometimes up to 50%). By raking up, cleaning the pens and composting this matter along with their manure, you can build a really valuable source of compost for your gardens, or to grow feed for them again.

Water and Eating Habits

Maintaining a fresh, cool water supply is crucial, occasionally supplemented with electrolytes or vitamins to support them during extreme weather conditions. Goats are browsers by nature, nibbling on various vegetation as they roam. While they generally avoid toxic plants, it’s wise to monitor and manage their surroundings. Ensuring a nutritious feed is available encourages them to consume the right foods. There’s some things they won’t eat, because they can be fussy. There’s other things they shouldn’t eat (like Kraalbos), but ours never tried. One bite and they walk away. You will have to do some homework on your area, learn about what’s around and enjoy the bonus floral knowledge you will gain about your land.

Nigerian dwarf goats, like most goats, have a broad variety of minerals and dietary requirements. The good news is that it’s not very complicated, and that goats are smart. They know what they need, most of the time, and will decide what to eat when they need it most.  They definitely require dry matter; the brown and dry stuff like wheat, oat or barley hay or properly dried lucerne(alfalfa). Lucerne is very expensive, with a bit more nutritional value than say, oat hay. In most cases, cheaper daily oat hay will be more than OK if they get a good variety of other things. If you can afford it, go for it.

Goats need minerals like calcium (bone and muscle, milk production), phosphorous (for reproductive health), Salt (for nerves, fluid balance and muscle contraction), Magnesium (for muscles and enzyme function), Zinc and Copper (blood health, immune function and skin pigmentation), Manganese, Selenium and so on. They can extract these minerals from their dry matter, in tiny amounts, and from a good Wildlide, Goat or “Lamb & Ewe” pellet. Additionally, one can dose the drinking water with a liquid supplement. Lastly, a mineral block kept dry and out of the sun, acts as a free choice source of other minerals. Goats that can browse in a natural veld, will require less of these supplemental things, as they tend to go out to specifically pick things to fill those gaps.

Our feeding approach is straightforward: when goats are introduced to a new area, we keep them confined for a couple of weeks, providing enticing treats daily at the same time. This teaches them that rewards await at day’s end. In the veld, they graze among acacia trees, renosterbos, grasses, and assorted shrubs. Upon returning to the kraal, they’re offered roughage and pellets to maintain optimal health. The pellets are like ice-cream to them. Crushed mielies are extremely popular in the goat kraals, but do limit the intake. Too much corn/mielies is a bad thing, as it could cause acidoses, bloat and things like laminitis (unpleasant hoof inflammation). Corn is also low in fibre, but aids with weight gain. We give a tiny bit of crushed corn every day, to reward them for coming back at the same time daily. It also contains a lot of energy and helps them warm up a bit on icy nights.

We give them roughage, in form of teff (Eragrostis Teff), oat hay, lucerne(Alfalfa), and the like, particularly during chilly nights to aid rumination and warmth; this depends on what we can find affordably from neighbours. Pellets serve as supplementary feed, complementing their diet effectively. While we can’t cater to each goat’s individual preferences, we ensure they’re accustomed to browsing and socializing with the herd. Herd dynamics play a crucial role in their well-being, so we recommend a minimum of three goats for companionship. The more, the merrier! When it comes to training or bonding, bribery can be your ally. Offering pellets by hand encourages friendly interaction and facilitates milking training over time. Initially, some goats may be hesitant to affection, but with patience and gentle handling, they’ll soon warm up to it. Ultimately, raising your own kids from day one provides invaluable control and insight into their development.

While there are certain vegetables goats should avoid, such as nightshades like tomatoes and brinjals, they can safely consume most other varieties, including brassicas (in moderation). After cultivating crops like mielies, sunflowers, or pumpkins, our goats eagerly assist in clearing away leftover vegetation. This cyclical process not only minimizes waste but also contributes to improved soil health, illustrating the ‘interconnectedness’ of goats, feed, food, and soil enrichment. It’s a win-win scenario!

We also grow larger areas of our own oats, pumpkins, beetroot, radish, beans etc. We tend to pick veggies from their areas for ourselves, and give them the residue that remains, like stalks and leaves. This works well and saves a lot of money, too. They will happily eat vegetable scraps and cuttings from your garden and kitchen, but again, do some homework. For instance, avo is not a good idea. We grow a lot of our own vegetables, with the intent of providing feed to them, and food to us. Radish, carrot and beetroot are some examples. We enjoy the roots, and they get the tops (often dried for storage). They can also get into the carrots ands beetroot, but we find that not all of them enjoy it the same. Another example is pumpkin, which they enjoy the leaves and fruit of, while it supplies us with food, as well.

If you’re in a pinch

If you really feel like you don’t know what to feed them, or you do not have access to grazing areas: keep it simple.
Give them dry matter/roughage to keep the rumen and digestive system functional and to add bulk to what they expect to eat. From a bale, a 20-30cm ‘slice’ of bale will do, per two goats, per day.
Accompany this with a bit of quality pellets (wildlife, lamb & ewe or so). We use a 1 kg yoghurt container as a scoop, per day, per two goats.
Add treats (at times you’d like them to be around, as training) – things like carrots or greens or fresh cuts from your backyard trees.

Monitor weight and comfort, and adjust as needed, depending on physical activity and access to other things. You can ignore the begging and manipulation tactics, as they quickly learn to call for food. This is one of the reasons we stick to a schedule. It trains them to be at a certain place, on time, everyday, and that humans are not constant sources of food. Of course, if you like that sort of thing, go for it.

Let’s talk about gardens. It’s a common query we receive, and just like chickens, goats contribute positively by wandering around, leaving their mark. However, if left unchecked, they can wreak havoc on your prized flower beds and vegetable patches. We’ve learned this firsthand, employing chickens to control parasites post-grazing—they certainly get around! My advice is always the same: Protect what you hold dear. We’ve found that fencing off vegetable gardens and shielding trees, especially young saplings, with sturdy fencing rings is the most effective method. It’s better to be safe than sorry. While our Border Collies have been trained to deter them from the house area, goats are cunning and can devise schemes aplenty. They have a penchant for thorny prickly-pears and will consume them without hesitation (it’s actually beneficial for them).

Now, onto temperament. The majority of our goats are gentle, affable creatures. Both our dwarf and veld goats are remarkably docile and quick learners, making them delightful companions. However, like humans, they exhibit varying attitudes, habits, and personalities. Some may be less inclined to socialize with people than others. During rutting season, bucks may emit a stronger scent and display peculiar behaviors (some even amusing), like snorting and hissing while vying for the attention of does in heat. While it’s often a source of amusement for us, it’s worth considering when planning your enclosures. Does may vocalize their greetings upon seeing you, while bucks are more likely to exude… well, a distinct goat odor. It’s something to ponder during your preparations.

In our experience, out of the many bucks we’ve had—five specifically selected for their genetic traits—only one proved to be aggressive and unpleasant. It turns out he was allowed to dominate and climb on to humans from an early age and once he matured alongside does in heat – his behavior was unpleasant. He was promptly sold to an informed buyer. While such instances are rare, it’s crucial to manage your herd responsibly, ensuring they breed safely and lead fulfilling lives, irrespective of their role as a pet, worker, milker, or companion. You have the flexibility to decide whether to sell, exchange, or retain kids, and even opt to castrate bucks if necessary.

Horns? This topic could become frustrating. Many believe the horns are a danger to the goats and children. Naturally, these goats have horns and we allow them to keep them. Removing horns could be risky for the goat, affects the psychology and how other goats react and communicate (as it does with dog’s tails), not to mention other aspects (health wise). Furthermore, a goat will only touch its horns to something if it intends to do so. They are acutely aware of their horns and dimensions, and will not accidentally damage the paint-job on your Harley unless they intended to do that. In the end, the choice is yours to action responsibly and safely at the correct age. We do not support debudding, or breeding horns out genetically as this is not a part of the natural nigerian dwarf goat, and may highlight issues that should be adjusted in the goat’s environment. Is it the right animal for you, your property and did you consider everything from kid to old buck age?

Hopefully, this article helped to kindle some thoughts, and provide a better idea of what to expect, what you can gain or risk. It may very not be what you wanted to hear, but this comes from our experience and that of our fellow breeders.
We’re here to support you along your goat adventure. Feel free to reach out via email or check out our video channel for further insights.

Wishing you a successful and fulfilling journey with your goats.

Warm regards,
Marlon & Alexia