Pygmy goat from downtown Indianapolis...HAHA must see
 

So I seen an ad on Craigslist for a free goat. It said that the goat was in Indianapolis. I was assuming it was on the outside of Indianapolis, but no....

It was at a house with 3 dogs in a backyard that didn't have one single leaf of grass. It was all dirt and dog feces. The goat as been eating dog food for the past three months they said. They also said he was a bottle baby and they picked him up when he was 3 months....he is now 2.5. He hasn't had any vaccinations or anything before. I'll be taking him to the vet VERY VERY soon.

I did bring him home immediately. The first thing we noticed is that he acts like a dog. He cries if you leave him alone for to long. I mean it is ear piercing.

His coat isn't the best that I've ever seen. He is also really overweight. I'd say he's about 75 lbs.

I'm going to post pictures and you tell me if you think he looks nice for a pygmy goat.

What do you suggest I do to get his weight back at a normal level?

I wouldn't have taken him if I wasn't positive that he was in a really horrible condition and needed help.

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I like his look, very pygmy. He looks like he still has allot of winter coat that may be part of his weight. 75# for a male doesn't sound too heavy, but then again I have larger heavier goats. Dog food geesh!! poor thing hope his rumen isn't all screwed up, would be putting probios in with his feed for shure. Glad you saved him.

Well at least most dog food is mostly corn. He looks very pygmy like said above. I think our pygmy buck we had a few years ago was every bit of 75lbs. They are stockky little things

Do you have other goats for him to be friends with? If not, that may be why he is so lonely.

Poor fellow. I am glad he has you to take care of him.

He needs to be dewormed.

For food, he should have hay only.

He actually looks pretty good.

You need a friend for him. Goats are herd animals. If you have a dog, that may be ok, as that is what he's used to. Otherwise, the crying is NORMAL for goats left alone.

The dog is actually out there with him right now and he is still crying.

I'm sad to say that he was castrated :(. But we'll be keeping him. I plan on getting more goats as soon as the enclosure is finished. I wouldn't have even picked him up if I didn't think he was in a bad place.

Thanks for the advice!

He's just adorable! I'm so glad you saved him:)

Even when they have company, its normal for them holler for the first couple of days while they get used to things. Even though he is used to being with dogs, your dog is not his dogs and so he is going to call for his old "herd mates" for a bit.

if you can you might pick up another wether buddy. Sounds like you are a bit short in space at the moment but I doubt he will stop until he gets a goat friend like oat said your dog is not the dogs he was raised with, but he would be more interested in something that smells more like him. Had my first goat for 3 weeks and she cried everytime I went inside until I got her a goat friend (finally got some quiet!)
Best laid plans...

He's cute!

He's really cute! Good job saving him from that place. I can't imagine why anyone would think it was a good idea to feed a goat dog food!

He sounds like my Dolly. She still hollers for me when i go into the house. And if she is able she will try to get into the house nearly knocking my kids of the porch to do so. My goat friend came over one day and asked me if i had a billy i said ya why? She said the way Dolly is pacing and hollering is a sign she is in heat. LOL she does that all day every day im not in the pen with her. I told her i think she thinks shes a person not a goat lol.

I think he is very cute & doesn't look a bit over weight to me. We started with Pygmies & I know a couple of mine were litterally FAT. 75 pounds for a 2 1/2 year old male is not fat.

I would definately give him a glob of probios paste daily for awhile, Good grass/alfafa hay only & definately have a fecal done at your vet & worm him.
I'm so glad you saved him, dog food for a goat is not the right nutrition.
Also CD & T shot, very important. He needs one now & another 3 weeks from now.

I'm going to be taking him to the vet in about 3-4 days. I have a lot going on around here:).

He's doing really good this morning. He's not crying so much. I haven't went out there to check on him because I don't want him to start screaming :D.

oh, my he is cute!

Looks like a healthy pygymy to me! He's adorable.

We finished the goat lean-to enough for just him. Soon I'm going to add one small stall and a milking stand. When the rain stops we'll be fencing in his area. We made it a tad smaller than what I originally wanted but we're only going to have 4 pygmy goats.

I also what to know if it's normal that he wants to butt my daughter? I couldn't help but laugh when he did. He didn't hurt her or make her cry. He just did it softly and knocked her to the ground. I'm thinking he's doing it to be playful.

As for feeding him dog food.....

If he was in with dogs, there is very little you can do to keep them out of it! My friends had one that would stop at Nothing, to steal the dog and cat food. He finally came to live with my goats, as they thought he was a pain.

The animal fat in the dog food can coat the intestine and cause MAJOR digestive problems. That's one reason why 'hay extender' for horses is often the WORST thing to feed to them. Animal protien and fat is NOT EVER GOOD for goats - ever! Though I agree - keeping them out if it is trouble. The fact that the people thought it was OK to feed him nothing BUT dog food is completely unacceptable. I would feed free choice hay and nothing but that. The long stem fiber of grass will help adjust his system and clear his intestine. Probiotics, vaccinations, copper bolusing, good minerals free choice, and BoSe supplements may all be in order as well.

He's a cute pygmy, that's for sure. He does have a streep rump which is probably a good reason for him to have been castrated, IMO. Pygmies are prone to kidding problems as it is, with their wide heads and chests that the standard calls for - throwing a steep rump into the mix just adds to kidding problems for his future daughters. He should make a GREAT pet though, or a companion to future bucks!

I found 2 women for him. I won't be picking them up until after he goes to the vet. I won't be able to go to the vet until Friday because my husband has classes and my daughter has a dr's appt. We're about to finish the fencing and he's going to be happy to have some companions.

He's a really nice guy. He wags his tail every time I go down there to check on him.

I'd not make drastic changes to his diet all at once- even if it was dog food...ease /slowely change over the food to his rumen into more nutritious hay and a bit of a ration feed. Since he's a wether, he really shouldn't have much grain at all, as it leads to urinary calculi(blockages). Giving him probios (good bacteria's-like yogurt has) will keep his rumen belly working while he changes over to better food. He should not ever EVER butt your daughter...It seems cute but he's showing dominance...and he could hook her with a horn. That's his way of saying: "Take that! There's two of us here and I am your boss, so back off..or..I am the dominant one!" She should be the empowered one, so help her make it clear right off the bat that she is not to be disrespected. Give her a squirt bottle with just plain water in it, and set it to a strong stream and when she goes near the goat and he postures to bop her SURPRISE!! =squirt the lil guy( it won't hurt him one bit), and have her say with a sharp voice "NYET NYET" ( I'm serious, that's the goat sound for ouch). I guarantee you the goat isn't trying to be cute. If he's been hassled by dogs or teased by people he may have used that as his defense. I once took a 250lb full size saanan wether: gentle as can be - to a festival to promote packgoating. He was hugged and touched/petted/ hit and grabbed by so many children that he is defensive now when childen come over, but he steers clear if they have a squirt bottle. LOL

You've got a cute goat, let's make sure he is a respectful boy, and doesn't die of bloat from food changes too fast. You can give him some regular baking soda in a dish that he can lick to regulate his belly gas. All goats are gassy, and make alot of gurgle-burp noises, but bloated up tight like a football due to food changes is painful at best and deadly at worst. Baking soda relieves that- and your boy will know to lick it on his own...you might need to wet your finger and touch some to his lips ( never stick fingers into mouth- he has razor teeth for molars that will slice fingers wide open.)

Tail wagging is a goat thing...it's to swish bugs and shows interest.

Enjoy your new boy....but make him mind! Once in a while a goat will test human leadership by posturing like they ae going to butt- or they actually butt, or hook with their horns, etc. That's when you swiftly reach under the goat to the opposite legs and pull the legs under the goat so that the goat falls over. You lay across the goat ( this is called "throwing a goat") and let the goat scream and squall ( it's not hurting them..just their pride) continue well past all the struggles, kicks and yelling. When you let the goat up, it will act embarrassed and will probably act like it's sorry and make up to you pretty quick- but I assure you it will know who's the goat follower, and who's the human leader and you'll probably never have to do that again. Never hit or pound on a goat...it's so easy to discipline one without hurting them.

-scrt crk