getting goats

Farmgirl2005 · #1 03/25/05, 06:14 PM

Hey yall, i am getting three lil boys, as pets olny,I hsve two things to ask of you. One if i castrate the boys will they become real lazy and really mellow and not spunky or playful, if i dont will they like kill eachother when they com into rutt, there will be no girls with them or around them at all.

And two, do you have any ideas for names that i could call these lil guys. They are lil fainting goats, :haha: all three have amazing colors. One is all black and brown with one white spot; Another one is mostly black and brown with white spots on his left sides, and spots a lil on his head, the last on is almost all white with black and brown on his head.

Hope this helps. Any adivce would be welcomed.
Thanks a bunch Lyn

bethlaf · #2 03/25/05, 06:25 PM

by all means band them wethers are wonderfull, but bucks will go into rut, even without a female around, some amount of fighting and play sparring is normal , heck even pregnant does get into head butting matches

sounds like some pretty little pets youll have , please keep in mind before you bring them home a goat can live 14-15 years, so make sure youre really into them , otherwise they will fall to the fate of many wethers, slaughter house or sale barn , which due to thier breed means slaughter house too ....

the three amigos, i dont know ....coke pepsi and dr pepper?
snickers milky way and twix?
i know the three muketeers
Aramis Athos and Porthos,
and if you ever get another , he could be D'Argtanan

enjoy your boys, they will be a source of much amusement

too bad thier fainters otherwise wethers make great cart and pack goats

billooo2 · #3 03/25/05, 08:59 PM

and if you don't band them you will have some AMAZING "aromas"

.....and some truly disgusting behaviors.......urinating all over themselves....

....the does sure like it, but I don't think you will....

chas · #4 03/26/05, 01:00 AM

EEnie, Meenie, Minei, and there ain't no moe

Chas

Jen H · #5 03/26/05, 01:24 AM

Wethers are great pets - just as spunky and crazy as any un-altered goat. They're just as lovey as any doe and you don't have to deal with that smell.

Just make sure you keep grain out of their diet and ammonium chloride in their water. They'll be with you for a good long time.

With the black, brown, and white it almost sounds like s'mores. You could name them Graham Cracker, Chocolate, and Marshmallow.

Farmgirl2005 · #6 03/26/05, 10:38 AM

why would i have to keep grain out of there diet, the lady i am buying them from has a wether and he gets grain, and there isnt anything wrong with him.

Jen H · #7 03/26/05, 11:17 AM

Grain can cause urinary calculi - basically little stones - to build up and block their penis. If you can't get the stones worked out so they can pee you have to have their penis removed or their bladder will rupture and they will die.

The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to make sure they get ammonium chloride - I put it in the water bucket - and don't feed them grain. My wethers grew like weeds on good grass hay, alfalfa, and pasture. Mine do get the occasional bit of granola for special treats, but that's not a regular part of their diet.

This doesn't happen with does because their urinary tract is shaped differently from the buck's. It's still a concern with the bucks but more of a problem with wethers because castrating them means their penis never completely develops.

Farmgirl2005 · #8 03/26/05, 04:04 PM

if i give them little grain would that be okay, i have already purchased it and dont know if they take it back. Thanks for all the advice still looking for some really good names.
Thanks Lyn

Jen H · #9 03/27/05, 04:55 PM

I've been trying to return your pm, but the system is just not cooperating...

A little grain will probably be fine IF you make sure they get ammonium chloride every day. I'd also lace their feed with extra table salt to make sure they drink plenty of water.

I really can't say what the chances are of them getting urinary calculi. Every individual goat has a slightly different metabolism and build. I can tell you that it crops up often enough that there are all sorts of threads in the archives about it. There isn't any warning - all of a sudden the goat just can't pee and you have some quick decisions to make.

I really don't mean to scare you about your new little guys. This is the one big difference between keeping wethers and keeping does.

Farmgirl2005 · #10 03/27/05, 06:16 PM

Where can i purchase some ammonium chloride, will it react weird to my well water, and howmuch do i put in for each goat or each gallon, i think it would be betterto be a little scared then to be totally unaware.
Thanks for all the advice
Lyn

Jen H · #11 03/27/05, 07:02 PM

Lets see, ammonium chloride you can find at some feed stores. Otherwise you can order it at Hoeggers, here's the link:

http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/s...hp?mode=search

Well water will work fine - I'm on a well myself.

The dosage is about 2 tablespoons per goat per day if there's a problem. For a maintenance dose I use 1 tablespoon per goat per day - and I dissolve it in their water bucket. My goats go through about 5 gallons of water a day. Some goats don't like the taste of the ammonium chloride - if yours fall into that category you can just add some gatorade to mask the taste.

Farmgirl2005 · #12 03/27/05, 07:14 PM

THank you so much i really do appericate it.
Thanks Lyn

windyhollowfarm · #13 03/28/05, 08:46 PM

http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/buck-wether-info.htm

The above is info on bucks, and why they are not pets.

http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/stones.htm

The above is info on UC.