I didnt ‘get goats’ because its the cool thing to do...
we had planned on getting goats..... in the future ....a year or so down the line, once we had settled into our new home. We have only been here 6 months. The plan was two young males to train as pack goats since we both have back issues and loove hiking.
..but some nice neighbors bought goats & took home more than they intended because it was a family (mother doe, her two daughters (one pregnant), and a baby boy from the eldest daughter)... .and they were not being kept in good conditions. [rescue #1] They all had lice and super overgrown hooves.
They asked if i’d like the baby boy, since he was basically just an ‘extra’ and i couldn’t resist his face for $50. ..
little did i know that i’d end up with his Aunt (bree) and have to pay $250 for her + build a goat barn in a week!! (minus her baby who had died from neglect at the hands of a different neighbor- who was then keeping bree alone in a shed with no windows, still heavy with milk from the baby she lost) [rescue #2].
Bree is also about Half the size she should be due to poor nutrition and being bred when she was less than a year old ... my beautiful miniature deer.
I feed them the best there is and give them tons of amendments like kelp meal, minerals, baking soda and alfalfa on top of her orchard grass, beet pellets, grains and sun flower seeds + grass, dandelions and cuttings from the maple, fir, spruce and cedar in small amounts
I do not regret taking on these goats.. and i do not suggest it.
Yes they have horns, goats need horns to protect themselves and regulate body temperature. My goats are ‘part’ LaMancha and that is why they have little, tiny ears - not a defect, just a breed characteristic.
... on that note, Bree makes me clean the wax out of her ears due to the shape, its gross but it makes her happy... labor of love.. life of goats.
Some goats a ‘polled’ which means they do not grow horns - however - most goats have their horns BURNED off with what is essentially a hot iron held to heir forehead when they are about two weeks old. this is INCREDIBLY painful and the goats are generally locked in a small box with just the head sticking out..
