# What do your goats do all day?



## DomesticlyChall (Jun 11, 2006)

I know this sounds like a silly question, but I'm sort of worried about our goats. I have always heard that goats are rather noisey animals, ours hardly make noise, they will make noise when we come outside and they see us, the mama goat will run to the gate and wait for us to come in. But other wise they just stand under their little shade tarp all day long it seem, well when ever I go out to check on them. 
Also I noticed this morning that the mama and baby were both grinding their teeth and everything I have read says that grinding their teeth is not a good thing.
I am only feeding them alfalfa#2, and the yard they are in has an assortment of weeds and brush. The person we got them from only fed them hay, not even grain (which I found odd) but so I have held off on introducing the grain till they adjust to the weeds and brush. I also heard its not good to adjust their diet too quickly.
I'm just so worried that they are going to get sick or something will happen to them. I have to go get a wormer this week as the guy did not worm them, he also does not vaccinate so I need to do some research and find out what they need as far as that. 
Yes I know not ideal for getting your first goats, but they were offered to us for free and goats are not easy to come by in our area. 
Anyway could they be bored? lonely? stressed? They were housed with like 30 other goats and now its just the 2 of them. Although they do get LOTS of attention from our children who spend about an hour out there brushing, scratching and talking to them 2 times a day. They have a couple tree stumps to play one, but even the baby gost doesn't seem to play, she just lays around or stands at the gate watching the dogs in the yard.
Is this normal?
Please help a first time goat mama.

Theresa mama to:
3 Busy Lil Girls, Baking a Baby Boy (due 9/8/06)
27 assorted chickens
9 ducks
and 2 Nubian Goats
(slowly building our dream farm in the busy city)


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## GrannyG (Mar 26, 2005)

My goats are very spoiled. They mainly have it made in the shade, they nibble on weeds and brush, lay in the sun, and they are not noisy, they only call out to me when they see me. They get fed in the evening, goat and kid pellets and alfalfa pellets. They have a mineral block in the barn area. They are fat and sassy, and
so loving. I have one, JJ, that loves to chew on my clothes !


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## gccrook (Nov 21, 2003)

My goats are not noisey for the most part. Sometimes, when it is hot, they spend more time laying in the shade than anyhting else. THey do go and eat, but they do not spend as much time out there as they do the shade. Mine usually make noise when I go out there, because they want me to feed them some more, butnot every time. I do notice that the baby goats are most active in the early morning and late evening. Sometimes I go out and sit with them in the late evening because it is so fun to watch them, and they tend to come over for attention.

As far as eating, it is not required to give them grain, but if they are lactationg, it helps keep them in good condition and increase the milk supply. Otherwise they do not need it. Alfalfa is great. They will adapt quickly to the new surroundings and new food.

My personal position is to not vaccinate my goats, and only worm once per year unless I notice some problem. I am very much a hands off person when it come to my animals. I only intervene when they need me. So far, I have only lost 3 kids (last years kidding, our first) and some of that was due to my inexperience, and some due to kidding in extremely cold weather. My does give good milk, and plenty of it. We do have them tested if we are going to be milking them. 

Good luck with your goats. Just keep an eye on them for serious changes, and runny poop. You will get much help here with any problems. If you think they are not eating much, you could try some probios to help the rumen.


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## gryndlgoat (May 27, 2005)

My goats make almost no noise, unless it is milking/feeding time OR they see me walking anywhere outside with a bucket. 

Right now they are doing almost nothing during the day, now that it is hot. They browse early in the morning and late afternoon, but in the heat of the day they lounge in the barn or in shade outside. Usually they are lying down chewing their cud. This might be what yours are doing when you say they are "grinding their teeth"? 

Your goats sound perfectly normal to me.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

I think you'd better get them wormed ASAP. Their behavior doesn't sound abnormal, really, but the tooth grinding could indicate worms, and if the guy you got them from doesn't worm, they are probably loaded. Worms can kill goats pretty quickly.

If you want to be sure they need worming before you do it, talk to a vet and get a fecal sample done. The vet should be able to advise you on what to use for worming based on the fecal sample.

Kathleen


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## susieM (Apr 23, 2006)

Spend the day, dreaming about how to get into the garden, and decimate the raspberries.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I would definetely worm them. but everything else sounds normal. You don't have to feed goats grain unless they are in the last month of pregnancy or lactating. Other that that, they should get hay in the winter and a large area to browse in during the summer. I don't feed mine anything but pasture in the summer. Preggo does dont' get anything special untill the last month of pregnancy, when they start to get alfalfa pellets and grain.


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## DomesticlyChall (Jun 11, 2006)

Thank you everyone for your replies. There is one guy down the street from us that has goats and his are always making tons and tons of noise, so the fact that ours are quite sort of worried me. But I'm very happy to know that they are normal. 
As far as the grain the mama goat is still nursing the baby goat and I am going to start to try to milk the mama goat, even though the guy we got her from was not milking her. A few have told me I may be able to add some grain to her diet and with some steady milking bring her supply up to atleast get a small amount of milk for cheese and such. She will be refreahing in Oct. and if baby is big enough by then she too will be bred. We are also thinking of adding another young doe to our farm family, we will talk to the guy in a couple weeks when she has weaned from her mother.
Again thank you all for your replys.

Theresa, mama to:
3 Busy Lil Girls, Baking a Baby Boy (due 9/8/06)
27 assorted chickens
9 ducks
and 2 Nubian Goats


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

BlueJuniperFarm said:


> I think you'd better get them wormed ASAP. Their behavior doesn't sound abnormal, really, but the tooth grinding could indicate worms, and if the guy you got them from doesn't worm, they are probably loaded. Worms can kill goats pretty quickly.
> 
> If you want to be sure they need worming before you do it, talk to a vet and get a fecal sample done. The vet should be able to advise you on what to use for worming based on the fecal sample.
> 
> Kathleen


And moving them to a new home and away from the environment that they are used to causes stress ~ which can cause a parasite problem to become much, much worse. I guess stress allows the parasites to get a step ahead :shrug: .


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

Definitely the first task is to get them wormed. A kid should be active and running about, not lying around. Goats that have been a part of a large herd, and from your description perhaps not given the basic meds could have parasite and/or other issues going on. Make sure there are no lumps/abscesses anywhere and I would get a temp on them, the kid for sure. Pnemonia can come on without overt symptoms. I'm very much a minimalist regarding meds, but in this case I would vaccinate for CD&T. If it really is teeth grinding, that usually suggests pain, not a good sign. But your being new to goats you might be mistaking that for simple cud chewing. Hope all goes well and you enjoy your new friends.


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## ScorpionFlower (May 16, 2006)

What do my goats do all day???? Butt heads and figure out new ways of escape!

Theresa- You've gotten some excellant advice here. I'm learning quite a bit myself. I'm also a newish goat owner and my goats are also nubians. Seriously, my goats do lay down and munch alot of the day, but I catch them playing ALOT too. If they're not playing, their munching .... and if they're laying their plotting!!!! I would really worry if all they did was lay down all day long. Especialy young ones. My 5 month old bucks (soon to be whethers) play almost all day long. They butt heads, play king of the hill, walk along the fence rubbing themselves, jumping off the side of the house, etc. My yearling girls aren't as active, but I catch them butting heads alot too, but more often they like to stand on the fence and wave their heads back and forth, looking at each other from strange angles. They're weird LOL. Soo, just from my experience, having your goats just lay there all day long just don't seem right. 

Feeding #2 alfalfa only doesn't sound good to me. We give ours this year's #1, lots more protein, etc. They have it pretty much always available (will always be available now that my son will NOT be checking on them for me anymore as he's too irresponsible). They also have loose salt as they didn't seem to be able to get anything off the salt block. They have fresh water always. I give my freshened girl nutrena milk goat ration, oats, and Nutreena Quick 12 alfalfa pellets. I give them both the oats and Quick 12 for treats when I'm trying to move them back and forth between their nighttime pen and their daytime pen. I FINALLY got my sweet lick mineral block in today. Feed store kept being delivered the wrong one for the past 2 weeks. So, to me at least, feeding only #2 alfalfa just doesn't seem enough. My boys get pretty much all the same stuff my girls do, minus the milk goat ration. As I said, I'm new also and am feeding my goats what was being given to them at their original owners. I trust what she does as she's had goats for many years, has grand champion goats, her daughter's a goat show judge, and they both have been to conventions, etc, on the subject of goat feed. They were able to explain to me the purpose of each item, tell me why they use the brands they use, etc. Very knowledgable. Before her I was only feeding my boys this year's #1 alfalfa, salt, and giving them fresh water.


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

My goats are not noisy all the time. They maa when they want to be fed or know it's milking time. Some lay around more than others. I notice my babies are active with each other. Since you only have one baby, she doesn't have any playmates unless she can get her mommy to play.


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## Dee (May 12, 2002)

Welcome to the world of goats! We were all there once. 

I have to agree with most. My goats are quiet. Yours are probably missing the rest of the herd, especially the kid who had buddies to run and play with (maybe that is why she keeps looking at the dogs)

The griding of the teeth is probably chewing the cud. You can tell the difference because they will move their jaw in a fluid, circular motion. If you look at them, they will usually stop and look back at you, as if "what?" Grinding is more of a sideways thing and they will continue doing it as they look at you. The chewing of the cud is healthy and means they are content.

I would worm them or take a stool to the vet to be checked.

You may not be able to milk her. Usually, people will start getting a goat ready to be handled when they are young and carry it through. My goats are not milked and when there are times I need to (like releaving pressure when weaning) I have to lock their heads, straddle their bodies, facing their butts and streatch them out while locking my legs in front of their back legs, leaning over their butts, reaching under their tail to milk between their legs. It is not a pretty site and I usually get lightheaded doing it  First couple of times I *tried* to save the milk....

So, don't get hurt trying. Especially with that little boy cooking in there. Congratulations.

Oh, I forgot, my goats wonder around their pastures all day or settle in their shed. They follow each other and if there is an open gate or downed fence, they will find it. In the beginning, the kids will all stay with each other while mom's leave them to eat, then they will join in and nibble everything around themselves.


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## Goat Freak (Jul 6, 2005)

Sleep, eat, poop, pee, drink, eat, sleep, do some more pooping, and begging for more food. Our cows do the same thing, so does our bearded dragon, and our cats, I wonder if they are all conspiring on how to become overweight, which thank God has yet to happen.


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## Dee (May 12, 2002)

Snicker.... that's what my son does


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## dezeeuwgoats (Jan 12, 2006)

As my dh says, 'It is HARD work making all that milk!" My goats spend most of their day laying down on the job, making milk. They definately have a 'schedule' though. They drink after being milked - to show us how much effort went into the ordeal. They spend the am after drinking - on ONE end of their pen, sunning themselves, afternoons under the shade, laying down, late afternoons, laying down back on the opposite side again.. This routine is interrupted by brief food frenzies in the am and pm, and jockying for a new milking position and thus higher status in the herd. 

Niki


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## havenberryfarm (Dec 9, 2003)

My goats do all of that too. Plus they spend quite a bit of the afternoon plotting their escape from the pasture. Then they like to eat the blueberry bushes and the landscaping in the front yard. The baby goats get out and spend the afternoon eating my flowers, butting eachother, crying to their mamas, following my children around the yard, and conning visitors into letting them explore their cars. Then they spend the evening chasing chickens, fighting their mamas for grain and putting holes in their stalls. Did I mention getting their heads caught in the fence? Then at our dinner time, the bottle babies come up onto the porch and cry for their bottles. Never mind that they don't get fed until 8. Then there are the times that they jump all over my nice clean clothes. No matter that I won't allow it. They want their snugglin. Of course, the adults are much more demure in their behavior. Unless they are male. Then there is a whole other list of activities, most too disgusting to relate. 
Oh man. Goats are super naughty. Like toddlers. I love it.
Hope yours are OK. I would worm them and feed the best feed you can. Then check those fences and prepare for the onslaught    .


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