Barnyard Life of Goats-They’re Not Just Pets
I get the question all the time, now that I am raising goats-am I’m going to get chickens? Do they go hand in hand just because they’re barnyard animals? What about raising goats with chickens in the same pen?
One thing I’ve learned, in my short time raising goats, is that they are chaotic eaters. Everything is drama. The world is ending, they must eat. Mixing species for this reason is not a good idea and things I’ve read on forums confirm this. If the goats locate a source of food-it’s gone. So if you’ve got a multi-species pasture, then consider goat-proofing your chicken coop.
Lately I’ve enjoyed picking grape leaves off the vine and feeding them as a treat to my guys. Man do they love grape leaves! My youngest goat (who was bottle fed) is nearly 5 months old at this point and when they jump up to see what treat you might have, it’s starting to hurt! Moreso, when they step on a bare foot (wearing flip flops) that hurts more!
Anyway, I’ve wondered if I could handle more barnyard animals since I’ve just ventured into this pygmy goat world. We shall see. My first concern is the well-being of my herd of 4 pygmy goats. I’m ultimately concerned that they don’t lose what I’ve spent so much effort building for them.
With having goats comes responsibility. I think a lot of people write these guys off as just merely producers-and that’s fine. For many people raising goats for pets is quite enjoyable! Even though they’re “just pets” I have a standard of care. I also have come to really care for my little guys-”babies” is what I call them. Perhaps that’s a little cheesy but that’s how I see them.
These “babies” can be a little overwhelming when it comes to feeding time. I’ve decided that I need to pull back some hay-since they’re notorious hay wasters. I need these guys to get a little braver at eating weeds and other plants naturally growing in their area. I think one misconception, that I’m discovering, is that all goats eat everything. An empty can of soda seems to be the running joke. Honestly, that’s not this kind of goat. These goats do discriminate. However, I’ve still yet to be brave enough, myself, to let them loose in certain areas of my yard though they did break out just the other day! I’ve heard that rhubarb is poisonous and then again, not poisonous to goats. As I am not a botanist, I don’t know that every plant in my yard is OK for the babies. I will be studying the plants and creating my own list of safe and unsafe (suburban) plants for pygmy goats.
Catherine Potts decided to venture into raising pygmy goats in April of 2009. Her attempt at understanding the whacky world with her blog (http://www.lilliputiancaprineblog.com) of the goat is the purpose of her blog. Raising goats is fun and should never be taken too seriously.