Goat kids are very resilient, but moving from one place to another is a big change. Here are some tips to help make the transition as stress free and easy on everyone as possible.
Expect Crying
As your kid adjusts to its new home, expect some crying in the first couple of days. It has been taken from a familiar world to something new and unfamiliar. Be supportive, offer cuddle time and also space for your kid to go and hide from everyone as it adjusts.
Expect Skittish Behavior
We handle goats daily to ensure they are friendly and used to a variety of humans. They have formed a bond with us and will go on to form a bond with you, but don’t expect them to be fully trusting immediately. Some goats can take a couple of weeks to warm up to the new people in their world. Patience and daily, quiet sitting times with your goat will go a long way toward creating that bond.
Provide a Safe Place
If you’re bringing home kids into an existing herd, it will take awhile for the original goats to accept the new kids. It is normal for the existing goats to butt and run off the new kids. A corner of the shelter area sectioned off with cattle panels can help provide your new kids a place to get away and eat/sleep in safety.
Keep the Same Food Available
Goats, especially young kids, have sensitive digestive systems. Particularly during the few-week transition period, be sure to keep the feed basic – just hay, minerals and water. Take it slowly and don’t offer treats, grain or other foods until your kid has time to adjust. Be sure to give Transition tonic daily through the first few days to help combat digestive upset.
Minimize Stress
Moving is a lot of stress on a kid. Be watchful of other stressful situations and minimize those as much as possible. Protect your kid from your family dogs, other goats and over rambunctious children (our goats are pretty well child-proof, but it is helpful to be aware of too much stimulation).
Changes at the Disbudding Site
The scabs on the horn disbudding sites will eventually fall off. Bleeding is uncommon, but if it happens it should stop quickly on its own. If not, a generous helping of corn starch, cayenne, flour or Blood Stop powder will stop it. The site may look raw for a few days after the scabs fall off. Oozing and pus are not normal and should be treated immediately. Contact your vet or us if anything abnormal happens.
What to Expect with Wethers
Wethers are castrated using the most humane tool available to us: the burdizzo. This severs the blood supply to the testicl*s but leaves the outer sac intact. Your wether will have a sac, but it should feel empty or have testicl*s that are diminishing in size as they are reabsorbed, depending on when he was wethered before going home. We wait as long as possible to allow for better urethral development as castration impacts this part of their growth.
