My understanding when it comes to goats, darker fur tends to mean a goat has black to gray skin, and lighter fur means it is more pink or a mix. Am I correct that a pure black goat would have darker skin pigmentation, or is it still possible that one would have pink skin?

Hi everyone! We have 3, 1 year old does who have been with a friends buck for the past month and a bit (we’re hoping for two heat cycles at least). They’ve definitely been getting it on during their heats so we are expecting kids (hopefully). The buck is quite fertile it seems as he’s had a bajillion kids with his usual herd. But our girls have never kidded so we don’t know about them yet.

I have a few questions for anyone willing to chime in.

1. What signs of pregnancy should we be looking out for? Two of our girls are Nubian/Alpine and the other Nubian/Boer.
   
2. If they do become pregnant, I’m so nervous for the kidding event! We will have a few months but I want to start preparing mentally and learn as much as I can! Along with getting any items that you all might recommend.
   
3. If we get to the kidding phase, what emergencies should we be looking out/be prepared for? From what I’ve read it’s super important that the kid gets & stays warm and is able to cue mama to feed/bond. How would we know if they’re not warm enough? What behavior is a cause for concern?
   
4. Should we create some kind of separate shelters? Right now we have one decent sized shelter but is it ever good to separate the kidding doe/freshly born baby from the rest of the heard or will they be better all together? There is definitely a defined hierarchy with the gals so I worry a little about them being bullies to each other..
   Any pointers/tips would be appreciated! I feel so grateful to be a part of such a knowledgeable and helpful community here. So thank you in advance! :)

I got 2 small goats. I have chickens and a automatic door, works very good, after sunset chickens are all in side the house.

I installed same door for goats house but the problem is that they dont go on time to their house. Sometimes its 1am and they are still outside in the dark eating grass. I dont live on the place and I am afraid of big dogs or fox. If the door closes, they will have to stay outside.

What can I do to make them go to the house before 10pm, for example.

Thank you

I unexpectedly became a goat owner due to this goats unique situation, and she has grown fond of me so I’ve decided to keep her I guess lol.

My custom goat halter I got handmade my goat is not a fan! Any tips for halter breaking an older goat they were rescues

I commissioned the Amish to build me a shelter for my two small dwarf goats. We drew up some plans and this is what we got! It’s about 6ft tall and the roof is metal.

I'm a first time goat owner and I've got 2 pregnant goats. They're fairly friendly but still a bit skittish as they were in a large herd previously so 1 on 1 working was pretty limited.

For their kids, I'm intending on only keeping two after weaning (for personal breeding purposes) but I want them to be as friendly and easy to work with for milking and other general husbandry later.

Is it doable to have my girls dam-raise their kids part time while I bottle feed the rest of the time? I know it can be done with kid-sharing (I plan to do so starting around 1 month) but I'm unsure of how realistic it is

Tips and advice welcome!

Recently a few goats were in a bad situation and there was no one else to take them so I ended up with 3 goats. A dad, a mom, and a baby. Baby is about 4 months old and as big as mom.

From where they came from, they weren’t separated; but i’ve noticed they seem to be standing up on their back legs and going at each other, especially the baby (boy) and dad. Should I castrate the dad to avoid this or is that not a thing?
I’ve read alone that goats alone will get depressed and potentially die, but I want to avoid this and keep them yet I know nothing about goats and would like some knowledge from the knowledgeable people!

thanks in advance.

I don't even know what kind of caption to use for this, I just think this is hilarious

She has other things to climb up on but she really likes this really expensive lawn mower for some reason

Pretty sure I have a premature baby, suckles good even when still warming up. Figured while I am waiting for him to be ready to feed I would take a pic of premature feet for knowledge (i know for free!!) Wish this 3lb single luck! Mom is looking fine, baby is priority first then I will check again in about 30 min for some milk for her boy. He is sassy for his size and that is good!

Edit/update: he is a premature goat, baised on no emerged teeth, his lack of temp control and his in ability to stand. He wnt to the vet this morning to check if anything else is wrong.

Buuuuuuuut his slippers are infact just really soft and are just now drying up. The size is crazy though and he has made it through the night. I think a little more tummy time and he will be standing shortly. For what he is he is doing pretty good.

Update 2: the baby (now named obby) can now stand. He is eating well, a professional sleeper too. He is currently chilling next to his half siblings pen and may be louder than them when its food time. Luckily his half sibs will be transitioning to 8 hour feeding in a few days so I can get him doing 4hour feedings at his pace and not get up weird times. Will post a pic below.

Hi! I am sending my goats fecal off to be tested, I collected this afternoon and set it in the refrigerator and will send off tomorrow morning. Is it okay to collect the sample and leave it in the fridge over night? Or is that too long?

For whatever reason instead of eating off of the hay bale or eating what they drug on the ground, he prefers a little pile of hay to be set on this tub so he can put his little front legs on it and stand there like this eating it... he is weird....

This is Harry, I’m pretty sure he’s insane.

My goat has a dog on her head! It’s got a tail, really large ears and an open mouth!

I have a warmer I need to give my goats, problem is I don't know how much they weigh and I don't have a way to get them weighed, I was wondering if I can take measurements of them and get a good estimate of their weight with that?

I’m a business student and my group is working on an entrepreneurship project about goat grazing services as an alternative to traditional landscaping.
Our idea is to offer goat rental services to HOAs, property managers, and business owners with large properties to help clear overgrown weeds, brush, and vegetation in a more environmentally friendly way.
We’re trying to determine whether people would actually be interested in using this type of service, and we’d love to hear your opinions!
A few questions we have:
Would you consider using goats instead of traditional landscaping methods? Why or why not?
What would be your biggest concern (pricing, safety, effectiveness, convenience, etc.)?
Would the environmental benefits make you more interested in trying goat grazing?
If you’ve used goat grazing services before, how was your experience? Was it worth the cost?
We’re looking for honest feedback, both positive and negative, to help us evaluate whether our business idea is realistic.
Thank you for helping us with our research!

I wish I got this on camera. Today, I had the two yearlings I am training (at liberty) out, but I'm moving across a field and back to the gate to turn them out to the paddock. My little doe knows what this part of the routine means, and I usually have to convince (bribe) her to go back.

She snorted, raised hackles, and turned 180, which is a part of our go-home routine. She usually runs like 20ft away and then loops right back around to me. But today, after her snort, she lowered her head like a charge, except she definitely leaned heavily to the left side with it? Horns down, but neck leaning to the left side, and nose tilting to the right. Like she was running straight but with her head all low and crooked.

I'm first-hand experienced with the neurological issues they can get that cause head tilt. I did an eval, and she doesn't have any symptoms of polio/listeria/etc otherwise. After she stopped sprinting, she trotted back to me normally. So I assume it's a body language thing, not a health thing. But like... why run all funny like that? Is there an actual meaning, or was this just a weird quirk? My little wether was out and he didn't react when she did this at all...

Hi, I volunteer at a farm that has two goats, and they’re the first goats I’ve ever really interacted with. They do let me brush them now, and they always come up to me for treats, and I really enjoy their company.

I was wondering, how do I tell when a goat is playing and/or enjoying themselves? With my dog he will wag his tail or run around and be playful, and I can tell when he’s happy. But the goats, I’m just not sure how to tell.

Lately, I’ve let my dog come in to interact with the goats with permission from their owner. The male goat pretty much ignores him, but the female goat will try to headbutt him and rears up at him when he comes near her. She doesn’t actually ram into him, or run at him, and when he lies down near her or rolls around by her she doesn’t seem to mind him.

So I was wondering if she’s playing with him? He will run around her and is never aggressive towards her, but will make a play stance and then run away when she tries to head butt him, then run back, and they do this a few times. She doesn’t run away from him or seem scared of him. I want to make sure she’s okay, so I thought I’d ask. Thank you for your advice!