Getting started on a goat farm is not that complicated, but with an idea about proper goat care, all you need is a bit of passion and know some trivia about goats.
Here is a hodge podge of information about goats that could help motivate and inspire you more with your goat farm venture.
Goats generally eat grass, but in order for them to be more healthy, your local veterinary supply store sells vitamins and mineral supplements intended for goats, as well as goat feed that are fortified with essential nutrients that can help keep your goats in tip top shape.
For those that are just starting out in goat farming and would like to know how to make goats eat more to be more productive, always keep your goats in suitable pens and avoid crowding them too much in one space.
Always make sure to maintain an average temperature within your goat pens, to avoid agitating your goats that may hamper in their productivity and prevent you from getting the optimum results that you expect from your animals.
Although many people believe that goats do not always need water, they actually do. So always have a steady supply of clean water available, especially during the warmer months since drinking water is one way for goats to keep cool and avoid getting disrupted from their usual productivity, like for breeding, milk produce or wool production.
Avoid feeding goats with rotting food or contaminated grains or feeds, since this could cause goats to get sick or even die, especially if the contaminated food is ingested right away.
This is also true in keeping or storing goat feed inside rodent free containers. This is to keep the food from getting contaminated by rats, especially those that usually forage garbage and trash, since they are common carriers of disease and getting your goats contaminated by these pests could potentially be dangerous to your entire herd.
It is also best to keep your haystack on a haystand or a platform, which will keep the hay off the ground, to avoid it from getting wet and may become moldy or may serve to potentially become a habitat for ground -dwelling insects or rodents.
Goats are also the picky type, since they will not drink water from a dirty container or bucket, so always make it a point to keep their water containers for drinking always clean and replaced with fresh water regularly, lest they suffer from dehydration and eventually die.
Always make it a point to have immediate contact with a veterinarian at any given time, since goats are generally susceptible to common farm animal diseases and although there are available treatments available for most of these common diseases, having a veterinarian administer treatment right away will prevent one from incurring further losses due to infestation of the whole herd.
It is also best advised to feed the goats more during colder seasons, since more food digested by the goats allow for more heat being generated in their bodies.
Do take heed of these ideas and you can be on your way to getting started on a goat farm with proper goat care and be able do it with confidence.