Taking over the World, one goat at a time…
Welcome to Sweetgoats.com:
This is a web page dedicated to our goats. We currently have 30 Nigerian Dwarf goats on our 21 acre farm in East Tennessee. We also have a Tennessee Feinting goat rescue, as well as two Nigerian mixed wethers, a Pygmy that we rescued and wethered, and a Pygmy mix girl. All the boy goats on our farm have been neutered, which makes them wethers. The boys are sweet just like the girls.
Our Nigerian dwarf goats have been together for a while and have developed a social structure within the herd. The herd has a queen, who is in charge of the herd. She gets first choice of whichever sleeping spot she wants, bucket of food, first in line for treats. The other goats in the herd give her a wide berth, and no goat has seen fit to challenge her for the title. She is also protector of the herd, and keeps watch while browsing. Other goats in the herd have other jobs. Tetris, above, is the head referee. Whenever there are conflicts between two goats in the herd, Tetris will go and try to separate the aggressor from the aggressee. Which in most cases works, unless both parties are equally dissatisfied with the other, that’s when Tetris calls in one of her many deputies. Conflicts get resolved pretty quickly.
We also have goats that are sort of babysitters. Orchis, Saturn and Indigo are the main sitters. They would take turns watching the young kids after all the January births. The mama’s would want to go out and browse, and they would take turns keeping an eye on the young. Saturn was the lead babysitter.
Someone in the herd has to be willing to play when the queen decides she needs to spar with her horns. That privileged goes to Allison. She reluctantly cracks horns with Bailey when she says it’s time to play. You can tell she doesn’t want to, and backs off constantly, until Bailey gets tired of following her around. The rest of the herd just keep the brush in check. Goats eat things you wouldn’t think they can. Like blackberries and poison ivy. They have no upper front teeth. They just have lowers and an upper palette. The will peel the bark off a young tree if you let them. You have to make sure you don’t want what they can get to, as they can easily ring bark a tree. Then the tree dies. We don’t let them do that, unless we want the trees gone. We use plus-minus electronet portable fence to contain them when they are outside their permanent paddock. The goats get locked in each night to protect the herd from coyotes. The goats also need protection from the elements. We have a three sided structure with a southern exposure half way down a hill with plenty of room for the herd to stay out of the rain. You should try to make sure a goat stays dry and out of the wind, then it can handle just about any temperature, as long as it is not alone.
Speaking of browsing, that is what goats do. Unlike sheep, who graze, a goat wants a variety of foods. They like leafy and woody things to eat. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t eat grass, especially in the winter. The standards of what a goat will eat in winter are much different than summer. Goats also need copper in their diet, as well as iodine and selenium. There are minerals that we keep available for our goats at all times, they know what they need and, self medicate if you will.
Goats are natural happy animals. Just watch them run down a hill on their way out to pasture, jumping in circles and bobbing their heads as they hop down hill almost looks like skipping. Even the queen does it. I think they just like being goats.