Beginning a New Goat Project

Preparing for your goat to arrive

Set up your pen in advance

Always keep the safety and security of your goat in mind as you consider the following items.
1. What type of bedding will you use?
2. What type of water buckets?
3. What type of feeders?
4. What type of gates?
Prepare an area to store and protect feed

Keep these things in mind when considering a food storage area:
1. Store food in a space away from your animals pen
2. Make certain they cannot access this area and get into the food
3. The food storage area must be in a dry environment away from rodents and insects.
Establish a plan for weighing and tracking your feed
Establish a plan for weighing and tracking your animals themselves

ProTip: Get a whiteboard and hang it in the barn so everything is recorded in writing!
Gather your show supply products from Weaver Livestock

Do not introduce a rope halter when you take your animal home from the sale or breeders facility.

Carry or lead them by hand to your trailer or stock box. It’s safe to assume most young sale animals are not broke to a halter just yet.
Speak to the breeder about what type of feeding program the animal has been on up to this point.

Plan to transition feed slowly over the first few days/week if at all possible.
Allow your animal to settle in at home for a 2-3 days before you begin to handle them.
Make sure you have a catch-gate/crowd-gate aka: V panel.

Either of these items will safely push animals into a small space where they can be grabbed up safely and stress-free with minimal running around the pen.
Handle goats in their pens.

You will need to handle your goat in a small space first before moving to other areas of the barn or outside.
Develop a plan for halter breaking your animals

See links to these items below.