Since goats don't like drinking very cold water, hammering a hole in the water bucket usually won’t do the trick. During very cold and freezing weather, make sure the water isn’t frozen or very cold. The water source should be located in the shelter or just outside the shelter as goats generally won’t go out in inclement weather to get to it. You want to encourage them to drink as much and as often as possible. Goats should always have easy access to fresh, clean water. Water consumption is especially critical for preventing urinary calculi in wethers. See our Poisonous Plants page for more information. Unfortunately, these ornamental plants taste good to goats so they do not have any innate sense that they are deadly toxic to them. In many cases, it can take only a few leaves, fresh or dry, to fatally poison a goat. Blackberry, salmonberry as well as alder, fir and maple trees are some of their favorites.ĬAUTION: It is very important to understand the plants that are in your goats pasture and along its outer fence line as there are many ornamental plants which are very poisonous to goats. Goats are natural browsers and their ideal home has a pasture with a variety of grass, woody plants and weeds. We also recommend that goats have access to baking soda which can help aid digestion. Loose mineralized salt is preferable over a traditional salt block and should be always be available to the goats. Offering both is a great option as well. Salt is another important aspect to a goat’s diet, especially for wethers (neutered males). On cold nights they will munch on their hay throughout the night and generate their own heat to stay warm.

Goats tend to avoid leaving their shelter during rainy weather so it’s important that they have access to hay where they will likely be spending most of their time. Even if there is lots of browse left in their pasture, winter browse does not contain enough nutrients to sustain goats for the long winter months. In winter months, goats should always have hay available to them in their shelter. However, in our experience, it tends to have more stems and we see more hay waste when feeding timothy hay. Timothy hay is also an option for both wethers and does.

Hay grown locally in Western WA does not provide the correct nutrients necessary for goats. Note: If you are located in Western Washington, we strongly recommend Eastern Washington hay. This includes bread, crackers, etc.ĭoes: We recommend good quality orchard grass hay or a 50/50 mix of orchard grass and alfalfa. Alfalfa is not a health concern for does but we do not recommend a 100% alfalfa diet. If you feed a mixed hay of orchard grass and alfalfa, alfalfa should not exceed 10% as alfalfa is thought to contribute to the potential for urinary calculi (blocking). Grain is also thought to be a major contributor to urinary calculi so we recommend that wethers not receive any grain, goat chow, or treats with grain products in them. Wethers: We recommend good quality orchard grass hay. Proper feeding is of utmost importance as feeding errors account for a large percentage of goat disease and death. Wethers (neutered males) have different dietary needs than does (females). Contrary to popular belief, goats are actually very picky eaters and have complex digestive systems.

Goat sounds like it has a stuffed nose