Take a good look at the goat you are considering. Does it look thrifty! By thrifty I mean does its coat look smooth and shiny?
Does the goat look clean or does it have runny eyes, nose or a messy rear?
Always select a goat that looks thrifty.
Notice that your thrifty, healthy animals are generally moving about with
their tails up! I always use the tail position as strong
indicator of how the goat is feeling. A goat that is not feeling well, many times will
have its tail down. When goats are not feeling well they will look a little scruffy and
their tail will be down.
Now don't take that bit of advice to the extreme. When we let our goats on to a fresh pasture, many times they are full of briars for a few days, thats ok!
As long as the goat has bright eyes, a shiny coat and no discharges.
Up close, pull the eye lid down just a bit. The lining of the eye should be a healthy pink.
Pull the lip down and look at the gums. The gums should also be pink. Grey or very light coloring in the eyelids or gums may indicate an advanced case of anemia. Stear Clear!
Take a look at the hooves. We try to buy goats that stand good on their feet. We have found that trimming can be kept to a minimum if you select them for good hooves!
If the hoof is overgrown have the seller trim them before you take them away! Hoof trimming is not usually a real fun task, so have them show you first hand how they handle the animal.
One last thing, when we were first looking at goats, we didn't even know how to tell the sexes apart. (Seems pretty silly now, but...)
The easiest way to tell is that a female squats to urinate and a male urinates from the belly. We once bought a wether thinking it was a doe.....ooops....no testicles, but definitely a male!
- Does the goat look thrifty?
- Check the eyes, by pulling the lower lid down gently.
- Check the gums, by pulling the lower lip down. The gums should look healthy and pink.....not grey or light.
- Make sure the goat does not have a runny nose or eyes.
- Look for signs of scours (messy rear)
- Is the goat chewing its cud? This is a good sign.
- Does the goat look skinny? You should be able to pinch and feel the muscle at the nape of the neck and in the hip areas. You should not see a prominent back bone.
- Find out how long the owner has had the goat
- Find out when the goat was last wormed and with what
- Find out if the goat has had any shots (if not thats ok but something you will probably want to take care of)
- Ask a lot of questions, is the goat an escape artist? Some are and they can be tough to keep!
- If you are thinking to have a herd someday, be sure you know the difference between a doe, buck and a wether!
- Buy a little bit of feed from the seller. Contrary to popular opinion goats do not adjust well to abrupt changes in feed.
Try to keep the goat on the same feed for the first week and then (if desired) change them slowly by mixing in the feed of your choice.
These are some very basic quidelines that should at least help you to purchase a healthy goat.
