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HereareafewhelpfulhintsandtipsforthosewhoarenewtoraisingNigerianDwarf(ND)dairygoats.These hints and tips focus primarily on suggestions of “what to do” rather than “how to do it” sinceeveryone’sset-upisalittledifferent.First,afewcommentsaboutthebreedingeneral:

• NDsareverysocialandfriendly.Theyloveattention,especiallybeingrubbedandscratched.Youwill quickly learn that each has their special “spot” to be scratched. It’s important to alsoacclimatethemtobeinghandledandtouchedontheneck,head,belly,legsandhooves.Thiswillmakeworkingwiththemmucheasierandlessstressful.

• NDsneedtointeractwithotherNDs.Asaresult,theyaren’tashappyandwon’tdoaswellwhenalone.It’salwaysbesttohavetheninatleastpairs.

• NDslikeroutineandaschedule. Theywillletyouknowifyouarelateforanything. Theydon’tlikechange,howeverareveryadaptive.Theywillcomplainforadayorso,thenactlikeit’salwaysbeenthewayitisnow.

• HierarchyisimportanttoNDdoes,especiallywhenyouhave4+together.Theywillworkoutwhoisthe“queen”,her“lieutenants”,andeveryoneelse.

• With NDs, everything is a negotiation. This includes who eats first, who sleeps where, etc.Vocalizationandhead-buttingisanaturalpartofthisinteraction.Withinreason,it’sbesttojustletthemfigureitout.It’sdynamicandwillchangeovertime.

• Lastly, NDs are intelligent, inquisitive, curious and playful. They can also be stubborn, hard-headed(literallyandfiguratively),jealousandmoody.It’ssaidthatNDshavetheproblem-solvingskillsofa5-yearold.Theyareprettygoodatfiguringoutlatches,etc.sokeepthatinmind.

Yard/Fencing/ShelterNDsdon’trequirealotofroom,howevertheydoneedspacetoroam,graze,play,andashadyspotforresting.Theyaren’tverygoodatclearingbrushandovergrowth.Theylovenibblingontreebarkandcanstripthebarkfromthetree. Overtime, thiswillstressorkillallbutthehardiestof trees. Theyenjoyclimbing and playing on things. Old tires, large drainage pipes, andwoodenwire spindles are a fewexamplesofwhatmanyusetoentertaintheirNDs. Justmakesuretheyare farenoughawayfromthefencesotheydon’ttrytogooverit.NDs rub against everything. One of their favorite things to do is slowly walk along the fence whilepushing.Ifyouhavewirefencing,thenitwon’tbelongbeforethefencewillbulgeoutwardwheretheirtorsohasbeenincontact. It’simportantthatyourfenceisstrongenoughandadequatelysupportedtohandlethis.Sheepandgoatwireisideal,sinceitiswrappedratherthanwelded.

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TherearetwothingsthatNDsdon’tlike,namelygettingwetanddraftyquarters.Theycanhandlebothheatandcoldaslongastheyhaveadryandprotectedplacetoshelter. NDs,especiallykids,areprettymuchdefenseless. Theyneedaplace to sleepandshelter that is safe frompredators suchas coyotes,dogs,largehawks,etc.Theylikesleepingonbenches,butareequallycomfortableondrystraw.Hay/Feed/WaterNDsneedaccesstodryhigh-qualityhayfedofftheground.Horsehayisidealsinceittypicallycontainstherightpercentagesofnitrogenandprotein. It’sa littlemoreexpensive thancowhay,but I contendtheyeatlessofthehorsehay.Onaverage,amaturedoewilleat2patsperweek.Buckstypicallyeatless,asdokids.FYI,abaleofhayusuallyhasaround15pats.NDstendtobewasteful,especiallyiftheyhaveaccesstoalotofhay.It’susuallybesttoputouthayonan“asneeded”basis,buttheyshouldalwayshaveaccess. They tend to “graze” throughout the day. Howmuch they consumewill changebased on theweather,age,etc.howeveryouwillquicklylearnhowmuchtheywilleatandhowoftenyouneedtoputoutadditionalhay.Typically,thatwillbeonceperday.It’sbestforNDstoeatfromeitheramangerorothermeansofdispensingthehay.Theytendtobepickyandwon’tusuallyeatwhat’sonthegroundorfloor.Thisisespeciallyimportantifyoualsousehayorstrawasbedding.Weprefer to supplement ourNDs dietwith some type of feed. For the does and kids,we use a highqualitysweet feed likegoatchow. Forthebucksandbucklingsover2-monthsold,weuseapelletizedfeedsuchasNoblethatcontainsammoniumchloride.Maleshaveatendencytowarddevelopingurinary-tractproblemsandtheammoniumchlorideisaveryeffectivepreventative.Usuallytheywillfinisheatingwithin15–30minutes.Werecommendtakingupanyexcessfeedafteranhour or so. Not onlywill it train them to eat at feeding time (usually not a problem), but itwill alsodiscourage unwanted guests such as rodents, insects, etc. Storing the feed in some type of protectivecontainerwithalidwillkeepthefeedfreshandyourgoatshealthy.Likehay,neverfeedoffthefloororground.Alwaysuseatrough.Freshwaterchangeddaily.Theyreallycantellwhenyoudon’t.SupplementsNDs are very good at self-maintaining a healthy digestive system as long as they have access tosupplements. To that end, there are two supplements that ourNDshave free access to via individualdispensers. The first isbakingsoda topreventbloatingandregulatepH. Thesecond isahigh-qualitygoatmineralsupplement.Someuseamineralblock,althoughweprefergranular.Trytoavoidusingagoat&sheeporsheepmineralsupplementsinceitwon’tcontainthecopperthattheyneed.MonthlyHealth&MaintenanceOneof themostneglectedactivities ismaintainingagoat’shooves, specifically cleaningand trimming.Admittedly,it’snotmuchfun.However,itonlytakesafewminutespermonthandisvitallyimportant.As thehoovesgrow, thegrowthtends to foldunder thehoofandcauses thegoat tocompensatewhentheywalk.Overtime,thiscancausetheligamentstostretchunevenlyalongthelegandeventuallymayleadtolameness.Notallgoatsgrowtheirhoovesatthesamerate.Youwillquicklylearnhowoftenyouneedtotrim. Asageneralrule,werecommendmonthly. It’salsoagoodtimetocheck(1)eyelids foranemiaduetowormload(seebelow),(2)collarstoensuretheyarenottootight(especiallyimportantinkids),etc.Thetoolyouuseisapersonalpreference.Wepreferhoofshearsdesignedforgoats.However,

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hoof files work equally as well. If you do choose to use shears, don’t forget a good pair of shearsharpeners.Likeallanimals,NDscanperiodicallydevelopawormloadthatnecessitates theuseofawormer. Wewormourpregnantdoeswith48hoursafterdeliverysincethehormonesreleasedduringthebirthingprocessactivatesthewormeggstohatch.Kidsarewormedatapproximately2monthsold(atweaning).Otherwise,weprefertowormonan“asneeded”basis.Thequickestandeasiestmethodtodetermineifthegoathasaheavywormloadistoinspecttheinsideoftheirbottomeyelid.Theskinshouldbepink–red.Whiteindicatesaheavywormload.Therearemanywormersouttheretochoosefromandalmostasmany opinions as to which is best. We prefer giving our goats a 2mL dosage of SafeGuard 10%fenbendazole solution for goats. All are inspectedmonthly as a part of their regularmaintenance. Asyringe(withouttheneedle,ofcourse)workswellwhengivingoralmedications. NDsdonothavefullupperandlowerteeth.Insertingthesyringeordropperinthesideoftheirmouthrightbehindthelasttoothisanideallocation.Youmayfindithelpfultofirstuseyourfingertofindtherightspot.Inadditiontowormer,wealsovaccinate.Ourpregnantdoesarevaccinatedapproximately30dayspriortobirthingandthekidsarevaccinatedatweaning(approximately2monthsold).WeuseaCD/Tvaccine,suchasBarVacCD/T.CD/Tvaccineboostersarenotnecessary.Lastly, it’s a good idea to keepprobiotics onhand as a periodic supplement and to aid their digestivesystemduringperiodsofstressorchange.Duringtheseperiodsitisnotuncommonforthemtodeveloploosestoolormilddiarrhea.Whenthisoccurs,ashortregimenofprobioticswillusuallygetthembackontrack.