Goats are very useful animals. You can get meat and milk from them. You can use them as pack animals as well as organic lawnmowers. And you can even harvest their hair to use to make things like yarn. In fact, that's where both cashmere and angora come from: goats that were raised in those areas of the world. If you live in a rural area and have some land, you may want to get some goats to keep around. You don't even have to have any use for them outside of just having some fun, friendly animals. Before you get your very first goat, there are things that you need to consider.
Goats Are Herd Animals
You can't just get one goat. They are herd animals, which means that you can't have just one. One goat will pine and be sad. Two goats will keep themselves company and occupied. If you are going to get two goats, you want to make sure that you get two females, does, or one doe and a wether, which is a castrated male. If you want to grow your herd to commercial levels or you just decide that you like having your goats, you will want to increase with a mix of does and wethers. If you ever decide to breed your goats, especially if you want milk, you can always rent stud time or use artificial insemination.
Find a Vet
You are going to need to have a vet that will take care of your goats for you. Goats are generally pretty sturdy, but all animals are at risk of things like pneumonia or infections from sores. If you have a breeding doe, you will want to make sure that she is healthy and her kid or kids are born easily. For all that, you are going to need a vet. But when you are looking for a vet, you aren't looking for one that you would take your cat or dog to; you want one that specializes in large or farm animals. Those vets may come to you instead of you having to take your animal to them. Large animal vets will be more familiar with goat physiology than a regular vet will be, so you know that your goat will be in good hands.
If you have always wanted to have goats, then there are things that you need to consider before you do. To learn more, contact a company like Clovis Veterinary Hospital P A.
