Feel free to ask any animal questions that you may have. Here’s a list of some animals/bugs that our animal expert is very familiar with.
1. Bearded Dragons Owned from 2006-2008
2. Box turtles Owned from 2005-2007
3. Cats Owned from 1990-present
4. Chickens Owned from 2008-present Bred them
5. Crickets Owned from 2006-2008 Bred them
6. Dogs Owned from 1990-present
7. Goats Owned from 2009-present Bred them
8. Guinea Fowl Owned from 2010-2013 Bred them
9. Guppies Owned from 2000-2010 Bred them
10. Hamsters Owned from 2007-2009 Bred them
11. Horses Owned from 2008-present
12. Lovebirds Owned from 2006-2009
13. Mealworms Owned from 2005-2010 – Bred them
14. Mice Owned from 2008-2009 – Bred them
15. Parakeets Owned from 2003-2009 – Bred them
16. Rats Owned from 2008-2009 – Bred them
Thanks for your question Louise Spencer. In our city no one is allowed to tie a dog up to a post or stake for longer than an hour or two. The dogs in our city must use the kind of tie out that runs on a track overhead if they are tied up for longer periods of time. You should contact animal control in your city and give them the info and possibly take photos from your yard. Ask your city what the laws are in regards to tying up a dog.Thanks for your question Louise Spencer. In our city no one is allowed to tie a dog up to a post or stake for longer than an hour or two. The dogs in our city must use the kind of tie out that runs on a track overhead if they are tied up for longer periods of time. You should contact animal control in your city and give them the info and possibly take photos from your yard. Ask your city what the laws are in regards to tying up a dog.
Should I be concerned if my neighbor leaves her dog a little over one years old that’s stays chained to the front porch railings all day and outside almost every night. The dog is left on the porch when no one is home. Has gotten loose and also no mail gets delivered by mailman. The family shows no attention. I was told they are trying to find a home for her. They should.
Hi Tiana, we are sorry for your loss.
Cat urine is very strong and hard to get out of carpet and the smell could definitely still be there. We use white vinegar diluted with water and sometimes we rub baking soda into the spot after it is dry then we let the baking soda sit and vacuum it up. Male cats are more likely to mark and if they are neutered often you won’t even have a problem. We would suggests you adopted a kitten so you can raise it yourself or adopt an adult cat that has lived inside and is well littler boxed trained.
Hey there! So, I have this dilemma. We are thinking of getting a cat/kitten, but we are worried about the fact that we have already had a previous cat. Our previous cat used to mark here and there around the house, and although we cleaned it up and can’t smell it,we know that and cats have WAY better noses. We are concerned that if we were to get a new cat/kitten, it would smell that and start marking too. I thought that if we brought in a kitten to an new territory than what it is used to, (such as our house) it would just grow up with the other cat’s scent, and be used to it enough NOT to mark.OR if we brought a cat into “another cat’s territory” it would be our of it’s comfort zone ad not mark. Our previous cat died six months ago, so would that scent still even be around? Thanks!
Hello Ashley,
We recommend Orchard hay for wethers and it is very important that you feed the wether a goat mineral salt. You will want to read the goat care info titled “Feeding Goats Alfalfa”. Also be sure to get a hold of a good vet that can teach you more about goat diet.
Hello, i am VERY new to the goat world.
I am getting a 2.5 month old wether and doeling.
i have been told SO many different things when it come to feeding,
i have been told not to give my wether alfalfa because it can cause urinary problems.
this is a list of what some of the feed store near me have, what would you consider to be my best route.
*Timothy Grass
*Pasture Grass
*Meadow Grass
*Oat Hay
*Grass Hay
***WE ARE UNABLE TO GET CHAFFHAYE IN OUR AREA
or if you have a better suggestion!!!
Hello Julie,
We have been in your shoes before. It is very difficult and frustrating to milk a goat like this but if you have the time and patients it can be done! If she is a younger goat she will be a little easier to work with as she will accept you milking her sooner.
Step 1 Do not feed her before milking (feed during milking and afterwards).
Step 2 Before bring her onto the milk stand make sure you are all set up and ready to milk right when she enters the stand. Place some nice leafy Alfalfa in the stand’s feed trough.
Step 3 Now encourage the goat into the milk stand using grain. Once you have her in the stand try to start milking while she eats.
Step 4 Every time she tries to kick your hand or pull away from you, keep your hand touching the under. If she learns you will stop touching her when she kicks or pulls away she will kick and pull away all the more. Don’t grab/hang on to the teat when she pulls/kicks as you will harm her, but rather just keep contact with the udder or teat.
Step 5 As you milk from the side you may need to sit closer to the goat’s head and milk more from the fount. Doing this will enable you to avoid her kicks a little bit better from this angle. Do what works best for you and the goat and remember never to pull on her teats.
Step 6 From time to time, while milking her, you may want to empty your milk into another container because if she kicks the bucket you will lose all your milk. By emptying the milk from time to time you will only lose little bit of milk if she kicks the bucket rather than losing all the milk.
Step 7 Milk as much as you can out of her. In the beginning you may not be able to milk her out all the way and may need to do small milking sessions twice a day at first.
Step 8 Release her out of the stand and feed her normal hay ration minus what she consumed in the milk stand.
Hopeful you found something helpful in the info above. Also you may consider moving the milk stand into her pen and maybe even feeding her out of it rather than placing her hay on the ground. This will help her become more comfortable with being in the stand. In addition to this it will be more convenient for you, having her stand in the pen, as you will not have to take the goat very far to the milk stand.
I have a Sanaan goat who is in milk but isn’t tame AT ALL. She was purchased for the milk, but I didn’t realize how wild she was until I got her home. I know you said in another post to give her feed and not try to touch her, but I’ve got to milk her twice a day. Any suggestions?
Hi Chris,
It sounds like you are doing fine with the way you are introducing the dog and kitten together just be careful. I would not leave the kitten alone with the dog (but you already know this). It almost sounds like your Malamute may want to hunt the kitten. Does your dog ever shake when near the kitten? Sometimes a dog will lick and nibble at an animal when a person is holding it and even shake because the dog wants to hunt the animal but the dog knows it shouldn’t because the person will scold. If your dog is just casually licking the kitten and does not take a lot of interest in the kitten, then this is a good sign and I don’t think the dog wants to harm the kitten. But whenever a dog is very focused or completely locked in on an animal and can’t help its self but starts licking to the point that they just have to nibble too, this is usually a sign that the dog wants to hunt the animal. Often the dog will shake too because they want to hunt the animal so bad and instinct kicks in and all the dog can do is shake to hold back the instinct.
Dogs can adapt to small animals and then there are other dogs that no matter how hard you try with training, they still want to hunt the smaller animals and the hunting instinct can’t be taken out of the dog.
Hi I have a 5 year old malamute that used to live in a house hold with an adult cat and hated it had to keep them separated constantly my friend has given me a kitten as she couldn’t look after it and I have been introducing it to my malamute at 15 minute intervals through out the day and all she does is lick and nibble it I have the kitten on my knee and the dog on a lead in case she goes to attack etc, is it a good sign that she is doing this etc best ways to introduce, did she just chase and not like the other cat because it was fully grown and attacked her?
Hello Mariella,
That is nice that you want to help this kitty. I would maybe try trapping him so you can get a hold of him to see how he does with people and your cats. Maybe you cold bring him inside the house for a few days; this will give all cats a chance to get acquainted. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t fight/hurt each other. Some cats get along better with new cats than others. It may or may not work out for your cats but you won’t know until you give it a try. After you catch this new kitty and bring him in the house, place your cats in a kennel or some kind of cage and let the new cat roam about on the outside of the cage. Just some ideas and I hope they help you.
We just moved into a new home. And my 2 cats seem fine. It’s the first time we’ve ever changed houses. My cats are allowed to go outside. They do come back. And we’ve been here for about a month. They haven’t tried running away. But I found out, that the lady who used to live here, had a cat. And she died. So the cat walks around outside. And we see him/her every once in a while. My cats do NOT like him. But the cat does not seem aggressive. My cat is the one who growls and hunches his back. I want to take in this cat, and keep him. Can I do that?
Do you have other goats? Often a goat will be very stressed out if it is an only goat. It is possible that your goat called out so much that it voice would be weaker.
My new goat cry’s all day and now I think she lost her voice. She sounds funny now. Can this happen?
Hello Rick,
It is so hard when cats get older. We had a cat that lived to be about 17 years old.
Here are some tips that may help you:
Place the cat box is in a location where the cat spends most of his time.
Put multiple cat boxes out if you have a large house.
If he is having accidents in the same spot all the time place a cat box there.
Make sure the cat box is cleaned out regularly.
Buy a product that will remove the urine and smell from your carpet.
Buy a repellant product that will keep your cat away from the places he is having accidents.
I hope this will help you a little and if not you can ask more questions.
I would like to ask a question, our 13 year old cat, has started using the bathroom outside the litter box this has started within the last two months, we need help!! we can’t have our house ruined and we don’t think it is fair to confine him to a small room. He is blind but has never ever had issue before. He did have an absessed tooth and was put on antibiotics. he has still continued to go outside of the litter box…. sometimes using it. He is moving slower as well over the last month maybe arthritis?? I am wondering if he has dementia or alzheimers and forgets where the box is.
Hi Caleb,
The younger the easier it will be to tame them. Try to find one around 8-12 weeks old and if you can find one that has been bottle fed that would be even better.
this has nothing to do with goats but what age do think would be good to get a potbelly pig to train it to not be scared to come aaround us or us to go up and pet it we had one before and it only liked me
Hi Angel,
I had someone ask me this question not too long ago, and I have also had this problem in the past too. Go to this link and read the Weekly Creature Tip 1/7/12
https://godsc.org/creature-tips/birds/ If you have more questions ask away
Why are my chickens eating there egg if they have plenty of food
Hello Melissa
To answer your question directly, yes it can be done but it may take a lot of time and patients depending on the goat.
Two of my does (a doe is a female goat) I bought near the age of 1 year. Both had been handled very little and would run from everyone. They would not even eat grain out of my hand. Now after 2 years I am able to pet them but they have to be in the mood. They do approach me but don’t always want me to pet them.
What I did to gain their confidence was place food on the ground and back up until they came to eat. Let them eat all the food and do not move towards them. Do this each day or twice a day when you feed them. As they feel more comfortable with you, you will not need to back up. Goats do not like to be pet if they do not trust humans so don’t always try to pet them. The best thing is to bribe them with the food and do not pet them until they feel really comfortable. My two did not like being pet until I had them for a year and one day they just decided that it felt good being scratch on the neck. With patients soon you will have them eating out of your hands LOL.
Another thing that helped my two girls become even tamer was birthing them. My goats attitude change tremendously right before they go into labor. They begin to nibble on my fingers and lick them. They will even get upset and cry out if I leave them. Not all goats are like this; some like to wait until everyone is gone and then give birth. The last thing that helped my goats was milking them (a few weeks after they gave birth) twice a day every day for a few months. I would use grain to lead them on to the milk stand.
It is hard to tame goats that were not bottle fed and those that have had very little contact with humans. It can be done but it will take time and patients. I always recommend goats that were bottle fed. I have learned first hand that non bottle fed goats most times are difficult to socialize with humans. There is nothing quite like a bottle fed goat.
We recently adopted two 2 year old pygmy goats. They are slowly coming around, but one of them hasn’t been handled that much. Can you still train them to be around and like people? They were a 4H project, and are supposed to be a 4H project for my kids, but I want to make sure we go about it in the right way. For the sake of the goats and us
Thank You
Hello George and thank you for your questions. I hope the info below that I have written will help you.
Contagious Ecthyma:
I have not experienced Contagious Ecthyma but I looked it up in my book called Goat Medicine by Mary C. Smith and David M Sherman. From my understanding of the book it may be possible for other animals to become infected months or even years later from scabs that have fallen to the ground. I would clean all your pens up as best as you can. Do you have a good goat vet? If you should have a repeat I would have a vet come out. You could not find a treatment probably because you need to treat it with antibiotics. Also it might be a good thing for you to get the book Goat Medicine. You can buy it on the internet.
Quarantine all new animals:
A good rule of thumb is to always quarantine all new animals, and animals coming home from the fair, for at least two weeks. Make sure they are as far away as possible for your other animals. Use separate cleaning tools and have separate shoes to wear into the quarantine animal pen(s). Always wash your hands after handling the quarantined animals. Also it is not the best idea to take in new animals when you have babies or pregnant mothers on your property as their immune systems are weaker.
Vaccinations:
I vaccinate my goats with Clostridium Perfringens Types C & D with Tetanus Toxoid. Different arias vaccinate for other things too depending where you live and what your goat could be exposed to. I live in Southern California. It is always good to talk to a knowledgeable goat vet on the subject. Also it is best to vaccinate pregnant does with Clostridium Perfringens Types C & D – Tetanus Toxoid 4 weeks before they kid so the kids will already be vaccinated when they hit the ground. Then the kids will need to be vaccinated again at 3-4 months old. When vaccinating a goat that has never been vaccinated with Clostridium Perfringens Types C & D – Tetanus Toxoid, vaccinate them again in 3-4 weeks, after that they only need to be vaccinated once every year.
hi there …a few weeks ago bought some alpine and saanen goats [babies] a week old and after a couple of weeks with me i noticed that some of them had some kind of pimples on their lips and later… the other adult females started to have the same pimples on their tits and could not nurse their babies .. because the pimples were bleeding and looked like it hurt a lot to the moms….i did some reseach online and i found out that this a dease called [contagious ecthyma and i could not find anything to treat it ..do u know if after being sick with this dease my goats need any kind of medication since the pimples are all gone ?……..also i have another question ….what shots do i have to give my goats to keep them in good health ?
Thanks very much for your advice, I don’t have any fleas or ticks, just wasn’t sure if they needed a preventative
I’ve never had a full time outside pet so I was worried about him. I put up a fly trap so they won’t bother him. I’m just trying to give him everything he needs, I’m glad to know that they don’t need the flea tick meds! Thanks again!
I have never had a problem with fleas or ticks in any of my goats or animals. If you are having a problem with fleas/ticks on your goat I would call the Hesperia Vet Supply store and see if they sell something for fleas/ticks or maybe they can order it for you. A word of advice you should not use a product on goats that is made for another animal such as horses, cows, et cetera. Try to find something that is specifically made for goats as some products can be toxic to goats.
If you are having a big problem with fleas or ticks you may want to call a vet out. Kids are not as strong as adults and if you are having problems with parasites it could eventually become life threatening to your kid. If you need a vet that does goats on a regular basis I have one I could refer you to. Sometimes it is very hard to find a vet that is experienced with goats.
Hi there, I came and got some goat’s milk from you and I am wondering… do you use flea/tick repellent on goats like you would a dog? What type do you use and where do you get it? I have an 8 week old pygmy goat.
Thanks! Your website has been very helpful! Can’t wait to see your pygmy babies when you have some
Elizabeth is a wealth of knowledge and has a natural understanding of God’s creatures. Her pet areas are sanitary and she keeps them in their appropriate environments. I am impressed. I look forward to a long and healthy working relationship with her.