Life just goat seriously cuter for our Mags here at HomeoPet, as two adorable miniature goats have just joined the family!

Mag’s youngest son MacKenzie came across the adorable pair at a farm out in the east end and showed them to her … and Mags just fell head over heels for them! Well, who wouldn’t?!

Since then, Mags has been busy augmenting her backyard to make a suitable environment for Molly and Hank to thrive in. The dynamic duo coped super well with the move to their new home (aided by a little Anxiety Relief) and they have settled in and seem to be loving life in their new home.

Caring for Goats

Goats are what you call ‘browsers’ and not ‘grazers’, which is what people usually think goats are. Grazers, such as cows and horses, primarily eat grass, which is why people think of goats as 4-legged lawnmowers! But goats are browsers, so they look for leaves, twigs and shrubs instead of grass and hay should be their primary food source. For this reason, goats are excellent at clearing rough, overgrown land.

Young goats should receive milk every day until they’re about 12 weeks old. Molly and Hank also get some goat feed mixed with cracked corn as a little treat and they like to eat things like banana peels, cheerios, and veggies! So, they’re handy chaps to have around to minimize food waste.

When it comes to feeding goats, it’s important not to overfeed them, as this can make them quite sick. It’s also important that you don’t make drastic changes to your goats’ diet all at once and don’t feed them large amounts of new food. Any of these practices can lead to major digestive upsets for your goats. Change their diets slowly, giving the bacteria in their rumen (their first stomach, made for the initial step in the digestion of the plants they eat) time to adjust.

When considering the area you may have to keep goats, it’s crucially important that they have a good shelter as goats HATE the rain! It is also essential to understand that as goats are herd animals, they must have company – if goats are kept alone, their health will suffer and they will actually get quite depressed.

Goats love to be busy – they’re like toddlers who need to be entertained all day until it’s time for bed! So, it’s important that you incorporate things for them to play with and climb on, to keep them busy and active. And also to help prevent their more destructive tendencies surfacing!

HomeoVet Has Goat Your Back!

When it comes to keeping your goats healthy, the HomeoVet range of natural medicines is on hand to help with everyday health issues such as digestive upsets, coughs and allergies and worming. These safe and gentle medicines are formulated specifically for horses and large animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep or goats.

We will bring you more news of Molly and Hank as their adventure continues, so watch this space.

• 

• 

• 

• 

•