More Goat Questions Answered!

It’s time again to talk about some of the searches that have brought people to Goat Berries. Read previous entries at Answering Goat Questions: Part I and Part II.

As I mentioned before, goats and watermelons have been on a lot of goatie friends’ minds these days, but here’s what else they’ve been wondering about:

1. Goats fig leaves edible : I’m assuming this is asking whether goats can eat fig leaves. Mine have, although we were told by a an experienced goat herder here that they shouldn’t have too much, so we tend to give them to our girlies just when we’re pruning the fig trees a bit — they never get more than a few branches at a time, and that’s usually weeks or months apart.

2. Goats and pit fruit / can goats eat fruit with seeds/pits : They sure can, and many times they’ll just spit the pit out if they don’t want it. Pasqualina has spit out both apricot and plum pits. It’s *so* fun to watch them eat these as they roll them around in their mouths. That said, don’t give them too many at a time — just like our digestive systems don’t love too much of a good thing like apricots and plums, neither do theirs.

3. Can goats eat banana peelings? : Whoo boy, can they — and my girl Pasqualina *loves* them. Loves bananas too. The other does we had also loved both fruit and peel, but Pinta isn’t old enough to care yet, apparently. Again, though, everything in moderation!

4. Kid goat cries all the time / why does my goat cry : Dig if you will the pic-ture. Oh wait, that’s When Doves Cry. Anyway, this is a tough one and requires that you know your kid pretty well. Some kids are just loud and cry when they want attention or food or milk or all of the above. Generally it’s not a problem unless it sounds like the kid’s in pain.

Of course, my kid cries like she’s in pain when she’s bored, so even that’s not a reliable measure. Who her?

In short, I think the answer to the question is most likely the age-old one: because s/he can. But if the crying seems abnormal to you, do look for other signs of illness such as lack of appetite, bloating, and just otherwise not doing goat-like things.

5. Milky sticky discharge coming out of nanny goat before kidding : Gross, but totally normal. We noticed it on two of ours about 24 hours before kidding. The other one didn’t show anything, or maybe we just weren’t looking (she was the first to go). I actually have a photo of this, but I think you get the idea; if you want to see it though, please feel free to contact me. In any event, you’ll be having a kid or more *very* soon. Congratulations!

Remember if you have any goat questions that aren’t answered somewhere in the blog, don’t be afraid to ask! I can’t promise to know the answer, but I will be happy to put it out there to other goatie lovers if I don’t.

And please feel free to add your bleats of wisdom on the above questions as well!

Buon weekend!

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8 Responses to “More Goat Questions Answered!”
  1. 08.06.2010

    Great post M! Hello lil Pinta…love your goatie jewelry! xo

    Pinta thanks you…she does like to show them off 😉

    [Reply]

  2. 08.07.2010

    Good answers, but I would add to a kid crying all the time. If you have only one goat, they will cry and yell because they are lonely.

    Excellent point, Teresa! I tend to assume people know that one goat on its own isn’t happy, but not everyone *does* realize that. We started out with just one kid ourselves until we could find another, and she definitely quieted down when we got a buddy 🙂

    [Reply]

  3. 09.16.2011

    Three month baby goat. Crying all the time. Need to get another one. Thank you! Cheers- Mike

    [Reply]

    michelle Reply:

    Best of luck, Mike!

    [Reply]

  4. alexis
    08.17.2012

    this is great info! My fiance just gave me a goat (we train/own racehorses) she hangs out with the horses but is super timid. I’m trying to get all sorts of advices on how to make her more comfortable with us

    [Reply]

    michelle Reply:

    I hope it’s going well, Alexis!

    [Reply]

  5. Phoebe
    04.04.2016

    I have a question…… we have recently got two young female goats just over 6months old. They came with horns and we were wondering whether removing them at this age is a good idea? We were only wondering because sometimes they catch them on us, not on purpose though. We asked the vets and they were neutral, it was up to us. We are not keen to put the girls through any pain if not needed and we are quite happy to leave them on if its not necessary. Thanks for your thoughts (o:

    [Reply]

  6. Joann Wainman
    02.20.2017

    my goat looks like she is shedding (a lot) none of the others are and its definitely not like a dog sheds, she is brown and the hair seems to be turning white all across her back and very thin like it might not grow back

    [Reply]


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