He's precious. If goats werent so darn devious and hard to fence, I'd just have to have one or three. I'd love to have a dwarf milking goat.
I have one horse who really hates goats, he chases them around because they used to steal his feed at one of the barns where he was in training at.

He is cute. We're keeping him in a chain link dog kennel 6' tall. We let him out every day to play. He seems to think he's a dog. I just hope he won't be to hard to keep out of the garden. He does pretty good on a dog leash, maybe that will help.

Fred is adorable! Be careful. My neighbor lost her Shetland to a rattler out by the pond, recently.

Jeanie

He is precious. Every goat I've ever known will eat almost anything that's growing, so I hope your garden is fenced.

Every family I know who has both a garden and a goat or goats has had the goats slip into the garden or out of the goat pen hrough an open gate. Garden destruction ensued.

THat is adorable. Fred is a little Nubian goat. If Fred is really a boy, I would make sure you band him and make him a weather. You don't want a billy, even in a nubian. Nubians are extremely gentle and make great pets, especially around little kids. I just got one for my granddaughter about 3 weeks ago that looks a lot like the one you pictured. They would love to get in your garden and eat every leaf off of your tomato plants... They will take out a shrub in the flower bed in no time. Nubians will put out 1-1.5 gallons of Milk a day.

I raise both Nubian and Boer goats. Love them.

Enjoy!

Em

I love goats, and Fred is such an awesome name. LOL You'll never have to mow again!

Cute goat!! We kept goats in OK but got rid of them when we moved up here. They're fun to have around but Dawn is right. They will eventually destroy everything in the garden. They know how to pick locks and I believe the goat leaders have developed teleportation technology. They also know how to hypnotize your children, making them leave the gates unlocked. Repeatedly.

Diane

Diane,

Your goats were some of the goats I was thinking about! Also, my brother's goats and the goats that lived next door when we moved here. The only thing worse than looking up and seeing the neighbor's goats running towards your garden is....hmmmm....looking up and seeing the neighbor's cows running towards your garden. You see, deer and armadilloes are not the only reason we have a good garden fence!

I'm not really complaining. More like laughing weakly. When we moved here I never, ever, ever intended to spend one single second of my life herding cattle or goats, and now Tim and I are somewhat good at doing both, even though we personally do not have goats or cattle.

Dawn

That is another thing I've not missed about OK: Herding the neighbors cattle out of the yard and garden! He was a great guy but apparently couldn't build fence to save his life. Those stupid cows were out every other day and they got to know where the good stuff grew. Hmm, maybe they weren't so stupid afterall.

Diane

You may already know all these things. But here are a couple of tips. We raise dairy goats (Nubian & LaMancha).

1) I assume you are bottle feeding. We don't start weaning until 8 weeks of age. Though, early on, we make hay and then feed available to kids. They need to have the hay available in order to develop their rumen.

2) Unless you know that Fred already had a CDT (tetanus) shot, I'd recommend you get one for him. We vaccinate our kids while very young. I know we do it at about a week old when we disbud. We do each goat again on a yearly basis. Goats are very susceptible to tetanus.

3) Em is quite right about banding him. I've had a couple of "wrassling matches" with our Nubian buck (he started it) and it is NO FUN! Wethers, on the other hand, remain quite sweet.

4) If you haven't had him disbudded, you might consider it... and very very soon. It's getting late for that. Some prefer to leave horns on their goats. We prefer not to. It's too easy to get hung up in a fence with horns.

Fred should be a great pet and wonderful "brush hog." Consider possibly finding him a companion. Two goats are less trouble than one, as they keep each other occupied. I have a saying, which I believe is true: "Goat hell is being alone."

George
Tahlequah, OK

He is ADORABLE. I'd love a goat (and bees, and chickens)...Some day. Sigh.

Jo

George don't you just love your Nubians? I had a Nubian Nanny save me from a steer one time. This Jersey steer I have (long story...) Decided to charge me one day. He was about 1200lbs at the time. I picked up a log and swung at him but he just kept turning around and trying to come at me. Lily, the goat, trotted over, stood in between us and just looked at that steer and he stopped. He was bottle raised with Lily and he thinks he is a goat. They are amazing animals those nubians.

And yes, you definitely want to debud those things it makes them much easier to handle.

And yes, getting him a companion is good as well. I ended up getting a little weather to go with the little nanny I got my granddaughter. The nanny WAS petunia, but she couldn't say that, it came out Tuna, so the weather is named Crackers.

I've never owned a LaMancha but have seen them at the sale barn. Do they take the heat really well? Aren't they a Spanish goat??

Em

Thanks for all the info. We're planning on banding him this weekend. (Kenneths job) I don't do banding. I didn't know about the shot either.
And yes we do have a fence around the garden. I have to because my labs eat my tomatoes. I just hope it will keep the goat out.
We are trying to find him a little friend. Right now he plays with the dogs.He seems to really like the Pyrenees mix we have.

"Right now he plays with the dogs.He seems to really like the Pyrenees mix we have."

Seems to be in the genes ;)
First time our sheep met our Anatolian, who was a huge, uncouth puppy at the time, they immediately seemed to consider him their servant. We were amazed to see him fall into this role without hesitation, especially since, at the time, he didn't obey anyone else!

LaManchas are an American breed, developed from some stock, originally from Spain; just as Nubians are English, developed from African bloodlines. We like both breeds. Most folk love the long ears of the Nubian. LaManchas take heat very well and are apparently more resistant to ticks than are the Nubians.

Having another goat is the ideal. But if Fred and the dog bond real well they may make a jolly team and be just fine.

George

George,

I had no idea the Nubian was English... I do live their long ears. I think the next time a LaMancha comes through the sale barn I will get one. Now, should you only breed it with another LaMancha?

Keel, I bet your goat does love that pyreneese, they are a natural pair! I have 3 Pyranese and an anatolian named Tony. That dog is massive. They are in the pasture with the goats. They are natural born goat guards. I just had unexpected puppies in March from Tony and Misha (one of my pyreneese) and have managed to find good homes for all but 1 of them.

If anyone needs a good Male guard dog for your goats or sheet, I am your girl!!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July with good company, lots of family and friends!

Now, I'm off to the little farm down the road to buy some tomatoes and corn for the 4th.

Reporting from Owasso, Erod1