Are goats in your plans this year? If you're planning to bring home a goat or two, here are the ten must-have supplies for goats that every goat owner needs.
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The basic supplies you need for goats
So you've decided you're ready, and you're looking for your first goats! Congratulations!
By the way, if you're in a hurry you can find all of these items in my Amazon storefront to make shopping fast and easy.
Plan on having two goats
You might have been planning on getting just one goat, but I hope you'll get two. Goats are herd animals and are happier with their own kind.
An only goat is a lonely goat, and will get into trouble eventually because it's bored and lonely. That might involve climbing fences, eating your rosebushes, or even jumping on top of your car.
While it's true that sometimes a goat will bond to a horse or sheep, that would depend on the personalities of the individuals involved. Goats and sheep have different mineral requirements too, and the goat minerals are toxic to sheep, while sheep minerals don't have enough copper to keep a goat healthy.
Make your life simpler, and get two goats.
Before you bring home your goats
Please, don't bring home your goats and then gather what you need.
It's much better to buy the items that are necessary for your new animal's health and comfort first, and then introduce your goat to its new home, a home that's ready and waiting.
Also, don't bring home a goat before you've planned and prepared its pen and shelter. Doing so will lead to haphazard pastures and systems that will never work as well for you as a well-thought-out plan.
Your goat will adapt more quickly to a set-up that's been carefully planned, with items for its care already gathered and in place. You'll enjoy the settling-in process more too.
Goat equipment vs. goat supplies
Here are my top ten must-have basic goat supplies and equipment items. You can't go wrong with these items, and you'll be surprised at how much easier your "goat owning" life will be with these.
But I'm not including feed, minerals, dewormers and so on in this article. Those items are termed "consumable."
Instead this article focuses on the "durable" goat supplies and equipment - the items that aren't used up quickly. For example, hay and grain are "consumable" and the buckets you feed your goats in are "durable" equipment.
For the consumable items your goats will need, read consumable goat supplies.
Durable equipment is purchased and for the most part lasts a long time, although they may need to be replaced at some point if they were out or break. These are the items you'll find below.
You'll find a free printable checklist of these top ten items you must have for your goats further down in this post.
I also have some advice for you about cleaning equipment for your goat shed or barn.
Goat supplies for beginners
Your goats will also need some consumable stuff, such as feed, minerals, and so on. You can read more about these consumable supplies for goats here.
If you're raising dairy goats, you probably want to know what goat milking equipment you'll need.
Here's what you should have in your livestock first aid kit, and in your goat birthing kit.
By the way, good fences are a must before you bring home your first goats! Goats are escape artists! You'll find advice on the best type of goat fencing here.
1. Feed buckets
Buckets hold grain and water, plus they're a great place to store smaller pieces of equipment such as brushes in the feed room or trailer, tools you need when you're fencing your new goat pen, and for mixing molasses and warm water for a goat that's just given birth, or soapy water for goat baths.
Buckets are truly worth their weight in gold on a homestead, and you'll never have too many of them!
You can buy round buckets in nearly any color of the rainbow, or flat-back buckets that hang flat against a wall or fence. Use spring clips (scroll down to see them) to hold the buckets on your fence.
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| You can never have enough feed buckets. They can hold tools, grooming brushes and combs, miscellaneous parts and pieces, and bottles of fly spray and Nutridrench. |
2. Collars and leashes
Collars and leashes will help you control your goats.
Dog collars fit goats well. For larger, strong goats use a collar with a metal buckle for extra strength, instead of a plastic closure.
Small goat breeds such as Pygmy and Nigerian Dwarf can wear a small-sized dog collar, while puppy collars fit baby goats well. Goat kids aren't as strong as big goats or big dogs.
For safety reasons I don't keep collars on my goats all the time. Just like dogs and cats, goats can catch their collars on a tree limb or a nail in a wall and hang themselves, sometimes with tragic consequences.
But I keep collars handy to grab when I need them, in the barn, the feed shed, in the house and even in our truck.
If you plan to leave collars on your goats all the time, you can buy plastic chain collars that will break easily if the goat gets caught on a fence or a branch.
Chain collars aren't recommended for use when tying a goat though, because they are designed to break under stress.
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| Dog collars and leashes will help you restrain your goat, tie her up to be groomed, and move her from place to place. |
Use a dog leash to tie your goats to the fence to be brushed or to trim their hooves, or at feeding time so each goat gets the correct amount of feed and doesn't steal another goat's dinner.
I tie each goat to the fence at milking time so that they won't rush the milk room gate or the milkstand.
To clean nylon collars and leashes, throw them in the washing machine with a load of towels. They'll come out miraculously clean.
3. Mineral feeder
Goats need loose minerals that are available free-choice, so get a mineral feeder to hold them. This is also what I use to feed grain to my milk goats on the milking stand.
This particular feeder hangs over a fence or a wooden 2x4; others attach to the wall with screws. For best results, position your mineral feeder under a roof to keep the minerals dry.
Some mineral feeders are divided into two cavities, one for mineral, the other for baking soda or salt.
Not all goat minerals are made equal. To learn what kind is best for your goats, check out these six supplies you'll need for your goats.
4. Hay feeder
Goats love to scatter hay all over, sleep in it, poop on it... in other words, they seem to enjoy wasting hay. And once their hay hits the ground, they're not going to eat it.
If they do eat hay off the ground, your goats are more likely to suffer from internal parasites. Providing their hay in a feeder is more hygenic, will help prevent parasites, and will also help to cut waste.
This iron hay rack can be screwed into a wooden wall or attached to a fence.
You can compare Amazon's currently available hay racks here. The one I have, which is pictured in my photo above, goes in and out of stock. If you can find it in stock, I highly recommend it. Mine has lasted years - in fact, it has lasted for decades!
Be sure to check right below the listed current price for any available coupon savings. If you find that one is available, check the box and the coupon will be applied at checkout.
Choose a hay feeder that is sturdy and heavy enough to withstand a goat's shenanigans. If you plan to hang it on a fence, use the sturdiest part of your fencing, such as where the fence is attached to a t-post.
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| Use a sturdy hay rack, and attach it to the strongest part of your fence, such as where the fence is attached to the post. |
I don't recommend using a hay net with goats. Their horns are easily entangled in hay nets, and because goats are "browsers" and like to rear up to reach food, their front hooves can also be tangled up in a net.
5. Water bucket or trough
A feed bucket only holds 8 quarts (2 gallons), so it really isn't big enough to use as a water bucket unless you just have a small goat or two, or you're starting with baby goat kids.
This larger 5-gallon bucket would be a better choice, but if you have more than one or two goats, the larger water tanks below would be better yet.
You'd need to constantly fill up the bucket many times a day to make sure it's never empty. Goats need water available at all times. Plus beware of buckets and troughs that are low to the ground, because it's common for a goat to accidently poop in their drinking water.
On the other hand, you'll need to be sure that the trough you choose isn't too tall for your goats to reach, especially if you have miniature goats and goat kids.
%20(1).png "You should have the equipment you need before you bring home your first goats. Choose the right size water trough for your goats.")
A trough will make your life easier.
This 15-gallon Little Giant tub holds more water than a bucket, but it's only 9.75" tall.
This 100-gallon Rubbermaid tank is 25" tall, and this Tuff Stuff water trough holds 40 gallons and is 13" tall. The Tuff Stuff water tank is what I have for my full-size Nubian goats. Click the button below to see if it's in stock today.
This 150-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank is the largest size and also the most expensive. This is the trough I use for my horses because it's quite a bit taller than the others.
My larger goats could drink from it as long as I were careful to keep it full, but it would be hard for miniature goat breeds or goat kids to reach.
Also, the drain plug in the 150-gallon tank developed a slow leak after several years, even though I never used the plug to drain the trough for cleaning.
To clean my water troughs I use a toilet brush (purchased for this purpose only, of course!) which hangs conveniently from a nail on the fence.
A metal-handled brush will last much longer than a plastic-handled one.
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6. Goat hoof trimmers
It isn't hard to trim your goats' hooves - the secret is to use sharp hoof trimmers. This pair of hoof trimmers by Zenport is my favorite.
Sharpen your hoof trimmers or replace them as needed to keep this chore easy to do.
7. Weight tape
You'll need to know how much your goat weighs so you can figure out dosage amounts of medications, dewormer, and so on.
Keeping records of your goat kids' weight will help you know that your baby goats are growing well.
This weight tape for goats will give you that information easily - or you can use a dressmaker's tape and a chart that will convert inches to weight.
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| Goat weight tape |
Weight tape storage: I was always losing my goat weight tape; there just wasn't a good place to keep it. If I put it in a bucket for storage, I'd need the bucket and then forget where I put the tape. A small item like this is so easy to lose!
Mine has been buried in the hay and bedding on the barn floor, torn and dirty from the cats dragging it around, and once I lost it and had to replace it.
Here's the solution! I bought a pencil pouch with a zipper. It's 3-hole punched to keep in a 3-ring binder. Inside this pouch is the perfect place to keep the weight tape!
Mine is kept in the 3-ring binder that holds my goat records, but you can also hang the pencil pouch on a nail in your barn - just slip one of the holes over a nail, or screw a cup hook into one of the wooden studs. High enough up so your goats can't reach it, of course!
8. Drench syringe
A Drench syringe is the easiest way to give a goat any liquid medicine, vitamins, NutriDrench, electrolytes, and so on.
The metal nozzle makes it easy to get medication into the back of the goat's throat, but won't break if the goat bites down on it with her back teeth.
(I was deworming a goat one day and she bit down on one of my fingers, and popped my finger open like a grape! Those back teeth mean business.)
Drench syringes come apart for easy cleaning and are simple to reassemble.
Sometimes, after using a particularly thick medication, the syringe gets kind of sticky inside and isn't as easy to dispense, but this is simple to fix. Here's what I do:
- Unscrew the syringe into three pieces: the metal nozzle, the outer syringe and the plunger.
- Clean all the pieces well.
- Run a tiny amount of olive oil around the rubber ring on the plunger with your finger.
- Reassemble the syringe. It will slide easily again.
9. Thermometer
You'll need to know your goat's temperature someday, trust me on this. It's best to have a thermometer on hand when you need it, so you don't have to use the one in your family's first aid kit!
You'll be buying another one for your family's kit after using it on your goats anyway, right? So buy one now and be prepared for both a human or a caprine emergency.
You'll find a good basic thermometer for your goats here.
Check out this post for the items I recommend you keep in your livestock first aid kit.
10. Spring clips
Spring clips are also known as snap hooks or carabiners. These are handy for so very many things.
They hold buckets on the fence, and I use them to hold my hay rack against the fence as well.
A goat-owning friend put a snap clip on the handle end of each of her leashes so she could loop the end around a tree or a fence and snap it back onto the leash with the spring clip, without removing the leash from her goat to do it.
You can also use snap clips to attach a cattle panel (a wire fencing panel) to another cattle panel to make temporary pens.
I used red snap clips to hold these wire baskets to a fence panel in my feed room.
I never have enough of these useful clips. You'll find a set of four spring clips here.
Cleaning equipment
Goats are very prone to internal parasites, which they pick up from their environment.
Feed buckets and mineral feeders should be washed regularly.
Feed pans or buckets should be picked up after the goats finish eating, so they won't step in them. Walking through a feed pan can transfer parasites from the manure on a goat's hooves.
If you find "goat berries" in the water bucket, it too needs to be emptied and washed. Since goats prefer fresh water, you should empty and refill the water bucket often anyway, but of course you will empty and wash a water bucket that has been pooped in.
Keeping the floor of the barn or goat shed as free of manure as possible will also help keep your goats' parasite load under control.
Obviously a pitchfork isn't going to pick up goat manure, the tines are too far apart to hold those little "berries." Even a stable fork doesn't really work very well.
I use a fan rake or leaf rake to clean the dirt floor of the goat shed. You'll find rakes in the garden department of the hardware or home improvement store.
Rake the bedding into a pile, then shovel it all up into a wheelbarrow. Wheel it over to the compost pile and dump it. It's great fertilizer for your homestead garden.
More supplies for your goats
Of course, your goat will also need hay, grain, and fresh water daily.
They will also need a mineral specifically formulated for goats, dewormers, and other items. You'll find more information about the correct type of minerals to give your goats, as well as these other consumable supplies, in this post.
What kind of hay and grain you choose to feed will depend on your goats' purpose, and on where you live. Different regions have different hay grasses available.
Wheat straw, however, is NOT suitable for goats. There is little nutrition in straw, which is the leftover stems of wheat, after the seed heads have been harvested. Straw is suitable as bedding, however.
Free printable checklist
You can download a free printable checklist of these ten items that you need for your first goats.
With this checklist, you'll be prepared for your new goats. You'll add more items over time as you figure out what you need and what you use most often, but this list will get you started out right.
When I lost my first goat herd in a barn fire years ago, I knew exactly what supplies and equipment I needed when I was ready to start over. I bought everything on this checklist, and knew I was prepared for my new goats.
As a goat lover and a homestead gardener, I'm excited to also share my gardening tips with you - from planting seeds to enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor! You can find my gardening advice and insights right here, so let's dig in and cultivate some fresh, delicious produce together.
Related Posts:
How to milk your goats once a day
When to breed your goats - and a due date calculator
The best goat breed for your homestead
Looking for more goat keeping information?
You'll find everything you want to know about dairy goats here.
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