How much does a goat or two cost monthly?

Question

I am looking into adopting a goat or two, and was wondering what the cost would to start up, and again how much monthly.

*Note: I know that goats should not be kept alone, but I am looking at one in particular who needs to be for various reasons.

Answer 1

first what kind are they or it going to be?

if it is a dairy and you are going to milk her you'll need to feed her about a half a cup to a cup a day. and plenty of hay,hay and more hay...

if you are not milking her and does not have a baby you don't really NEED to give he food, but still lots of HAY. if it's a mini goat like a pygmy, you CAN give it feed but only about 1/4 cup a day.

otherwise just give it hay.

and ALWAYS fresh water.

so it probably costs average 20$ a month for one goat but probably less than that.....for feed water and hay.

Answer 2

First I'm going to address the question of if a goat ever needs to be kept all alone.  I really really doubt it!  In my experience most rescues know much less about goats than they should know.  I can not think of ANY reason that a goat needs to be kept alone.  Granted there are some goats who are very aggressive but they still shouldn't be alone.

The cost of keeping a couple goats depends on where you live, and the type of goat.  If you're milking a doe she'll need much more than a non-milking goat or a wether.  If a goat isn't bred, a milker, or used as a breeding buck it doesn't need any grain at all.  You can get about 3 months worth of minerals for about $9 around here.  A bale of hay weighing about 40 pounds will do you for at least 4 days and maybe more and can cost anywhere between $2 to $12 depending on where you live.  Worming and vaccinations and a few antibiotics and other meds can be purchased from your vet for a couple of goats more cheaply than you can buy a big bottle of "stuff" from a catalog or feed store.  I usually advise that you have the vet visit once after you've purchased your first animals and have them give you advice of care.  Lots of vets don't know a great deal about goats but it's still a good idea as then, if you have an emergency the vet will understand your goats and management system and will come to you ahead of an equal emergency with someone who the vet doesn't know as well.  I figure that it costs about $200 a year to keep a dry goat.

If you already have housing for the goat there really isn't anything else you HAVE to have.

Answer 3

Just out of curiosity, are you looking at an animal who is CAE positive?  I'm just wondering if that's why you would have to keep it by itself.  BTW, I've got animals that are positive, and that's a debate unto itself right there.  Anyway...

If you already have shelter and fencing, the overhead for keeping one or two goats is pretty minimal.  Grooming supplies such as hoof trimmers, picks and such will run about $30.  Your first aid kit, including vitamin B, syringes, CDT vaccine, styptic powder, dewormer and such is a little pricey - about $125-150 worth of supplies, but most of them last a very long time, and you'll save yourself that amount by doing your own shots just one time.

Feed cost depends on how much forage is available and whether you have to hay them year round.  An average dairy goat will eat about 2 flakes of hay a day, plus about a coffee can of grain (my feed runs about $13 for a 50-pound bag).  Factor in treats, such as cracked corn, rolled oats and such (at about $9 a bag).  

It's hard for me to estimate for just one animal, because I'm feeding 6 sheep and 12 goats right now.  My feed bill for them is around $75 weekly.  But the overall cost on a couple is actually pretty low, as long as you're doing their routine care and basic shots yourself.  The real expense to owning goats is when you run into a problem and have the vet make a visit.

Hope this answers your question!