Hangin with the cool kids

Well, once they're full adults they're usually fairly hardy. But honestly I find their nutritional needs more finicky than that of horses or other animals I've had. And the babies?? Good lord, every baby I've ever had has tried to die on me at least once. And don't get me started on parasites..

MOST of the information online is ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!

When you use Google and online forums, you just come across bloggers and fellow beginners. NONE OF THEM KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING!!

That means all the research I'd done was USELESS! And it made me think I knew what I was doing. What actually helped me was talking to FARMERS and VETS. And when I say vets, I mean GOAT VETS. Most large animal vets don't know much about goats!!!! I got a goat specialist and it was like magic.. she solved several issues that we'd spent years trying to solve with other vets. And, of course, farmers often follow outdated traditions, such as routine deworming, so you need to be careful in taking their advice as well.

Honestly, the ONLY useful online resource that I've found so far is, shockingly, Facebook groups. Most of them are awful, but I found 2 that are.. less awful. Those are Goats Tips & Tricks, and Goat Emergency Team. And even in those groups, there is a lot of misinformation, so take everything with a grain of salt.

Well, once they're full adults they're usually fairly hardy. But honestly I find their nutritional needs more finicky than that of horses or other animals I've had. And the babies?? Good lord, every baby I've ever had has tried to die on me at least once. And don't get me started on parasites..

MOST of the information online is ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!

When you use Google and online forums, you just come across bloggers and fellow beginners. NONE OF THEM KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING!!

That means all the research I'd done was USELESS! And it made me think I knew what I was doing. What actually helped me was talking to FARMERS and VETS. And when I say vets, I mean GOAT VETS. Most large animal vets don't know much about goats!!!! I got a goat specialist and it was like magic.. she solved several issues that we'd spent years trying to solve with other vets. And, of course, farmers often follow outdated traditions, such as routine deworming, so you need to be careful in taking their advice as well.

Honestly, the ONLY useful online resource that I've found so far is, shockingly, Facebook groups. Most of them are awful, but I found 2 that are.. less awful. Those are Goats Tips & Tricks, and Goat Emergency Team. And even in those groups, there is a lot of misinformation, so take everything with a grain of salt.

"Unlike other farm species, goats are not stoical. They need careful nursing otherwise they may just give up."

I think it’s really great that you are open to alternatives to being a veterinarian. Many people love animals and force themselves into vet med when they would likely be happier doing something else with animals.

I will say that there are lots of career paths you can pursue as a veterinarian that don’t involve what you typically think of as “veterinary” jobs. You can work in academia, get a job with a pharmaceutical company, become a pathologist, be a lab animal vet, forensics, and lots more.

The main issue you'll likely face is low income and stress. Most animal jobs are very low paying and very demanding. Even veterinarians are not paid well when you factor in the cost of their education and how demanding their job is, but they do pay better than most animal-related jobs.

I always wanted to be a vet. Then in high school I started volunteering at a horse stable and I realized I loved the work. It occurred to me that I'd planned to go to college for 10+ years.. and I had no way of knowing whether or not I would actually like the job. An incredibly demanding job, with decent pay only if you ignore the tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars of debt. I had felt so certain the job was for me, but I hadn't even considered the idea that there were other animal-related jobs. This was the summer before my senior year of high school, and I had never once in my life considered having any other job; it was daunting. But, after I graduated I immediately started working full time with horses.

Now 5 years later I'm working with goats, horses, and other livestock full-time. It's hard work but SO rewarding. Don't let the manual labor scare you! I was never athletic as a teen and I hated exercise with a passion, but somehow I loved my new physically demanding job. Within 2 years I'd lost 50 pounds and I discovered that exercise is sooooo much more tolerable when you're already in shape. And guess what? Working with livestock means doing a lot of medical care yourself.. so 5 years after I'd given up my dream of becoming a vet, suddenly I find myself doing extraordinary amounts of research and training for medical care, and I've realized that I'm naturally drawn to veterinary science and now I may go back to school to become a technician or even a full vet. Life is strange like that.

There are other animal jobs of course. You just have to find them. I never would have considered working with livestock.. that just didn't seem like the kind of work for me. But over time I've realized that being a good farmer takes a lot more skill & knowledge about animals than I'd assumed. The care is far more personal than I think vet care would be; I see these animals every day and they see me as a friend.

It's not all good. I'm poorly paid and overworked. I'm on call 24/7 for my animals because I'm the one knows how to handle emergencies. To survive I have to have a second job an outside barn. I work at my barn every single morning and every single night with no exceptions, no holidays or vacations. No spending the night at my boyfriend's house. It's a dangerous and physically demanding job, and if I get sick or injured I can't do my second job so I lose money, and I have to pay someone to cover my main job.

vet-and-wild here.

As with any animal, quality of life can become a concern with a sick fish. We just don’t understand fish behavior enough to always be able to identify it. When I think about QOL for other species, what I look at is:

1. Is the animal still able to enjoy their favorite things?

2. Is the animal in pain?

3. Is the animal able to urinate/defecate with dignity?

4. Is the animal eating?

5. Is the animal mobile?

6. Are the humans involved mentally and/or physically able to continue to provide care?

I will have you know that there are dozens of groups for goats, but the Goat Emergency Team is by far the BEST. They have tons of posters that have helped me save a few goats lives. Their team is phenomenal.