Pen and Enclosure: Goats require about 200 square feet of room per goat to roam around and feel comfortable. They need a pen, built with heavy gauge "no climb" fencing that's tall enough to keep them in and predators out, I use 5 foot high. Goats can be destructive to fencing, especially if they have horns. They need someplace to escape the heat, the cold, the wind and rain. In nature, goats will seek shelter from the elements, since you control their environment, you'll need to offer them someplace safe to escape bad weather and especially the sun, here in Arizona. Keeping a goat in your backyard, without a fence is not a good idea, they will eat pretty much any tree, bush, plant, weed, grass and paper product in your backyard. It may be illegal to keep a goat within your city limits. Please carefully check with your city to be sure there will be no problem keeping your goat(s) on your property. You may also consider asking your neighbors how they feel about you having a goat on your property, they do make some noise...especially when they see you with food!
Feed and Water: Fresh CLEAN water is very important. Goats are finicky about their water, choosing to dehydrate themselves just to avoid "soiled" water. My goats learned how to use a Lixit, a dog waterer that fits on the end of a faucet; they just have to lick it to get fresh water (they also waste a lot too). During the hot summer I also leave a bucket of water out for them just to be sure they are getting enough. I feed my goats a medicated goat food made by Purina, Country Acres Medicated Goat Chow. It provides all the crude protein, and *most* of the nutrients and fiber that goats need plus it contains decoquinate, which prevents coccidiosis. The goats get 1.5 cups of the "goat chow" in the morning and again at night plus they have access to all they can eat bermuda hay. Goats need a long stemmed fiber to help with their digestion. I chose bermuda because it has less calcium than alfalfa hay and high amounts of calcium can contribute to urinary calculi, a blockage in the male goats urethra, which is always painful and usually fatal. The Country Acres Medicated Goat Chow has ammonium chloride in it, which helps prevent urinary calculi. I also feed my goats free choice minerals, also by Purina, Purina Goat Mineral, which has the high amounts of copper needed for goats. The traditional "salt lick" is not sufficient for goats. I also feed the goats free choice baking soda, which they eat to help settle their stomachs.
The Medicine Cabinet: Goats do require some periodic medical treatment, which requires you to give them inoculations (shots). Adult goats require a yearly maintenance shot of CD&T, which is a prevention of Clostridium Perfringens Types C & D and Tetanus Toxoid. This prevents tetanus and overeating disease. All of my goats are up to date on their inoculations when sold. Goats are also susceptible to worms. I use Safe-Guard paste, which prevents lungworms, intestinal and stomach worms. With most of Arizona being a dry climate, we don't have as much of a worm problem as other states. There are other problems goats can run into which require medications and shots, there are a lot of other internet sites that get into great details of these diseases and how to prevent or treat them. It's good to find a veterinarian in your area that is willing to or is knowledgeable enough to treat goats and keep his/her number nearby in case of emergency. You will need to invest in a pair of hoof trimmers (they look like pruning shears). Hoegger Goat Supply has a great starter set of hoof trimming tools for sale. The goats hooves will need to be trimmed AT LEAST every three months.
Miscellaneous: Goats are very playful, they need things to jump on and push around. Old tires, tree stumps, cement pipes, kids plastic furniture, etc. all work fine, nothing with sharp corners. People tend to play with their goats by pushing on their heads, this teaches them that it's OK to head butt people, that's not good and could be dangerous to you or other human visitors. Pet them and love on them, but don't teach them to head butt, they'll do enough of it on their own. Goats do NOT like to be alone. I'm sure they'd appreciate having a dog, horse, donkey, llama, chicken or a human as a friend, but they'll cry and cry for the company of another goat. Goats are pack animals and do not like to be by themselves. Please consider having at least two goats. Trust me; everyone (even your neighbors) will be much happier with two goats instead of one that cries for companionship. Fainting goats are generally a meat goat, due to their naturally muscular stature. If you are breeding goats for meat, having a fainting buck as your herd sire, and breeding with another type of meat goat, boer for example or another fainter, you're pretty much guaranteed great meat goat offspring, very muscular and ready for market.
There's so much more to goats than what I have listed here. Keep in mind this is how I raise my goats, everyone does it a little different. Use the internet to find out all you can. Some of my favorite links are:
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php Hoegger Goat Supplies http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/ Jeffers Livestock http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm Lots of great information!
http://www.goatweb.com/ Goatweb
http://www.goatworld.com/ Goatworld and Goatworld 911 http://www.kactuskanyon.freeservers.com where I bought Sedona and Winslow http://www.faintinggoat.com International Fainting Goat Association