Questions & Answers

Here are some of the questions I have received from other goat owners and my advice*:

Copper Bolusing

QUESTION: I do have one question regarding copper bolusing . . . I have not yet tried the marshmallows, but did try peanut butter which another breeder swore by.  My goats did not like it.  I am intrigued by your doe recipe but am wondering if molasses would work just as well (or better?) as the Karo – have you tried that?  Maybe the Karo is stickier, I don’t know.  Just wondering before I try it!

MY ANSWER: I actually find the light Karo syrup easier to work with than molasses and grind all ingredients very small. I also make a few extra small ones for the goats before putting the bolus in and give them the day before (always before feeding time), so they think it's just another treat. You need a helper though since it'd good to have one person in the pen and one person outside with the tray of boluses. The inside person shuffles the right goat to the front among the "hogs" and makes sure the bolus is swallowed. Any goats under a year we just pop it down their throat since no enticement of treat seems to work, just keep a stick across in the goats mouth, over the tongue, so they can't clamp down on your fingers!

*Please remember that I am not a veterinarian and you should always seek your veterinarian's advice first for what is right for your herd

Kidding Adventures and Disappointments

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

99% of the time, a doe kids with little or no problems and delivers healthy kids all without much human intervention. Of course, a healthy well cared for doe is most likely to fall into this category. However, as you become a breeder, just by the number of breeding animals you care for, you are bound to have your share of kidding adventures and displeasures along the way.

Cleo’s Quintuplets

It was only our second year as breeders, and we had two does to kid that year. Our older doe, Cleo, was huge and we were sure she had more than twins. I was concerned because she had been a very overweight 3-year-old when I bought her. We had trimmed her down, but I knew obese does were more prone to kidding problems. I began giving her a daily dose of Nutri-drench and watched her closely. My very city sister-in-law and nephew came by the day she went into labor. We had her in a big stall and everyone nervously waited as her labor progressed. I caught sight of the first kid and all I saw was a tail coming out-not good! This was definitely a no no in all my books and I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to deliver her. Then whoosh out she came! The kid was so small she had no problem at all. I picked her up and she fit in the palm of my hand. I put her in front of her mom to dry her off. The next kid born was also a doe.

Minnie’s Miracle

Honey B’s C-Section

Bittersweet’s Bumpy Ride

Sadness of losing a kid

Premature-

Stillborn-

Death at a few days-

 

RANDOM THINGS I'VE LEARNED:

The best water buckets are plastic-sided coolers. The water stays cool in the summer and freezes less in the winter. When it's cold, we fill ours with warm water and sit them in a bank of straw and they rarely freeze all winter long.

To chill your milk, place your tote in a frozen bucket during winter. In summer I use a bucket with ice water and some cold packs. I bring it out to the barn and set my tote right in it. The faster you cool your milk, the better it will taste!

To help prevent the doe's discharge from drying in hr tail hail, apply a light coating of petroleum jelly to her tail daily. Don't forget a little fly spray too.

Dental floss is great for tying off umbilical cords!

If you are planning on getting 2 goats, build your shed & pen big enough for at least four. If you have does and are planning on breeding them, tbuild bug enough for 8! Most goat owners increase their herd and at least double their numbers because they are such fun animals to have!

Calf hutches make great shelters. I use them for my bucks. They are easy to clean, just flip them over. They are easy to move too. A 4'x8' hutch can house three to four bucks. They are warm in the winter because the sun shines right in and "captures" the warmth.

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