My Go To Websites
Fiasco Farms
For all things goat related, this is the best resource!
Facebook Group: Nigerian Dwarf Goat News, Info, Discussions
This group is a great place to find information on raising Nigerian Dwarf goats as well a place to list goats for sale. Although, these days, you only mention that your goats “are available” when using Facebook! Truly, an amazing way to gain knowledge from those willing to share.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/290117201013167/
Dairy Goat Journal
Dairy Goat Journal link w free download “Dairy Goat Guide”
http://countrysidenetwork.com/category/daily/livestock/goats/
Goat Gestation Calendar Calculator
A must have for your kidding needs. The calendar defaults to 150 days. Nigerian Dwarf goats however need only 145 days so you’ll need to do a little math.
http://www.goatbiology.com/animations/gestcalculator.html
PBS Animal Health
If you are administering your own shots or drawing labs for disease testing, this supplier has bulk needles and blood collection tubes at reasonable prices. First link for basic needles (I prefer 396-4) that can be used to give IM or SubQ injections or to draw blood. Second link to blood collection tubes that can be used for blood draws (396-360) for testing CAE, CL, Johnes, & Brucella.
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/details/Monoject-Disp.-Regular-Luer-Tip-Syringes-w-Needles/396-4.html
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/details/Monoject-Blood-Collection-Tubes/396-350.html
Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab (WADDL)
You want to test your animals for disease. You can send blood samples to WADDL to test for CAE, CL, Johnes and Brucella. The process can be confusing so I have included a few links to get you started. If you have questions, call and ask to speak to the serology department.
http://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/labs-sections/immunodx-serology
http://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/sample-submission
For drawing blood, see the next link for instructions.
https://www.biotracking.com/blood-sample/
Biotracking.com
Pregnancy testing. You must wait 30 days after insemination to check for positive confirmation of pregnancy. I don’t do pregnancy testing but I used this lab once years ago to test. The following links are for a lab that does BioPRYN pregnancy testing on goats. There’s a great explanation of how to draw blood in the second link!
https://www.biotracking.com/#page-top
https://www.biotracking.com/blood-sample/
New England Cheesemaking Supply House
And, then you learn to make cheese from all that gorgeous milk...
New England Cheesemaking Supply House has over a 100 recipes for various cheeses in their files, plus a blog, plus a whole lot more! A great place to learn and all the supplies you’ll need...except for your milk! I will say that making chevre is pretty easy and you can freeze it when you have too much. When you’re ready to try your hand at the hard cheeses, I recommend getting a vacuum sealer. Frankly, I don’t have the time to babysit my wheels of cheese every day! I make it and dry for a couple days in my kitchen, vacuum seal, and age as directed. I still get great cheese but I don’t lose wheels because I didn’t tend them or the wax failed.
Brambleberry Soap Making Supply
And, then there’s soap and lotion...
Brambleberry Soap Making Supplies had lots of free recipes and the supplies you’ll need to create your own soap, lotion, and more!
You want to learn:
How to Disbud
I just invested in a Portasol Dehorner III Standard Dehorner. It’s a bit more expensive than an electric disbudder but it’s faster and so much less traumatic on the kid and the human too! The ideal age seems to be 4 days to a week old for bucklings and a week to 10 days for the doelings. The key is being able to feel the bud. Once you can feel it, you can disbud. Once you burn, he cap pops off and the whole thing is done in a couple minutes. If you’re doing bucklings, use a figure 8 technique since the horns are tear drop shaped and a single circle will guarantee scurs on most bucklings.
There are plenty of videos online to get you started with disbudding so look to Facebook, Youtube etc for inspiration and instruction.
How to Feed
First off, I prefer to prevent health problems with a good feed and management program. When I’ve had health issues with my goats, it’s usually because they are deficient in something--not always sure what, but they just don’t look great. After 11 years, I am still constantly making changes to my feed regimen.
My philosophy when it comes to feeding is to look at some key indicators of health. Are your goats’ coats shiny? Are their colors deep and not faded? Do they have patches of missing hair or a fish tail? Are the hair shafts broken and uneven? Do their mucous membranes have a dark pink color to them? You can use famacha scoring to assess mucous membranes. https://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/files/FAMACHA-Scoring_Final2.pdf or https://www.wormx.info/dosdonts.
All of these clues give you an idea of the overall state of health of an individual goat. If you see deficiencies, you’ll need to figure out the cause and adjust your feed regimen. Keep in mind that goats are browsers so they enjoy a varied diet. You won’t see any two goats pick the same plants/weeds/grasses/etc. And, they might love something one day and turn their nose up the next. They eat what they need nutritionally.
For my constantly evolving feed regimen, I start with a good hay. Lactating does, dry does and bucks have different needs so this can be a challenge.
For my lactating does, I like a large percentage of alfalfa in my hay to boost milk production along with grain on the stand. However, I recently added orchard grass to their regimen as well. Maybe 75% alfalfa and 25% orchard grass.
The dry does get alfalfa and orchard grass and very occasional grain.
For my bucks, I just starting feeding orchard grass exclusively with timothy grass pellets 2-3 times per week. When you feed too much alfalfa to your buck, they can become zinc deficient. It has something to do with the calcium/phosphorus ratio. Zinc gets bound up in the process and the deficiency is not pretty. I was doing this and trying to correct the deficiency with all kinds of supplementation. It’s just easier to feed them the right hay in the beginning.
Grain is the next item on my list. I currently use an economy grain mix from the feed store. I supplement with free choice minerals, black sunflower seeds, and occasional kelp. I do copper bolus my herd due to copper deficiency (see below). I watch carefully for signs of deficiency but it’s tough since our part of the country--western Colorado--is deficient. I also use replamin plus and Trucare supplements, especially when my girls are pregnant.
I also like to give treats. My goats love a good Christmas tree or spruce branches! They love dried leaves too. Bark off most any tree will do, living or dead. So, protect those trees if they have access to them. Goats also like rose bushes, raspberry bushes, and the like. Make sure anything you feed hasn’t been sprayed by chemicals!
If you can, it’s great to give the herd access to a wide variety of plant life. Forest, prairie, or in my case, high desert fauna will do. Weeds work if they like them too! Don’t worry too much about plants toxic to goats. As long at they have access to a varied diet and adequate feed, they should stay away from those toxic plants. In the link below, you can find a list of toxic plants. I can’t speak to its accuracy.
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm
Copper Deficiency
Many goat owners struggle with the effects of copper deficiency in their herd. Goats absolutely require a certain level of copper in their diet. Deficiency can be due to a lack of copper in the soil on which hay is grown. Or, overall, your feed regimen might be lacking in sufficient copper. However, their diet might have sufficient copper but there are other agents that bind the copper and make it unavailable. Signs of deficiency include a coat whose color is not what it should be, hair loss, and the famous fish tail along with other subtle signs.
I have struggled with copper deficiency in my herd and have learned how to recognize and treat my herd. I’m always trying to improve my feed/supplement regimen in order to improve health. I recently added sunflower seeds to their diet. Seems like I read somewhere that the vitamin E in the seeds help with copper uptake but don’t quote me. I only know it’s helped my bucks tremendously when I added it to their diet! I find that a copper bolus given on an empty stomach gives better results than sprinkling the copper on feed.
The following two articles are the best information I’ve come across that explains the ins and outs of copper deficiency and toxicity and what to look for as well as how to treat.
http://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-and-copper-deficiency/
http://thriftyhomesteader.com/avoiding-copper-toxicity-goats/
How to Tube Feed
Below is a link to a great resource on how to tube feed. I have never actually tried it. I’ve always managed to use a syringe to feed colostrum but I’m happy now to have this amazing resource available if I need it. Remember, if you have a newborn who is not able to feed, warm it up before you feed! And, your own body heat is not enough! Heating blanket or blow dryer work well. See below for more info under Newborn Kids.
http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sfn/su08ruminants
Milking Practices
I brought home my first goats so I could have a milk supply for my husband and I. Over the years, I have become more laid back in my approach to milking. I work full-time, 12+ hour shifts, so I need flexibility. For me, that means allowing my dams to raise their kids. I have a clean herd so I don’t need to separate kids to avoid spreading CAE between dam and kids. I prefer to raise friendly stock so I have friendly kids. I simply don’t have the time to devote to feeding bottle kids. And, by allowing the dams to raise their kids, I have a built in back up if I don’t want to milk!! I have year old kids that will continue to nurse on their dams even after being separated for long stretches of time. Once the kids are sold, that plan is not an option but while they are around, it sure works well for me. I can pull the kids to get more milk on my days off and then back with the dam when I work so I don’t have to milk on my work days.
A word of caution. Dams that raise their kids are not always great on the milk stand. I have a couple of dams who can be pills on the milk stand. There are many different ways to handle them but the best way is to put them on the stand within the first 12 hours after kidding. Depending on the number of kids, if you allow dam raising, then you must check their udders regularly, daily or twice daily is best. Ideally, put them on the stand twice daily along with any that are being milked. Even if you only palpate the empty udder, they will get used to being on the stand and handled. And, if they have some milk, take it as it will encourage their production and feed your family. Remember that the for first week up to month, the milk will be strong. Depending on health and feeding practices, the milk will soon sweeten.
During the first few days after kidding, if the kids don’t nurse on one side, the udder will become engorged so the dam may not even let the kids nurse that side. So, it’s important to start monitoring right away. Make sure the kids are latching on and nursing from both sides (if they aren’t hungry, then separate them for an hour so they’ll latch with some assistance--you might have to hold them in place). If there are several kids, making sure they get colostrum during the first hours of birth is critical. You can tell if the kids are nursing even if you don’t see it first hand. Feel their bellies when they first are born--they feel empty. Once they start nursing, you can feel a little round belly. Very scientific!!
Newborn Kids
Wow. Now that the kids have arrived, what now??
If you can, have a nice warm area for birthing. The warmer the better. Take them somewhere warm if kidding has occurred and you have a nice warm space to utilize. Use a heat lamp over the kids too.
Now, back to the kids. Is the dam able to keep up with drying and cleaning the kids? Nigerian Dwarf litters are large, better chance that some survive. After the first comes, the rest can come quickly. Help the dam dry the kids so they don’t sit in the wet afterbirth. Use towels without fabric softener or paper towels. I have old towels that I use specifically for kidding. I don’t use fabric softener on any of my laundry so it’s not a concern. But, if you use fabric softener on kids that will be dam raised, the dam may not “recognize” their scent so be cautious. The dam may reject the kids. If you’re lucky enough to be on hand when they kid, let the dam lick the afterbirth off you--I have no proof but I think it can help with the dam’s tolerance of you. Also, holding the kids and letting them smell you right after birth seems to help with friendliness too. Don’t worry if your friendly dam suddenly has a change in personality. It’s normal and expected with the hormone changes. It has probably already happened during the pregnancy.
As you’re helping, are the kids crawling or trying to stand or just laying there? If they are actively looking for food, they’ll start rooting and butting on everything! The dam may be laying down or standing. If the kid is “looking” for the teat, I’ll try and help them latch on. I’ll stand the dam if necessary. And, if there are more kids to come, latching a kid will help with contractions and will speed up the kidding process. If they are crawling or standing, they’re in good shape. If they aren’t actively trying to find food, I’ll help them to latch since they could probably use a bit of help. Help them to latch if they have will suckle. Help them to latch on both sides if possible, especially if there’s only one or two. You can rub the teat along the side of their face and they should turn to the teat to latch.
With newborns, if they won’t latch, they may be cold. Don’t feed a cold kid!! Take their temp--or put your finger in their mouth--if it’s cold, they’re cold. Warm them first. I love a hair dryer in a warm area (use a heat lamp, place them on a heating pad, bring them in the house--whatever it takes). Do this quickly! They don’t have a lot of reserve. They usually won’t root or suckle if they are cold. They become lethargic too. As they warm, they should become more active but they might not. They may have run out of reserves. So, tube feeding may become necessary. See above for that subject. Learn how to take their temperature and the normal temperature by clicking the link below.
http://www.goatworld.com/articles/health/temperature.shtml
As they grow, over the next days to weeks, they’ll cry if they are hungry so watch for that if there are multiples, especially since the larger, stronger kids can hog the food supply. This might not happen right away but if you have a kid that is always crying, supplement or bottle feed the kid--they’re hungry and won’t thrive. They’ll stop crying when they are satisfied. Sometimes, they just need an extra feeding a day and you can do that on the milk stand with a doe that has extra milk--sometimes easier than bottle feeding. Just be careful not to let them overfeed. Click the link below for guidelines on bottle feeding kids according to weight.
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/overfeedingnewbo.html
