A little different. .....

[farmer's wife]

Ok so here is my question how many people run a goat with your herd? The reason I am asking is we started running one extra wethers with our calves. For some reason goats don't get sick like cattle do, but our cattle haven't be getting sick, less pinkeye, and less treating of everybody to. One of the older Amish guys told us to do that and we have used it for 2 years. Now I know goats don't get everything cattle doe s and the reverse is true. Just asking if anyone else have tried this?

 

[M5farm]

I don't doubt it probably works. I ran goats for a lot of years never had any major illness in the herd. I know a goat will just Die sometimes. And I also know they will eat some things that should kill them.
I got rid of all of mine last year. I have too many old fences on my property and got tired of them getting out.

 

[dun]

The problem with goats in this area is they need to be wormed every couple of weeks. Most people check their gums once a week and when they start looking pale they worm them. I don;t know if that applies to milkers but it si that way with Boers.

 

[chippie]

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

 

[farmer's wife]

Well we vaccinate like we should and have had our share of mistakes.opps lessons learned but i have just noticed a difference. So i thought i would ask if anyone else does this. We have both dairy and boer goats. And we switch them out when the goat market is up. But like I said i just wondered if anyone else runs goats with cattle.

 

[dun]

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

I suppose next you'll tell us that the sex of the calf isn;t governed by the direction the cow is facing when she's bred!

 

[greybeard]

The problem with goats in this area is they need to be wormed every couple of weeks. Most people check their gums once a week and when they start looking pale they worm them. I don;t know if that applies to milkers but it si that way with Boers.

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

Just feed those goats (or hogs or anything else) whole pumpkin/squash seeds and apple cider vinegar and they'll never get worms. Ya don't need any of that pour-on, or back rubs, or drench guns, or any of the rest of that evil chemical stuff anymore. :roll: :lol2:
:hide:

 

[KNERSIE]

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

I suppose next you'll tell us that the sex of the calf isn;t governed by the direction the cow is facing when she's bred!

Don't tell me that now! I've been using this method for years now and even managed to get my success rate up to 50%!!!???

 

[Nite Hawk]

Seems goats don"t show sickness like other aninmals until they are half dead on their feet. When they do start looking sick, seems it is pretty hard to get them back up on their feet and hard to keep them "on the right side of the grass". Had them looking fine with very very slighty soft "poo", well within the range of normal, and the next morning they were deader than a door nail. autospy said all sorts of things were wrong, but they had looked and acted well.
Seems they may possibly do better in a drier climate than coastal weather, less parasites/ cocci etc. Having a Billy goat around is guarenteed to keep sickness away, they smell so bad nothing would come around to transmit any kind of disease!!! :lol2: :lol2:
:lol2: Yes had a few Buck goats around, so know what I am talking about!! Even "fried" the scent gland on the head with a de-horner, which helped, but they still stunk....
Have heard some breeds don't stink as much, but don't know about that.
Personally wouldn't want a buck goat in with dairy animals as if they rubbed up against your milk cow, she would take on the very ripe buck smell, and you have to get close to milk her..

 

[chippie]

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

I suppose next you'll tell us that the sex of the calf isn;t governed by the direction the cow is facing when she's bred!

I told you wrong. I double checked with my husband about it. The cow has to be facing north, and bred after sundown (when it is dark). If it is a full moon, you are guaranteed a heifer. Now you all know how you need to synchronize your cattle. I need a new Farmer's Almanac.

 

[dun]

There is an old folk tale that if you keep a billy goat in your barn, your horses will not get strangles or sick.
It is what it is, a folk tale. I doubt that the goat is keeping your herd healthy.

I suppose next you'll tell us that the sex of the calf isn;t governed by the direction the cow is facing when she's bred!

I told you wrong. I double checked with my husband about it. The cow has to be facing north, and bred after sundown (when it is dark). If it is a full moon, you are guaranteed a heifer. Now you all know how you need to synchronize your cattle. I need a new Farmer's Almanac.

There is one old dairyman (now retired) that maintained that was what determined the gender. I don;tknow if he was serious or not but he had everyone convincedthat he believed it.

 

[greybeard]

Ok so here is my question how many people run a goat with your herd? The reason I am asking is we started running one extra wethers with our calves. For some reason goats don't get sick like cattle do, but our cattle haven't be getting sick, less pinkeye, and less treating of everybody to. ?

I dunno anything about goats, but from what I've read on a different forum's "emergency" medical section there seems not to be a week (or day) goes by there isn't one or 2 either sick, dead or about to be.

Been to some folks that had goats, and Yeah, their goats stink--especially the bucks--always smell like--well--pee.

 

[jerry27150]

if she can't survive on grass , i'd get a different cow. grain is too high

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Many Many moons ago, I used to be a "horse person". It was common for a stable to have a goat in the barn. It was "believed" that the goat would show signs of an illness before the horses, so you could treat the horses early for a problem.