Goat

[M.Magis]

Right on!
I've been reading about drenching and what not with safe guard. They also have some pellets or something. From what I understand the drench is a much better worming than a pour on or injection?

I was just gonna start with a pour on of ivermec. But I've also been reading about goat poop, body condition etc as signs of needing wormed. I'm on the fence as I really don't think she NEEDS a worming. Wish I'd have asked about prior owners protocol...

She is pretty awesome. Clingy but pretty cool. Always wants attention. Super gentle. Loves to be petted and hand fed treats. Not big ol turds to clean up like a dog or cat either. I just blow that stuff around with a leaf blower into the yard and it seems to disappear into the soil.

I agree. Pretty good pet!

They'll cling to you like a lost dog if they don't have a companion. We started with just one that at first was scared of everyone. My youngest spent an entire day with it in a small garden building. By the end of the day that goat would have followed him to the end of the earth. She would watch him drive the 4 wheeler down through the field, and if we let her out of her pen to soon afterward, she would take off like a rocket to catch up with him. It worked out end the end. Once we got a second goat, he followed her everywhere as she followed our son everywhere. After 3 years, they won't leave the yard without him. They pick around the yard a bit and lay around on the porch.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Trivia time-dairy goats have been selectively bred for 2 teats, and they typically have very good structure to them-people only have two hands to milk, after all, and kids are usually bottle raised for dairy animals. Boer goats (and a lot of other meat goats) have up to 4 (ideal), some look like they have a glove hanging under there because "more is better" when a doe is raising multiple kids-and many meat breeders don't pay attention to udder structure as long as the kids can nurse (like cattle).
Also like dairy cattle, fat dairy goats aren't great. Goats put down fat internally first, so by the time they're fat outside, they have choked off reproductive parts. She actually looks decent for a just weaned off girl. Deworming is a great idea. There is a goat and sheep specific worm-barberpole (haemonchous contortus) that will attach to the gut lining and bleed a goat dry-check lower eyelid color by pulling it down every few weeks. Pink to dark pink is good, white is super anemic/emergency. For ivermectin, typical dose for a goat is higher than for other species based on weight-nothing other than safeguard (useless) is labeled for goats though…I'll try to dig up some stuff and send it to you if you're interested…

Wait;
so some goats have two tits,
some have four,
and some have many many more?

Sorry I couldn't help myself

Very interesting though. I thought all goats like sheep only had two.

 

[J Hoy]

You probably realize goats are escape artists. If this little doe gets out there is a big risk of being killed by dogs or coyotes. They are very smart and climb fences or find a way to go through. They jump on and dent cars, even climb into trees. Look at their eyes with the horizontal pupils. You can tell they are crazy.

I found my goats to be very intelligent, unlike a lot of humans I have met - LOL.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

FAMACHA-lots of information online and you can take a pay-for -it course…has to do with culling for worm resistance, only deworm the animals that need it, and do fecal egg counts to check dewormer effectiveness. Basic premise is to reduce parasite resistance to multiple classes of dewormers, which has become a huge issue with goats-especially since very little pharmaceutical development is done for goats.

Thanks! I was in a bit of a hurry when I made my post the other day and didn't elaborate. FAMACHA is actually an acronym I think. The course is informative but paying for it isn't really necessary. All that does is entitle you to a certificate. I work with an extension agent on a regular basis that is a trainer for the course, but he also offers the information in informal settings.....without the certificate.....but I'm almost positive he will give you a color card without having to sign up.......for the eyelids. A word of caution. Don't print the color card from the internet as the color scale is sensitive to variation and printers aren't necessarily true to the color on the internet, nor are the files on the internet necessarily true to the original hard copy card.

 

[Lucky_P]

Part of the problem with young goats, the males can be very fertile very young. Most are capable and often will breed a female at 3 + months... and the "dwarf breeds" are more likely to try breeding young. Just like a young jersey heifer will often come in heat at 7-9 months and can get bred by a bull if she is still out running with her dam. And yes, I know it happens in all breeds but jerseys are somewhat more common to cycle young... at least in the dairy cow industry.

This is absolutely correct.
I remember, back in the day, one of our clients was a renowned Jersey breeder. I only had occasion to be on his farm once. But the thing that surprised me most was the 2 or 3 little 400 lb heifers already in the milking string, because they'd gotten bred at 4 months and calved out almost before they were a year old.

 

[MurraysMutts]

To answer a question....
Why waste it!