Chat
04-02-2017, 09:10 AM
1. My bottle babies are about 2-3 weeks old, we came home with some goats milk, but that is all gone. Then we gave them some regular whole cows milk from the store, and now we are mixing half cows milk and half goat milk replacer mix. One of them is about 13 lbs, another about 15, and the other about 17lbs. We have been feeding them all 4 times a day with about 6 oz per feed for the two lighter boys, and 7 oz per feeding for the bigger one. They seem like they could eat more, but I don’t want to over feed. The bigger one seems more attracted to the grass and other growing things around than the others. Are we doing things right? Is there any advice anyone can give us in this regard? Should we feed more? Less? Something different? Things to watch for??? Do they need access to water to drink as well?
Answer: You need to be feeding them more. I have been growing babies for many many years. I let them eat until they are finished. Even going so far as to put the nipple back in their mouths 2 more times after they seem done. Just to pack that much more milk into em
But I start that from the day they are born. Increase the amount over the next week till they are eating till they stop. Can drop a feeding when you do this and feed just 3 times a day. Have good alfalfa in front of them even now so they can nibble. Have loose mineral mix available for them as well. Yes they need access to water even as babies.
2. We just had a big windstorm, and their little shelter was damaged slightly, and I noticed afterwards that one of the babies has a small gash in the back of his leg just above the dewclaw looking thing (a couple inches above his hoof). What would I do about this? It bled a bit, but stopped on its own before I even found it. He doesn’t seem to be favoring the leg at all…
Answer: I am sure you already have, but if not, fix their shelter. Important for them to have a dry place outta the rain / snow. Can spray it with say blu kote. But just keep an eye on it. Should be fine. BUT an open wound is a good entrance point for bacteria. CD/T vaccine would be a very good idea now. Which leads into the answer to your third question. CD/T vaccine now. Again in a month. Can do it again at 6 months old then a year. Then yearly booster there after. Look into doing a 8 or 9 way for a little better protection. Thats about the only vaccine we worry about. We do give 1/2 cc of multimin90 sub Q when they are born. We us it in place of the bo-se. Deworming can start as soon as a month old or as late as 6 months before you do your first round. That depends upon how wormy you think they are. If they are growing good with no coat issues. Good poops. No coughing. Then you can put it off even further. How you worm will have to be decided by you. I do suggest you use Cydectin Oral Sheep drench. Its a very good wormer.
Castration answer: minimum 3 months, aim for 5 months or more if you can.
4. Start trimming hooves when they start looking long. This is a very individual thing and depends a lot on how much exercise they get and on what type of terrain. Ours do a lot of self-trimming on rocks and rarely have to be trimmed before six months old.
Answer: first trim will typically start around 6 months of age. But if you can build them toys to play on that keeps their hooves ground down better. The best idea is a A frame structure they can run up and down that is covered in the roofing shingles or the roll.
5. Leave the umbilical cords alone. They'll drop off on their own in a couple more weeks or so
Answer. Yes, if its dry you can trim it back to a 1/2 of the belly.
6. My children love to play with them, hold them on their laps, carry them around, let them suck on their fingers, etc. Is this good for the goats, or is it going to teach them bad habits? What and when should we start doing to train them to be good pack goats? Can they be trained to not jump on people, trained to not whine, trained to not chew on people’s clothes, trained to come to their names when called, etc? How?
Answer: Just dont hold them on their backs. This can twist their gut and end up killing them. Most of the issues you listed will go away as they age. By a year old, they are more on eye level with you and will be less likely to jump up. They just want to be eye level with you now. They use their mouths as fingers. They are exploring things by chewing on em. Again, will get better with age. But light taps on the end of the nose will help in teaching em not to do things you dont want them too.
7. Our yard has a wide variety of flowering plants. What is a list of plants can be harmful to baby goats, and goats in general that I should try to get rid of
Answer: Flowering plants can be very very dangerous to goats. You need to look up and research which ones you have and if they are harmful to livestock.
As for the last two questions, cant add anything to Nanno's answers. I will say that goat nutrition is super important. If you feed crap hay or loose minerals, then you can expect to have crap goats. Quality feed will grow you a better goat. Quality supplements will grow you a healthier goat.
Answer: You need to be feeding them more. I have been growing babies for many many years. I let them eat until they are finished. Even going so far as to put the nipple back in their mouths 2 more times after they seem done. Just to pack that much more milk into em
But I start that from the day they are born. Increase the amount over the next week till they are eating till they stop. Can drop a feeding when you do this and feed just 3 times a day. Have good alfalfa in front of them even now so they can nibble. Have loose mineral mix available for them as well. Yes they need access to water even as babies.2. We just had a big windstorm, and their little shelter was damaged slightly, and I noticed afterwards that one of the babies has a small gash in the back of his leg just above the dewclaw looking thing (a couple inches above his hoof). What would I do about this? It bled a bit, but stopped on its own before I even found it. He doesn’t seem to be favoring the leg at all…
Answer: I am sure you already have, but if not, fix their shelter. Important for them to have a dry place outta the rain / snow. Can spray it with say blu kote. But just keep an eye on it. Should be fine. BUT an open wound is a good entrance point for bacteria. CD/T vaccine would be a very good idea now. Which leads into the answer to your third question. CD/T vaccine now. Again in a month. Can do it again at 6 months old then a year. Then yearly booster there after. Look into doing a 8 or 9 way for a little better protection. Thats about the only vaccine we worry about. We do give 1/2 cc of multimin90 sub Q when they are born. We us it in place of the bo-se. Deworming can start as soon as a month old or as late as 6 months before you do your first round. That depends upon how wormy you think they are. If they are growing good with no coat issues. Good poops. No coughing. Then you can put it off even further. How you worm will have to be decided by you. I do suggest you use Cydectin Oral Sheep drench. Its a very good wormer.
Castration answer: minimum 3 months, aim for 5 months or more if you can.
4. Start trimming hooves when they start looking long. This is a very individual thing and depends a lot on how much exercise they get and on what type of terrain. Ours do a lot of self-trimming on rocks and rarely have to be trimmed before six months old.
Answer: first trim will typically start around 6 months of age. But if you can build them toys to play on that keeps their hooves ground down better. The best idea is a A frame structure they can run up and down that is covered in the roofing shingles or the roll.
5. Leave the umbilical cords alone. They'll drop off on their own in a couple more weeks or so
Answer. Yes, if its dry you can trim it back to a 1/2 of the belly.
6. My children love to play with them, hold them on their laps, carry them around, let them suck on their fingers, etc. Is this good for the goats, or is it going to teach them bad habits? What and when should we start doing to train them to be good pack goats? Can they be trained to not jump on people, trained to not whine, trained to not chew on people’s clothes, trained to come to their names when called, etc? How?
Answer: Just dont hold them on their backs. This can twist their gut and end up killing them. Most of the issues you listed will go away as they age. By a year old, they are more on eye level with you and will be less likely to jump up. They just want to be eye level with you now. They use their mouths as fingers. They are exploring things by chewing on em. Again, will get better with age. But light taps on the end of the nose will help in teaching em not to do things you dont want them too.
7. Our yard has a wide variety of flowering plants. What is a list of plants can be harmful to baby goats, and goats in general that I should try to get rid of
Answer: Flowering plants can be very very dangerous to goats. You need to look up and research which ones you have and if they are harmful to livestock.
As for the last two questions, cant add anything to Nanno's answers. I will say that goat nutrition is super important. If you feed crap hay or loose minerals, then you can expect to have crap goats. Quality feed will grow you a better goat. Quality supplements will grow you a healthier goat.