Animal Care

Goats

Feeding the Goats

We feed 2nd or 3rd cut alfalfa/grass hay free choice year around in feeder made with the plans from Premier 1 (highly recommend for cuttingdown on waste hay). We feed Kalmbach feeds. The adults get 16% textured adult, and I do creep feed kis with Kalmbach Start Right Kid mini pellets. I also free choice Kalmback goat mineral with some Zinpro added in for additional zinc. I also give a dose or two a month of Replamin Plus and give Probios as needed. I very rarely need to copper bolus. Goats love fresh, clean water beyond other farm animals I've had They hate anything in it.

Housing Goats

Goats really like being able to get out of any wind, rain, etc, but it doesn't need to be fancy. They need at minimum a three sided shelter but really prefer it a bit more enclose. There also need to be good ventilation. I like to use the passive roof vents that spin in the wind. Fans and exhaust fans also really help move the air when it gets hot. If your designing your own new barn, I definitely recommend factoring in how to easily clean it, especially to make the doors and roof high enough for a tractor to get in. It is also important to have stalls for goats to kid individually or separate a wounded/ill animal. Stalls help with bonding and limit rejections. I recommend no climb horse fencing (2" x 4" holes) for any pen or pasture with nigerian baby goats. They can fit through 4" x 4" sheep/goat fence holes for weeks.

Goat Care

I do a whole herd check every 4 to 6 weeks where I trim feet, check eyelid FAMACHA scores, and body condition scores. This is very important to catch problems early before they become huge life threatening problems. After goats give birth, they can get a big worm load for a month or two after. This is also a big risk for kids as they grow too. The worms can make them very anemic. Barberpole worms are a problem later in the summer and can take an animal down quickly. It is important to breed for parasite resisitance to try to limit the risk and only deworm individuals as needed.

For kids, it is important to keep on top of coccidia for the first five months of their life. After that they usually get immune to it except during stressful times. I also find pneumonia and overeating disease (from high milking mothers) to be a problem for the young ones. So I highly recommend vaccinating their mother's for some immunity until they are old enough to vaccinate. I do both CDT and M. haemolytica shots which require two initial shots with yearly boosters.

Bottle Baby Care

I try to keep kids on their mothers, but I do pull kids if they are very small, a bit slow to catch on/have problems, rejected kids, or too many are born for their mother to care for (more than triplets). I feed a colostrum replacer for the first 24 hours (offering 4-5x/day), and then whole cow's milk from the grocery store after that. I start with three times per day at 2 days old until a month old. Then I drop to two bottles a day until 2-2 1/2 month old when I go down to one bottle per day. I give them as much milk as they want until they walk away. I do not limit milk intake at all. I generally offer milk until they are around 5 months old to maximize their growth, and they are about 40lbs. They also get access to hay and grain from a couple weeks old, so they are nibbling at it quite early. My goal is to get them big enough to breed in the late fall.

Recommended Equipment

- I like to keep multiple types of dewormer on hand including ivermectin, injectible ivermectin (for mites), valbazen, moxidectin, fenbendazole, and prohibit (as a last resort, to limit parasite resistance to it)

- Cyclence or Ultra Boss Pour On to treat for lice and biting flies

- A good pair of hoof trimmers. I love the ARS brand hoof trimmers

- Syringes and needles. I keep on hand 12cc and 3cc syringes plus 20 gauge needles. I also use the nylon feeding syringes for deworming since there are reusable.

- lamb/kid sling, an adult sling, luggage hand scale, and a bigger hanging scale. I regularly weigh kids/lambs and sometimes adults. It is sometimes important to get exact weights when treating an animal.

- Some general first aid supplies like iodine, vetwrap bandages, nonstick gauze pads, Catron fly spray for wounds, large syringes and feeding tubes for lambs if needed, hairdryer to warm up chilled lambs/kids

- Ear tags and applicator (make sure you get a USDA scrapies number), banding tool and bands, disbudding iron, tattoo supplies and ink

- Think about your own clippers and/or shearing machine. I love my Premier 4000 that I can change between the clipping and shearing head. I also keep a small adjustable clipper for doing little jobs.

Rabbits

I keep my rabbits in individual cages that are appropriate for their size inside a building. My cages are mainly 36x30 or 60x24 with a few smaller ones for young rabbits or in case I need to isolate. Rabbits are an easy to care for animal. I offer hay and water 24/7, and I give Kalmbach 18% Best in Show pellets daily. They are regularly handled. I simply clean out the pans and put in fresh shavings.

I do recommend urine guards in the cages are kept in a building to help keep messes in the cage. For hot weather, I run fans for air flow and put frozen water bottles in their cages. Other than making sure they have liquid water, rabbits handle the cold well. I also add enrichment to their day by putting toys or things such as pinecones in for them.