Recent content by Seth

Thanks, babsbag. They have free access baking soda (and minerals, copper, etc). I will think about cutting down her rations for a bit. Can I give her some anti-acid besides the baking soda?

Hi everyone, This spring, I was getting our girls onto fresh pasture slowly, a little bit more each day. The last day, I accidentally let them have too much. Our saanen (who tends to pig out when given the chance) got scours for a day, presumably from eating too much fresh grass. I am pretty...

Having a permanent fence around the whole thing is great. You'll be happy with that. And if you run an electric wire around it, you can tie your electric netting in anywhere. One more thing... our goats don't like to be out at pasture for too long at a time, especially when it is sunny and...

It depends on how rich your pasture is, and how fast it grows. In the spring when it rains frequently and grows quickly, it will take the goats longer to eat through each paddock. But later in the summer when it is dry and the grass is growing slowly, you'll need more. We use portable...

We have a beautiful nigerian dwarf doeling for sale. Alice was born in June. She is purebred but without papers. Her dam gave nearly a quart of delicious milk per milking. We are asking $150.

Thanks, everyone!!

Just after a goat gives birth, do y'all generally separate mother+kids from the herd? We built a "maternity ward" last year - but mostly because it was February, and it make a small protected area that we could heat. Now, our first goat of the year is about to kid, and it's warm enough...

Thanks, SbC! If the doe is giving a lot of milk, do you have to do anything different?

We have a nubian/alpine doe (kidded this spring). We are currently getting about a quart from her in the morning and a quart in the evenings. How do you transition to only milking her in the morning? Thanks!

Sorry for the late reply! The next day, she gave birth to two happy kids - a boy and a girl. So I guess she was just hungry, and being pretty picky about which hay she ate. She's on the skinny side, but I think that's her nature. She otherwise seems healthy. Thanks!!

Hi all, We have a very pregnant Nubian/Alpine doe who is due any day now. She looks healthy to me (this is my first kidding, though). Over the past few days, she seems to be eating hay ALL THE TIME. Is she just hungry? Is this a normal behavior for just before kidding? We're worried she...

The farm where I recently got two does from has an elevated platform so the farmer can STAND UP while they milk! Fantastic. They even have a small cut out in the side of the stand (about in the middle, length-wise) so you don't have to lean in as far. I plan on building one this winter, I...

Good luck finding some nice goats!

@Kristi - I love your reuse of materials! 1. If you are going to have goats with horns, you'll want to make sure they can't get their whole head in there. If no horns, then no worries. 2. You could take a wire brush drill attachment (like this one, for example) and get rid of the varnish...

Hi @20kidsonhill and @elevan - Thanks! I agree about getting hurt while eating. We made a test feeder last night. Our slots opened at the top so no one could get stuck. But the V turned out to be too wide, so they just reach in and pull out all the hay - huge amount of waste. Making a...