I swear, having goats is like a 24/7 chemistry class. You have to make sure that your cal. and phos. levels are 2:1; balance the PH in their urine; add vitamins here or minerals there; give supplement to increase bacteria in their rumen. Then being a new goat owner there really is no black and white answers to anything because everyone has their own opinion and what works for them, so basically you read conflicting information all day long and have to piece everything together to find out what is going to work for you. Ugh! But then you really have no clue where to start.
Geesh, and my boyfriend didn't want me to get a horse because he thought it would be to much work... boy was he wrong, I bet he regrets it now horses are not more work they are just more expensive. Lol!
I am sure this is not news to any of you and I am sure all of you had to learn from the ground up, but I have had many, many different types of animals and none of them have been this challenging to provide proper care to.
Ok I am done venting now...
I hear you... LOUD and CLEAR!
Yes, everyone has their own way of doing things... and when I started out about a year ago and I read all the same things you are reading now, I thought to myself "HOW WILL I KEEP THEM ALIVE???"
Here to say, I haven't killed one... yet. (It WILL happen... because they all die at some point for some reason or another... )
Here are all the things I do/have done "WRONG":
I grain my wethers. There. I said it.
(I do it simply because they are CAE positive skinny little creatures who needed the extra for all that "conditioning" everyone speaks of). I use Noble Goat (medicated) because someone else said they used it and like it (and it had AC in it). I also give them alfalfa pellets. Lots of alfalfa pellets. Apparently this is wrong. But they are not dead. Take it for what it's worth. (I want to stop the grain because they are looking good these days and have ample access to fresh pasture...)
*and please note that I freely admit to having CAE positive creatures... they still love me and I can give them a great life... it wasn't my choice, but when you love something and you find out after the fact they have CAE... oh well! Their sister was also CAE positive and had a positive CL test result so we sent her live on another farm that didn't mind her special "attributes"... I can do CAE, CL was more than I was ready to deal with, and with my daughter's health issues, didn't want to risk any possible human transmission... this is all trial by fire!*
I used to worry myself sick about UC... so I make sure they get plenty of fresh water (which means I am lugging 5 gallon pails of warm water twice a day all winter). I have AC on hand and ready to go at a moments notice. Will occasionally sprinkle some on the feed FOR THE BOYS (I have 3 does now, too, but will get to the injustices I have done to them in a bit.)
I fed RED minerals to them! *gasp* Seriously, they still lived. Something about chelated this and oxide that... so i went from Golden Blend from Hoeggers to Cargill's Right Now Onyx (for cattle). They eat it as though they are dying. They LOVE it. And it's not red... it's, well, Onyx.
I fed alfalfa hay exclusively for the first 8 months. (Some of it was really crappy alfalfa with some other weed growing in it... I think it hurt my nutrition over the long run, but we have much better alfalfa now and they think it's CANDY.) I have only recently gotten some 60%grass/%40 alfalfa -- 2nd and 3rd cut. They hate it and won't eat anything but the alfalfa ends out of it. The rest goes to waste. Because I have the three Nigerian Dwarf does now, I CANNOT separate hay... they all live together. Very hard to keep free access to hay available to only certain goats, and all the talking to and training in the world hasn't helped them understand what they should and should not be eating.
Dumb goats. Alfalfa happens to be the cheapest type of hay around me, and the easiest to get (other than grass). Now, I have read that alfalfa hay is "slowly killing your does" and that while lactating, the does should get it, but lay off during late gestation lest you bring about milk fever.... Who knows??? I have no plans to go and buy any designer hay. Not. Going. To. Happen. So...? Well... I feed them alfalfa, grass they won't eat, grain and pasture.
And they aren't dead...
Which brings me to the girls... the yearlings are getting Noble goat, too and some alfalfa pellets. Why? Because I felt bad for them. Everyone else got to eat. Why not them, too? They get a tiny bit. They are filled out, but skinnier than when they were nursing. (They were BUTTERBALLS when I got them in October at 6 months old.)
I am nearly done graining the little boys and girls... they are all a year old this month.
Now, Momma goat... she's getting ADM Goat Power Meat Goat something or other (non-medicated). Why? Because someone said it was good. There you go. She's not overly fond of it, but some days inhales it. She also gets a bit of alfalfa pellets, sometimes a bit of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, and sometimes a bit of Calf Manna. Why? Because I though she was really skinny right before she got pregnant. So I was trying to beef her up a bit. Now I'm reading that I should be graining the pregnant doe (due June 24thish), but BE CAREFUL, not too much! Not too little! No alfalfa... YES alfalfa...
You get the point. But guess what...
She's *not* dead...
Here's something I've done "right":
Found a sick wether with a bloaty face and very weak. Didn't know what was wrong with him... panicked, pm'd a goat expert on here, and hit him with the book... it worked. I even had to put on the big girl pants and give multiple injections over the course of several days. Guess what?
He *did* live. Miracle, right? I certainly think so.
My point is this... don't get caught up on the specific logistics and DO NOT FEEL DUMB asking questions (like I have a tendency to feel). We are all learning... go with your gut, and if you ask a question and get a response you don't agree with, then don't do it... it's your goat. The advice given here may seem like overkill, but doing too little is often detrimental to the goat. Sure, some of it is unpleasant, but even more unpleasant is a dead goat. BUT, know that you are interacting with some of the most knowledgeable and caring goat people out there... we all have our ways, but start with the basics, have a few things on hand that are *hard* to get in an emergent situation (like DiMethox and at least two types of basic antibiotics, including syringes and needles -- and YES, you can manage an 18 gauge... I promise), and have fun.
Hang in there!
) I'll check after while if no one chimes in...
