Laundry list of questions pertaining to my baby goats.

[Carla D]

I don't know that anyone caught this, but these babies aren't anywhere near ready for weaning. They should be on milk for 12-16 weeks at a minimum if these are standard sized goats. 54 oz of milk is not near enough for a growing buckling. I'll have to go back in my notes and see how much we were feeding at that age. I know some of our babies were eating about a gallon of milk/day. While yours don't need that much, I would certainly want to see them eating more. How much do they weigh? You want them to gain 10-15lbs a month.

Do you have any high quality hay available? They should be nibbling on hay and pellets now. Our kids love beet pulp and it encourages them to eat.

Yes they are standard size goats. All are alpine except for the one Saanen that my daughter has claimed as her own.

 

[Southern by choice]

I’m pretty sure we will have their “playpen” finished today so they can go outside for a while everyday that it’s fairly nice out. I think this area is going to be about 7’x10’-12’ with a small little corner where they can huddle into and get out of the rain frthat may fall onto their heads this time of year. They will probably be out there from 4-6 hours each day.

Their outdoor area really needs to be larger. They need to run and leap and play and that is just like keeping them in a stall, just outside. You want them to be able to be goats. They develop and grow better. Running, leaping, zipping spinning- all part of the baby goat growth process. Our baby pens (we have two) - One is for Nigerian Dwarf Babies. (IOW very small goats) is roughly 16 x 24. The larger baby pen is 45X 25. We have stumps, benches etc out there for them.

I just cut off a beard from a five year old nigerian dwarf doe, i don't like beards on a doe...reminds me of old lady wiskers that need to be plucked. But i am kinda strange that way

LOL me too- hate beards on does. The fam has always liked it, finally @Goat Whisperer has come around. LOL The boys... love a pretty beard!

This is really good to know. Actually, I used to be a nurse by occupation. It just seemed to me that is a potential result of the banding process. My husband has banded many calves in the past and is comfortable doing it. I’ve also watched about a dozen videos on the procedure. I’ve never had any experience with banding. I’ve learned that we need to avoid their nipples that could be close to their scrotum. It’s a procedure I’m pretty sure I could handle doing myself. My only concern is if I’d be strong enough to squeeze the bander and then strong enough to manually release one of the bands myself before releasing all of the rest of the band on the device. My hand strength is not as strong as it used to be. I honestly don’t believe everything I see or read on the internet. Actually I tend to discount most of the information as not quite the whole truth. I will usually view at least ten more videos or sites so I can develop my own opinion. But, I haven’t always been that way. I learned to do that after I discovered there is a whole lot of different ideas, opinions, and some pure falseness on the internet. But I really did appreciate the reminder you gave me about many things floating around on the internet.

Yes, this debate is fought long and hard. Many band and have NO issues. But saying there is no rotting flesh is not true. For thousands of years castration by knife has been done. I personally don't care what anyone does. I do look at it from a pain perspective. Many vets do band. None of the 4 vets I work with band. NONE. Banding however is successful but the time frame for when the sack falls off can be a long time. I prefer fast and painless. Do what works for you. Make sure they have their CD & T vaccine.

 

[Carla D]

As our babies are growing, we often let them out in the yard to run and play. All of ours follow us like puppies so I don't worry about them running off. The panels are a good idea, though cattle panels are less expensive and taller.

That’s great to know about them being outside. We’ve learned that they like the green grass, but the two of them went crazy over the leaves that have already fallen off of the trees. We found some cattle wire on the farm. There should be enough to make them an adequate size playpen outdoors.

 

[Carla D]

You can't use a burdizzo on piglets. The testicles are too tight to the body.
We band ours. We have found it to be the easiest method and we have used them all. No stinking flesh. That's an internet legend. Don't believe everything on the internet.

Yes they can be trained to walk on a leash. Get the cheap collars with the plastic snap together pieces. That way if their collar gets caught on something the snap will break.

GW is correct. It's way to early to wean.\

We never trained our boys to get on the milk stand. Food keeps their interest.

Thank you. I was questioning if the burdizzo could be used on piglets. But I thought it might be possible if they were only a few days old.

Wattles are genetic. Not all have them.

 

[Carla D]

Their outdoor area really needs to be larger. They need to run and leap and play and that is just like keeping them in a stall, just outside. You want them to be able to be goats. They develop and grow better. Running, leaping, zipping spinning- all part of the baby goat growth process. Our baby pens (we have two) - One is for Nigerian Dwarf Babies. (IOW very small goats) is roughly 16 x 24. The larger baby pen is 45X 25. We have stumps, benches etc out there for them.

LOL me too- hate beards on does. The fam has always liked it, finally @Goat Whisperer has come around. LOL The boys... love a pretty beard!

Im glad I’m not alone on this.



Yes, this debate is fought long and hard. Many band and have NO issues. But saying there is no rotting flesh is not true. For thousands of years castration by knife has been done. I personally don't care what anyone does. I do look at it from a pain perspective. Many vets do band. None of the 4 vets I work with band. NONE. Banding however is successful but the time frame for when the sack falls off can be a long time. I prefer fast and painless. Do what works for you. Make sure they have their CD & T vaccine.

I have already bought the elastator and the bands, because I didn’t know of any other method. While I like the looks of the burdizzo procedure, I’m not too sure I like the fact that it may not be 100% effective. Having to do that to them a second time would break my heart. They already have had their CD vaccine, I don’t think there was tetanus in that vaccine however. I’ll have to look at the bottle. It is what out vet sold us when he was out to check on the babies since I already had two sick ones that needed treatment. He said the other seven looked very healthy, active, and at a good weight.

 

[Carla D]

I have already bought the elastator and the bands, because I didn’t know of any other method. While I like the looks of the burdizzo procedure, I’m not too sure I like the fact that it may not be 100% effective. Having to do that to them a second time would break my heart. They already have had their CD vaccine, I don’t think there was tetanus in that vaccine however. I’ll have to look at the bottle. It is what out vet sold us when he was out to check on the babies since I already had two sick ones that needed treatment. He said the other seven looked very healthy, active, and at a good weight. We have picked out their future home area. It’s about ½ an acre. It will have a pretty tall fence, a much bigger house/shelter for them. It is a previously fenced in area that has several pine trees in and lots of tall grasses and weeds. I’m pretty sure they willlove it there. I don’t think they will be big enough to be out there this winter. Plus I don’t really wish to trec through that much snow to bottle feed them a few times every day in the cold. We won’t be able to have any heat source out there either. It may however be possible to get that area setup for them to play in and be in there all day and bring them in at night. But that is going to take a bit of time to get it ready and suitable for them. I don’t know if we will have enough time to get that project completed befor the snow gets here. We still have two pregnant sows, one of which will only be giving us another week or so before she delivers. We need to get their farrowing pens ready for them before we can attack the goat outdoor goat pen. /QUOTE]

 

[Carla D]

1. I have heard good things about the burdizzo however you have to make sure you hear the crunch. BTW- all 3 methods are bloodless (Banding, cutting, burdizzo)

2. Yes, we do two things here... for pet babies we will use a dog harness and this helps let them cut use to it. Our other goats are shown so they just have a lead no collar. All our goats have coolars but we don't use those to walk them. This is a baby Nigerian that my husband took to work. Much easier on the neck and they get use to it then they graduate to an actual lead.
View attachment 53799
This little goat looks to be only a few days old. I’m getting so much fabulous feedback from you and everyone else. I am definitely going to do a whole lot more research on goats and goat breeds.

3. Sounds like you are doing fine.

4. You can build a wooden stanchion but the head opening will need to be adjusted as babies slip out of anything. We have metal stanchions and use a pool noodle for babies headsand necks so they can't slide out. Bucks are huge so it will need to be strong and long. Our bucks at adult hood are far too powerful for a stanchion so we just hook them to the fence and trim hooves that way. We have well behaved bucks but if they decide to put up a fight over something they can take the whole stanchion with them. Babies and smaller bucks are fine but 200-300 lb goats... nope.

5. No, they should not be shivering. They are cold. Lots of straw for bedding and a rumin full of hay will help with warmth.

I didn’t think that was a normal thing for baby goats to do. Especially those that more than a week old.

6. Some have wattles, some don't.

7. Tagging @Hens and Roos as lives in Wisconsin and understands the weather there, she can give great advice. IMO keeping them locked up with no sunshine (vit D3) and confined will just cause pneumonia and they will not adjust well with temp changes.
We brought all of them outside today. It was so much fun to see them running around and simply stretching their legs. Even my husband. Sunshine is simply a matter of survival.

8. A "playpen " area is a great idea. Not sure if 3 feet will be adequate. Our Nigerian kids can go over that. Taking them outside is a great idea. Being bottle babies they will stay close anyway but it will give them a chance to explore. I agree with only 2 at a time if no fencing.

9. they aren't drinking much water because you are feeding them milk 3x day. At this age I would be doing a 34oz bottle am and 34 oz bottle pm. Lots of hay as they need hay to develop properly. As far as the water they will drink more after minimizing bottles. Start putting out free choice minerals. Minerals have salt and that makes them drink more.

 

[Southern by choice]

I have already bought the elastator and the bands, because I didn’t know of any other method. While I like the looks of the burdizzo procedure, I’m not too sure I like the fact that it may not be 100% effective. Having to do that to them a second time would break my heart. They already have had their CD vaccine, I don’t think there was tetanus in that vaccine however. I’ll have to look at the bottle. It is what out vet sold us when he was out to check on the babies since I already had two sick ones that needed treatment. He said the other seven looked very healthy, active, and at a good weight.

If you are comfortable using the bands then do what works for you.
You do want to make sure they have tetanus!
I will find the schedule for you if you need it for the CD & T vaccine. But you can get tetanus separate and they should have that before banding and or disbudding.

 

[Carla D]

If you are comfortable using the bands then do what works for you.
You do want to make sure they have tetanus!
I will find the schedule for you if you need it for the CD & T vaccine. But you can get tetanus separate and they should have that before banding and or disbudding.

Southern by choice,
I really want to give you a very special thank you. You have given me non biased answers so freely. You have not once made me feel stupid for my questions. Nor have you told me it was a stupid thing or that I shouldn’t have gotten my goats while being unprepared or not having all of the answers. I did actually ask the people who I bought them from what I would need for the first week or two until I figure things out. I did discover that commercial goat farms probably treat and care for their animals quite differently than a hobby farmer would. It’s kinda sad. Because so much could be learned from them. But, ultimately they are into their animals for the sole purpose of making money, nothing more than bare essentials being put into the animal than absolutely needed. You also, like my husband have not assumed that I know it all. I can not tell you how so very appreciative I am of your kindness, answers, and support.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Dear carla SBC is awesoness to the max, no question is ever stupid , and the people here are fantastic. Hope all works out well for you ...best wishes to your family and goats