# New goats, need some info.



## rebelpride (Sep 24, 2009)

I got 3 goats last Sunday. We had goats when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago. All the goats are girls and look to be very skinny. 
  The lady that brought them to me couldn't tell me anything about the goats, other than she feed them a 10% all-stock feed. That just didn't sound right to me and she was only feeding them 1 scoop for 5 goats a day!
  This is what I know so far, they need to browse, alfalfa, clean water, minerals, and a goat feed that is 12%-16%. I have learned this much from reading the posts on this site.
  I was told that the brown nanny (Brownie aka: Mama) is a Nubian cross, but I don't know since the lady couldn't even tell me how old she was.
  The 2nd (Bambi aka: Baby) is Mama's kid and she is weaned already.
  Now for the 3rd goat she said she was a Boar cross (No Name aka: Patches). She was to be "kidding anyday now". Almost 2 weeks later and no kidding, which I would really want alot more meat on her before she kidded.
  Anyways, could someone give me anymore info. about goats, feeding, kidding, breeds, and/or anything I should or sholdn't do.
  Oh, I did look on the web, the ry and find out how old they are. I found a site that said you can tell by their teeth. Mama and Patches should be in their 2nd year, by their teeth. Only having 2 large bottom teeth, the rest are baby teeth. Would this be right?
  P.S. could someone tell me how to upload pic. I really want someone to see these poor gals.
         Thanks for he help.


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## cmjust0 (Sep 24, 2009)

First off, 

Now...



			
				rp said:
			
		

> I got 3 goats last Sunday. We had goats when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago. All the goats are girls and look to be very skinny.
> The lady that brought them to me couldn't tell me anything about the goats, other than she feed them a 10% all-stock feed. That just didn't sound right to me and she was only feeding them 1 scoop for 5 goats a day!


Skinny?  Gee, can't imagine why..   :/

Put them on a 16% feed labeled for goats.  Pelleted is better, IMO, because they can't pick out the goodies like corn, which is kinda not great for goats.

The second problem is that since it was an "all-stock" feed, it probably contains ZERO copper.  Goats absolutely, positively, must have copper to thrive.

Set out a high quality mineral mix labeled for goats, and keep it refreshed frequently to encourage them to use it.



			
				rp said:
			
		

> This is what I know so far, they need to browse, alfalfa, clean water, minerals, and a goat feed that is 12%-*16%*. I have learned this much from reading the posts on this site.






			
				rp said:
			
		

> I was told that the brown nanny (Brownie aka: Mama) is a Nubian cross, but I don't know since the lady couldn't even tell me how old she was.
> The 2nd (Bambi aka: Baby) is Mama's kid and she is weaned already.
> Now for the 3rd goat she said she was a Boar cross (No Name aka: Patches). She was to be "kidding anyday now". Almost 2 weeks later and no kidding, which I would really want alot more meat on her before she kidded.


Feed that pregnant doe.  Don't overload her all at once, but she's gonna need some serious nutrition if she's already thin and in late gestation.  Their need for carbohydrates goes up significantly in late pregnancy, and if they don't get it, you could end up with a case of pregnancy toxemia/ketosis.



			
				rp said:
			
		

> Oh, I did look on the web, the ry and find out how old they are. I found a site that said you can tell by their teeth. Mama and Patches should be in their 2nd year, by their teeth. Only having 2 large bottom teeth, the rest are baby teeth. Would this be right?


Yep...



			
				rp said:
			
		

> P.S. could someone tell me how to upload pic. I really want someone to see these poor gals.


Click on 'Uploads' in the first blue bar..  When you get to the upload page, click "browse" and select the image.  When the image is selected, click "submit" and it will be uploaded to BYH's server.  Once the upload is complete, you'll be taken to another page where you will see the image you just uploaded.  Below the image are two textboxes...one says "thumbnail" and the other says "image".  _Right_ click the text in the "image" box and select "copy" from the menu that pops up.  Come back to this thread and post a reply...in the reply box, right click somewhere and select "paste" from the menu that pops up.  The text you copied will be pasted to the reply box in the correct format.  Just hit "submit" to post your reply and you're done.

The picture should show up.




Beyond all that...  I'd advise vaccinating all these does with C/D-T right now, and worming the two which aren't pregnant.  There are several threads here which discuss wormers, but the gist is that there are two classes of wormers which are readily available...white wormers, and _ectin wormers.

White wormers are Safe Guard, Panacur, Valbazen, etc.
_ectins are Ivomec, Eprinex, Double-Impact, etc.

I think I'd probably start with an _ectin, personally, as they seem to be stronger than the white wormers these days.  In fact, I think I'd probably start with ivermectin 1% injectable dosed ORALLY at 3ml/100lbs and repeated in 10 days.  

But that's just me.

Once the boerX kids out, worm her immediately.  Like, right then, because pregnant does release a SHARTLOAD of worm eggs in the "periparturient" phase...meaning, somewhere around the time they kid out.  Could be a few days before, or directly after.  So, worm _directly after_.

By the sound of things...I think I'd probably check these guys for lice, too.  I have a sneaky suspicion, put it that way.  I might even have hit'em with some pyrethrin dust for shiggles as they came off the trailer, but that ship sailed.  Not a huge deal, though.

So, yeah...vax, worm, good feed, good hay, good browse and graze, good mineral, and clean water.....beyond that, it's just a matter of watching and waiting and analyzing and lying awake nights wondering if you're goats are ok and so forth.

Welcome to goat ownership.


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## lilhill (Sep 24, 2009)

Looks like it's been covered, and very well, I might add.  

BTW,


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## rebelpride (Sep 24, 2009)

Mama and Baby




Mama and Baby again, anyone got a clue on the breed?




Patches, Boar X?




She really don't look that far along, does she?

Thanks for the info.


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## cmjust0 (Sep 24, 2009)

Patches looks to have some swiss dairy breed in her, along with probably some boer or nubi..  I say that because she has a bit of "airplane ear" and...is that a _beard_, or is the picture playing tricks on me?  

If the white and airplane ears come from a saanen/nubi mix, she might turn out to be a heck of a goat...just my opinion...but it would be really hard to tell if that's the case, or if she's a boer/nubi/alpine or togg or who knows what and gets her white from the boer.

Either way, I like crosses personally.  

The two red does look to be heavily nubian..  The mama red doe looks to be in the poorest condition of the three, from the pics...rough, dry coat...thin..  I'd worm her right away.

And, yeah...I agree, Patches doesn't look to be very far along -- but that's tricky!  Goats are ninja-level masters at hiding pregnancy.

How do their gums and inner eyelids look?  Pale pink, I'm guessing...especially the older red doe.  If so, that's probably barberpole worms working on them..  If they're really pale, consider using Red Cell after worming..  It's like liquid mineral, basically, with lots of iron for anemia..  These guys are probably pretty daggone mineral deficient at this point.

Also...the red doe...she wouldn't happen to have some bristley, orangish, faded-out looking hair on her flanks, would she?  Can't tell from the picture...just another suspicion..

Watch out for those longline tie-outs, too, especially with them being able to cross over one another.  If somebody gets their line wrapped around someone else, things could go really wrong in a hurry.  Electric fence is easy to do right, it's cheap, installs quickly, and is _very_ effective, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  

Where are you located, btw?  Depending on your locale, these guys might do well with a shot of Bo-Se..  It's Rx, but cheap, and would give you the opportunity to get to know your vet a little better.


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## rebelpride (Sep 24, 2009)

> Patches looks to have some swiss dairy breed in her, along with probably some boer or nubi..  I say that because she has a bit of "airplane ear" and...is that a beard, or is the picture playing tricks on me?


Yes that is a "beard".



> And, yeah...I agree, Patches doesn't look to be very far along -- but that's tricky!  Goats are ninja-level masters at hiding pregnancy.


Patches milk sack looked fuller a few days ago, but I could be just going nutts.



> How do their gums and inner eyelids look?  Pale pink, I'm guessing...especially the older red doe.  If so, that's probably barberpole worms working on them..  If they're really pale, consider using Red Cell after worming..  It's like liquid mineral, basically, with lots of iron for anemia..  These guys are probably pretty daggone mineral deficient at this point.


I've used Red Cell before, for horses. 



> Also...the red doe...she wouldn't happen to have some bristley, orangish, faded-out looking hair on her flanks, would she?  Can't tell from the picture...just another suspicion..


Nope, not really. Same color as her body.



> Watch out for those longline tie-outs, too, especially with them being able to cross over one another.  If somebody gets their line wrapped around someone else, things could go really wrong in a hurry.  Electric fence is easy to do right, it's cheap, installs quickly, and is very effective, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


Just letting them eat up the over growth when I'm home. 



> Where are you located, btw?  Depending on your locale, these guys might do well with a shot of Bo-Se..  It's Rx, but cheap, and would give you the opportunity to get to know your vet a little better.


SW Florida


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## cmjust0 (Sep 25, 2009)

rebelpride said:
			
		

> Yes that is a "beard".


Could be toggenburg influence..  I know almost any female can grow a beard, but I think it's pretty common in toggs.



> Patches milk sack looked fuller a few days ago, but I could be just going nutts.


Weird..  



> I've used Red Cell before, for horses.


You know what it does, then.  



> Nope, not really. Same color as her body.


That's a good thing..  I asked because fading at the flanks is usually indicative of copper deficiency, and I figured for sure these gals would be..  



> Just letting them eat up the over growth when I'm home.






> SW Florida


You might look into Bo-Se, then, because I think Florida's pretty Selenium deficient..  I _think_, anyway..  Double check me on that.


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## rebelpride (Sep 25, 2009)

Thats for all the help, I'll post again after a few weeks.


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