dog food goat, need some advice please.

[DonnaBelle]

Hi all,

I need some advice. I am "rescuing" an alpine female about 2 years old. I had a fecal done today, no worms.

She has not had anything to eat except cheap dog food and leaves.

No hay, no goat food, no minerals, just the above.

I have on hand: hay, dairy goat feed, goat developer, red cell and gray goat mineral. I have alfalfa hay and prairie hay. I also have bicarbonate of soda available. I know she has not been vaccinated for

This little female has been raised on bottle and kept alone in a pen by herself.

I have some Nubians, all does and one buck who is hopefully breeding my does. Should I let her in there with the rest of the goats or keep her penned by herself, but she can see the other goats??

She's never been bred, just a lonely little goat in a pen by herself.

BY THE WAY, SHE HAS HORNS, THE OTHERS DO NOT.

DonnaBelle

 

[ChksontheRun]

Oh boy, you have your hands full I think. A few things to think of, she needs to be changed to a goat diet instead of a dog diet, but slowly so she doesn't bloat. Perhaps offering her some hay in small amounts while still giving her a little of the dog food (ugh) till her rumen gets used to the hay, then moving to just hay, then, depending on her condition, introduce a tiny bit of grain. (all of these changes being done very slowly)

She should be quarantined JMHO, and tested for the bad goat diseases.... CAE, CL, Johhnes, Brucelosis. Even though the tests are not a guarantee, I would have her tested for these before putting her in with the others.

You need to see how she acts with the other goats after the above is done in terms of butting. If she is a real head butter, perhaps addressing the horns would be an issue, if she is very submissive, perhaps it is not such an issue.

Remember, when she is introduced to the herd, don't expect it to be smooth sailing. They will have their disagreements till they all figure out their place.

I am sure there are lots of other opinions on all of this, these are just a few of my first thoughts.

 

[ksalvagno]

When I got my Alpine mix girl, I just ended up putting her right in with the others. She had been living by herself in a more suburban area and she had a clean fecal along with CAE, CL & Johnes tests coming back negative. She was living in a grassy area and it was kept clean. She also had not been vaccinated or anything. She also has horns and none of my other goats do. She is the boss but the other goats are Nigerians. I put tennis balls at the ends of her horns. I was going to band her horns but never got around to it this year. Will do it next spring after she kids. I know others will not agree with me but I would say to do what is best for you. You could always try her out in the pen with the goats and if it doesn't work, then put her in a pen next to them.

Obviously you aren't going to be able to slowly change over her diet so expect some loose stool.

 

[DonnaBelle]

I am going to give her a CD & T shot I think, and some fresh hay and water. I have a pen I can put her in where she can see the other goats, but can't get close to them.

I will give her a bit of dog food (ugh) with a tad of goat developer, maybe a half a cup and load it with probios.

Thanks for the idea about the TENNIS BALLS. Great thinking!!!

DonnaBelle.

 

[ksalvagno]

I got the smaller tennis balls from the dollar store that were in a pack of 3.

That is great that you are willing to take her in. Congratulations on your new goat!

 

[DonnaBelle]

Well, we just got back with her and put her in the small pen next to the other goats. I gave her a CD & T shot.

She really looks pretty good, not skinny or anything.

BUT HER HOOVES!! OMG!! THEY ARE A MESS!!

And those horns!! eeeeeeekkkkkkkkk!!

We are definately going to let her calm down a bit before we tackle the hooves!! She has NEVER been trimmed I'm sure.

She has long hair, unlike the Nubians. She's a mottled black/brown/dirty white color. But I'm so glad she doesn't have worms or cocci!!

This goat thing is getting outta hand!!!

Oh! did I say? We paid $20.00 for the privilege of rescue.

Gotta get some tennis balls though.....dollar store here I come.

DonnaBelle

 

[freemotion]

OK, first, yay for rescuing her! I wouldn't give her any more dogfood at all. Just leaves and some hay for a bit, then good grain if she needs it in a couple of weeks or so. And a good mineral with copper sulfate.

Just because she has horns does not mean she will use them against your current goats. I have three with horns and three without, all living together, and as long as they have plenty of room to get away, they are ok. My meanest goat, the one I worry most will hurt another one, is a polled Pygmy cross.

Feet....get them trimmed the best you can, then just work on them over the next year. It can take a long time to get feet back to looking good. They may never look like feet that have been taken care of properly, so relax about that and do your best to make her comfortable and keep her comfortable.

When I rescued Mya, she had elf shoes for hooves, it looked like she'd never had a trim in her life. I spent $150 rescuing her! Plus vet bills and farrier....I had my farrier do her first trim, as she was a bit unruly. I do it myself now, usually two feet at a time on the milk stand after milking. Like fronts one day, hinds the next. Without assistance, if I tried to do all four at once, blood would be shed. Not sure if it would be mine or hers.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

and pictures please



great work!

 

[PattySh]

You are awesome for taking her in. I have a "horned" goat(Alpine/Oberhasli) in with my others and she has never used her horns to hurt anyone, goat or human. She is actually one of the bigger goats in my small herd. If you can steal a cud from one of your other goats and feed it to her it would help develop her rumen. I would offer her baking soda and hay(maybe you can get some late baled with leaves in it??) free choice and nothing else but water. If they are hungry they will usually eat.

 

[elevan]

Dog food!? Oh my goodness! What some people think is ok?!

Good for you for taking her in!