Getting goats in May and have some feeding questions.

[purplequeenvt]

So when is the "best" time to castrate?

 

[clr1988]

I emailed the breeder to ask if they could wait a little longer to do the castration, but I don't know what she will say. Ugh now I'm worried I made the wrong decision in getting males and I already gave the deposit. :/

 

[20kidsonhill]

I emailed the breeder to ask if they could wait a little longer to do the castration, but I don't know what she will say. Ugh now I'm worried I made the wrong decision in getting males and I already gave the deposit. :/

There is really no reason for her to have to castrate them that young.

 

[clr1988]

Yeah ..I'm wondering if I shouldn't just tell her not to castrate and make arrangements to do it when they are around 4 months old. Does anybody know what the average cost is for a vet to come do it? Just curious. I know prices will be different depending on where you live.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Yeah ..I'm wondering if I shouldn't just tell her not to castrate and make arrangements to do it when they are around 4 months old. Does anybody know what the average cost is for a vet to come do it? Just curious. I know prices will be different depending on where you live.

You could also arrange with someone that has banding equipement to just band them at 4 months of age. Maybe a little children's liquid advil a couple times after that for discomfort. I would think you could still get a bander on them at that age, I wouldn't be able to with my boer goats, so I am just assuming they wouldn't be too big for the bander.

A couple quick phone calls to area vets, would help you with the question about cost.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Yeah ..I'm wondering if I shouldn't just tell her not to castrate and make arrangements to do it when they are around 4 months old. Does anybody know what the average cost is for a vet to come do it? Just curious. I know prices will be different depending on where you live.

If you know some who has a bander, they will most likely do it for you for very little cost. I have a neighbor who has the bander and he comes and does mine for me.

 

[nomad]

Hi everyone I have been reading on here for a couple weeks now trying to figure out the RIGHT way to care for my 2 nigerian dwarf goat bucklings that I would be getting in May. I am most confused about what to feed them. There are about 100 different opinions on what to feed them I'm very confused. How do I decide what is right? lol I know that I shouldn't be feeding them grain but they will be kids so I'm guessing I should feed them some type of grain while they're growing? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you

Rather than leading the witness, I believe it prudent to ask some questions to determine what it is that you expect from your new venture. You stated "I know that I shouldn't be feeding them grain". How did you come to that conclusion? You seemed to be very convinced of your stance. Why later did you appear to concede on this point and "guess" that you should be feeding grain? I think our biggest problem today is that we are much too hesitant to take a firm stand on a particular subject and then work to prove its merits (if they exist). If we find that our position was not correct then we must change course and seek a right path that leads to success. There are, of course, right and wrong answers in life - there has to be or our world would be chaotic. Would it be deemed right to feed a newborn child a steak and mashed potatoes? Or for you to drink a quart of gasoline to quench your thirst? We easily know the answers to such questions, yet we balk when confronted with "right or wrongs" in many other areas in life simply because it is a little more complex and does not have the easy answer. It is in the quest for truth (about anything) that we learn much about ourselves.

Have you also considered what type of shelter and fencing would be necessary? As an example of "right or wrong", it would certainly not be wise to run 5 strands of barbed wire and expect them to be contained. That is not because I said it was wrong - it is because the goats said it is wrong (a cow, however, would say you are right). Each animal should be treated in a manner that is consistent with its anatomy, physiology, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Mastering the animal entails understanding how that animal functions in its environment. These are topics that must be explored in order for you to be successful in your venture.

Personally, I only feed grass and hay to my goats, sheep, and cattle. I do not vaccinate, medicate, or deworm any of my animals anymore. My mission statement for my farm states "Produce healthy, environmentally sustainable food for myself and my family while leaving a light footprint upon this earth so as to work with nature rather than oppose it." In my early days of farming, I followed "conventional wisdom" and farmed like everyone else. My wife and I spent many frustrating evenings discussing why we were not in a sound financial position (relative to the farming operation), stressed over which medications to give (and why sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't), and why the land that I was running my animals on seemed to disappoint in its ability to provide a return and had become a money pit. It took me several years of researching, asking many questions, trying several different approaches, and sticking with what has firmly worked for me to finally reach the position that I have. Truth is out there if we will only seek it and I guarantee it will not disappoint.

I wish you much success in your venture.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I know that I shouldn't be feeding them grain

Congratulations on your upcoming goats! As you already heard, there is no right, wrong or absolute ways when it comes to feeding your goats. As you become an informed goat caretaker, you will need to read, learn and apply what feeding techniques you feel would work best for your animals living in your personal situation. For some, something as simple as where you live and what items are available to you, such as hay or minerals, will determine what you do. Not all foods and supplements are available everywhere.

Yes, you will hear many conflicting and controversial ways to do what people think is right. Take it all in and separate the chaff from the wheat, so to speak. Many of the ways people feed is determined by whether the goat is a meat goat, milking goat or kept as a pet.

As far as I'm concerned, the issue of grain is the "hottest" issue you will encounter. Personally, I grain my goats twice a day, 365 days a year. Does that make it right? Absolutely not. Does is make it wrong? Absolutely not. It is what works for me and is my choice. They also get a smorgasbord of other foods and supplements that round out their diet.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your learning experience. You're going to do just fine!

I agree...you will hear lots of varying opinions and even see contradictory studies on this and on other topics but you are doing just fine. The important thing is that you are trying to learn, even if you end up changing your mind and going a different route later on. We just got our first bucks and were trying to figure out the feeding thing for them (and were certainly more worried than we probably needed to be). I started out for two weeks giving the boys only good quality hay and water, but then decided to go ahead and give them a little grain mix once a day along with a dash of ammonium chloride (which may be more of a peace of mind thing for me, but what works individually is all that matters so feel good about whatever you decide and don't let anyone make you feel foolish for it )

I do think that 4 weeks is early for banding. Again, there is a lot of variance on when is the right time---some say 8 weeks, others say 4 months---it wouldn't hurt to just tell the people what you want and see how they respond. They will probably understand and be happy to accommodate.

 

[clr1988]

I talked to the breeder and we are going to hold off on banding them for a couple of weeks which makes me feel a little better
Again, thanks everyone for your advice and opinions. I just want them to be happy and healthy!

 

[Queen Mum]

I work with pack goats and with a veterinarian who is great with goats. She doesn't advice castration until at least 3 months at least in order to give the bucks time for their urinary tract to grow to maturity. She actually prefers 6 months as do I. Yes, they are more "bucky" by then but they seem consistently to have less problem with Urinary Calculii and other infections of the urinary tract system.

It is more painful (not much) for them at that age, but it is less problematic in the long run. That's my experience.