I need help with an age and much more...

[glenolam]

I can't answer for the milk intake question, but I would think that if she's eating, pooing, peeing and gaining weight I'd say she's OK.

As for Poo - treats are OK, but try to stick to grain as a way to entice her. Too much of anything isn't good, so if you do want to still bribe her with treats, try raisins or little peices of bread. She'll get used to you in time.

You can do the shot! I am a wuss, too, but now I have no problem sticking the little suckers with needles! search on this forum for how to give a shot and you'll learn the different places, the "tent" method and much more.

It's very quick and easy!

 

[cmjust0]

At that age/weight, they wouldn't normally be all that interested in grain...could be she was basically forced to learn early. Also, I don't leave grain out free choice anyway, for anyone.

If it were me, I would probably restrict the grain to maybe a couple of small feedings a day and see if that improves her appetite for milk. If so, great...if not, and she just kinda plateaus out and stops gaining...then grain may be the only way she's gonna get by.

But she'd get far more benefit out of the milk than she would grain, if you can get her to do that.

I don't know if we've covered this or not, but what milk are you giving her? Is she on whole cow's milk from the store, goats' milk from another source, powdered kid milk replacer, ...?

 

[punkgirrl]

I don't know if we've covered this or not, but what milk are you giving her? Is she on whole cow's milk from the store, goats' milk from another source, powdered kid milk replacer, ...?

She is on Whole cows milk and evaporated milk with vitamin D. I am not sure this is best for her but I do not have a goat to get milk from and what I read about floppy goat and the replacer scared me on that. So like everything else I will take advice. Oh I was thinking for getting butter milk to add to the mix but not sure if a change would be good for her.

And side question. My feed store did not have Di-Methox can I wait to mail order it or do I need it asap?

 

[glenolam]

You can mail order it and it will take a week or so to come in. While you're on-line it wouldn't hurt to stock up on other things you will and may need like Probios, B Complex or B12, Bo-Se, CD&T, needles/syringes, Ivomec for deworming (but you may not need this in the event your fecal samples come out "clean"), Nutridrench...the list can go on and on.

Also good to keep on hand (as I found from personal experience) is Mineral Oil (to help them pass anything bad in their bowl), Karo Syrup or Molasses (which gives them a quick picker upper in case they are a little listless), and a rectal thermometer.

My goat medicine cabinet isn't as "full" as CM's is - I keep just about everything in a plastic storage box in the goat barn...the "good" meds are kept in my kitchin in a goat-cabinet

 

[cmjust0]

She is on Whole cows milk and evaporated milk with vitamin D. I am not sure this is best for her but I do not have a goat to get milk from and what I read about floppy goat and the replacer scared me on that. So like everything else I will take advice. Oh I was thinking for getting butter milk to add to the mix but not sure if a change would be good for her.

I used to make a little concoction by taking a gallon of whole milk, pouring off 20oz, then adding a can of evap, then topping the gallon back off with whole cultured buttermilk.

Kids liked it, and grew well on it.

They generally like whole milk too, though.

Since she's on what she's on, I'd just leave it at that for now.

I really just wanted to see if you were using replacers or not...I've never used them, but we see QUITE A BIT of "My baby's sick!" threads from people using replacers.

So...good job.

And side question. My feed store did not have Di-Methox can I wait to mail order it or do I need it asap?

Nah...you're shooting for about 3wks of age to start her on it, so you've got time.

Time enough, in fact, to browse through all the online mail order supply places websites and put together an order that includes other essentials...needles, syringes, etc. All the super fun stuff.

 

[cmjust0]

My goat medicine cabinet isn't as "full" as CM's is - I keep just about everything in a plastic storage box in the goat barn...the "good" meds are kept in my kitchin in a goat-cabinet

My goat medicine cabinet right now is one of the big kitchen base/floor cabinets.. Like, the big single door ones....about 3' wide, with a shelf across the back.

Shelf's full, bottom's full. Stuff falls out when you open the door.



Oh, the butter shelf thing in the door of the door of the fridge belongs to the goats, too.. PenG, Tet antitoxin, Vax, C&D antitoxin, etc..

And that doesn't count the things I usually leave in the barn...screw worm spray, blu-kote, kopertox, PyThon dust, etc..

I may inventory it one day and post it here...it's gotten ridiculously ridiculous in the last year or so. Scary part is...I know how to *use* most of that stuff, too.

We actually had a visitor the other day who knew nothing about goats, but when she saw my goat med cabinet, she said she was coming to OUR HOUSE if we ever entered some kind of post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust and economic collapse with accompanying zombie invasion or whatever. We gots MEDS.

We gots guns, too.. ...and gardens...and milk, meat, eggs...and firewood...and a woodstove...

Ironically, for all that preparedness (and/or paranoia ), I was never even in the Boy Scouts.

 

[punkgirrl]

Great thanks again for the info and I will get the needles
She has had just under 11 ozs today. I have gone to more feeding times. 7am only 3 ozs
11am 2ish almost 3
1 pm 5ozs
And I got a tail wag side to side at feeding #2
She is the sweetest goat I have seen. Ok so I have not seen many but oh my goodness is she sweet. Is it ok to pet her head? My Granny(who love old wives tales) said it will make her mean if I pet her horns. Is that real?

 

[cmjust0]

Is it ok to pet her head? My Granny(who love old wives tales) said it will make her mean if I pet her horns. Is that real?

There's some truth to that, but not really.. What happens is that if you push around on their heads, they learn to push back and it becomes a game.. That's how goats play.

Against humans, they'll always win -- trust me.

You certainly can pet her head, though. EDIT...our goats love it when you scratch their cheeks. They're prey animals, so they're naturally skitty and their field of vision is *almost* 360*. Areas they can't see include directly behind them, and the tops of their heads. If you keep your hands where an unfamiliar goat can see what you're doing, they're usually more at ease.

Speaking of horns...something we should probably discuss is the option of disbudding your new goat. If you don't want her to have horns -- and there are good arguments for/against horns -- she's probably still small enough to be disbudded at this point.

If you're not familiar with the process, you basically take a tool called a disbudding iron and burn rings around her horn "buds," which basically cauterizes the blood vessels flowing to them, which prevents the horn cells from growing. In a few days, the ring/bud dries up.. In a few weeks, it pops off.. Regular skin grows back over...voila -- no horns.

Look into it. If her horn buds aren't too advanced at this point, it could probably still be done. We kinda sorta forgot about one of ours and he just got done last night at 10 days/18lbs. Not optimal, but still do-able.

Just a thought.

 

[punkgirrl]

On the horns I was thinking of letting them grow. The reason being is I live in south FL and I read the horns can help keep them cool. But I am not a 100% yet SO says they are scary. Poo(the other goat) has horns so I wanted it to be fair. I will decide by Saturday and have it done then as well. But as it stands now she will keep them.

cmjust0 about the play pushing she rubs on my leg with her body. Is this something a good goat would do?
On her face she likes me rubs her ears like she was a dog. I am not pushing on her... well am I?


Oh and thank you guys!!! I am sure you think I have had some odd questions.

And did you know they have a coat for a goat. OMG

 

[glenolam]

And did you know they have a coat for a goat. OMG

Yep - I actually put my kids in my son's baby clothes because they were born in early spring and I didn't want them to get a chill.

With regards to the pushing - I have one kid who's now 4 mos and 1 week old. No matter what I'm doing she's standing up on my legs, jumping on my back (don't get me started on how her sister does it at the same time now - 2 4mo old alpine/nubian/nigerian doelings on my little back sure doesn't cut it like it used to!), nibbling my clothes...

If it gets too much for you, keep a squirt bottle handy. Some say that works well to teach your goats what is and what isn't acceptable.

Work with Poo as well and keep the two together as much as you can. I know that Winnie needs more attention and care right now, but if you spend ALL your time fixating on Winnie and leave Poo out, it'll take longer for her to get used to you and Winnie. (I do just love their names!)

Oh and thank you guys!!! I am sure you think I have had some odd questions.

You're welcome and, not really.... It's all a part of being a goat owner!