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[rachels.haven]

I watched it. It's a good video, and your girls look nice other than that darn issue on those two does. If I were there in person I'd look at her (and the other doe's) hind feet to check for overgrowth or founder. If there was nothing abnormal I'd want an experienced livestock vet's opinion on whether or not it's meningeal worm or a physical injury.
I'd also help you bolus her and either get you started with replamin or a dose of bose into her to rule the easy stuff out.

One bolus won't overdose her. If you're afraid you can try to get her to just eat it by putting it in a banana or bread. I've never done that but some people swear by it.

 

[Deecarter]

Y

Agree with @rachels.haven and what I was trying to get across but didnt do so well with.

They have 4 acres of pasture stop giving them hay. In winter/cold months they probly need hay or if there is nothing growing but even then if there is even dried vegetation that is "standing hay".

Stop giving them alfalfa pellets.

Stop giving them so much grain!! Goats do NOT require grain, unless they are late stage bred, lactating, or to skinny.
The only goat who actually needs grain atm aside from anything bred or lactating is the one skinny mom who had the 8 month old twins on still. Normal ration for a goat in lactation is 1lb of grain per 3lbs of milk you are getting. If you are not milking a goat and kids are pulled off you normally take them off grain to help them dry up, until they dry up putting weight on going to be a struggle as most does put everything into their milk production.

At the current rate of feeding and vet care you are going to go broke. Normal healthy non-lactating goats require either pasture or hay and loose minerals...usually nothing else. According to Mr. Google for georgia you can have 10 goats per acre so in theory you have enough pasture for 45 goats....your 5 or so should have no problem finding enough forage.

Once you remove the hay and grain it should help with parasites as well as they will not be frequenting one or two feeding areas so much.

If you dont practice rotational grazing you should start, that will severely cut down on parasite problems. You can divide your pasture into 1 acre sections and rotate them thru moving them every 3 weeks, that will give you the minimum 60 days rest on each pasture before they are on it again. You will also have room for adding more goats. You can fence off 1/2 acre near your shelter for weaning kids or separating your buck when its not breeding season, or anything else you ever need another pasture for.

My only other advice is stop buying all your feed from tractor supply. Search for and go to feed mills, prices will be quite a bit cheaper. We pay $10.50 for 100lbs of shell corn at our feed mill, TSC sells a 50lbs bag for $10.49, it is literally half the price at the feed mill. Here is a search I did in your area, try out these places.
View attachment 86702
If they dont seem much cheaper join a facebook group for livestock in your area or state and ask on there if anyone knows of any good local feed mills. You can also ask about hay, I guarantee someone on FB or at the mill is going to know a cheaper source for hay then TSC with it's $20 compressed bales. Check your craigslist under Farm&Garden, I searched your area there are several listing an hour or less from you for round bales of hay for $20-20 each of small square bales for $4-6 each. Grass hay, coastal, timothy, orchard grass, ryegrass, etc are all fine hays for goats for winter but do not wait until the last minute to buy your winter hay or prices will be high.

According to what I can find georgia only needs winter forage for 90 days, so with 5 goats your entire winter hay supply needs are 2 round bales That doesnt take into account any stockpiled forage still in your pasture aka "standing hay".

Please do not take anything I have said as Fact!! I live in northern Michigan and all of my info is based on things I could find on the internet. I'm sure local people can get you way more information from actual experience on how much hay you need or how many days of winter forage is needed, best feed mill, cheapest hay, etc.

This is also based on my opinion and how I raise my livestock. These are your goats and if you like to give them grain...do it, just a little less so you dont break the bank. If it makes you feel better to give them hay until you have more experience, do it. I still give our goats occasional hay as they are clearing brush/weeds/bushes from our new pasture but I can look at our pasture and access when they need hay because forage is low or gone or harder to get too.

Basically our goats cost us $0 in summer, in spring after pasture grows and in fall until snow hits. We might treat them with some grain here and there to keep them friendly or catch them, they do not get it daily. Our 50lbs bag of ADM loose minerals cost us $22 and last them 4-6 months. Our goats cost us less then $500/year which includes all feed, dewormer, cocci treatment, scrapie tags and CDT. Our goat kids sell for $150 and up each. The real cost of livestock is infostructure...pastures, barns, waterers, feeders, gates, etc.

We feed hay year round because we dont yet have enough pasture fenced but the goats are on pasture duty. Luckily you have plenty of pasture atm

 

[Deecarter]

@misfitmorgan Yes you are absolutely right! I feel I am about to go broke and the information you give is very common sense and practical. I think I got all caught up in this problem with Sadie Rose and her doe that I have been panicked about not feeding them right. I will try the bolus and it's a huge relief to know that I don't necessarily have to give them grain. My goodness! I've been waaaay over doing that! I am currently looking for hay in my area and plan on getting enough to get me through the winter. Last winter the goats grazed all the time. I allowed the grasses to grow and didn't mow and they munched on it all the time. Thank you so much! I don't like Tractor Supply because I don't like these big chain stores, but it's close to the house and I haven't known where else to look. I'm not on facebook, and I really don't want to go on there. Too much drama! In this area, it's a disadvantage because everyone uses it. I'll find what I'm looking for though.

 

[rachels.haven]

Their pasture looks nice for goats, btw. And they do look happy. I hope this issue with the rear end weakness can be dealt with. They have the potential to have a very nice life. (they don't seem to think they're doing too bad)

 

[Deecarter]

Their pasture looks nice for goats, btw. And they do look happy. I hope this issue with the rear end weakness can be dealt with. They have the potential to have a very nice life. (they don't seem to think they're doing too bad)

Thank you. After much reading and listening, I really think it’s a menigerial

I watched it. It's a good video, and your girls look nice other than that darn issue on those two does. If I were there in person I'd look at her (and the other doe's) hind feet to check for overgrowth or founder. If there was nothing abnormal I'd want an experienced livestock vet's opinion on whether or not it's meningeal worm or a physical injury.
I'd also help you bolus her and either get you started with replamin or a dose of bose into her to rule the easy stuff out.

One bolus won't overdose her. If you're afraid you can try to get her to just eat it by putting it in a banana or bread. I've never done that but some people swear by it.

my son and I trimmed hooves yesterday. They look fine and weren’t really terribly overgrown. Just time to do it. I can put it in a banana. I’ve done that before and it works and less traumatic. After reading and listening a lot, I’m really leaning toward meninges worms. We have a lot of white tail deer, we border a creek and the lower part of our property is in a 100 year flood plain, including the barn. We have fenced the very bottom of our property out because it can stay wet most of the time. Our vet is older and used to do farm animals all the time, but he isn’t any help with this. 25 years ago this area was more farm land than suburbs.

 

[misfitmorgan]

@misfitmorgan Yes you are absolutely right! I feel I am about to go broke and the information you give is very common sense and practical. I think I got all caught up in this problem with Sadie Rose and her doe that I have been panicked about not feeding them right. I will try the bolus and it's a huge relief to know that I don't necessarily have to give them grain. My goodness! I've been waaaay over doing that! I am currently looking for hay in my area and plan on getting enough to get me through the winter. Last winter the goats grazed all the time. I allowed the grasses to grow and didn't mow and they munched on it all the time. Thank you so much! I don't like Tractor Supply because I don't like these big chain stores, but it's close to the house and I haven't known where else to look. I'm not on facebook, and I really don't want to go on there. Too much drama! In this area, it's a disadvantage because everyone uses it. I'll find what I'm looking for though.

I only do FB to look thru my livestock and local trading groups. I dont do anything else on here, ever. I'm with you to much drama!

Try out those feed mills I found, a couple look to be in the same town as you so should not be far away. Sadly most locations and vets even if they have done livestock have little to no experience with goats. We are lucky in that about 2yrs ago our local vets office got a new young vet fresh of of college who is a small ruminant specialist, before then our goats were treated like cows or dogs by the other vets in the area because they just didnt know about goats. Locally if vets have livestock experience it is with cattle or horses because the law requires TB testing for cattle and coggins testing for horses. There is no legally required testing for sheep or goats.

The block is ok as an extra but a different brand of loose minerals after you find a feedmill. We use the ADM brand but a lot of people and goats really like Sweetlix. You will have to buy it in a 40 or 50lb bag so put the extra in an airtight container as it will be many months until you run out and it will clump up.

Bo-Se is prescription only, copper bolus is not. I have heard replamin is a good alternative and better then the selenium/vit E gel tractor supply sells, but I have not compared the ingredients myself.

Still give the copper bolus and watch to see if you notice any changes, it you do they likely needed it, if not you can give it less often like once every 18 months or every 2 yrs or what not. I didnt think my goats needed it but noticed they were not shedding their winter coats and had fish tails. A month after their bolus everyone shed out sleek and smooth and the tail hair was growing back in.

You are doing everything to help your goats, they look good. Don't get to stressed out, we all have to learn.

Most bagged feed you buy or alfalfa pellets are assuming that is the only source of feed. So the dosing for the alfalfa pellets is if that is the only source of forage, goats needs 2-4lbs of forage per day. Goat grain is either going to be assuming you are feeding for weight or milk production, so the doses will be higher then a dry diary goat would need year round. Most commercial feeds are made for feeder floor or "confinement" feeding situations. Basically where the animal live inside a building 24/7 on either bare dirt or cement floor and is fed from grain augers to bins or a feed alley.

Lastly relax! If it is meningeal worms the damage on the older doe is done and you are treating the younger doe. Just keep an eye on your parasites in the future and treat when you see the same signs. Cutting your pasture into 1 acre parcels will help, rotation should include 60 days rest for pastures between grazing. Ultimately though your goats look happy and healthy despite the issues they have had.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Also I agree Jasmine is looking very improved. You will just have to keep watch for those signs so you can treat early. Since it is mother and daughter I would guess they have low resistance to that parasite. Also do all the goats chew on themselves? If so try treating for fleas.

It will be interesting for you when you get all the labs tests back.

 

[Deecarter]

Also I agree Jasmine is looking very improved. You will just have to keep watch for those signs so you can treat early. Since it is mother and daughter I would guess they have low resistance to that parasite. Also do all the goats chew on themselves? If so try treating for fleas.

It will be interesting for you when you get all the labs tests back.

No. The other goats aren't showing that behavior, but I DID think about fleas since we have the two dogs, but I give both dogs Revolution once a month from the vet for fleas, ticks and heart worms, so I don't think it's fleas. The flies are bothering everyone this time of year. I have some spray I need to apply that for them. I will check out those sites. I recognize one; Turner Feed. I used to buy there all the time. It's family owned and been there a long time and it's just so sad to me that when Tractor Supply came in, I would notice their inventory getting smaller and smaller. I get everything I can from there. They are still in business but I see signs they may not be for long, and I really hate that sort of thing. I checked the ingredients of my loose mineral block (it's not really a block, but a compressed mineral feed) and the Sweetlix has the same minerals only in larger amounts, so it would probably be better don't you think? I have read that Vitamin E is abundant in green grasses and green leaves, and I checked the label for the goat sweet feed I am using and the recommended feeding should supply all the selenium and copper they need, I would think, especially adding in something they will eat mineral supplement wise, anyway. I am going to give the Bo-Se by using Replamin and the copper bolus just to be on the safe side, and I'm looking for some good hay locally. I have located 2 in nearby carroll county that is mostly fescue and I'm going to use the round bales (much easier). I feel really silly after reading the label on the alfalfa pellets and thinking I had to give that much to each goat. I had no idea that was just in case they were confined and didn't have access to pasture or hay. I feel really dumb, now! I really wish I could fence off a couple more areas but I can't afford to do that right now. I'm just more and more convinced it is meningeal worms because we have so many slugs and snails on our property it is ridiculous, but the deer and their symptoms. I was reading on the prevention of meningeal worms and I will have to give them all the high dosages of safeguard and ivermectin once a month during the slug and snail season which I'm not sure when that is here. I guess more reading and learning. I have been very, very stressed out about this. I guess I feel incompetent because I know so little, but boy am I learning fast. I really appreciate you taking me under your wing and talking to me about all this. It has really helped and I will post an update when I get through all the blood work and treatments. THANK YOU!

 

[Baymule]

I am so glad you have got help in abundance. I haven’t commented past page one because I haven’t had to deal with these type problems. The experts took over and have given excellent advice. I’ve kept up with this thread and couldn’t be happier with the help you have received. Please stop beating up on yourself. There is no way to take a can opener to your head, and pour in everything you need to know about goats. By reaching out and asking for help you already did more than many people with animals. The people here are awesome.

 

[farmerjan]

I am not a goat person..... BUT.... be careful of fescue hay. It is not very palatable.... most all of it also has an "endophyte fungus" that is common to varieties like the old Kentucky 31 fescue.... It can cause breeding problems in cattle and some abortions. It also is starchy and the starch will turn to "sugar" after the first frost and makes it much more palatable for animals grazing it. If you have a choice, try to stay away from fescue hay unless it is a variety like "MaxQ" which is a novel endophyte free fescue. Fescue is popular here in Va and it is good in rotational grazing in the fall.... works good for running steers on but.....personally I hate fescue. Orchard grass, timothy, and other southern grasses are preferred. I think that bermuda grass and Bahia? I am not real familar with far south grasses. I doubt you will get timothy down there, it likes colder temps to grow and produce. Not a warm weather grass/hay.