North Carolina

[MaPooh]

Coffecow : Your puppy is so cute! Great picture, too. BTW I didn't know you could re-disbud a goat. How did you do that? I disbudded some alpines we had before and the buck/wether in particular had a little bit of regrowth on the edges. They would fight and break them off from time to time. Could I have re-burned them with the disbudding iron? Is there a time limit to when I should be done? Just curious for future reference.

We sold all our Alpines a few months ago when my husband got laid off from his job. Now that he has FINALLY found dependable work we were considering getting some goats in the spring. We miss our goat milk! We have been considering Nigerian Dwarf goats or Nigerian Pygmy crosses or maybe just pygmies. We still have our Surge Milker and even though they are small the milker could make milking easy enough. I read pygmy goats actually give good milk and they are dual purpose . Anyone here have experience with that? Pygmy goats are plentiful around here and not very expensive. I am pretty sure the kids would sell easy for food, too. Papered Nigerians are a little pricey for us.

 

[CoffeeCow]

The goats were 5 months old on the 2nd dehorning, my wife is a vet, so we took them in and put them under. I wouldn't try it yourself with an iron, and the wife said we can't do it again.. something about sinus cavity being fully formed or something like that. I'm not the vet, but I'll ask her when she gets home.

 

[Sycamore27]

Hello all!
I'm in Durham myself, but I grew up on a farm in Pittsboro.
New to the forum.

Cheers!
Jessie

 

[Banriona]

Hello..... Anyone still here? I'm in Randolph Co. No herds yet, but prepping for some Nigerian Dwarfs hopefully this spring. For now just a herd of boys (two, but they're boys so it counts as a herd right?), a couple of mutts and a small flock of chickens.

 

[Southern by choice]

Lots of North Carolinians here!

 

[OneFineAcre]

Hello there Banriona from Randolph County.

 

[Southern by choice]

It is best to post the questions in their appropriate forum topic/subject.
Your questions are great and would receive a greater response on those threads.

 

[OneFineAcre]

You are in Randolph County, that's Asheboro right?

Southern is in Pittsboro, so she is closer to you. And I think she knows several.

I use Dr. Allan Cannady who is located in Hillsboro but he goes all over. He is a professor at the vet school at NC State and specializes in small ruminants. He has a mobile practice and only treats goats, sheep and llamas/alpacas. He has a website, Small Ruminant and Camelid Mobile Veterinary Services or something like that. But, you can find him if you Google his name.

I like him. He's very knowledgeable and very friendly. He's kind of pricey. We had an emergency one Sunday. We got his voice mail so we went ahead and took one of our goats to the vet school. He was picking up a friend from the airport and showed up at the Vet school and helped the young lady who was the attending vet on duty.

You need to learn how to do as much as you can yourself, like vaccinations and fecals.

Hay is a local market. Find a farm you can buy directly from. We feed our's free choice coastal bermuda. We usually keep some alfalfa hay to feed does that are lactating, or if we have some who need conditioning. We have a couple of does who tend to have 4 kids at a time and can get thin. We also buy a local mixed feed.

Bedding we use pine shavings from tractor supply with some wheat straw on top of that. The pine shavings soaks up urine pretty good.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I suspect we're going to have to liven up this thread a bit.... No posts in 7 months is just not cool man. I know we're all busy and whatnot, but how are those of us new people supposed to spy on our neighbors if you all don't talk on here? I'll start you off by rambling endlessly about the tedium of my daily life until someone shuts me up by starting a conversation.

Anyway.... Chicks (3 wks) and chickens all survived the brutal cold last night. Whew! Was really stressed about that. Think I'll add some insulation around the outdoor brooder today though since their water did freeze. I imagine they all huddled up on their roost directly under the heat lamp all night. The other four are pros at keeping warm by now and with their solid brick coop I'm never too worried about them temperature wise.

Was up until 4am researching goats so I can be ready for them before I get them. According to some folks I need an entire pharmaceutical company in my barn before I get them. Somehow I doubt that so will have to research further on what is actually necessary to have on hand, and what I can leave for an experienced vet to take care of. Closest I've come to giving a shot or taking blood is testing my blood sugar. I reckon until I've had some practice and demonstrations the goats are better off with a more experienced hand. Which brings me to you all...

Who do you use for a vet? I need names/phone numbers/websites... whatever you've got. I'll feel them out from there. If you hate them say so - and why. If you love them say so - and why. This will give me a good place to start narrowing down the field. I'd like to have at least two on file so that if something happens that I'm not prepared for I have a backup or two or three.

Where do you get your feed/hay/bedding and what do you use?

What do you all use for basic regular care as far as internal and external parasite management? Any other regular health maintenance I need to know about? If so, how do you prevent/treat it? I don't plan on doing any breeding until I've had my animals for at least a year so I'll worry about that aspect then. I am planning on a doe/kid combo to start with so should the unthinkable happen - what do you all use for mastitis?

Last but not least, what do you all use for housing/fencing your goats? I've got a plan but would like to compare it to experienced goat set ups. Any special suggestions for extreme heat/cold situations? Mine will be in shade pretty much 24/7 so I'm not hugely concerned about heat but I'm new to the area so not sure how hot it gets normally. This summer seemed pretty mild compared to what I've gotten used to in SC. Not sure that's normal for around here.

Sorry for all the questions - but I want to be armed with a good knowledge base before I get the goats so I can be prepared. If you think of anything else I should know please let me know. As for all you keepers of cattle and horses.... I'll pick your brains at a much later date once I've acquired the land for such animals. If you know of anyone interested in selling off 50 acres +/- in the next 3-5 years let me know.

1. Pharmaceutical company before you get goats? No. We got nothing when we got our first 3 but we didn't know any better. I'm one who tends to think goats are relatively easy to keep. There is a reason why goats milk is the most widely consumed in the world.

2. Sub Q shots are easy. Anyone could show you how.

3. 2x4 woven wire fencing with round posts is the best. I have 2x4 welded wire but goats tend to push on it and pop the welds. I've had to repair a lot. If only knew then what I know now.

4. Climate is not different here than in SC. Cold is not a big issue to worry about. I build 3 sided sheds with the open in facing towards the S-SW because if it's cold here the wind is going to be blowing from the N-NE. I've got a picture of them. Easy to build. I build with all new material for around $150

5. CD&T vaccinations annually we give those ourselves. We vaccinate for rabies, some do some don't. Vet has to give that. Never had mastitis. Spray udder with with Fight Bac after milking (chlorhexidine) It's a teat disinfectant to help prevent mastitis. Use for cleaning minor wounds as well. Check fecals for worms. Only worm as needed not on a schedule.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Is Banriona your name?