× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! If you’re kidding in February, January is when conventional goat wisdom says to reach for the copper bolus gun and the Bo-Se. For years, I did exactly that. Every six months, timed around breeding and kidding. Copper boluses. Selenium injections. It felt responsible. It felt like what good goat keepers do. I haven’t done it in nearly five years. And my goats have never been healthier. The Twice-Yearly Ritual Let me paint the picture of what pre-kidding prep used to look like at my farm. First, I’d calculate copper doses – 1 gram per 22 pounds of body weight for each doe. Then I’d gather my supplies: copper rods, peanut butter, Read More
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Oregano Essential Oil and Gut Flora: What the Research Actually Shows
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! There’s a persistent belief in the goat world that oregano essential oil is hard on gut flora. That it’s a nuclear option. That using it means wiping out beneficial bacteria along with the bad. The research tells a different story. The Myth: Oregano Destroys Gut Flora The logic seems sound on the surface. Oregano is antimicrobial. It kills bacteria. Therefore it must kill all bacteria indiscriminately. But “antimicrobial” doesn’t mean “kills everything equally.” And the gut is more resilient than we’ve given it credit for. What Studies Actually Show Research across multiple species (pigs, poultry, fish, cattle, sheep, and goats) shows a consistent pattern. Oregano essential oil doesn’t nuke gut flora. Read More
What Your Goats Are Craving in Winter
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! One of the things I love most about the mineral buffet system is that it turns your goats into data. Not in a cold, clinical way – in a “they’re constantly telling you what they need if you just pay attention” way. I recently pulled our sales data from last January to see what minerals goats across hundreds of herds were reaching for most. The results were fascinating, and once you understand the “why” behind each one, completely predictable. Your goats aren’t randomly grazing the buffet. They’re self-prescribing. The Top 5 Minerals Goats Wanted Last January 1. Copper Copper was the runaway winner – almost double the sales of any other Read More
Should You Put a Coat on Your Goat?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Every winter, I see the same well-meaning question pop up in goat groups everywhere: “It’s freezing outside – should I put a coat on my goat?” I get it. It’s cold, they look cold, and we love them. We want to help. But here’s what’s actually happening when you put a coat on a healthy goat – and why it might be doing the opposite of what you intend. How Goats Stay Warm Goats thermoregulate by trapping warm air in pockets within their fur. Think of it like a down jacket – it’s not the feathers themselves that keep you warm, it’s the dead air space between them. Your goat’s fluffy Read More
What’s the Worst Case Scenario?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! From my teacher’s eye view, I see the fear everywhere. It makes sense, we’re taught from birth to worship Fear. I myself lived that as my entire process for many years. It stole so much from me, and I want to share with you a trick I learned to help me gain perspective. Play out the worst case scenario between what your fear and intuition tell you. Fear says: that goat has a runny nose, that means it’s likely going to DIE FROM PNEUMONIA. I need to reach out to someone to help me. I need a vet. I need a remedy. Intuition says: the goat has a runny nose, but Read More
Megan’s Milk Handling Methods
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Safe milk handling is a topic that comes up often in the goat world. While you can do all kinds of things to keep your milk safe, I want to remind you of this fact: In early known history, goatherds walked around with raw goat milk in leather pouches attached to their belts, topping off and drinking as needed. (Hello, discovery of kefir!) Obviously we know better and do better now–though I might argue about the necessity of many of our modern day practices–but the point remains that milk is not as complicated as it seems. Here’s Megan’s Foolproof Process for Milk That is Good Enough: I’ve been a hand milker Read More