× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Purpose: Stabilize metabolic energy, support organ function, improve nutrient uptake, and prevent collapse in does showing early signs of toxemia: lethargy, inappetence, isolation, sweet breath, weakness, refusal of feed, etc. Signs to Watch For Diagnosis Confirmation (if available) Can treat based on suspicion, even if no diagnostics available. These ingredients won’t hurt. Emergency Sweet-Electrolyte Syrup (Oral) Mix together: Add as many of the following as you can: Offer: Tip: Blend a batch and refrigerate for 2–3 doses. Warm before use. Herbal Energetics You’re Targeting Herb Function Yarrow Astringent, stabilizing, supports vascular tone and internal containment Cayenne Circulatory stimulant, supports blood sugar regulation Nettle Nutritive, supports kidneys, minerals Mullein Adrenal/lung support, gentle Read More
Category: 2-Minute Goat Care
Why My Goats Rarely Chose Calcium And What I Did About It
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Let’s talk about calcium. Looking at long term sales data, the calcium in the mineral buffet is in the bottom 2 or 3 refills ordered. Some herds love it, but more often than not, we hear from herds whose goats/sheep/whoever consume little to no calcium. My own herd rarely consumes it either, though they will if they need it. The calcium in the buffet is pure oyster shell flour, something goats just don’t seem to love. Since this system was designed for cattle, I often wonder if they’re less picky about their calcium sources. I sometimes wish I had some cows still to try this out on! Based on the results Read More
Can I Keep Bucks Together?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! If you’re coming from a background with other livestock—especially species like pigs, rabbits or horses—you might be worried about keeping intact males in the same space. In some species, it’s a recipe for disaster. But with goats? It’s different. Goat bucks are surprisingly peaceful. I often joke about their “bro club,” because they genuinely like each other. In my experience, they often form deeper bonds with their fellow bucks than they do with the does. Once breeding season ends, I’ve watched bucks call out to each other like they miss their roommates, and when I reunite them, they settle in like they never skipped a beat. What It’s Like to Keep Read More
Can You Have a 100% Herbal Goat Herd?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! I started out in 2008 doing everything the way the “experts” told me: vaccinating, copper bolusing, deworming with conventional dewormers, coccidiosis prevention, etc. etc. But my heart cried out for something different. As a new mother, I was looking to clean up my household with better quality ingredients, organic food, and so on, so going the other direction with the goats who were going to provide our milk was counterintuitive to me. I began then to take incremental steps toward my end goal, which was a herd that needed no conventional inputs. I wanted them to be healthy and organic, yes, but I also had in mind the idea that I Read More
When to Wether Goats: Early vs. Later Castration [Opinion]
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! I think we are doing our animals a disservice by allowing fear of urinary calculi to dictate later castration. Nutrition and genetics determine the risk of UC and while you can argue that a larger urethra will allow stones to pass through more easily (show me the data that urethra size significantly changes in intact vs. castrated males, please, but it won’t change my mind because:), we’re missing the forest for the trees. Why not see to nutrition and eliminate the main cause of urinary calculi instead of waiting to castrate when the waiting is proven to cause increased pain? If I’m forcing gravel through a pipe, shouldn’t I eliminate the Read More
Float Valves for–Almost–Maintenance Free Goat Water
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com!