× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Bumping. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s when you lift up just in front of a doe’s udder when she’s kidding to determine if there are any more kids. This is generally advised if some time has passed an an owner is questioning whether or not she’s done. I myself am not a fan and don’t do it. Having had my uterus “massaged” after labor by well meaning torturers–I mean, nurses 😂 😂 –I feel like routine manipulation of that area is just not a great idea. In more than a dozen years of kidding, I’ve felt the need once to bump a goat who continued to display symptoms of Read More
Category: 2-Minute Goat Care
Trust Your Goats
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Goats have been being goats far longer than humans have decided they have to worry about it. When in doubt, trust Nature. We are not so wise as to know how to be a goat and in walking this journey for 15+ years, I’ve learned that the more I get myself and my imperfect knowledge out of the way and let goats do what goats do, the healthier and happier the goats–and me!–become. I would even venture to say that goats are smarter than we are, because they have not been formally educated on the “right” way to eat and balance minerals. It helps to remember that, while rare exceptions exist, Read More
Storing Hay to Prevent Mold & Listeriosis in Goats
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Hay can be stored just about anywhere with a few extra props. No matter where it’s stored, if you’re putting it on the ground, you’re going to get mold all over the bottom bale. I don’t feed those bales to my animals: “Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes and is commonly seen in cooler climates. These bacteria can be found in the soil, food sources, and even the feces of healthy animals. Most commonly, this disease of sheep and goats is observed as a result of feeding moldy or spoiled hay or silage.” (https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/listeriosis-in-sheep-and-goats) To prevent moldy bottom bales, you can go to many manufacturing or large item supply stores – Read More
Fireworks & Loud Noises
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Every year, I see the posts and comments from people who are angry about fireworks because it upsets their animals. While I completely understand that side too and the harm fear can cause, it seems to me the solution is to try to desensitize our animals, since it’s not possible to control what other people do at their own places. Loud noises ARE a part of life, and if your animals are reactive, you have some work to do in your shepherding. All our animals do fine with loud noises because of frequent exposure. We have shooting enthusiasts all around us and I’m so grateful for that fact, because even our Read More
Can Goats Eat Alfalfa?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! I have raised goats for 17 years and in that entire time, the ONLY hay I’ve fed to all classes, including wethers and bucks, is second cutting alfalfa. My herd size in that time has ranged from 4-6 goats all the way up to a high of somewhere around 40. I’ve only been on buffet for 4 years, so they were 13 years without a free choice source of phos. Where’d I learn it from? All the producers who feed it with no issues. It is a common online myth that alfalfa is dangerous. By FAR the vast majority of cases of urinary calculi come from too much phosphorus in the Read More
Is My Goat Skinny/Fat/Getting Enough to Eat?
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! A large belly doesn’t indicate body condition, but does usually indicate good rumen function. You’ll often see their bellies grow larger toward the end of the day as they store up food to ruminate on overnight. The most accurate way to assess whether your goat is fat or skinny is to learn how to do body condition scoring, which is basically just feeling for fat deposits on certain areas of the body. Body condition scoring is a great tool that can be used monthly to see how your goats are faring on your feeding program. Body condition along with goat behavior can tell you if your goats are satisfied or hungry Read More