× 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: Goat Breeding, Kidding & Lactation
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
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
Using a Kid Creep Keeps Goat Kids Safe and Allows for Milk Sharing
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Kid creeps are a great way to provide kid-specific care while keeping larger goats away. This brief article details how and when to use one and includes photos of various iterations we’ve implemented on our farm. What is a Kid Creep? A kid creep is simply a space–a shelter, fenced area or any other area you create–that is inaccessible to adult goats. It allows kids to eat, shelter, play and rest safely. The primary, conventional use is borrowed from the cattle world where grain is free fed in a cow-proof area to encourage a fast growth of calves. We can adapt this concept for any number of uses in the goat Read More
Bumping After Kidding – What Does It Mean and Should You Do It?
× 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
Short Cycling in Goats: A Natural Approach to Treatment
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Short cycling is when a doe comes in heat and then comes back in heat a few days later or any interval notably sooner than the normal 21-day cycle. While not all cases are caused by minerals–most are!–my first stop is always iodine in cases of short cycling or in does who cycle normally but don’t settle easily. Wish was a four or so year old doe who had consistently taken 2-3 cycles to successfully settle and when she’d kid, she’d have only one or two kids, down from my normal 3-4 in that line. She had only had one or two does in those years of breeding and was heavy Read More