Goat Problems

In late 2012 I had acquired a new dog I named Perro, an Australian Cattle Dog, aka a Blue Healer.  Tami had found him.  I took him because Tami had too many animals.  He had belonged to some Spanish fellows, and they had been trying to get rid of him.  He was such a bad dog, they were planning on putting him down.  I never could properly say his name.  So I named him Perro, the Spanish word for dog.  At first he only spoke Spanish.  He had never been in a house before.  He was terrified to come in the first few days.  It was only later that we would find out how severally abused he had been.

Perro could at times be a very good dog.  Then a switch would flipped in his brain and he would attack.  He had been raised on a horse farm, and he kept attacking the million dollar thoroughbreds.  He was trying to herd them, by biting them in the leg.  He was beaten for that, often.  He would be beaten so badly one time, he defecated on himself.  We would learn later, that if you do not properly train one these dogs from an early age, they kind of go nuts.  They are not for a first time dog owner.  I believe Perro had brain damage from his abuse.  We later found out that his original name meant Devil dog. 

Perro would bite my goats and not let them go.  They would just scream out in pain and not let them go no matter how much I screamed at him, or threatened to beat him.  It was no simple nip in the heals.  He often broke the skin.  Our goat herd was large that year.  We were running about 14 head at the time.  I would turn them out to graze, and go about my day.  They would just take themselves across the highway, to the fire station and start grazing in the woods over there. 

One day we went to round them up, taking Perro with us.  I had hoped he would herd them for us.  He didn’t he just ran around biting them.  Tami and I were riding on the back of the truck, and I had my leg hanging from the tailgate.  Perro was happily following behind us.  Suddenly he reached up and bit me in the leg,  and threw my jeans he drew blood.  The only reason he didn’t take a whole chunk out of me, was because his bottom teeth tried to bit threw my boots, and could not get thru.  I knew I in trouble.  I was bleeding, but I had to cowgirl up and go on.  My goats took priority. 

We were able to get the heard back across the road and in the pen.  By that time I am hurting pretty bad.  “Jay I’m in trouble,” I said.  And I dropped my jeans, in front of Tami, god and everybody.  I was pouring blood at that time.  Tami was shocked and ran for medical supplies.  Jay was pissed and fussed me.  “Why didn’t you say anything?!” he scolded me.  I told him we had to get the herd safe first. 

The wound was bad enough that taking me to the hospital was discussed.  I told them, “No.  If they find out it’s a dog bite they will put Perro down.  It’s my fault for what he did.  I should not have been dangling my leg.”  Thank the gods Jay is a trained medical assistant and first responder.  He patched me up, and although I was sore for a few days, the two deep punctures I received, healed up nicely. 

My goats continued to go across the road, every time I let them out.  The cops were nice about it the first 10 or 15 times they were out here.  In March of 2013, the livestock man came to my house.  He is in charge of arresting people for livestock violations.  He drives a truck with a fifth wheel attachment in the bed, to hook up the goose neck trailer to take your animals away from you.  He is a regular police officer with a gun, handcuffs and everything else. 

He’s a bit terrifying.  He came to my house to discuss my goat problem.  He told me, “If I have to come back out here again I will take all your goats, and it will cost you $75 a head to get them out.”  And he looked around at my dogs, who are free roaming, and said what terrified me most, “and I’ll take your dogs too.”  I kind of lost it after that.  I went into a suicidal depression for several weeks.  I jumped at every sound.  I was terrified he was here to take my fur kids from me. 

We continued to have goat problems.  We put up a fence, and the goats just jumped threw it.  At some point that year Jay and I were both separately slapped with a lose livestock fine.  In August of that year I gave away most of my heard.  I kept Star, Kali, Bridget and Dagda, because they never went across the road.  In September I had to go to court and plead guilty to a misdemeanor.  One of the scarcest things I had ever done. 

Perro’s attitude never improved.  He often wanted to nibble or give love bites to people.  He never got any better.  He had tried love and we had tried whooping him.  I would not keep him confined or chained up.  That is no life for an animal.  We did not know what else to do.  Perro was becoming a danger.  He was still biting the goats.  I never knew if he would bite me again.  I never knew if he would suddenly decide to bite someone else.  What if he bit a child?  I was also feeling a lot of pressure from D & K to put him down.  Perro was unpredictable and a liability. 

Jay and I made the decision to put him down.  It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  I have never had to put down a perfectly health dog for mental issues.  In the end I could not be in the room with him when it was done, and we did not bring him home to be buried.  I wonder if he hated me for that.  Felt abandoned.  I hope one day he can find it in his heart to forgive me and return to me in a new body. 

Perro taught me a very important lesson.  You can’t save every dog.  Some dogs are just too far gone from, abuse, trauma, bad breeding, etc.  That doesn’t mean we should not try, I just think we shouldn’t be devastatingly angry at ourselves, if we try our best, and it does not work out.  Sometimes we are just not the right home, the right owner, or the dog is not the right breed for you.  I often still kick myself, thinking that I did not do enough for him.   I wonder if someone who knew more about his breed, could have pulled him though this and made him change. 

I recently journeyed to Holda’s Garden.  I wanted to check on some of my goats who had passed over.  Holda told me the pasture was around the bend, and so it was.  Just past her house, down the dirt road, thru a grove of trees I found the pasture.  Sitting among my goats was Perro, watching over them.  I did not expect to see him there.  He came to me, and gave me love.  He told me that he had had, “a broken brain.”  He told me he was all better now and his job was to watch over the goats.  I told him again how sorry I was about putting him down.  He said he didn’t blame me, and assured me again he was alright.  I am glad he is there with them, doing what he loves.  Even if it may all be just in my head.

Ilsa

 

Circle Star Farms

Mike D’s wife loved animals.  When she moved here part of her menagerie included a horse, a pig, and chickens.  I had always wanted livestock, and she and I began to talk about me getting some type of livestock.  She had inspired me and Gods’ know we had the room.  After spending a few months with her chickens I decided they were not for me.  They were way too messy and stupid.  I had talked with her about getting goats.  One day as she was sitting in the UU church, and the lady sitting beside her, mentions that she is looking for a home for her goats.  Mike D.’s wife got her number.  She came home and shared this with me.  Jay and I contacted the lady and made plans to go to her house to meet her goats; Star, Pan, and Flora.  When we arrived I instantly fall in love with them.  Although I have never owned a goat or had much interaction with one, I decided that I must have them.

Jay and I spent the next few weeks, preparing part of the lean too attached to our shed/ barn, to become the home for our new set of goats.  We brought them home a few weeks later in January of 2010, in the back of my Buick.  The same Buick I had sold to my mom all those years ago.  I even took them thru the MacDonald’s drive thru to get a rise out of the people at the window, but I got no response.  I guess they must have just thought they were big dogs, as they had their heads down.  I bought Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats at my local feed store, and it became my bible.  I think I even slept with it for a while.  For the first time our lives had really became tied to the land.  We decided to name the whole endeavor Circle Star Farms after Momma Star the goat. 

Let me jump back here a minute.  By the Spring of 2009 we had received the remainder of Momma Muriel’s estate.  We decided we need to do something great with it in order to honor her.  So in April of 2009 Jay began school to become a medical assistant.  It was an 8 month program.  I never saw my beloved happier.  He graduated in December of 2009.  He began to work for the dialysis center in February of 2010. 

It was a happy time in our lives.  Jay and I decide to finally take our long awaited Honeymoon in April of 2010.  Now because of my IC we could not go too far.  We packed the car and head 5 hours north to Altus, Arkansas, right in the heart of wine country.  Now don’t make that face.  I can see you from behind this screen.  Arkansas has some wonderful wine, and no not the kind that comes in the box!  This little valley was settled by several Swiss families, who began to make wine after finding the microclimate and rocky soil was just right.  They’ve been doing it for over 100 years.  Jay’s family has been coming to this winery called Wiederkehr’s for at least the last 30 years.  They make over 20 different varieties of wines there and have a wonderful little German / Swiss restaurant there.  Don’t believe me?  Check them out here at http://wiederkehrwines.com/

We had found a little cabin, on-line, that allowed pets and was not far from the winery.  So Jay, me, Punka, Precious and Sophia headed up to Arkansas.  Everybody else stayed home.  It was just beautiful.  We had the best time.  We stopped and let the girls swim at the boat launch on Horsehead Lake.  We brought Sophia because we wanted to.  We brought Punka and Precious because we had to.  Why? Oh Crap!  I’m sorry I forgot to tell you a few things. 

Okay on Christmas Eve 2009, right after her first birthday, we almost lost Precious the second.  She had not been feeling herself for a few days. Not wanting to play and being tired. The day before she had stopped eating and that day she had stopped drinking.  She just laid in bed, was too weak to stand, and her gums were white.  I knew something was terribly wrong with my baby.  We immediately rushed her to the ER.  After several anxious hours we were finally told that she had Canine Autoimmune Hematologic Anemia.  Her white blood cells were attacking her red ones.  She needed a blood transfusion, and if she lived thru the night, she would have to be on steroids for the rest of her life.  We were told this would shorten her life span.  Precious the second survived after spending the weekend in the animal hospital.  We are told the first symptom of her disease is often death.  Most owners do not catch it in time, because it is so quick and so subtle.  Another day and she would have been dead for sure.  So Precious came because she had to take medicine every day, and we had to constantly watch her to make sure she was not getting sick again. 

In the Summer of 2007 Pumpkin, aka Punka, injured her back.  Dachshunds are prone to what is called Canine Intervertebral Disk Disease.  Basically over the centuries people have bred their backs to a breaking point, because they made them too long.  Dachshunds are now, not as long as they were 40 years ago, but they still carry the gene for this problem. 

Punka was shaking and not able to jump up on things.  We took her to the vet, who told us to watch her.  She never told me to crate rest her.  To crate rest is the best treatment for a Doxie who, has had a back injury.  We went thru this twice with Precious the first.  You basically lock them up in their crate for 6 weeks.  You only take them out to potty and then that is supervised.  You do heat packs several times a day, and swim therapy in the tub at night. Hopefully by the end of that time they can still walk.  You hope and pray that the body will have healed itself. 

A week after Punka injured her back, she became what we call “downed.”  This means that she could no longer walk.  As soon as Punka became downed we crate rested her.  She was not crate trained.  She screamed for 3 days straight, despite being in our bedroom and with us.  The only way I could get any sleep was to sleep on the floor next to her, and hold her paw thru the crate.  Every Mommy has her breaking point.  We knew after a few days that Punka would never regain her ability to walk.  I still blame myself that I saw the signs and did not immediately crate rest her.  I feel I am the reason Punka became paralyzed.

With her paralyzation also came the inability for her to pee on her on.  We had to extract her bladder for her, so that it would not spill all over everything.  If urine was left in her bladder too long, it could cause an infection.  We have to learn to squeeze her so hard, that you think you will kill her, to make the pee come out.  Punka had to be peed 2 to 4 times a day, depending on what she was doing and how much water she drank.  We tended to pee her more times in the summer, because she consumed more water.  We got so good at it, that we could look at her and tell when she needed to pee.

We bought her an expensive wheelchair, which she hated.  She would get stuck between a tree and wiggle out of the chair.  She never figured out reverse.  We’d turn her lose in the yard in her wheelchair and she’d come back an hour later without it.  Being downed never stopped Punka for a minute!  Why should it, nothing ever stopped her!  She had lost 95% of feeling in her back legs, but she just kept going.  We soon learned she was faster without the chair.  She preferred to drag her legs behind her.  She could still knock over trashcans and kill chickens.  She killed 6 AFTER she was downed!  We changed our lives to accommodate her.  She slept in the bed with us at night, and if she had an accident we just changed the sheets.  We never made her wear a diaper. I was afraid of diaper rash.  We even built her a ramp to come into our house.  People often asked us why we did not put her down.  I would respond, if your child was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, would you shoot her in the head?  Sometimes people just don’t get it.

Her doctors were amazed at her.  We all were.  They had never seen a downed Doxie live so long.  In the end Punka died of congestive heart failure, and nothing related to her downed condition.  When Punka died, in February of 2014, she had been downed for 7 years.  Our vet said that was the longest he had ever seen a paralyzed Doxie live.  He credited it to the good care we gave her.  We credited to her indomitable spirit. 

Punka was my familure.  I don’t know that I will ever have another dog like her.  I still wake up some mornings, and think I have to find Punka so I can pee her.  Jay and I buried her in our little grove, a year later we put her brother Prince beside her. Their graves are the first thing I seen when I wake up in the morning and look out my window.  I want them to always be close to me. We have built a whole sitting area around their graves, so that we might sit and visit with them.  I try to do that every few days. 

Now where was I going with this.  Sorry I’m crying here.  I’m still grieving Punka in a lot of ways.  Oh yes so Jay and I, Punka, Precious the second and Sophia all left to go to Arkansas.  We had only been there for about a day when we got a phone call.  We were pretty amazed, ‘cause we knew we had little or no signal up there.  On the other end was Mike D.’s wife.  She told us Star was in labor, and had been for a few hours. 

Now when we left we knew Star was pregnant by Pan.  We believed her to be close, but we had no idea when she would birth.  That’s why we had felt it was safe to leave.  I listened on the other end of the phone as Ostara was born.  We decided to leave the next day and return home. 

Ilsa

Somethings I forgot to mention

So I have a few more things that I forgot to mention. 

One is a horrible condition called Mastitis.  It is, "Inflammation of the mammary gland, usually caused by an infection."  The udder is hard, hot, and / or tender.  Milk is stringy and bloody.  Mastitis is every dairy farmer’s nightmare.  It is easy to get and hard to get rid of.  If you see any of these symptoms you need to consult a VET!  This is why the strip cup is such an important step.  This is what you are looking for. You are checking the general health of your doe.  Mastitis can destroy a does ability to give milk.  It is important and must be dealt with.  The easiest way to not get this disease is with prevention, clean hands, clean the udder, keep your milking area clean, your tools clean, use clean cloths to wipe her down with, before and after.  And don't use the same cloth on two different goats.  Goats should be milked at regular intervals. Most books recommend twice a day, if the kid is not suckling.  I did once a day and was fine, but that was with the kid suckling. But you need to keep an eye on that udder.  If it looks too full, milk it!  She will make more.  I am very blessed that I never had to deal with this disease, but it was my constant nightmare that I would.

Now a word on disbudding.  All goats have horns, both male and female.  They will begin to bud at about 10 or so days.  You will feel little knots on their heads. You will now have to decide whether to remove the horns or not.  A goat with no horns is very desirable.  Disbudding is also very tough on the human parent as well. To disbud, you put them in a little special box to hold them.  Then you sit on it.  While someone else takes a hot disbudding iron to their head and burns off the horns.  The kid will scream and thrash about.  I was told initially  that this did not hurt them.  I no longer believe that. 

While most of the time disbudding worked for our girls, it did not work for our boys.  Their little buds were just too big, and we always ended up with what is called a scur.  It is a left over crooked horn that grows and you have to make sure it does not grow back into their head, and into their brain.  You can also disbud with a caustic (acid) solution.  We never tried this. In the end, after watching my goats I came to believe that a goat needs it's horns.  It helps with their head butting games and I feel helps expel excess heat from the body.  Just my opinion, you do what you think is best for your goats.  After doing this to my baby goats it took them days, sometimes weeks to let me touch them again.  They lost all trust in me, something I think you vitally need in your relationship with your goats.   If you are not going to disbud your goats, know that you will have to put up with things like them getting caught in the fence, the occasional poke in your butt, and head butting games with other goats may be more intense.  Head butting is a little game that goats like to play from the time they begin to leap about.  Many say it is a sign of establishing dominance among the herd.  I have seen it done over breeding rights, food, dominance and sometimes just for fun.  Horns are sharp they also have the ability to hurt each other, so you should make sure to check your goats on a regular basis for injuries.

You will at some point end up with too many boys.  You do not want two, or three, or four boys to go into rut at the same time.  Some of them you may chose to wether or castrate. To wether a goat is a lot easier then to disbud one.  But then you still need to know what you are doing.  Unless you’re an old timer at this, I would not advise it.  Boys will begin to have their little sacks drop in the first few weeks of life.  Most wethering is done, where a band is places around the sack. This cuts off blood flow and eventually it will just fall of.  The trick is you have to make sure you get both testes in there, and when they are that small sometimes they are hard to feel or they go back into the body.  The moral of the story is that even with one testicle they can still go into rut.  So this is another one where I would call the vet or your goat buddy to do this for you. 

I often forget that not everyone lives in the country like I do.  While you are doing your research, if you live in the city check to see if it is okay for you have livestock.  In some places chickens are okay but not goats.  You can probable call your town hall and ask. Check!  Check!  Check! 

Once your goat bags up you will have 10 months until you should no longer milk her.  You should dry her up, not milk her, at least 2 months prior to birthing for her to recover and for the health of the baby.

Happy goating!

Ilsa

How to milk a goat

Time to milk?  Well not quite yet.  First let’s cover the legal stuff.  In the state of Louisiana it is perfectly fine for you to drink your own unpasteurized milk. It is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk for human consumption, in this state.  However, you may sell it unpasteurized for animal consumption. If you wish to sell your goat milk, for human consumption, you must be a registered grade A dairy.  This requires you milk on a concrete floor, with a milking machine, and pasteurize the milk. Laws very from state to state.  If you intend to sell your milk or cheese, please check your local laws PRIOR to investing in goats.  

Then you get into to pasteurize or not pasteurize debate.  To pasteurize means you boil the milk at 165°F for at least 15 seconds.  This is done to all milk that is sold commercially, to kill any type of bacteria.  But what unpasteurized or raw milk if full of is bacteria and enzymes that are good for you.  In my original research I found that the CDC has reported no cases of people being sick from drinking raw milk.  Think of the Amish and Mennonite communities.  They drink raw milk and do not get sick.  As long as your herd is healthy, and your try to capture the milk as cleanly as possible, I believe that there is no reason you should pasteurize. But you do your own research and you decide what is right for you and your family.

Where do you milk at?  Well ideally you will need a milk stand.  You will have to buy or build one.  I was lucky enough to buy one from my goat’s former owners. My best guess is to look online or ask at your local feed store.  Milk stands very, but have a few basic parts.  A platform for the goat to stand one, a vice like thing to put her head threw and a place for grain.  If you are milking pygmy’s you will have to take their height into consideration, as their heads may not fit into the vice.  It is a good idea to practice with your goat prior to her bagging up and delivering.  You will have to train her to get up and put her head threw.  Make sure to lock it, once she is in.  This is for both of your safeties.  As long as she is eating, she may not care what you do to her.  But then again she may. Many goats freak out the first time you touch their udder’s.  You'll need to reassure her and tell her what you are doing and that you are not going to hurt her. I had one goat who as long as she was eating would let you milk her, but the second that grain ran out, she would start to kick.  Towards the end I changed how I milked. I would call my goat into my house and put a dog leash around her neck, feed her from a bowl and milk her while I sat on the floor. I think this way takes a lot of trust on the part of your goat and also a lot of familiarity about what is going to happen to her, on her part.  So it might not be for first timers, or something you want to try at all.  Goats are creatures of routine.  They are slow to change.  They like to be feed in the same place, at the same time, let out at the same time, and milked in the same way every day.  Variety, other than in food, is not exciting to them and may be hard for them to adapt to. 

So time to go milk.  Every morning, before I headed into the barn I would pack my basket.  In my basket I put:

·         a small "strip" cup

·         2 large mason jars with lids (2 jar per goat)

·         2 wet rags with a small amount of antibacterial soap on them

·         a dry rag

·          hand sanitizer or wash your hands before you leave

·          lotion or body butter.

You will want to put her grain in the stand and get her on the platform.  Once her head is in make sure to lock it.  Once she is done eating she will try to pull her head out.  You may not be done milking by that point.  Be kind to her.  Respect her and what she is giving to you and your family, and things will go well between you two.  Talk to her and tell her what a good and fine goat she is.  Mine liked it when I sang to her or told her a story, usually with the goat as the hero.  Now to begin, if you have not already done so, clean your hands.  Then take your first wet rag and wipe down her udder, pay special attention to the end of her teats where here ducts are, let it set for a second and now dry it off.  Her udder should be full and warm.  If it is very hot, she may have Mastitis. Please see my next article for a discussion on that.

There is no right way to milk.  You will have to try, and it may be a while before you find your own rhythm.  My girls had good teats.  They fit well into the palm of my hand, but then I have small hands.  I would wrap my hand around her teat and gently press up and then slowly pull down while squeezing.  You are mimicking what the babies do.  You will see them go up to her and bump the udder with their nose.  This lets the milk down into the teat for them to drink. Basically you are priming it, like an old water pump.  My father is fond of using his thumb and first finger to squeeze down the teat to get the milk out.  Both versions worked for us.  My suggestion is watch some YouTube videos before you try.  But don't be afraid to try.  You will probably not hurt her.  Goats are pretty tough. 

You have cleaned her udder, now squeeze a little into the cup.  Your first 2 or 3 squirts, of each teat, should go into this cup.  You are not going to inspect the milk.  Smell it, does it have an odor. Do you see blood?  Is it stringy?  Is it a strange color?  If you said yes to any of the above.  Stop!  Do not pass go!  Call the vet or consult someone who knows more about goats then you do.  If all things look normal, you may proceed.  Oh and if all things looked fine I usually gave my dogs that little bit of milk.  The reason you do this is the milk that sets in the teats for a little while has a higher chance of having bad bacteria in it. You are also checking on the general health of your goat at this point. 

Place one of your jars under your teat.  You are going to get a lot of foam.  That's normal.  It will go away as the milk cools.  The milk should be coming down in one stream.  If not you may have something in the teat opening.  Take your finger nail and gently scratch at it.  You can also use your wet rag to rub it. After that it should come down in one stream.  If not you may just have a wonky nipple.  Okay so you will see her udder begin to deflate.  I usually used one glass per teat.  Some books will tell you to us a stainless steel pail with no seam.  I used a jar cause it was convenient and easy to sterilize.  And if she kicked it, I only lost what milk was in the jar, not the whole pail.  When you are done with the jar, place lid on and put jar in basket.  Now repeat until you are getting almost no milk.  My girls gave me anywhere from 1 1/2 quarts to 3 quarts per day.  Use a new jar for each goat.  Once the milk cools and settles you can check to see if there is any blood in it.  It usually settles to the bottom.  While not desirable, your goat may be fine, but it is something you should watch.  If the amount of blood in the milk increases you should contact the vet.  The milk is also still okay to drink.  Just pour off all but about the bottom inch of it.

Once you are finished, wipe her udder down with the second wet cloth and dry her.  Now apply some lotion or body butter.  A sent you like, she won't care what it smells like.  I liked Jergen’s in the pump bottle.  It was pretty thick and gave her a good coating.  Doing this step will help keep her udder soft and supple, as they are prone to cracking due to over use.  Plus it is a nice way to thank her for her service to you and your family.  Also as you release her from the vice make sure to thank her and tell her you love her.  Hey what can it hurt?   

So now you have milk.  Into the refrigerator it must go.  Let it cool for several hours.  Never add hot milk, to cold milk!  Once it is nice and cool you need to strain it.  Here is where it can get a bit messy.  You’re going to pour the milk from one jar into another clean jar.  Take a clean Masson jar and cover it with a paper towel that hangs down a little bit into the mouth of the jar, now secure it with a rubber band, and set on a plate.  Now pour milk from one jar into the other it may go slow, don't rush it.  What you are collecting is any little hairs, dirt or debris that may have gotten into the milk.  I liked Viva paper towels for this as they are not quilted, caught just as much stuff and let the milk strain threw fairly fast.  As the paper towel begins to be saturated it will drip down the sides onto the plate.  When you finish filling the jar, with your clean hands, remove the paper towel and squeeze out remaining milk into jar. New jar, new paper towel.

Now all goat milk is easier to digest then cow’s milk as it is closer in structure to human milk.  Fresh goat milk will never get as cold as cow’s milk.  Why?  Because cow’s milk has had the cream and fat removed from them, your milk will not.  Goat milk is very homogenized.  No matter how long you let it sit, the cream will never rise to the top as in cow’s milk.  From goat milk you can make many kinds of cheeses, but to make butter you will need a centrifuge type machine, that runs about $300 to $400.  It takes approximately 5 gallons of milk to make 1 lb. of cheese.  Fresh milk will last up to a week in the refrigerator.  Have fun!  Try to make some cheese.  I was just never very successful at it.  You can also freeze the milk for later use, but it will taste kind of grainy. 

I hope this series of articles has helped you decide if you want goats or not.  If you have any questions I look forward to receiving them.  Remember above all DO YOUR RESEARCH! Five years on, and I learn something new about them every day. If you can, reach out to others in the goat community.  Nothing will make your life easier than having a buddy you can talk goats with.  You are going to be your goat’s best advocate, and you may be the closest thing to a goat vet for a hundred miles or so, depending on where you live. You know your goats best.  Be patient with them, listen to them, respect them, learn about them and understand why they do what they do and you will have friends for life.  I wish you well and blessed be.

Ilsa

Birthing Babies

So let’s see where did I leave you. Oh yes, I hope with a pregnant goat.

A normal goat gestation is 5 months or 145 to 155 days from time of breeding. Another good reason to keep records is to know when the babies will be coming. And I say babies because the majority of goat births are twins, due to their double sided uterus, just like in dogs. Single births are rarer, but not uncommon. Triplets are also common when dealing with goats. The record I have heard of is five at once. When you are talking about that many, not all may survive. Death is part of life.

While Momma Doe is pregnant you will want to give her special care. Feed her lots of treats and you will want to increase her grain ration. She, like any pregnant mother, is going to need the extra calories for the babies, but also to produce milk. Even if your goats are free roaming, you will want to give them grain to supplement their diet. If they are not free roaming, you will need to give them hay. You will also have to give them hay in the winter for their roughage. Goats are like cows in that they are ruminates and have a multi chambered stomach, i.e. It takes forever to get them full. When they do get full, you will see their bellies expand, and often they will find a nice place to lie down and chew their cud. If your goat is hungry, you may actually hear them grind their teeth for lack of cud. Goat anatomy is different than dogs, something I was used to dealing with. When a dog’s backbone and hips are showing, it means they are underfed or starved. In a goat that is normal.

For feed I like Dumor from Tractor Supply. I feel it is a good product. You may have to do your own experiment and research until you find one that suits your and your goats needs. Dumor goat feed comes in regular and sweet. Now sweet is just that, sweet. It is mixed with molasses and has more calories in it. I feed it as a treat, for my older goats who have trouble chewing, and for my pregnant and lactating goats. I find feeding sweet feed gives the milk a sweeter flavor then the regular. What you feed will determine how the milk tastes. I can't say that I ever tasted the plants the girls were eating, but I have used some other goat feeds, over the years, that made the milk taste like dirt! I also like to add a dry supplemental goat mineral that can be mixed in their food. Just a handful in a scoop is more than enough. As for how much grain to feed per goat, well you’re going to have to figure that out on your own. I've never found a chart to tell me. I feed one, 3 quart scoop to my two goats and a pig in the evening time. For goats you must feed in a bowl or something off the ground! Most of the time, when it is on the ground, goats do not consider it food and will not eat it. For lactating does you will want to feed probable twice a day. If you are running other livestock, other than sheep, with your goats it is okay for them to share their food. Cause they are going to want to share anyways. If you have a horse with your goat, it is okay, from what I know, to let them eat the same food, as long as it is a good quality horse food and not all-stock. But that is a decision you need to make on your own based on your research. A word of warning, I feel All-stock feed, a feed that is supposed to be able to be feed to any type of livestock including dogs, is crap. Makes the milk taste bad and is low in certain nutrients that certain animals need. Oh and if you are running sheep with your goats, don't let them share food. I think it is the copper in goat feed that can kill sheep. Somebody check that and get back to me please.

If all goes well, at some point you will have too many goats!!! You will want to rehome, sell or process some of them. We have only processed them once. I will not do it again, and here is what I learned. Before you process your goat you are going to have to pen it up and feed it only grain and hay for at least two weeks. If you don't no matter how you cook it, the meat will taste like roasted brush or leaves. What you feed not only affects the taste of the milk, but the meat as well.

So the days are getting close and you think you will be having goat babies any day. You need to be prepared. I kept a birthing kit packed at all times. You’re going to need just a few things. One is iodine to dip the umbilical cord in. If you don't, it can lead to a horrible disease that can kill babies. Don't worry about scissors to cut the cord or string to tie it off. Most cords break during birthing or the Doe bites it shortly after birth. I also kept a blue syringe bulb to suck out fluid from the baby’s nose and mouth. I started out with gloves, but moved just to hand sanitizer. When the gloves were wet with amniotic fluid they were useless to help pull out babies, and cost you vital seconds to remove them. I also kept a small bottle of Astroglide, yes the sex lubricant, in my bag. If you have to stick your hand in her vagina to pull out or feel a baby, it will be useful. A towel is also useful.

As the days get closer you will want to keep an eye on your doe. If you have the luxury you may even want to separate her. You will want a safe, soft, quiet, dry and warm place for her. For bedding, now as always, you will want to use straw. And make no mistake, straw is not hay. Hay is to eat and is made of dried grass. Straw is the leftover from the wheat plant, once it has been harvested. It is a yellow and has kind of a thick stalk. After she births you will want to rake it out. If you have a dirt floor you may want to put down some lime. This is available at your local feed store in a big bag. Sprinkle it over the floor to absorb the smell of pee and other bodily fluids. You may also want to sprinkle in diatomaceous earth to help kill and control bugs. Oh a word on bugs here. Lots of goats carry lice. Don't freak out, just sprinkle some lice powder on them. You will know if it is really a problem if the goats start scratching a lot or rubbing their fur off. This may also be an indicator it is time to change your straw out. Goat lice are species specific, meaning you can't catch it. Come the warm weather you also have to deal with Horse Flies. These boogers bite and hurt. They look like a big fat fly, about the size of your thumb. Apparently they like all kinds of livestock. I use bug spray with DEET in it, to repel them. Goats don't seem to mind them too much. I believe there are sprays you can use on your goats to repel them. You should check at your local feed store.

You are down to the last few days. My girls were always great. They let me know they were ready, by hiding in the barn. They didn't want to come out of the pen to graze. At this point you will have bring her grain to her. Most goats will "bag up" prior to birthing, but this can happen anywhere from a few weeks to a few hours prior to birthing. To bag up means the udder begins to swell and fill with milk. She may also begin to vocalize a lot, or talk to the baby. Mine liked to bite at their sides. I knew they were close then. Their vulva will also begin to swell and elongate, as she begins to dilate over the days prior to birthing. If you raise goats, you spend half your life staring at a goat butt, trying to figure out what is going to happen next!

If you are very lucky, you will have to do nothing. Momma will birth the kids all by herself and you will wake up to new babies, leaping about in the barn. Right! In all the births I attended this happened once. Here are some notes for times when things don't go as planned. So your doe had indicated it's time to birth. Now comes the waiting game. You may end up sleeping in the barn with her. You’re nervous, she's nervous, you will both be okay. This is a lot easier if you have buddy who can run to the house if you need something, or a buddy you can call who can talk you threw all this. When she is ready, most of the time she will lay down on her side. Your job is to catch. In "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats" on page 165, 2001 edition, is a picture of the different ways a kid may try to present. You may see any of the following:
  • Two little white capped feet -she's okay don't pull or assist unless she has been struggling for a while. Getting the head out is the hard part.
• Just a head - don't assist.
• You may see a butt or a tail - you will have to help. Lube up your hand and gently pull.  
• You see a bubble. What you are seeing is the amniotic sack. This may come before the baby. Give her a minute. If she doesn't push the kid out, pop the bubble by tearing it with your finger. Watch out for liquid. Hopeful the baby will come soon. If not you may have to reach in for a foot or something to pull out.

Remember once that baby is in the birth canal; it only has the air in its sack to make it to the outside. The baby may only have 5 - 10 minutes before it suffocates.

So the baby is out! What now.... Tear the sack, so it can breathe. Don't dry it off!! Let Mom do that. By her licking off the baby it triggers important hormones in her body to make her claim the kid as hers. I have had cases where we had healthy babies, died them off and mom rejected them because she didn't understand it was her baby. It smelled too much like me. The less you do at this point, the better. In a few minutes you will want to dip the cord in iodine. But give them a moment. More than likely she is not done birthing. She may stand up between birthing babies. I usually wait about 30 minutes. If by then she has not birthed a second or third baby, you are probable exhausted, but safe. It is time to do the bump. Stand behind your goat, now lie on top of her back and lace your fingers around her belly. You are going to give her a gentle Heimlich like maneuver. Push up and pull back towards her hips. What should come out is amniotic fluid and the rest of her placenta. Oh and you’re going to get wet, remember what I said about closed toed shoes.

Now she may eat her placenta or she may not. That's kind of up to her. It's full of nutrients she needs, but don't force her. If she doesn't snack on it in the first few hours, remove it. I believe keeping it round alerts the other critters such as coyotes to the presents of a new kid, and puts both at more danger. She, like most ladies, will bleed for a few days after, as her body cleans itself out. I did have a case where the doe, Ostara, birthed triplets. She was bleeding excessively, and the bleeding did not stop and was coming from both her anus and vagina. Turns out she tore her intestines birthing, and had to be put down. Hopefully this will not happen to you. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But death is part of life.

While mom is visiting with her babies, you have a few minutes to clean up. She will be hungry and thirsty. Take her water bucket and mix in warm water, with something sweet; Karo syrup, molasses, sugar or honey. Also adding a little salt or baking soda is good for her at this point. When you go back into the barn, within an hour you should see the kid stand. Walking may take a few hours. It is vital that they get milk in the next few hours. You may see mom pawing at the baby. What she is trying to do is get it to stand and suckle. You may have to help. Kids have very limited vision at this point. I have milked a little in my hand and rubbed it on her udder, so the baby can smell the milk. If you have a kid that won't stand you are going to have to give it a drench. A drench is a mix of syrup and water in a syringe. In a bowl you want to mix either Karo syrup or molasses and just enough warm water to get it to kind of melt. Draw it up in a syringe with no needle, you are going to need to squirt it in the baby’s mouth and down its throat. Try for the side of the mouth. It should work in at least 15 or so minutes. If the baby will not stand by then and is lifeless, you may be fighting a losing battle. Don't leave until you see the baby suckling. You may have to even physically put the nipple in its mouth. What is vital for the baby to get at this time is called colostrums. It is a special milk the mom makes for the first few days, and it tastes awful!!! After she births and over the next few days you will see the udder become larger and larger.

If the mom begins to show signs that she is rejecting the baby, such as stepping on it, head butting it, moving away from it when it tries to suckle, or just ignoring it. Congratulations! You are now a goat mom! And your life is now 2oz, every two hours for the first two weeks. Yep you guessed it. You’re going to have to go to the feed store again. Ask them for powdered goat milk, most of the time it has colostrums in it. But you should ask. I found it easiest to mix in a mason jar and shake with the lid on, and then pour into the bottle, with a funnel. You will want to get a nipple it's red with a yellow screw bottom that attaches to a 20 oz. plastic soda bottle. Oh and I found that a lot of water bottles, like the kinds that come by the case, don't have enough tread on them for the nipple to screw too and leak. My girls favored the green soda bottles. I don't know why, but they did. My guess is they naturally associate green with food. What they didn't eat, I just put back in the refrigerator. They do not have to have warm milk after the first week or so. They will drink it either way. On the back of the bag is a chart. You will be on bottle duty for several months. Goats don't learn to drink water until they are about 4 or 5 months old. But they learn to eat grain in a few weeks. Also if you can take them out with the herd, others in the group will teach them what is safe to eat and what is not. As most farmers know getting away from the farm is tough, because you have so many animals depending on you. You will have to schedule your life around feedings, just like with any other baby.

A word on poop, yes I said poop. When the kids have their first poop it may be black and even have blood in it. That is normal. For the next few days after that it will be yellow and sticky, from all the fat in the colostrums. Mom usually eats it, and that is normal. After you will have the normal little brown goat berries. If you are bottle feeding, my kids always pee right after they finished. Kind of like, "Thanks Mom! My tank is now full!" So you will want to give the bottles outside or at least have a towel handy. Oh and kids have these little white caps that cover the hooves to protect the mother while they are in utro. Goat hooves are pointed and can be very sharp. These caps will fall off in a few days. That is normal.

Your doe may stay in the barn for several days and not want to go out with the herd to browse. Remember she is going to be famished. When her hunger win out, she will get up and leave the baby. Now you get to baby sit. I would go out in the field with my goats and sit with them while they ate, with the baby wrapped up in a blanket. These are some of my happiest memories. Mom will not wander far and will probable keep looking at you and baby to check on you two. Assure her nothing is wrong and the baby is safe by showing her the baby. She will go back to eating, well at least for a few minutes. Make sure to go out every day and hug and kiss on the new baby. This will get them used to you and being handled. After a few days I would turn the herd loose and take the baby into my house while they were eating. When it was time to put up I would just put the baby back. If your do this method, remember to bring the baby out ever few hours for mom to see and also so the baby can suckle. Every 2 to 3 hours or so is about right. When they are little like this I would not leave them with the herd unsupervised for fear of hawks and coyotes. Remember hold them while they are young, you will not get this chance again, and all too soon they will be too big for your lap.

Once the first few days are over, and you have recovered, you will have a few decisions to make. Your doe is now full of milk. What you worked so hard for. You will either have to separate her from her baby, so her body can build up enough milk for you, or you will have to bottle feed the babies. But I feel you are just making more work for yourself. Kind of like, I want milk, to save money, so now the babies are here I have to spend all this money on formula, and all this time bottle feeding to get milk. Kind of defeating the purpose to me, but if that's what you chose so be it. I found the easiest, for me, was to separate baby from momma overnight. Put the baby in a pen where mom can see the baby, but not nurse. Take her out in the morning and milk her, and then put her back with baby.

So how do you milk a goat?
Ask me tomorrow.
Ilsa

So you think you want to get a goat

So you think you want to get goats.

I've been running goats for about 5 years now.  In the last few weeks I have been approached by several people about getting goats, so I thought I would set down some of my experiences and thoughts on the subject for y'all.

I feel the first questions you must ask yourself is why do you want goats. Do you want them for brush maintenance, money, milk, meat, fiber, both, as companions for a horse or to eat your grass?  So let me go ahead and answer the first few questions.  Yes your goats will eat your grass, after everything else available to them is gone. If you want grass control - try sheep.  I hear they just love grass.  Goats love brush, small trees, bushes and vines.  I've even seen them go so far as to eat the bark off of trees, before they will eat grass. They are such great clearers of property that in the 1500 the Spanish would turn several out onto an area they wished to "colonize."  Then they would leave and come back a year or two later.  The land and the trees were thinned, and there would be a ready supply of meat.  

If done correctly your goats will never make you money.  Whatever money you make off of them will go back into feed, hay, shelter and of course fences. Goats are great companions for horses.  Most goat people will recommend you get a wethered goat, which is a castrated male.  It is a beneficial relationship for both, as goats are social creatures and must always have a buddy or they get desperately lonely.  I have even heard of lonely goats, busting through fences to get to another goat.

So that leaves us with milk, meat and / or fiber.  If you are interested in what goat meat tastes like try your local Spanish grocery store.  Most stores speak English and are happy to help the epicurious.  If you are interested in fiber goats you must either know someone who can shave, card, and /or spin your fibers, or you must have the equipment yourself.  Again while having your own supply of fiber is fun, it's cheaper to buy.  Fiber goats also do not do well in hot places like Louisiana.  Don't get me wrong it can be done.  You just have to make sure that your goat, usually an Angora, is shaved when it starts to get warm, like in May and their hair needs to remain short (2 inches or less) until October or so. 

If after reading all this you are still dead set on goats here are a few more points to ponder.  Where will the goats be kept?  They must have some kind of shelter to get out of the rain and cold.  Most goats do not like water or being wet, as they were originally desert dwelling creatures. Do you intend to free roam on your land?  If so what are your local laws.  Must they be fences.  If in Louisiana that is a yes.  Good fencing is especially important to goats, because they could freaking careless who's tasty plant is on who's property.  They will eat all your flowers and having a garden is difficult, cause they will find holes in fences or if low enough simply jump them.  I suggest electric fencing.  While I must admit I was squeamish at first, didn't want to hurt my babies, the shocks are not that bad (been shocked myself a few times). It will keep them put.  Oh and don't think that you can be smart and run the electric fence for a while and then turn it off, and the goats will still think it's on.  Nope they will test it and out they go!  Been there and done that.  Nothing like a goat breaking in threw your doggie door at 3 in the morning, to eat dog food, cause you forgot to plug the fence back in!!  When you start birthing babies you will understand what godsend electric fences are.  Not for who they keep in, but what they keep out.  Coyotes can smell blood and have been known to sneak up in the night and take off with a kid (goat babies are called kids).

If you’re still with me and are ready to start your goat farm I suggest reading, "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats."  They also offer one on meat goats as well. This book was like my bible the first few years.  I got mine at Tractor Supply, but it is also available on Amazon.com.  You will want to keep good records.  Who was breed when?  Who was born when? Who the parents were?  Kids that died.  When the buck (male goat) came into rut?  Etc. 

I know little about meat goats.  I know that many people like Spanish Boers.  If you are interested in meat goats I would first check on Craigslist, or attend an auction and see what breeds are available in your area.  You may also want to talk to your local Ag. Agent and see what breeds are popular in your area.  You may even be able to ask at a Spanish grocery to see where they get theirs.  Most importantly once you have picked a breed you like, do your research!  At least look them up on Wikipedia.  The breed you want may not be suited to where you live!  There are lots of goat groups on Facebook, usually typing in the word goat and your area will bring them up.  Check and see if there is a local group or goat farm near you.  Make a buddy.  Life is much easier with a goat buddy to call and talk to.

I started in this business, because I am lactose intolerant. I thought it would be cheaper to buy goats, and have goat milk, then continue to buy it in the store. Boy was I wrong!  Five years on and I am back to buying milk in the store.  You will spend more on feed, then you would just buying the milk.  I don't regret having goats.  They have taught me so much about life and nature.  I was pretty naive going in.  I really didn't understand that in order to have milk you must have a doe(female goat) that has recently given birth.  So to have milk, breeding and birthing goats will become part of your life. 

As for breeds I am partial to Nubians.  That is mainly what I have been raising for the last 5 years.  I find they tolerate the southern heat very well.  Their butterfat content is one of the highest.  Their milk is rich, creamy and sweeter then cow’s milk.  Nubies are very friendly and very vocal.  If they love you, they will follow you around like a dog, whether or not you bottle feed them.  As long as the babies are handled every day they will be friendly and loyal to you, even the males.  Nubies sound like they are talking. Their vocalizations often sound like, "Hey" or "Mommma." They will call to you when they see you, when they want to be let out, a few hours prior to birthing, when they are hungry or when a doe cannot see their kids.  I find it best to talk back to them and tell them what is going on, "No you can't get out, your dad will feed you later, your baby is over that way, Mommy loves you, you’re a good goat, etc."  They usually don't talk back after that.  Nubians are a larger goat.  Does tend to run 80+ lbs and Bucks can be 150-200 lb.  I once had buck who weighed in at 175lb., he was the runt of triplets, and not done growing!  Goats will continue growing until they are about two. Goats will step on your feet, they could freaking careless. I recommend closed toed shoes when working around them.  If you ever have to make a goat move, that will not listen, pull on their ears. They really hate that.  Or spray them with water.  I tend to move them mostly with my knees and my thigh.  Just a gentle push and they will move.

Goats don't have an incredible scene of smell like dogs do.  They depend more on their eyes.  Goats are not color blind, but they don't see the way we do.  They are limited to the yellow-green-blue color spectrum.  This lets them see leaf colors better, and distinguish one plant from another.  Goat’s eyes are also very cool.  Their irises are more square where ours are round, and as the light fades at night you will see their eyes grow to allow more light in.  Another oddity is when they are in danger goats will sneeze to each other.  That is their signal to run!  I once was out with the herd, while they were grazing and I sneezed.  They scattered like the wind.  LOL!

As mentioned above, goat should always be kept in pairs.  Not only because goat are social creatures and they get a bit batty without one another.  When goats lay down to sleep or rest, they lay back to back.  This gives each of them a 180 degree view around them, so a pair can see anything that might be trying to come up and attack them.

In order to have milk you’re going to need a buck.  You are either going to have to get a buck or take your does to a buck who can impregnate them.  Most books will tell you not to keep your buck with your does.  This is said to affect the taste of the milk. I never kept my males separate and the taste of my milk was never affected.  Bucks go into rut.  Rut is a very smelly time in a goat’s life.  Rut begins in the fall, when they boys become horney for the girls, and lasts until all the does are pregnant, or late winter / early spring. They demonstrate their desire to mate by peeing all over themselves, and if you are close enough, you too.  They do this all day long.  They pee on their front legs and face and then curl up their lips to smell it.  They will also taste the doe's pee to check and see if they are fertile yet or not.  Does will come into heat in the fall.  If the buck is run with the does they will do it automatically.  You will see her swing her butt to him or in a few cases, chase him.  I have even seen a doe demand one buck her impregnate her, while keeping another one at bay.  The ladies know what they want and need even if you don't!  If you are squeamish about sex, do not want you kids to see, and / or not ready to answer their questions on the subject in a wise and intelligent matter,  goats may not be for you.

As for who to mate to who, in the goat world it does not matter.  Where we would find a mother and son mating as being incestuous, it is preferred by goats and goat breeders. In other words, that tree don't fork!   My two males were descendants of my first doe, Star.  They gave her and my other girls, who were also sisters and aunts to them, many healthy babies.  While this may be a little unsettling at first, it is something you will have to get use to. 

All that wonderful loving will create babies in around 5 months.  I will cover babies and milk in my next article to you.  Hope I answered many of your questions and look forward to receiving questions and comments from you.

Ilsa