| Author | Message | ||
     Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1140 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.230.109  Rating: N/A |
You can always nip the scur off with hoof trimmers, he won't feel it. He should have all the hay he wants all the time. All goats should have this. Hay doesn't have any grain in it. First cut hay is of poor quality, very stemmy and the goats waste most of it. Second cut is usually better with more nutrition. Wethers can have any cut of hay so long as it is of high horse quality. Do not feed a cow quality hay, these are mostly moldy and poorly cured, even left in the field and rained on, they can be dangerous! Wethers, especially young growing wethers, need very good nutrition, they just don't need alot of extra fat and protein that is found in many grain feeds meant to fatten animals for slaughter. The hay should be reasonably soft and leafy with few stems, no mature seed heads (indicating a hay that has lost most of its nutritive value). It should be light green in color and smell sweet like fresh mowed grass. It should not be the least bit dusty, it should not smell of dirt or mold. Hay has alot of natural bicarbonate (the same as baking soda). Baking soda is more meant for goats being fed a high grain diet, it gives them an acid stomach. Hay does not. He probably likes it because it tastes salty, goats like salt. It is the salt in his minerals that makes him eat those! Some people mix the minerals and the baking soda so their goats get both. If he ever bloats you WILL know. Baking soda doesn't really prevent it and won't treat it. A dose of vegetable oil works much better. That breaks up the bubbles causing the bloat, allowing him to burp. THEN you give baking soda in case he has an acid stomach. Mature goats will have a large rumen. For deworming I recommend using Ivermectin injectable for Cattle, give it orally at 1 cc per 25 pounds. Be absolutely sure to give enough it is very safe even at 25 times this dosage. If you give to little it just makes the worms worse, leaving the more resistant worms to reinfect him. In many parts of the country Safeguard and Panacur don't work at all anymore. Do not use a pelleted dewormer, you can never know for sure your goat ate enough to do the job. Dehorning paste WILL NOT REMOVE a horn that is already grown. It only burns the skin and horn buds away on very young goats preventing horns from growing in the first place. But a disbudding iron does a much better job and is much safer. I wonder how the other goat owner restrained her goat for 6 hours? That paste burns whatever it touches. I always deworm on the day a goat is moved to a new farm, often deworming 2 weeks later. The stress of moving makes dormant worms more active. Larval worms are often missed by the deworming on the day of the move, but deworming 2 weeks later gets them. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Megan New member Username: schef1mm Post Number: 3 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.245.86.243  Rating: N/A |
OK...We won't use the paste again. Hopefully it will fall off on its own. I'm sure we didn't get it in his eye though. We held him the whole time we had it on him. Besides, that was almost 2 weeks ago and I just noticed his eyes the other day. I looked at his eyes and they seem to be fine today. We wiped away the crusties under his eye (like I said, it really wasn't much...just being paranoid). As far as I have been told, is it correct to give whethers only first or second cuts of hay? We only give him first cut. The lady we bought him from said the other has too much grain in it. If it's first cut do I still only give him the hay for 2-5 minutes? Usually he eats for about 20 minutes 2 times a day. Aside from the hay, he only gets his minerals, baking soda and picks around at fallen leaves (ok.. a few crackers here and there too  . Dewormer - We haven't actually dewormed him yet. We've had him about a month now and were told that he will be due for it again around Labor Day. We'll probably do it this weekend. What would you recommend? Also, this weekend we may be getting another. Would you recommend deworming him when we get him home regardless of his last time? | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1139 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.230.109 Rating: N/A |
NO NO NO do not use the paste!!!! It only works on soft tissue, it is a very strong acid and is very painful. It is a horrible way to disbud a goat. Burns like fire! When using it you must completely restrain the goat, if he rubs it off into his eye it will burn the eyeball. If he rubs it off onto another goat it will burn the other goat. Nip the scur down and reburn it with a disbuding iron, or just leave it, a wiggly one will break off periodically all by itself. If you got the acid around his eyes this may be what is causing the watering eyes, the skin is burned. He could also have a bit of a cold, but if he is eating and drinking okay he is fine. Look closely at his eyes and inner eyelids. If the eyes are the least bit cloudy or the membranes angry and red, he may be starting with pinkeye. I treat pinkeye by giving LA 200 at 1 cc per 30 pounds by SQ injection once a day and putting triple antibiotic eye ointment into the eyes 1-3 times a day. You might just try putting in some ointment and see if that makes his eye feel better. Watch the crusties below the eyes they can develop into sores, flies like to chew on wet skin and oozy stuff. Be very careful feeding your wether grain, give only what he will clean up in 2 to 5 minutes then take the rest away. It is normal for the left side to be bigger that's where his rumen is. A bloated goat is very sick, won't eat at all. His diet should be mostly hay. Lots of grain will give him bladder stones which are most often fatal. Read the articles (on the Articles Page) about UC, urinary calculi. A pot bellied look can also mean worms. When was the last time you dewormed? What did you use and how much did you give? Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Megan New member Username: schef1mm Post Number: 2 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 64.105.216.245 Rating: N/A |
One other thing... How do you feel about dehorning paste? My goat has a scur growing. It wiggles like a loose tooth so it isn't attached to his skull. It isn't too large yet. 2 weekends ago we put the paste on it for 30 minutes and then rinsed it off. You can tell that it did have a little effect (the scur has little tiny chunks out of it). The lady that we got him from said that she used it before on another goat but had it on for 6 hours. She said it worked the first time and had no problems. Would you recommend us trying it for the 6 hours? | ||
| Megan New member Username: schef1mm Post Number: 1 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 64.105.216.245 Rating: N/A |
I have a 3 month old Nigerian Dwarf whether. I've noticed the last couple of days that his eyes are a little watery (I saw a tear come out of one) and the hair under his eye has little crustys on it. I'm new to goats so I'm not sure if this is something to worry about. It's very minimal but just wanted to check. Also, I'm trying to figure out the difference in my goats belly just being full and him being bloated. I figured he would act a little off if he is bloated but he is acting completely normal. Sometimes I get worried though and put baking soda right in my hand for him to eat it because the left side of his belly starts sticking out kind of far. I do know that he eats it on his own though (He's black and comes out of the barn with a white mustash). He's a little pig. |