| Author | Message | ||
     Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1641 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.242.73  Rating: N/A |
Give the vaccine at 8 to 10 weeks old, before that it is pretty much useless. For a vaccine to work, the animal must have a normal functioning immune system and be able to produce its own antibodies. A goat's develops at about 10 weeks old, no sooner. Before that age the kid is protected by the antibodies it got from the colostrum (which is why colostrum is so important). Start deworming at 6 to 8 weeks old, you can use ivermectin injectable for cattle at 1 cc per 25 pounds (I give at least 1 cc even to my baby pygmies) given orally as a drench. This dewormer is very safe even at 25 times this dose, you must be sure to give enough. The little bit of grain she is eating will not cause bloat, it is when a goat eats WAY more than it normal eats that is the problem (like when one of them breaks into the feed room and helps themselves). Anything in excess can cause bloat, excess grain, rich hay, lush pasture, overfeeding milk. But it almost always is from a goat eating way more of something than it usually eats. If you have a bathroom scale you can weigh them. Weigh yourself them pick up the goat and weigh both you and the goat together, do the math. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| jennifer robinson New member Username: jkrobin Post Number: 4 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 208.101.159.183 Rating: N/A |
She started to nibble at the grain  When I take her out of pen to run around in the pasture with Little P " the other kid she in with and Little P mom" She trys to nibble at the weeds and grass. She acts like she is hungey all the time. I feed her 4 x day. she get about 6 to 8 oz. I heard that if she eats oats that can cause bloat? Is that true. The other thing is can I give her and Little P a shot of clostridium chauvoei-septicum-novyi-sordellii-perfringens type c & d bacterin-toxoid alpha-7. And can I give both of them wormer? If so how much on both, the type-c&d and wormer. Little P is about 2 weeks old Hopper Popper is about 4 weeks old. not sure of weight. The winter here in Pa. has been very warm so far and I do not want them to get sick with worms from the nibbling of the grass. Thanks for any info. | ||
| Alexander Cripps New member Username: hazydaynubians Post Number: 51 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 142.167.10.199  Rating: N/A |
you can start at any-time we start from birth untill we wean them. and then they have to fight for thier feed from the yearlings Alex Cripps Hazy Day Nubians raising Nubians, Boers, Indian Runner Ducks www.hazydaynubians.piczo.com Apohaqui New Brunswick Canada | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1603 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.215.105 Rating: N/A |
How much is she getting each time you give a bottle? They have to be a little hungry to try eating solid food. She also needs a protected spot to eat, like a creep feeder that excludes the adult goats. Tghis is especially true if you kep your goats in pens not a bigger pasture. She needs room to be able to stay away from the mean goats but atill play with the other kids. A powdered milk replacer isn't always the best choice for raising meat goats, it doesn't have enough calories and sometimes doesn't have enough protein. If it contains soy protein, they just can't digest that at all. There is a very good recipe on the Goatworld Article page under Kids and Kidding for a homemade milk replacer. Does she have loose stools or diarrhea? Some of my bottle kids were breaking with coccidia as young as 3 weeks old. This will really draw them down too. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| jennifer robinson New member Username: jkrobin Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 208.101.149.83 Rating: N/A |
I have a doe that is 3 weeks old, he mom died and I am bottle feeding her. She gets a bottle 3 to 4 times a day, she in with a mom and baby so she has company. The 2 problem I am having is 1) she is afarid of the other goats the bigger ones, she got threw in the air by one of the other nanny when we had out with the other ones. She was looking for her mom at this time it was a couple days after her mom died. 2) All she wants is a bottle she dosent try to eat hay or feed, the other kid is 2 weeks younger than her she tryes to eat the hay and feed. I thought keeping a nanny and kid with her would help her learn to be a goat. So I do not know what to do? How to get her to learn to be a goat. This is the second one we had to bottle feed, and the first one was the same way only we did not keep him with the other goats. That was the first one we tryed to take care of are self. She is really small for being 3 weeks old, the billy that was born a week after her is 2 times bigger, and the kid " a doe" she in with is alittle over a week old is bigger than her. I do not know what to do?It going to get colder here and she needs the fat to make it through the winter. Thank You | ||
| Merle Meyer New member Username: littlehoovesfarm Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 12.96.68.24 Rating: N/A |
Regarding Creep Feeding........ What is a good size "creep opening" for Boer Goats? I just purchased my starter herd which will kid Feb/March and am doing some prep work for kidding jugs and creep feeders. Better to secure this type of info from the veterans than having to go "trial & error." | ||
| H. C. Sheldon, Jr Member Username: hcsheldonjr Post Number: 12 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 4.248.33.64  Rating: N/A |
Ms. Robinson, There are no dumb questions when it comes to caring for these very special animals. Each of us learns something new every day, and this forum gives us a chance to share knowledge and get answers. MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BEULAH LAND FARM BOERS!  Clark | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1566 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.215.105 Rating: N/A |
A creep feeder is a stall that has a device (doorway) that excludes the adult animals but allows the kids access to their own feed, hay and minerals. Some people use a different feed for the kids, I don't. But the adults would hog it all if I didn't have a stall with a very small opening that only the kids can "creep" into. You can start offering hay and a little grain now, my kids start experimenting with solid food at just a few days old, more copying the adults than anything at that age, but it is a start. That's why I encourage people with bottle babies to leave them with the adult herd, so they can learn to be a proper goat! Kids up to about 6 to 8 months old can wiggle into my creep feeder.... I keep bottle feeding to 16 to 20 weeks (some anyway). Kids do not start to develop their rumens until about 8 weeks old and don't have a fully functioning one until about 12 weeks old. The extra nutrition of a small bottle of milk once or twice a day at that age assures good growth. I tis how their own mother would be feeding them... Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| jennifer robinson New member Username: jkrobin Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2006 Posted From: 208.101.153.233 Rating: N/A |
I have a doe that about 2 weeks old, when can I start creep feed? And this may sound dumb what is creep feed? She is bottle feed now, nibbles at the grass,straw, food in my hand. Hopper mom died on12/16/06 I di not catch bloat in time. Any info would be great |