A Few Questions from a Lurker

Hello All!

I've been lurking here for quite some time. I am so thankful for this resource!

I kept Alpines many years ago, but had to give them up when I had my third child - too much lactating going on! :) Now that my kids are grown, I've got time to focus on goats again. I acquired two ND does (mama and baby) and a buck about a year and a half ago. They were both bred this past fall and the younger doe kidded yesterday - a doeling! Yay! The older one should be due in about another week - she's got at least two in there. All went very well, but I have a couple (thousand) questions to run by everyone.

First, I just discovered that my FF has double nipples on one side! She's always been a bit skittish, and her udder wasn't super visible until the last few weeks. Baby seems to be having no issues latching on to both sides, so it seems O.K. Anyone else ever seen this with their does?

Also, new mama is a bit agitated today. I just have one small shelter at the moment, so the girls are sharing. I'm sure there are hormones running wild right now with one new mama and one near term. Would it be advisable to divide the shelter into two compartments so they each have their own space? I don't want new mama to run off the older doe to the point that she ends up having her babies out in the pen somewhere. Any thoughts?

Thanks to all! I am sure I will be back with more questions later, but will wait for replies to these for now.

I've seen kids surgically castrated, and we banded for five or six years before switching to the Burdizzo, and I prefer the latter. It simply crushes the cords that go to the testicles, and they shrivel up and die. It never breaks the skin, so there is no risk of tetanus. The only drawback is that you don't know that it's done immediately. You have to watch and make sure that the testes shrink. People who use this method with cattle don't seem to like it much, but a cattle Burdizzo is huge and requires two hands to use, whereas the goat Burdizzo can be used by most people with only one hand, so you can use the other hand to hold the cord and make sure you're crushing it. And after you've done it a couple of times, you'll realize that you can usually hear the cord being crushed -- sounds like crushing potato chips. But the kids take it much better than the other two methods. They get over it within about 15 minutes. Some kids took banding okay, but some of them would throw themselves on the ground and scream for hours and then lay there looking like they were dying. It was really depressing.

I usually castrate the boys around 8 weeks so they can stay with mom for as long as they live on our farm.

Replies

Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres March 11, 2014 at 3:13pm

I just give a teaspoon or so. I've used probiotics in the past too, but pepto works pretty well. I usually give that first, because it keeps the runs away, and if they return, I know it's more than just rumen upset.

Re. Minerals, I leave mine out. They'll eat it if they need it. :)
Lisa March 11, 2014 at 3:11pm

Thanks, Rachel. I am also concerned about coccidiosis and will buy the meds as soon as I can (hopefully by tonight). How much pepto would you give? Probiotics?

How do you feed the loose minerals? Free choice? I've tried that and they don't eat it. When I try to feed by hand, they turn their noses up at it.

Thanks, again!
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres March 11, 2014 at 3:07pm

You might have a case of Coccidiosis. It needs to be treated ASAP, but since you can't get to the store, you can give a small dose of pepto bismol to keep the diarrhea from dehydrating your kid until you can get meds. If it IS Coccidiosis, this is just a band aide. If you see diarrhea again, you should treat for coccidiosis.

Yes. Feed loose minerals at ALL times. Don't mix them in with your grain. They should be offered free choice separately from any other feed.
Lisa March 11, 2014 at 2:25pm

I'm back! With more questions.

1) It looks like one of the bucklings has scours today. I don't have a car at the moment, so can't run to the feed store. What can I do for him in the meantime? I have some probiotics (for humans), which I read can be helpful. Not sure what caused the scours, as the others are fine, as well as the mothers. They have been on the pasture for about a week now. They don't eat grain yet. They are two weeks old today.

2) Do you feed loose minerals if the does are getting Goat Chow? If so, how much to mix in with the grain?

Thanks!
Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 27, 2014 at 4:48pm

I've seen kids surgically castrated, and we banded for five or six years before switching to the Burdizzo, and I prefer the latter. It simply crushes the cords that go to the testicles, and they shrivel up and die. It never breaks the skin, so there is no risk of tetanus. The only drawback is that you don't know that it's done immediately. You have to watch and make sure that the testes shrink. People who use this method with cattle don't seem to like it much, but a cattle Burdizzo is huge and requires two hands to use, whereas the goat Burdizzo can be used by most people with only one hand, so you can use the other hand to hold the cord and make sure you're crushing it. And after you've done it a couple of times, you'll realize that you can usually hear the cord being crushed -- sounds like crushing potato chips. But the kids take it much better than the other two methods. They get over it within about 15 minutes. Some kids took banding okay, but some of them would throw themselves on the ground and scream for hours and then lay there looking like they were dying. It was really depressing.

I usually castrate the boys around 8 weeks so they can stay with mom for as long as they live on our farm.
Lisa February 27, 2014 at 2:35pm

Thank you so much ladies. It has been a busy week here. My older doe had two bucklings a couple of days ago. I was hoping for more doelings, but oh well! We're having a great time watching them - everyone is healthy, thank God. Both mamas are settling down and everyone seems to be getting along now, except for the odd nip here and there when a kid tries to nurse the wrong mama. :) Deb, I really appreciate this forum and all the help you offer.

I think I am going to have to do a lot of searching for ideas on what to do with these bucklings. I would like to keep at least one of them nursing on mama so I can have the luxury of milking only once a day, every couple of days, etc. What is your preferred method of wethering them?
Peggy Grossenbacher February 24, 2014 at 12:24am

My two pregnant does have been beating each other up pretty good and I was afraid I would lose some babies if I didn't do something. I used free pallets that I always have on hand to separate mine and they did really well. I thought they would really kick up a fuss, but they are real good. The pallets only have about an inch in between slats so that the babies won't get their heads stuck in them. Be careful where your pallets come from and what kind of cargo they carried if you use them. It's a great free option if you need a quick divider. I used screws to attach them together and to attach them to the barn so that I can easily remove them when kidding is over. Just an idea that I thought I'd throw in. :)
Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 21, 2014 at 2:07pm

Congratulations on the new kid and your growing herd!

Extra teats are not unheard of. Most people say they are genetic, and considering how many you see in boers, I'm inclined to believe there is a genetic component. However, we initially had a ridiculous number of teat defects, but since we got our copper deficiency problem solved, we haven't seen any. Going from teat defects every year to zero is too profound to say there is not a connection.

I understand your concern about the expectant mama. If you could use something like a pig panel to separate the shelter so that they can still see each other, that would be ideal. If they can't see each other, it would probably be too stressful on them though.

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