Double Wether Questions!

Hi all-

I have a couple of three month old wethers that are preparing to leave for their forever home. I'm already missing them! And, of course, have a few questions...

One is on feeding. They're mostly nursing right now and share an additional 1/2 cup hay stretcher and 1/4+ sweet grain am and pm. I assume that more grain will be healthy while they grow, especially without their mother's milk at their new home. But how much to feed them? I know grain and wethers are a sensitive matter and that they shouldn't need much/any when mature, but what about during this phase? What have YOU done that works?

The second question is on shipping. I'm planning on driving the guys to their new home, and expect it to take around 1.5 hours. I know it'll be a total traumatic shock for them, but aside from trusting in their baby-resilience, should I take any other measures before/after shipping to keep them healthy? I use minimal worming at home -herbal, FAMACHA, ivermectin IF needed- and neither has ever had any yet. Should I give them some to combat the stress/lowered resistance? Are they too young for ivermectin?? Anything else that would be helpful through the transition?

Thanks!!

As with most things, my answer is "it depends." If they are really meaty and have dark pink or red eyelids and zero signs of a parasite overload, AND if they are going to a home with no other goats, they should be fine without any drugs. If they are going to be put in a pasture with other goats, then you might want to give them a dewormer before they leave because that new home will have parasites on the pasture that they will be consuming when they arrive. If they are moving onto clean pasture, however, it's better to not give them a dewormer because you don't them to take parasite-resistant worms to their new home, which is what happens if you follow the old advice to deworm before putting them on clean pasture.

The amount of grain you're giving them sounds perfect for wethers. I usually tell people that they can buy a bag of goat grain for a couple of wethers, and when it runs out, they don't need to buy another one. Really wethers don't need grain at all, but it works great for bribing them and having them get to know their new owners.

Replies

Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 1, 2016 at 10:35am

Forgot to mention -- because we have a problem with copper deficiency due to high sulfur and iron in our well water, I give kids COWP when they leave, which has the added benefit of killing stomach worms, such as barber pole.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 1, 2016 at 10:34am

As with most things, my answer is "it depends." If they are really meaty and have dark pink or red eyelids and zero signs of a parasite overload, AND if they are going to a home with no other goats, they should be fine without any drugs. If they are going to be put in a pasture with other goats, then you might want to give them a dewormer before they leave because that new home will have parasites on the pasture that they will be consuming when they arrive. If they are moving onto clean pasture, however, it's better to not give them a dewormer because you don't them to take parasite-resistant worms to their new home, which is what happens if you follow the old advice to deworm before putting them on clean pasture.

The amount of grain you're giving them sounds perfect for wethers. I usually tell people that they can buy a bag of goat grain for a couple of wethers, and when it runs out, they don't need to buy another one. Really wethers don't need grain at all, but it works great for bribing them and having them get to know their new owners.

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