I am new to the world of Nigerian goats and have some questions that hopefully I can get answers to here. I have 2 does who just kidded, one 2 weeks ago and the other one just last night. They are first time moms and doing great! The first one had twins and last night I got triplets!! I am not quite sure what to do from here. I have decided to leave the kids on their moms because I personally do not have the time to bottle feed. So here are some of my questions...
At what age do you start weaning them? I would really like to milk the does as I was raised on goats milk.
Where is the best and most cost effective place to purchase a horn debudder? Online would be best.
Also, where could I purchase a tattoo kit for the ears? My does and buck are both tattooed so I just figure I need to do the babies as well?
And finally, at what age should I castrate the male? I only got one male out of the 5 which I am happy about. I intend on selling all the babies so should I wait to see if their new owner wants them as a buck?
Sorry, one more. At what age can I sell them?
Thanks in advance for any answers. I intend on administering the CDT shots and worming myself. Something I actually know how to do.
Replies
Thank you. I will castrate this time since I only have one buckling out of all five kids! I also have access to supplies for banding so I will go that route. I will look more into the Burdizzo for the future.
I banded for six or seven years, and then when I needed to castrate a goat that was too big for the bander and the vet was talking about $100 to castrate him, I found the $50 or so for the Burdizzo! It is the only thing I've used ever since. I absolutely love it. The boys recover so much more quickly! And there is no risk of tetanus because the skin isn't broken. When you sell a wether, you just ahve to be sure to educate the buyer so they understand he HAS been castrated even though they see testicles. Show them how big they are in relation to your hand, and tell them they will shrink with time. The pic on the Fiasco Farm site is also good where they show the same age boys -- one castrated, one not. Uncastrated males have HUGE scrotums! They need to understand that it would be a big handful by about four months of age if the kid had not been castrated.
Like Rachel, I also band but want to switch to a Burdizzo.
This is a very thourogh article about your choices. http://fiascofarm.com/goats/buck-wether-info.htm#neutering I haven't had to castrate yet, but I'll be banding (because I have access to the supplies until I can afford to purchase a Burdizzo.)
The pygmy is actually a wether thankfully! I am debating on getting rid of him though. He has some massive horns and can be mean to my male and the other wether I have. The females are currently seperated due to them having their kids. I have been rotating them so the girls and kids get some time outside as well.
I know my lines are decent from what I've heard from the people that I got both my buck and does from. But, I do not know a lot about the lines and what is good or not. I am thinking that I will just castrate. At what age is best? Also, which way is best? I would be more comfortable with banding but the lady I got my buck from cuts and she does it herself which would make me really nervous.
I am curious about the pygmy. Is it a buck? I am just wondering if he is going to be a problem for you to have to deal with keeping away from your girls. Course you could always wether him I guess.
If you're not selling bottle babies, you should wait until your babies are at LEAST 8 weeks old before you sell them. By that time, they should be eating well on their own. My breeder doesn't wean her kids... she just waits until they are eating well, and their mom's usually start cutting them off more often... it all works out.
Here is the long answer on starting to milk:
http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum/topics/starting-to-milk
Feel free to ask questions here if you have any after you read the initial post. That discussion is getting kind of long!
There are a couple of great goat companies online -- Hoegger and Caprine Supply. They are both owned by goat breeders and only sell stuff for goats. They should have everything you need, but if not, there is also Jeffer's Livestock and Premier One, which started as a sheep company but branched out to goats and other livestock. The owners raise sheep and goats. Get the tattoo kit with the quick release! And I really like the Rhinehart X30 disbudding iron with the REGULAR goat tip, NOT the pygmy tip or the calf tip.
At two weeks you can separate the babies at night and milk out mom in the morning. I use a dog crate and it works quite well. They can be sold at eight weeks. I would castrate the buck unless you have great genetics behind him.
Welcome to the group and congratulations on your every expanding herd!