So I am an artist primarily working in pottery and glass. My wife and I have decided that if the business does good this fall we will seriously consider getting a couple of nds for our dairy needs. We have chickens and a garden already. My question is what is your routine on vaccinations, blood tests for diseases, and the like. Monthly and yearly schedules. I have read a lot about feeding and rotating pastures and have 2 acres to have a couple does to start and then get a buck later. No one close to me has nds, but a neighbor has Nubians and I plan on talking to them extensively. Hopefully we can start with a Doe that is in milk and maybe with a kid or two and a pregnant doe that has freshened in the past. Being first time goat owners I would prefer to start with experienced goats. Comments welcome
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I concur with Deborah. I don't vaccinate either. It's a good idea to learn to do fecals yourself so you can manage the herd health aspect. I tested all my goats for disease and closed the herd. I will test again in a year, then every 2 or 3. We don't show either, so risk is minimal.
Thanks for the info. We are looking for milk goats and do not want to show at all. If anyone has a website and is near NE arkansas send me your website so i can start looking for next year
Welcome to the wonderful world of goats! And it's a great idea to start with experienced goats.
As for testing -- it's a good idea to buy from herds that have whole herd negative tests for CAE, Johnes, and CL. If the state is not certified free of brucellosis and TB, you would want to test for those also. You might want to test your herd annually for a few years, but if you have a closed herd and don't show, you might decide to test less frequently at some point. I've had goats for nine years and closed my herd a few years ago, so I test every two or three years now. All of my animals tested negative, and we've had no mysterious deaths, so odds of them suddenly testing positive are pretty low.
We quit vaccinating five or six years ago, but some people vaccinate annually for CDT, which is a combo vaccine for clostridium and tetanus. There are also vaccines for sore mouth and pneumonia and other things, but good management eliminates the need for them.
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Welcome to the wonderful world of goats! And it's a great idea to start with experienced goats.
As for testing -- it's a good idea to buy from herds that have whole herd negative tests for CAE, Johnes, and CL. If the state is not certified free of brucellosis and TB, you would want to test for those also. You might want to test your herd annually for a few years, but if you have a closed herd and don't show, you might decide to test less frequently at some point. I've had goats for nine years and closed my herd a few years ago, so I test every two or three years now. All of my animals tested negative, and we've had no mysterious deaths, so odds of them suddenly testing positive are pretty low.
We quit vaccinating five or six years ago, but some people vaccinate annually for CDT, which is a combo vaccine for clostridium and tetanus. There are also vaccines for sore mouth and pneumonia and other things, but good management eliminates the need for them.