Will lush, overgrown pasture make new goats sick?

[Juliana Goodwin]

Hi guys,

 

We will be bringing out new Nigerian Dwarves home towards the end of this month.  Our farm was abandoned for several years before we bought it in Nov. and has only been brush hogged once.  Our pastures are tall and lush and very green.  (And moreso by the day).

 

The farm our goats are coming from has a sizeable herd and I don't think their browsing or grazing is nearly so rich.  Should we wean them onto the pasture here?  We have a very small (maybe 10x12) pen off one of the horse stalls they could use as well.  Plus they will be starting out in adjoining 12x12 horse stalls so they will have good room to move around.

 

How would I wean them onto the pasture?  Like you would a horse in a similar situation (I have lots of horse exp. but none with goats)

 

Thanks

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

I've heard either worms or a change in diet can cause reticulitis in goats, so it's anyone's guess.

Adrienne said:

Interesting.

In Pecial's necropsy report it said he had Reticulitis (spelling?) I am pretty well convinced that the worms may have caused this based on some theories I have read. However, he came from a farm where he had almost no grass, and his pen when he came here was full of grass. Could this have cause the Reticulitis?

[Adrienne]

Interesting.

In Pecial's necropsy report it said he had Reticulitis (spelling?) I am pretty well convinced that the worms may have caused this based on some theories I have read. However, he came from a farm where he had almost no grass, and his pen when he came here was full of grass. Could this have cause the Reticulitis?

[Will White]

I've found that the few times I introduced my goats to a new pen with fresh browse they would eat some but they didn't pig out as much as I thought they would.  Over time they do strip it bare.

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

I would say if you want to err on the side of caution, you could use your paddock to house your goats in the day and let them out onto pasture for increasing increments over the day... That's what I would do if I were worried. I never had to worry about it, because my goats have all come from a pastured farm, and were already used to green grass.

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

Sorry, I know nothing about horses, so I can't compare. The books say you should always make dietary changes gradually. However, when it comes to pasture, we just let the goats out, and they've never had a problem. I have never seen a difference in the poop of my goats when they consume hay versus fresh grass, although cows do have runnier cow-pies if they're eating fresh grass, rather than hay, but it's not anything harmful.