Wonders what everyone does to get ready for winter?

Thanks so much guys!
I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right! I've got loads of books..although nobody close to chat about goats with (they all look at me as though Im nutz!)!

I upped their grain from 3 cups a day for both to 4. 2 cups in AM & then again in PM. We live on almost 3 acres of field, which the neighbors cut and they gave us 10 bales of second cut hay. So I make sure they have a big pile of fresh hay to last through out the day. They seem to be doing fine w/the dog igloos and snuggle up to keep warm. I do change out the straw every other day or so..when I dont change I add fresh on top.
I will try switching out the buckets in the winter if that doesn't work for me I will purchase one of those de-icer things you put in the water bucket. Does anybody here use one?

To bad about the coats :P Haha I came across some goat coats in a magazine and wasn't sure if it was needed. Makes sense not to use them (unless they are sick!) What about collars? Are they ok to leave on? They other question I have is how often do you trim kids hooves? They are a bit older than 4 months. Also wondering if anyone knows of a step by step video showing how to do it?

Once again Im so thrilled I stumbled upon this site! You guys rock!

You don't need to do anything for heat, other than give them a thick bedding of straw and protection from the elements. A small shelter is actually better than a large one, because it will stay warmer from their body heat. They don't need coats because they'll grow a coat of thick cashmere. Yes, that's where cashmere comes from, which is why it's so expensive. The amount of cashmere produced on a goat's body can be measured in ounces, not pounds. If your girls don't look fuzzy now, they will soon. :)

They make bucket heaters and water trough heaters and heated buckets. There are all sorts of possibilities. Just check out your local farm store. If you don't like any of them, you can just have two buckets and swap them out during the day a couple times as they freeze. Goats do love warm water in winter. I mention having two buckets to swap out, because it is not always easy to get ice out of a bucket -- my husband and children have broken more than one bucket trying to get ice out. If you have two buckets, you can take one inside to thaw and still have a new bucket of warm water for the goats.

Two cups of grain a day for each kid should be plenty. Keep an eye on the hay. As they get older and bigger, they'll want more.

The only other bit of advice I have is to make sure the opening of the dogloo is facing south, AND it is not too close to another building. We thought we were being so smart to build a goat shelter on the north side of our barn only about four feet away, with the opening on the south. We though snow would never get in there, because it usually blows from the north, and since we had the shelter so close to the barn, we didn't think snow would be able to get in there any other way. Well, that was the worst possible idea! We have identical shelters in the middle of open grass, which work great. The shelter next to the barn completely fills up with snow when we have a snow storm! Somehow the snow blows and swirls around on the barn and fills up the shelter.

Replies

Cassandra November 12, 2010 at 7:21am

Thanks so much guys!
I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right! I've got loads of books..although nobody close to chat about goats with (they all look at me as though Im nutz!)!

I upped their grain from 3 cups a day for both to 4. 2 cups in AM & then again in PM. We live on almost 3 acres of field, which the neighbors cut and they gave us 10 bales of second cut hay. So I make sure they have a big pile of fresh hay to last through out the day. They seem to be doing fine w/the dog igloos and snuggle up to keep warm. I do change out the straw every other day or so..when I dont change I add fresh on top.
I will try switching out the buckets in the winter if that doesn't work for me I will purchase one of those de-icer things you put in the water bucket. Does anybody here use one?

To bad about the coats :P Haha I came across some goat coats in a magazine and wasn't sure if it was needed. Makes sense not to use them (unless they are sick!) What about collars? Are they ok to leave on? They other question I have is how often do you trim kids hooves? They are a bit older than 4 months. Also wondering if anyone knows of a step by step video showing how to do it?

Once again Im so thrilled I stumbled upon this site! You guys rock!
Deborah Niemann-Boehle November 5, 2010 at 8:36am

You don't need to do anything for heat, other than give them a thick bedding of straw and protection from the elements. A small shelter is actually better than a large one, because it will stay warmer from their body heat. They don't need coats because they'll grow a coat of thick cashmere. Yes, that's where cashmere comes from, which is why it's so expensive. The amount of cashmere produced on a goat's body can be measured in ounces, not pounds. If your girls don't look fuzzy now, they will soon. :)

They make bucket heaters and water trough heaters and heated buckets. There are all sorts of possibilities. Just check out your local farm store. If you don't like any of them, you can just have two buckets and swap them out during the day a couple times as they freeze. Goats do love warm water in winter. I mention having two buckets to swap out, because it is not always easy to get ice out of a bucket -- my husband and children have broken more than one bucket trying to get ice out. If you have two buckets, you can take one inside to thaw and still have a new bucket of warm water for the goats.

Two cups of grain a day for each kid should be plenty. Keep an eye on the hay. As they get older and bigger, they'll want more.

The only other bit of advice I have is to make sure the opening of the dogloo is facing south, AND it is not too close to another building. We thought we were being so smart to build a goat shelter on the north side of our barn only about four feet away, with the opening on the south. We though snow would never get in there, because it usually blows from the north, and since we had the shelter so close to the barn, we didn't think snow would be able to get in there any other way. Well, that was the worst possible idea! We have identical shelters in the middle of open grass, which work great. The shelter next to the barn completely fills up with snow when we have a snow storm! Somehow the snow blows and swirls around on the barn and fills up the shelter.

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