Gender
Female
About
Location
La Luz, NM
If you already have goats, what's your herd name?
TB's Nigerian Herd
Comment Wall
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Gender
Female
Location
La Luz, NM
If you already have goats, what's your herd name?
TB's Nigerian Herd
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
Comments are closed.
Comments
Wow! That is horrible.. I have seen castration on horses.. but they knock them out first… I can’t imagine him being awake for that.. Trust me Banding is the way to go... easy.. pretty much pain free (everything goes numb in just a few min.. no crying either).. and no blood. They walk around stiff legged for about 20 min.. Then act like nothing happened at all. It's also really easy to do and just takes a few seconds.
If you’re interested here is a video on banding : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBeqRTBalto
I prefer to have them setting up in someone’s lap (like a human baby) so I can see the teats and hairline while doing it.
Don't let that experience keep you from getting wethers.. They are the best.
Also as a side note.. we like to band them a week before weaning that way they are still with mommy.. the comforting the mothers give during that first hour seems to really help the babies.
I do give the Tentus Toxoid to the Does.. it's in the CD&T.. Once yearly.. Then before breeding.. and again at 4 weeks to due date.
Bad vets.. the lament of all goat owners. I am very lucky that my horse vet (who is awesome!) lets me tell her what I need for the goats and why and she will call in a prescription for me. In fact she has called me a few times now while out with other peoples goats looking for advice.
How did Bens castration get done? We band ours and have had no issues.. Much less needing to put medication on the area. Sounds like they cut them off??
Giving you fair warning.. Goats are like Pringles (Slogan: Once you pop you just can’t stop).. We started with two as well.. just to do some 4H shows with my daughter.. Now we are up to 11 goats and will be breeding Miss Hawaii in November. :o)
Sorry this turned out longer then I thought it would!! HAHA!!
A Nigerian Dairy goat is a miniature dairy goat with a more elegant structure.. Where as a African Pygmy goat is a miniature meat goat who are bred to be cobby and heavy boned.
I grain my goats once a day.. I use DuMor Goat that I get at Tractor Supply (1cup).. Noble Goat is fine.. . Mostly you want to look at the contents of the feed. After pulling it up online the Noble and DuMor are fairly equal with some minor differences. I also feed my goats “Calf Mana”.. But again I have pygmies so I want them to be bulky(1 Cup Bucks – ½ cup wether/does).
The alfalfa I feed about 1 flake a day in a pen with 2 goats. Yes mine also waste most of it. They really only like the leafy part of the alfalfa. In the evenings I will dump the remaining alfalfa into my horses stall. (She is not so picky). Again I want my goats bulky.. so I give them as much alfalfa as they want.
I give the CD&T once a year to our wethers.. The does will get the CD&T again before breeding then again 4 weeks before kidding (due date). The Bucks also get it before breeding season.. I normally do my yearly in September so that everyone is done at the same time so I don’t get confused. Plus breeding season is normally October/November.
I also worm my goats in September and March (Spring & Fall).. I also give my goats BoSe when I worm.. and Does will also get BoSe at the 4 weeks to due date (When I give the CD&T booster). In NM we are Selenium deficient.. That is why I give it.. (Needs a vet prescription).
Then minerals.. There are sooo many kinds of minerals to pick.. any goat person you talk to will have their favorite one. I keep a mineral block in each pen (I like “Billy Block – Berry Bush”). I also feed Manna Pro Goat Minerals with their feed. My friend that was a Nigerian judge feeds Purina 12:12 horse minerals (keeps in pan in pen for free choice eating). For whatever reason my goats did not like it… so I started using the Manna Pro pellets in the feed.
If you have not yet been to the Fias Co Farms website I would highly recommend it. http://fiascofarm.com/sitemap.htm I love the fact she gives several options for each issue/treatment/medicine/vaccination/etc. I still refer to this site when something comes up that I have not dealt with before.
Let me know if you have any more questions.. Hope this info was helpful!!
Hi Trish.. I only have Pygmies.. but they are fairly close to the Nigerians. I also have a friend that lives in Albuquerque who was a Nigerian Judge and breeder until recently (She is now only doing pygmy goats). I am happy to help with anything you might need. If I don't know the answer I can always call my friend. I have been told that Nigerians are WAY easier then Pygmies. :o)