How To Keep Your Goats Healthy
We take a holistic approach to our herds health. We feed healthy and organic food, provide minerals and nutrients to our goats. We use herbal remedies to avoid chemical treatments when at all possible. We strive to keep a healthy, clean and stress free environment with space to run, jump and graze. With all that said, even with the best care possible goats occasionally get sick.
~ Preventative Care
Preventative care will help you stay on top of potential problems with your goats health. Some crucial things you should provide to keep your herd healthy:
Free choice minerals to ensure your goats are getting all the nutrients they need. We use Sweetlix Magnum Milker loose minerals for our does on an alfalfa diet and Sweetlix Meat Makers loose minerals for our bucks on a grass diet. This can be found at our local feed stores or purchased online. We also add ZinPro 40 to the loose minerals.
Free choice baking soda to prevent bloat.
Healthy treats Healthy treats designed for a goat's rumen or chopped veggies and fruits and tree clippings are excellent treats. Our goats love tangerines, banana peels, orange peels, kale, lettuce.
Preventative care will help you stay on top of potential problems with your goats health. Some crucial things you should provide to keep your herd healthy:
Free choice minerals to ensure your goats are getting all the nutrients they need. We use Sweetlix Magnum Milker loose minerals for our does on an alfalfa diet and Sweetlix Meat Makers loose minerals for our bucks on a grass diet. This can be found at our local feed stores or purchased online. We also add ZinPro 40 to the loose minerals.
Free choice baking soda to prevent bloat.
Healthy treats Healthy treats designed for a goat's rumen or chopped veggies and fruits and tree clippings are excellent treats. Our goats love tangerines, banana peels, orange peels, kale, lettuce.
~ Find a Vet
Finding a veterinarian that works with goats can be difficult. It's best to establish a relationship with a farm vet before a problem arises. Calling a vet out to help a sick animal can be very expensive but may also be your only option in order to save the life of very sick goat. Many issues can be handled by the goat owner and there is a lot of great info online about goat health. I belong to a group on Facebook called Goat Vet Corner which can also be very helpful. If you are new to goats, call the breeder you bought your goats from. I have found the advise of a seasoned goat breeder to be extremely helpful.
Finding a veterinarian that works with goats can be difficult. It's best to establish a relationship with a farm vet before a problem arises. Calling a vet out to help a sick animal can be very expensive but may also be your only option in order to save the life of very sick goat. Many issues can be handled by the goat owner and there is a lot of great info online about goat health. I belong to a group on Facebook called Goat Vet Corner which can also be very helpful. If you are new to goats, call the breeder you bought your goats from. I have found the advise of a seasoned goat breeder to be extremely helpful.
~ Hoof Care
Goats need to have their hooves trimmed regularly. We trim our goat's hooves once a month most of the year. In the Spring when they are out on the rocks in the pasture more often the hooves are naturally worn down by the terrain and we only need to trim every other month. Click here for hoof trimming instructions.
~ Common Causes of Sickness and Injury
Goats occasionally get sick, but knowing how it happens can help prevent it from happening to you.
Stress Goats can easily get stressed out from kidding, traveling, breeding and other changes. During this time their immune systems become compromised and can cause havoc on their digestive system and they become more susceptible to parasites and worms. We give probiotics during time of stress.
Overeating It's healthy to give hay or alfalfa free choice but if allowed to eat grain freely, goats will go way overboard. This effects the pH of the rumen and can cause digestive issues including bloat and enterotoxemia.
Poisonous Plants Common plants that are poisonous to goats include nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes and peppers), oleanders and rhododendrons. Click here to see more plants poisonous to livestock.
Predators Here in North County San Diego, I was surprised to learn that coyotes are not the biggest threat to livestock. Neighborhood dogs, strays and even your own lovable pooch are the biggest predatory threat to your goats. Make sure that your fence is at least 5' tall and secured to keep dogs from digging underneath. Socialize your dog carefully around goats. Livestock guardian dogs can be useful if trained properly to protect your farm animals.
Unclean Pens Unclean pens can harbor bacteria and intestinal parasite larvae. Bedding soaked in urine can can release gases causing harm to the respiratory tract, leading to pnumonia. We rake our pens out daily and sweep the floors of the sleeping areas and play structures. We spray our housing areas with Bye Bye Odor, made of microbes that eliminate odor by neutralizing the amonia from urine and thus eliminate the harmful gases. We also spray a natural antibacterial weekly to kill germs in the sleeping areas.
~ Diseases
There are a few diseases that can effect the health of your goat and entire herd. We test our herd annually for Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) and Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL), Johnes and Brucella. Ask a potential breeder about any incidence of these diseases in their herd and if they test their herd before you buy a goat.
~ Goat Biology
www.goatbiology.com
Check out this website for lots of great information about goat health, anatomy, reproduction, digestion and more.
www.goatbiology.com
Check out this website for lots of great information about goat health, anatomy, reproduction, digestion and more.
~ What to Keep in Your Goat Medicine Cabinet
anti-diarrheal - Used to treat diarrhea. We use Kaolin Pectin.
Antibiotics - Call your Veterinarian for a prescription. We keep Exceed, Draxxin and LA-200 on hand.
Vitamin B - Supports a healthy appetite, digestion, and energy levels.
Nutri-Drench - Delivers high energy, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, electrolytes and antioxidants in minutes.
Probiotics - Contains a source of live (viable), naturally occurring microorganisms to help maintain healthy digestion.
Molasses - High in potassium, magnesium, & calcium, and iron. Used for electrolytes and energy boost.
Drench syringe - Used to feed medicines and chemical wormers.
Betadine - Disinfectant, Antiseptic microbicide.
Udder Balm - Helps soothe and moisturize dry or irritated udder and teats.
feeding tube - Hopefully something you never need, but if you do this can save a life. Check out youtube vidoes on how to use.
Herbal de-wormer - a natural blend of herbs used to kill worms and parasites from residing in the digestive tract.
This can be given in the form of a dosage ball or mixed with Chaffhaye so that the herbs stick to the food.
Terramycin - Used to treat eye infections such as pink eye. I have successfully used this to treat irritation caused by grass seeds.
Needles and Syringes- We keep a variety of size as some medicine is thicker than others. 20 gauge x 1" is usually fine.
Wound ointment - Great for use on wounds, incisions and abrasions.
Surgical Scissors - Can be used to cut umbilical cord, skin tags and bandages.
Thermometer - Used rectally to diagnose fever. Goat's normal temperature is approx. 103 F.
Alcohol or alcohol preps - Used to disinfect and prep vaccination site.
Therabloat - Controls bloat when administered at the earliest signs. I have had success with a drench of Therabloat and baking soda in combination with Milk of Magnesia.