Is My Goat Kid Fat?
A lot of people new to goats think a kid is “fat” when it has a big belly. However, a big belly — sometimes called “hay belly” — is a sign of malnutrition, either from a parasite overload or not … Read More
goats
Goat Birthing: The Problem with Online Advice
There is no shortage of forums and Internet groups where you can sign on and start asking questions or posting comments about goat keeping. This can be a wonderful way to learn and share information, but there is also the … Read More
Goat Birthing: Patience is a Virtue
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed an increasing amount of advice directing goat breeders to routinely intervene in the births of every goat. Not only is this unwarranted, but the risks far outweigh the benefits because it can result … Read More
Internal Parasites in Goats: Preventing Infection
If fighting internal parasites with dewormers is ultimately a losing battle, what can you do to keep your goats healthy and productive? There are a number of environmental controls that can be utilized to eliminate parasite problems almost entirely. If … Read More
Dewormer Resistance in Goats
Internal Parasites It is a well-known fact that internal parasites are the leading cause of death among goats. Unfortunately, it is a problem of our own making. You have probably heard of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which resulted from the overuse of … Read More
Beware! Goats are escape artists!
I started my herd with three does and a buck. Knowing that goats are herd animals and need company, I was buying my buck from a breeder who was going to give me a wether for company. However, after driving … Read More
Conducting a Newborn Check in Goat Kids
Why a Newborn Check? Shortly after each kid is born you should do an initial newborn check to make sure that each kid has all its pieces in the right places. In addition to checking for obvious things, such as … Read More
Dam Raised vs. The Bottle: Socialization
The decision to dam raise or to bottle raise kids needs to be made before the kids are born. There has been a bias towards bottle raising baby dairy animals for the past few decades as factory farms took over … Read More
When goats attack…each other!
One of the hardest things for humans to understand is why goats are so mean to each other. And sometimes the goats that are the most outgoing towards humans are the roughest with other goats. They butt heads and slam … Read More
A Pet Goat: Debunking 9 ill-conceived notions
Every spring I respond to multiple phone calls and emails from people who want a pet goat. They are unaware that goats are herd animals and need to have another caprine friend to be healthy and happy. Here are a … Read More
