When some people get started with goats, they may overlook a very important aspect of their care by failing to provide free-choice, loose goat minerals. Even if they know goats need minerals, they may think that a block is okay or that any livestock minerals are good enough. They may think they should top dress the goats' feed rather than having the minerals available all … [Read more...]
Goat Birthing: A beginner’s guide
If you are new to goats, you probably have dozens of questions about kidding, which is when goats give birth to kids. Here are a few resources for you to help you understand the process and know what to expect.First of all, you need to make sure your goat is pregnant. Forget about the pooch test, the ring test, and the bleach test, and check out this post, Is my goat … [Read more...]
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 possibility that you will receive some seriously bad information. Answers are given to questions about situations that may not be clearly described. In 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 in infection or a ruptured uterus or even hurting the kid.A friend recently told me that a goat magazine had an article advising goat … [Read more...]
Is my goat pregnant?
Tis the season for goat pictures to show up on social media, and we are not talking about cute kid pictures. We are talking about pictures of goat's back ends! They are posted on people's personal walls, on farm pages, and in goat groups with the question, "Is my goat pregnant?"Just as there used to be lots of old wives tales about women and pregnancy, now there … [Read more...]
