Episode 52 For the Love of Goats       Someone emailed me after her first experience tattooing goats and said, "There has to be a better way to identify goats. What can you tell me about microchips?" Luckily I had already scheduled an interview with Allysse Sorenson, Chief Executive Herder of The Munch Bunch and webmaster at HireGoats.com. Allysse has … [Read more...]

Episode 51 For the Love of Goats       Zinc deficiency is often suspected when a goat is losing hair, but there are other reasons for hair loss, and that is not the only symptom of zinc deficiency. In this episode, we are talking about zinc with Dr. Robert VanSaun from the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Pennsylvania State … [Read more...]

Episode 50 For the Love of Goats       Some people talk about sheep and goats as if they are practically the same species, but nothing could be further from the truth. I've been breeding and milking Nigerian dwarf goats since 2002 and LaMancha goats for about 10 years. It may come as a surprise that I also bred Shetland sheep for 12 years and have … [Read more...]

Episode 49 For the Love of Goats       When my daughters were teenagers, they loved showing goats. It was a great way for us to learn about goat conformation and to see how our goats compared to others. It also provided an opportunity for us to meet other goat owners. In this episode, we are talking to Ellen Dorsey of Dill's-A Little Goat Farm in … [Read more...]

Episode 48 For the Love of Goats       Because barber pole worm (haemonchus contortus) causes so many deaths among goats, we don't talk about other worms much. Barber pole is the worm that sucks blood and causes goats to become anemic, which can cause a goat to go downhill rapidly and even die. Goats can be walking around with a host of other worms in … [Read more...]

Episode 47 For the Love of Goats         If you have goats for very long, you may realize that some never need deworming while others need it frequently. There is definitely a genetic component involved in a goat's natural resistance or resilience to worms. In this episode I'm talking to Andrew Weaver, Ph.D., Small Ruminants Extension Specialist … [Read more...]

Episode 46 For the Love of Goats       If you look online for a list of plants that are poisonous to goats, you might think you need to chop down trees and pull up dozens of weeds to keep your goats safe. Those lists can include things like oak and maple leaves, which my goats eat regularly because my farm is covered with them. The fact is that goats … [Read more...]

Episode 45 For the Love of Goats       If you ever wanted to sell your goats or sheep to someone in another country, then you are already familiar with the US's problem with scrapie. It's not a huge problem, but having anything more than zero cases for seven years means that most countries will not allow our sheep and goats to be imported into their … [Read more...]

Episode 43 For the Love of Goats       There is an old veterinary saying that most animal diseases are bought and sold. It can be so tempting to buy every cute goat that you see, but there are some very good reasons to only buy your animals from reputable breeders who have herds that have tested negative for common diseases. In this episode, I am … [Read more...]