Monday, February 15, 2010

The Goats Are Home

We got most of our fencing up on Saturday with the help of some friends. Chris and Allen worked on the fence while Tammy and I kept the kids busy and sunk posts for the small loafing shed. Last night, it got completed in the dark, with the goats already in. I still have to finish the loafing shed, but I have a make-shift shelter with hog panels and tarps in the mean time.

I got to milk Latte yesterday when we were picking her up. It was more of a quick lesson in how to do it than anything. The previous owner has been trying to milk Pudding, since she knows that's why we wanted goats. This poor goat was neglected by the people this lady just bought her ranch from and she kidded just a couple of weeks ago. She seemed so near death that they pulled her kids. I'm not going to try to milk her. I think I will let her go dry and try to bring her condition back up. She needs the energy to get healthy, rather than supply our family with milk. She can spend the summer being a companion to Latte and a weed-eater for the family. We may try to breed her in the fall, as long as she is in good health. I just need to find the happy medium of getting her weight up without her bloating.

Pudding


Latte and her kids


Yum-Yum #1


Yum-Yum #2

7 comments:

  1. Wow! Pudding is super skinny! I think you made a wise choice... you might want to check her for worms also. Latte is rather skinny also. Your goats are nice looking goats otherwise... pretty babies! Congrats! What kind of goats are they?

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  2. They're Alpines. The lady I got them from dewormed and had all of their testing done before she would put them in with her herd. The camera really does put on 10# because she looks a lot skinnier in person. I've been over at the HT site and been getting tons of great advice. I just hope that they can snap back. All I can do is try, right? When I get into something, I really get in it...so to speak. :)

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  3. Ohh Poor girls! I hope they do okay for you.. They could be some beautiful girls when they bounce back! Slow and easy on the food is the best way. If they havent had hay out 24/7 then I wouldnt give it to them like that for a little bit. When I am trying to bring one back I do it slowly good hay.. A little grain and increasing slowly.. Also a good mineral will be a key to getting them back up to par. Weedy leafy stuff is best too. Also letting them drink their own milk If they will helps also.
    To help dry Pudding up Sage(fresh, oil or dry) does wonders for most goats to dry up with out complications.. I had one that wouldnt respond to it But She hates to be dried up!Lol You can also use the Essential oil in a carrier oil and massage it into her udder to help her dry up. Yogurt with active cultures would also help. Most goats will eat it willingly.
    Good luck!

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  4. Congratulations. Oddly enough my first thought upon seeing pudding was worms, can't tell you why. it just was.
    Good luck with your new herd Paula.

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  5. Thank you Tonia. I've not heard about the sage. There is a guy at our co-op that is an expert on homeopathy and works quite a bit with goats, but he didn't mention that. I'll have to check it out.

    AKA- Worms were my first thought when I saw them too. I've seen some dogs in pretty bad shape, and it reminded me of that. They've been treated and I was told that with their eyes being so clear and coat being in decent condition that malnurishment was the problem and not worms.

    With all of this info coming at me, these are going to end up being some spoiled goats! Hopefully, it will show in a couple of months.

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  6. Paula, you need to keep and eye on their eyelids and make sure they are a deep pink. This is a good indicator if they have worms. If they are pale, they need to be wormed again. There is an excellent herbal wormer on the market. Google Molly's herbal wormer... I used it until I learned about copper. I still use it for bottle babies.

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  7. I will look that up. Now you got me wondering about copper. I guess I'll be going to look that one up. I know you can give it in loose minerals or in a bolus, but anything above and beyond that and I'm lost. I have just been giving the loose minerals with copper and selenium.

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