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Farm Practices

Feeding

We feed a grass/alfalfa mix hay free choice. The milking does get about 2 pounds of grain per day.  The grain is soaked with water and apple cider vinegar to make it easier to digest.

 

Supplements

We worm weekly with a home mixed herbal wormer. We also give free choice wormer tea- I put about 1/2 cup of the wormer in a quart jar, add a little molasses, and fill with very hot water. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then mix with water in a 5 gallon bucket. They drink it better than they drink water.

I also add organic raw apple cider vinegar to their water at least weekly.

For minerals we use Lydia’s Herbal Goat Mineral, and mineral mix from Premier, an organic mineral, and copper sulfate free choice. We mix the herbal mineral with Thorvin kelp. Thorvin is the best brand that we have found. It is certified Organic and the goats love it! We mix about 1/2 cup of herbs per pound of kelp. I also copper bolus every 4 months.

After a difficult kidding season in 2022, I started giving Replamin plus weekly. It isn't my favorite choice as it has soybean oil, but the reviews are good so I decided to try it. We will see how it goes.

 

Breeding

We usually end up pen breeding. However, this does not mean we do not know when the does are due. We see when they are bred and write it on a calendar. Then we pregnancy test them through Biotracking about 30 days later. We test for CAE at the same time, so that we only have to draw blood once.

I am planning to not keep a buck anymore, so I will be using stud service for my does. I only breed them every other year and it doesn't make sense to keep a buck to breed 2 does a year.

 

Testing

We tested for CAE and Johnes every year when we first started. Due to schedules and dislike for needles, I have not gotten to it for the last few years. I plan to start testing again this year. I only buy from tested negative herds and don't show, so the testing is just to prove they are negative.

Rearing

As soon as a kid is born, they get a few drops of Cayenne tincture. This helps them get off to a fast start. It gives them extra vitamins. We then sterilize their umbilical cord with Navel Sterilizer. After that, their dam takes care of them for the most part. Lately we have not been there for the birth, so we haven't done these things. They seem to do just as well without it.

All of our kids are dam raised unless it is absolutely necessary to bottle raise them. They get handled every day and are quite friendly. We believe that it is best if they are allowed to stay with their mother and learn how to be a goat. It isn’t very pleasant to have goats that think they are humans. After 1-2 weeks, the kids are locked up at night in a pen, but still able to see their mother. In the morning, we milk the mother and then let the kids out.

 

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