Isaiah 11:6 Dairy Goats

Feeding

We feed alfalfa/grass mix hay free choice to the bucks and pure alfalfa hay to the does/kids. The milking does get 1-4 pounds of grain per day depending on production. Currently the mix includes oats, peas, sunflower meal and fertrell goat nutribalancer. 

 

Supplements

All goats are offered free choice enterprises 20 mineral system. I switched to this in 2021 after a difficult kidding season and some "off" symptoms in the goats (fish tails, slouchy pasterns, etc.). The results have blown me away. Easy kiddings, healthiest kids I have ever had, low parasite loads. It has been a huge game changer.

I offer free choice wormer tea all spring/summer/fall and occasionally in the winter. I make this by putting about 1/4 cup herbal wormer in a 5 gallon bucket, adding a "glug" of molasses and filling the bucket with water. Sometimes they drink a lot, sometimes not much. I also used FAMACHA to monitor eyelid color and stool consistency and drench with herbal wormer as needed.

Kelp is also available free choice.

 

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/Johnes at the same time, so that we only have to draw blood once. We recently started doing on farm pregnancy testing which is nice for instant results. 

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Testing

We tested for CAE and Johnes every year when we first started. Due to schedules, cost, and dislike for needles, I have switched to doing it every 2-3 years. All goats tested negative fall of 2022 and all but Sparkle were tested January 2025 and are all negative. Unfortunately we could not get Sparkle's sample, but she has numerous negative tests in her past.

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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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