Bottle goat questions, please.....

[ZykloniaDark-GothikRanchr]

unfortunately, here in Florida, it doesn't get cold enough in the winter to kill off all the ickies, so I usually have to worm in the winter. Summer, when it is dry, it's not so bad, but winter, and rainy season is icky wormy heaven!! I have found if I keep mom and baby(S) in kidding pen for a few weeks, I don't usually have to worry about the little ones as much. Only when I go on my rescue missions!! I will let anyone who wants to know how the herbal wormers work, But I will still keep the stronger one on hand just in case { I am not willing to lose my herd!}

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
Are all your kids that unhealthy? Mine aren't. It will be 14 years in June that I have raised La Manchas and Nubians. Want to know the # of times I have used ANY antibiotics in that amount of time? 2, once I had a goat dehorned (will NEVER do that again), and the other I had to pull tangled twins from my doe. I have NEVER used antibiotics on a kid. And I have never lost a kid- to anything.

Using antibiotics as a preventative is not something that anyone should consider "simple animal husbandry"

Simple animal husbandry is clean bedding, feed that is the right kind, quantity, and quality, fresh water. NOT seeing something that *could* be something else, and throwing antibiotics at it.

Antibiotics when they aren't specifically needed is irresponsible. The more you use an antibiotic, the less effective it is. Overuse of antibiotics and antimicrobials are the reason why we have "superbugs" bacteria that are resistant to normal treatment (staph, anyone?). If you want to contribute to that, be my guest, but all new people have the right to hear both sides and decide for themselves.


If your animals aren't thrifty enough to survive without antibiotics as par for the course, you are doing a disservice to yourself and to the hobby by breeding those animals and continuing the cycle.

An immune system that is allowed to develope naturally is much more productive for your animals (and you) than constantly dosing them. You are WEAKENING the immune system if you are using antibiotics as preventative. Using antibiotics for small stuff is going to put you between a rock and a hard place if your herd is ever actually exposed to something they NEED antibiotics for.

I have said my piece and will leave you to decide for yourself. When your animals no longer have the immune system to deal with a simple cold, don't come crying to me, because at that point, you did it to yourself.

 

[greyfields]

I believe Mr Helmstead is aware of all this, kscacres. He's not managing his goats exactly how I would, either. But, it's certainly his perogative, don't you agree?

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
As with anything, everyone is free to make their own decisions.

 

[Chatychick]

Helmstead is a she and her name is Kate...

 

[speckledhen]

While I admittedly know little about goats, per se, I do know that there is a vast difference in the flora, fauna and general soil/weather conditions between Wyoming, having lived out west more than once, and Georgia, where Kate (helmstead) and I live. To interject on the worming issues, worms are probably much worse here and of different variety, depending on soil types and weather conditions. There may be differing philosophies of animal husbandry between people here, but I can say that I know from first-hand observation that Kate's animals, goats, horses and chickens seem to be extremely well-cared for and healthy. I believe she does possess a well rounded knowledge of all three species and would feel safe taking her advice on caring for any of them. If you have a system that is working for you, by all means, stick with it.

 

[texaschickmama]

So back to the bottle feeding questions, I am feeding about 20 oz three times a day. From what I have read here, that is way too much. Billy is 5 wks old and the twins are 3 wks old. Can you break it down for me. They also have access to fress alfafa hay and medicated pellets. Thanks.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
We feed 32 oz per kid per day to two weeks.
From 2 weeks to 8 weeks, it's 40 oz per kid per day.
From 8 weeks to weaning, it's 48 oz per kid per day.

From 2 weeks and older, the feeding is split in half, we feed morning and night, as close to 12 hours apart as possible.

We are feeding standard size La Mancha and Nubian kids.

We usually continue to feed through at least 12 weeks, sometimes longer, depending on the kid and how much extra milk we have.

Also, we try to feed grass hay to wethers instead of alfalfa. Free choice when they are just learning to eat it is fine. It encourages them to try it if it's always available. After they are about 6 months old, we got to twice a day feedings or they waste way too much hay. Some people do give hay free choice, but we have too many goats to let them pick their way through it.