calling all goat owners

[hollyk]

The truth about urinary calculi- according to my vet- is that they really don't know the exact cause. Under normal circumstances a buck won't have trouble with UC. Those goats in danger of urinary calculi are usually show wethers. Of course I am talking about boer goats. I don't know a thing about pygmies and other minis.
With the sweet feed mixed in it is not a straight shot, the same for the alfalfa. With access to some pasture and plenty of water you shouldn't have trouble.

As you can see from all the responses, there are as many different opinions as there are goat raisers. A goat that is micromanaged will not be hardy and will always need to be micromanaged. I consulted with a lot of boer goat raisers, my county extension agent, and my vet while getting started. The thing is that most vets don't know much at all about goats. Our vet was wise and humble enough to go get his vet tech to come talk to me. She has a goat ranch and knows them inside and out. He still consults with her at times since she is now managing a goat ranch and no longer working for him. The same goes for extension agents as well. I use our 4H agent as the ag agent in our county doesn't know squat about goats.

 

[helmstead]

Here's what I know about UC...

1) bucks: because of the demands of rut, they will need grain (by grain I mean pellets, not cob or sweet feed). Mixing grain and grass hay is imbalanced...so if you feed grain, you need to feed alfalfa hay. The 2:1 ratio is VERY important...you have to consider it for the COMPLETE diet...and it's a pain. Ammonium chloride is also important, but not full time. Stagger it, like 1 month on, 1 month off...bolus it at weather changes.

2) wethers: once done growing...wethers dont require grain at all. Give them alfalfa pellets instead of grain. AC, as above, as well.

Alfalfa is the perfect goat feed, IMO. They do really well on it.

Sweet feed...this I will never ever feed again. I lost my first herdsire at a VERY young age to UC as a result of feeding sweet feed. It was horrific.

As Chaty has mentioned, make sure salt is always available. In changes of season, add homemade or bought electrolytes to their feed, as well. The more dilute the urine the less the chances of crystal formation. Also it should be noted that wethers who were castrated early (before 8 weeks) are at FAR greater risk than those who got to hold on to their tidbits a bit longer.

 

[Cara]

Quote:
Do you mean at greater risk of UC period, or if fed sweet feed after being castrated early?

 

[coberdor]

Wethers are at great risk for UC in general, especially since most are castrated at a young age. Their urethra does not develop completely when they are castrated at a young age, hence it is easier for the calcium deposits to get lodged.

Just yesterday we had to put down my 13 yrs. old pygmy wether, Rudy. He hadUrinary Calculi.
It was a double sword type of thing. He had a difficult time chewing
hay, and wouldn't touch the alfalfa pellets so I had to give him more grain because we almost lost him last winter to starvation, since he couldn't chew his food. I kept him blanketed for warmth. He hadn't been able to urinate in 3 days. It could have gotten to the point that his bladder could burst, then he would die of toxemia. I couldn't allow that. He trusted my all his life to do what was right for him, so I had him put down.

We couldn't bury him with all the cold and snow. So we put him in a car luggage carrier. He'll stay frozen there until we can bury him.
I've had to do this before, about 12 years ago with a dog.

Good luck with your goats. I've had goats for almost 20 years. This is the first wether we've lost to UC. If they have good quality hay and aren't being milked, they don't need much, if any grain.

Carmel

 

[hollyk]

Quote:
I'm sorry.

 

[kstaven]

We had problems in the past due to too much sweet feed. Never found alfalfa to cause any problems with goats.

 

[PotterWatch]

Can someone tell me the difference between sweet feed and grain?

 

[Cara]

Sweet feed is already mixed; it usually has pellets, flaked corn, oats... can't think what else, all coated in molasses, so it is brownish looking and smells very sweet. It looks like rabbit/guinea pig food a lot

Grain has no molasses, and nothing else added. It's just as it comes after harvesting. We have to buy a 50lb bag of oats, one of cracked corn, and one of barley, and mix the three together in a feed bin in the right proportion. Some feed mills will sell a mix, but we're not so lucky!

ETA sacks of sweet feed will usually be labelled 'sweet feed' or 'all stock feed'. Sacks of grain will just be labelled with what's in it, e.g. 'cracked corn', or 'oats/rolled oats'. Hope this makes sense

 

[adorable]

ok...What about the does. DO you feed them the same grain or you feed them sweet feed. Just the boys on normal grain. Do you put some minerals at all in the feed?

 

[Cara]

Wethers shouldn't need anything in addition to good hay, minerals and salt. Bucks need grain during breeding season to keep them in shape, but no sweet feed. Not sure about anyone else, but my does just get grain and hay, no sweet feed for them either. So at this end no goats get sweet feed at all

Not sure whether it might be useful for maybe does in early pregnancy, or poor looking does? We don't feed anything sweet feed, so it's more convenient to just use the grain for any goats that need it.

You can mix the mineral in their feed at 1/4oz per day per goat, or leave a container of it in their pen so they can have it free choice. Since only one of mine gets fed grain, and I have two that need mineral, I leave it out the whole time. I have it in a large plastic coffee can wired to the fence top and bottom, so it's harder to poop in and can't be knocked over. They do seem to waste more than they use, so when they are both getting grain (when my other doe is closer to kidding), and when they are both milking, I will put it in their feed bowls on the milking stand.