Quote:
Cracked corn has a Ca
ratio of about 1:4. If you're mixing cracked corn with pelleted feed, you're throwing the entire Ca
ratio off on your feed. If you're feeding ANY cracked corn to bucks or wethers, you're pretty much begging for a case of urinary calculi.
There was a lot of post after the above, but I'm just gonna stop there and say to the OP....
get a vet lined up. It's never a bad idea to have a vet handy, even if it's just to call and ask a question.
Yes, they cost money.. My personal view is that if you can't afford the occasional vet bill, you can't afford the animal. It's like buying a car without thinking about the cost of maintenance......I mean, if you can't afford to replace a $1000+ set of 33x12.50 buckshot mudders every 30K miles, maybe you don't need a monster truck.
Just sayin'.
I must be so stupid. Do you feel better now?
Do some of you realize that the words are typed by people and not the screen. If someone asks for advice then give them advice, not a lecture, and not a scolding.
Gee - What did folks do before there were vets? Could it be our grandparents did the vets job themselves? I have nothing against the vet and use them for my pets but not the farm animals.
If you are not comfortable doing shots and worming and the myriad of other tasks on the farm then hire a vet. I choose to do it myself.
A goat, just like a deer will find corn if they were rummaging through the field. People are WAY TOO concerned about the perfect diet -- just look at the list of everything that is poison on the poison chick list. Get real! Our goats have to try everything that they see when we go for walks.
We fix the boys (wethers) and leave the horns on. Our goats are very healthy, but there are people that are hypochondriacs and I suppose they need constant reassurance for their animals too. I know people love their animals, we love ours, but they are just animals.
I'll agree for most people it is good to have a vet in an emergency, but most things you can do yourself. If it came to the point that I couldn't help the animal, I'd more than likely cull it. I raise my goats for milk and meat, so maybe that makes a difference -- the males aren't going to make it past a year old anyway. My goats are very healthy and taste great. Our goats are cross bred for farm use, not show and it really does make a strong healthy animal.
I know people that feed them nothing but hay and the animals manage to get by -- not ideal.
The corn bothers wethers more than those producing hormones as usual but the corn makes the meat taste good. Ours are not pets and we don't jam pack them full of meds or put them in jeopardy with their diet. The amount of corn I give them isn't going to bother them -- just a little for a treat.
Our experience has proven that corn is like candy to a goat and it doesn't really hurt them given in small amounts.
If the goat is not socialized, what makes you think that it's going to let you get close enough to grab it's horns as opposed to any other part of it?
