nigerian dwarf newbie

[mdoerge]

I am planning on getting two Nigerian Dwarf doelings. I located one through the internet and one through a 4H'er at our county fair. Do any of you experienced goat people have any words of advice? I've done a ton of research (which gets a little overwhelming), but when it comes to actually making the purchase, I'm a little intimidated. The breeder guarantees that her goats are healthy, but what should I be looking for with the goat from the 4H'er? Since the one doeling was at the fair and the other is coming from a different breeder, do I need to be concerned about any health issues in housing them together in a few weeks?

 

[thunder123]

The only thing I found was worm problems. I have dwarf Nigerians and they are strong, but lung worms can take them down quick! Check for coughing and hacking. Keep up with your worming routine. Keep minerals free choise. Fresh water all times. They are the best pets of all!

 

[mdoerge]

Do you milk your goats? Is the worming medicine safe for pregnant goats and for milk consumption by my family? I've read about keeping minerals free choice, but don't know what minerals other than salt. I've also read about giving baking soda free choice. What is the purpose of the baking soda?

 

[Chatychick]

I raise Nigis and the first thing I would do is give them shot. Even if they come with records. Better safe than sorry and also worm the with either a cattle pour on and give it orally. Its 1 cc per 10lbs of goat. Also since they are comming from different places keep them separate for at least 2 wks to make sure the y arent bringing something the other isnt immune too. They need their CD.T shots then the booster 2 wks later. Find out what they are feeding them and slowly change to a different feed. Fast will make them sick.Check their feet and ask if they do CAE/CL testing? This isnt something you want to bring home. Very heartbreaking. Also you need a white paste wormer that will get tapeworms. Also you will need some probotics as sometimes the move can upset the rumen and this will help. But the main thing is worming and cocci treatments as stress of the move can cause real problems. Right now this is all I can think of I am sure when helmstead comes on she will think of something I have forgotten. Good luck

 

[mdoerge]

Thanks for the advice. Even though I've been researching and talking to a lot of people, getting started is a little intimidating.

 

[helmstead]

I have a standard proceedure for all my new goats under a year of age. All of this stems from a purchase we made from what we thought was a reputable breeder, introducing a strain of cocci my goats had never been exposed to into my herd and killing two kids (and the buckling that brought the cocci to us to begin with). It not only cost us in terms of loosing investments and expenditures related to vet care...it broke our hearts.

So...all new goats under 1 year enter a 21 day quarantine. They are placed in 10' x 10' pens away from (but within sight and sound distance) my herd. They all go through an intensive deworming program (2 dewormings with 2 dewormers 10 days apart), daily cocci treatment with either Albon or Amprollium, and a two series course for C/D & T. During this period, they also recieve large doses of ProBios to keep their rumens happy despite all the antibiotics (just note that you can't give the probiotics at the same time that you drench the antibiotics, the meds will kill the probiotics, too). Only once all of these treatments are complete are they introduced to my herd.

The primary downside to this is that if you aren't getting more than one goat from the same place, they'll be alone and therefore be stressed.

I speculate that IF you do cocci treatments (as indicated for treatment, not for prevention) you should be able to keep your girls together from the get-go because they'll both be getting treatment and shouldn't become ill. IMHO, with young goats your main concern will be different strains of cocci that they haven't yet built immunity to.

Also, be sure to get some feed from each breeder to graduate the kids onto whatever you'll be feeding.

 

[Chatychick]

I know it seems hard at first but you catch on really quick and there are sites that will help also I go to www.goattalk.com very good place and here is also...

 

[mdoerge]

Is the medication for cocci treatment (Albon or Amprollium) something I need to get from the vet or is it available from a different source? I found goattalk.com the other day.

 

[Chatychick]

Yep Albon is better and you can get it from the vet or feed store or jefferssupply.com also.