Tin Roof Dairy Goats

Updated 2/10

Goat Care

Disclaimer: Information provided in this section is simply advising you of what I have learned along the way and my practices. Please contact a local Veterinarian if you have medical questions.

Basic Physiological Data
Temperature	101.5-104.0F (rectal). Varies with air temperature, exercise, and excitement. To determine abnormal temperature, compare with several others under same condition.
Pulse	70-80 per minute
Respiration	12-20 per minute
Puberty	Occurs at 4-12 months
Estrus (heat) cycle	18-23 days
Length of heat period	18-24 hours (average); range 12-36 hours
Gestation	148-153 days; average 150 days

Goat Terminology

Feed I currently use Blue Seal Caprine Challenger for my does in milk and Blue Seal Medicated Meat Goat pellet with Ammonium Chloride for all others. Starting at 1 week of age kids are offered Blue Seal Medicated Meat Goat pellet with ammonium chloride. Any grain given is also topped with Probios feed granules at each feeding. Hay All are given an oat/alfalfa mix. During the summer hay is provided only at night. During the winter hay is given twice per day. Pastures are rotated from April through around October. Minerals Access to free choice minerals are always available. I currently use Purina Goat Mineral. Baking Soda is also provided free choice year round. Copper boluses are given biannually. The copper, Copasure 12.5g, can be purchased at Valley Vet olong with the gelatin capsules. The copper is given according to body weight, 1g per 22 pounds. Signs of copper deficiency are faded hair, hair growing in the wrong direction or hair missing from the tip of the tail. Vaccinations The only vaccination I use is Covexin 8 for sheep and goats for prevention of Enterotoxemia and Tetanus. A vaccination is given annually to my bred does 4 weeks prior to kidding. Typically I vaccinate the bucks and kids at the same time as the does for convenience. A slight abcess will form at the injection site however it does not bother the goat. Use according to the specifications on the bottle. Antibiotics are given only when extremely necessary. Milk is dumped for 7 days after antibiotics are finished. DeWorming I have used Ivomec cattle injectible, Valbazen, and Safeguard for goats as detailed below: Ivomec cattle injectible - Drench at 1cc per 35lb Valbazen - 2 times the labeled dose Safeguard for goats - 3 times the labeled dose Any treatments are given again at the same dosage 14 days after the original treatment for new parasites. I would recommend you learn to read your own fecal samples to determine how effective your worming program is. Lice Signs of lice are scratching alot, rubbing on fences or biting at their backs and legs. You can usually see places where hair is sticking up from the goat biting at itself. At these spots pull apart the hair and look at the skin for lice and their eggs. Eggs are visual attached to the base of the hairs and adult lice can be seen walking around. Adult lice look like very tiny grey ants. Lice are usually species specific therefore people are not affected by goat lice. Lice can be treated with a pour-on for lactating dairy cattle such as Cylence (my current selection from Valley Vet), De-Lice and Atroban. At the first sign of Lice, treat all animals at one time and retreat again in 14 days to kill the hatching eggs. Hoof Trimming I inspect their hooves routinely and normal trimming is done on 8-10 week intervals normally. I usually do all at one time just to maintain a schedule. Hoof trimming is easy and there are many tutorials online. Do not neglect this because it may result in permanent leg damage and please do not forget your bucks. Hair Clipping I use Oster A-5 clippers however I am sure there are much better clippers available. I simply did not feel like investing a lot of money when the Oster was purchased. As my herd grows though I am sure I will need something better. The Oster does get warm even on the second goat. I use a number 10 blade for everything. Since I do not show I am more concerned with cleanliness and the comfort of the animal during hot weather and does when kidding. Kid Care Disbudding: Unfortunately this is a part of owning dairy goats. If you plan to show your goat will need to be disbudded or you will not be allowed to enter. Even though you think horns are the image of a goat you will really appreciate not having them when you don’t have to worry about them goring each other or even you. I use a Rhinehart X30 electric disbudding iron. It comes with a goat tip already mounted. I would also recommend building a kid holding box to eliminate you burning yourself or placing the iron in the wrong spot. Trim off the hair around the bud area with a pair of scissors or clippers. Nubians will normally be around 5 to 10 days old when this needs to be done, give or take a few days. Some of the swiss breeds may need to be done at 1-2 days of age. When you can feel a slight bump they are ready. Make sure the iron is completely hot and test the ring on a board. Make sure the burn on the board is even all the way around. Once ready, firmly apply the ring over the center of the bud. Gently twist for 8 seconds. If you do not complete the 8 seconds due to the kid moving, reapply and finish the time. Go to the next bud and do the same. Go back to the first one and try and pop the center cap off of the burned area with the iron. If the cap does not pop off the bud was not destroyed. You should look for a copper ring around the burned area. Only touch the center of the burned area when trying to remove the cap. The kid will likely resume normal activity within a few minutes. Coccidia treatment: Currently I use Di-methox 12.5% Oral Solution available at Valley Vet. At the first sign of diarrhea in young kids, I treat the entire group at 1cc per 5 pounds orally for the first day then followed up for the next 4 days at 1cc per 10 pounds. Starting at 1 week old I provide the kids with Blue Seal Medicated Meat Goat pellet with Decoquinate as a preventative of Coccidiosis. The feed alone will not treat Coccidiosis.