Barnyard emergencies are rare, but when they do occur, it’s best to be prepared. You can make and stock your own emergency kit to respond to the most common illnesses and injuries that affect goats. Use this list to make sure you have what you need to take the initial steps to care for your pets in an emergency, as you wait for the veterinarian.
To keep your animals healthy, it’s important to maintain clean feeding and watering equipment. Disinfecting buckets when you have a sick animal, after a dirty job, or just periodically can help reduce bacterial, viral, and fungal contamination. Here are two different ways to disinfect buckets with common household items you already have on hand.
Dogs love to play fetch or tug-of-war with rope toys. Making a toy for your dog is easy and fun. Here is a way to make a DIY rope toy out of recycled materials.
Most of the time, getting a baby goat to take a bottle isn’t too much of a challenge. There are, however, those kids that despite being hungry, refuse to suckle. Here are a few tips and tricks to try with a kid that is difficult to bottle-feed.
8 Bottle-Feeding Tips and Tricks for Difficult Baby Goats Read More »
Bottle-feeding baby goats can be fun and rewarding, but to be successful, adhering to a schedule is necessary. Included is a chart outlining a sample bottle-feeding schedule for Boer and Nubian goat kids showing what to feed, how much, and how often, based on the kid’s age. Equipment recommendations and information on weaning are also provided.
How to Bottle-Feed a Baby Goat: A Schedule for Boer or Nubian Kids Read More »
If you are kidding in a cold climate, a warming barrel can help keep your baby goats from getting hypothermia when they are very young. By cutting holes in a 55-gallon drum, you can make a place for baby goats to come warm up at their leisure. Securing a heat lamp in the warming barrel reduces fire hazard risk because the dam cannot access it.
If you have a box stall in your barn and are pressed for space during kidding time, transform it into two kidding jugs for your pregnant goats with these simple steps. This versatile, temporary arrangement will reduce the number of hay feeders, water buckets, and heat lamps you need to supply.
How to Convert a Box Stall to Two Temporary Kidding Jugs for Goats Read More »
If you want to have a successful kidding season, planning and preparation for breeding your does should start well in advance of exposing them to a buck. Provided here is a checklist of calendar items for the care for your does in the months before and after being bred. An example management calendar is provided to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and healthy kids.
Mark your Calendar! How to Make a Management Schedule for Breeding Goats Read More »
Before you bring home new livestock, there are a few housekeeping tasks you should have completed. If you follow this checklist, you will ensure the safety of your new animals and minimize the likelihood of them contracting pathogens from the animals housed there previously.
Help your goats beat boredom and live their best lives with these fun ideas. Transform their enclosure into a goat playground with a few inexpensive additions. Something to climb on, rub on, or a change of scenery is all a goat needs to stay occupied and out of trouble.
How to Keep Happy Goats: 6 Goat Enrichment Ideas Read More »