Life on the Farm
When a doe gives birth, her body produces milk for her kids, in a process called freshening. Most dairy goats produce more than their kids need. And they continue to produce for a while after the kids stop nursing. So...
Most goat kids are born without human help. You might, in fact, go out to check on your pregnant doe only to find she has already given birth. However, it’s always a good idea to be there during the event,...
Nubian doe Frosty was extremely timid and cautious. Before she would do anything new, she took her sweet time checking things out. So when she had her first kid, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a mother. She...
If you don’t know when a doe is bred, you can’t accurately predict when she will have her kids. So you’re left with watching for signs that the goat is about to kid. Kidding Signs Ideally you will be able...
Barbed wire criss-crossed our Tennessee farm when we moved here four decades ago. Some of the wire was wrapped around or stapled to rickety fence posts. But most of it was nailed or stapled to trees — not a safe...
Deworming goats with prunings from pine trees and similar conifers is much less expensive than using chemicals. It also avoids the issue of internal parasites becoming resistant to chemical products. But can you really deworm goats with pine? Let’s find...
Some goats show obvious signs of heat. Others display only subtle signs. How to tell when a goat is in heat is important when you need to determine the right time to bring the doe to a buck. Heat Cycles...
Goat hoof trimming shears are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Over the decades I’ve spent a small fortune buying and trying just about every style touted as being the best goat hoof trimmer ever. Some of...
Supposedly a newborn goat that walks on pasterns doesn’t need its legs splinted. The theory is that the kid will grow out of it. But why take a chance? Causes of Weak Pasterns One of the two main causes of...
Like most newbie goat owners, I started out with the notion that bottle feeding and weaning dairy goat kids is mandatory. After several years of keeping Nubian dairy goats it dawned on me that I wasn’t doing my goats or...
