Life on the Farm
For most dairy goat breeds, kidding season generally starts in November and runs through April. In the warm southern states, the season runs a little later — from about December through May. So most goat owners know when to get...
Our summer garden always produces more vegetables than we can possibly eat and preserve. We share some of the surplus as treats for our chickens. Our goats also get a small share of the bounty. But during the summer they...
Many of us who keep goats and chickens together in the same facility have certain issues to deal with. One is that a frisky goat might step on or head-butt a chicken, especially a young one. Another is that, given...
Meningeal deer worm infection requires the presence of both white-tail deer and gatropods (slugs or snails). So it stands to reason that at the top of the list of suggestions for preventing deer worm infection in goats and sheep is...
No controlled studies have determined the best treatment for goats and sheep infected with meningeal deer worm. We know more about deer worm in llamas and alpacas (camelids) than in goats or sheep. The recommended method for treating deer worm...
Knowing how to recognize deer worm infection in goats can be tricky, because not all goats are affected in exactly the same way. Further, signs of deer worm infection can resemble a number of other diseases of goats. But being...
White-tail deer are a common sight on our farm. But seeing one grazing in our goat pasture gives me the willies. Why? Because white-tails can shed a hair-like nematode that causes deer worm infection in goats. In the days when...
Nubian kids are sometimes born with folded ears. If you don’t correct a goat kid’s folded ears right away, the ears will remain permanently folded. Why goat kids are born with folded ears is anyone’s guess. One conjecture is that...
Our Nubian dairy goats typically give birth to twins. Only once in a great while do we get triplets, and long ago one of our does gave birth to quads. Our doe Bella has given birth twice, both times to...
When I told my husband I was thinking of not keeping Bella, he asked, “Why? She’s a nice goat.” I wasn’t so sure about that. The Nubian doe was a little more willful than I like to see in my...
