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| Over the years we have been asked a
number of questions on raising Boer goats and Boer goat care. So
we added this page with our methods, tips, and techniques, including
articles on boer goat illnesses and treatments, feeding our goats
and dogs (and puppies), and general information about our farm and
some of the structures we have built or added to the farm. If you
have any questions or comments about these, feel free to send an
e-mail to us, or if you have any additional areas you would like
us to research and make some comments, let us know through our contact
form.
If you click on the link within the index,
you are transported to the article. To read the teasers, either
scroll down, or click on the goat icon to the left of the article
title in the index.
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Index
of Articles on Boer Goat Care
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Goats
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Farm
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Illnesses
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Feeding |
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General |
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Breeding |
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Kidding |
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General |
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Structures |
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Dogs
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Feeding |
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General |
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Humor
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Articles |
Medicines:
Many people have asked, 'What medicines and treatments do you
use to treat your goats' illnesses and diseases?' We are not Vets
and don't claim to be. We have a good goat Vet...
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What
We Feed:
Currently we feed the following: TN Co-Op 18% Goat Starter
medicated with monensin. Our bucklings are feed TN Co-Op 16% Goat
Grower.
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LGD
Feeder:
In order for DaleDell to get fed when he wanted to be fed and
stay in with the other boys, we came up with a 'Jump feeder'.
Our Great Pyrenees are diggers, meaning...
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Mountain
Laurel:
The state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. They can keep
it!! In Tennessee some also refer to mountain laurel as ivy. Did
I mention that mountain laurel is poisonous to goats?
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Mastitis:
By the time we drove the 15 miles, Bertha's temperature
had risen to over 105. Bertha had signs of both acute mastitis
and chronic mastitis. The swelling, pain, and heat in the affected.
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Logging:
But before the first log was harvested, Bruce took Ken out to
meet Jonas Miller, an Amish sawmill operator in northwest Lawrence
County. Mr. Miller must be formally introduced to a new customer.
If he likes the gentleman...
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Bottle
Feeding:
Our first attempt at bottle feeding wasn't too bad and could probably
be termed a success. Granted we didn't get too...
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Creep
Feeding:
From the time they are two weeks (or so) old we creep feed the babies.
We have an area only little ones can get into, and we try (key word)
to have food... |
Clear
Creek Farm History:
A history of Clear Creek farms includes a mini-history of Giles
and Lawrence Counties in southern middle Tennessee. In the late
1700s/early 1800s...
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I
'am' a Livestock Guardian Dog:
This is somewhat of a believe it or not. We have had Great Pyrenees
for the last four years and have not lost a goat to a predator
yet (knock on wood)...
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Food
Safety for Meat Goat Producers:
Clear Creek Farms is proud to have been selected to participate
in the USDA/Alabama A&M Food Safety Program. Alabama
A&M, in association with Tuskegee University and Tennessee...
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Play
Things for the Kids:
We looked at several web site showing kids at play - climbing
on wire spools, stumps, trees, shelters or playing on boards and
on teeter totters...
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Ram
Pump:
Finally, we spotted a group of walnut trees - then found our way
up the hillside to the top. Perfect! The perfect location. Flat
land and a great view. But we had a big problem. Water!! . . .
After trekking down to the spring, he declared, "What you
need is a ram pump."...
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Goat
Shelters :
We decided before we picked up our first goats we needed to add
a shelter for the animals. To the just completed barn we added
a 13 x 30 addition. Within the addition we constructed an 8 by
13 area for feed/storage...
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Semen
Collection :
When Robert Spencer of Alabama A&M University’s Small
Farms Research Center told us he was arranging a buck collection
and AI seminar for the fall, we jumped at the opportunity to participate
and have our two herd sires, Enhancer II and Hercules, collected.
Early Veteran’s Day morning we loaded the bucks into the
trailer and ...
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Collection
Field Day :(companion article to the article above,
written by Robert Spencer)
The field day for buck collection and artificial insemination
taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 12 and 13, 2003
was a collaborative effort involving Superior Semen Works, Goat
Producers from Alabama and Tennessee, and Robert Spencer from
Alabama A & M University’s Small Farms Research Center.
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Working
Dogs :
Have you ever had the opportunity to watch your livestock guardian
dogs (LGDs) at work? We are always fascinated with ours ... We
highly recommend goat farms have a minimum of two LGDs. They seem
to work best as a team. One of the dogs will ...
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Black
Friday:
The weekend of 12 – 14 December 2003 was one of the worst
weekends we have had since we started raising goats. In the five
years we have had boer goats, we have lost a few. An uncle told
us when we started...
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Embryo
Transfer (Step I):
In the spring of 2004 we plan to participate in our first Embryo
Transfer (ET) program. Our plan is to use Kattie as our donor
doe; she has an outstanding bloodline and has produced some truly
tremendous kids, to include Enhancer I, Panna, Samantha, and Thunderbolt.
We are still considering...
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A Buck, A Bath:
A buck goat is gifted with a special aroma which is generated
by scent glands located behind his horns. If that wasn't enough,
like male deer they accentuate that scent by spraying themselves
with their own urine. There's no smell to compare . . .
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A
Weak Kid:
These babies were born in the hay field. We found them when they
were minutes old and moved them to the barn. We allowed the mother
2 hours to get them up and nursing. She did an excellent job cleaning
them up, but she couldn’t get them to stand. We milked her
and...
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Body
Condition Score:
Changes in body condition can effect the life of the goat. It
may occur suddenly, but most likely gradually...
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Web
Log (Blog):
When we first investigated blogging (the present participle for
the verb form of posting in a blog), it seemed interesting enough.
But can it work for a Tennessee boer goat farmer? What can you
blog about if you raise and sell boer goats and livestock guardian
dogs, like our great pyrenees and border collie dogs? At first,
the idea seemed...
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Marketing:
A friend, Nancy Wilcoxson, Royal Oak Farm, Bonnieville, KY, recently
attended a meeting of goat producers in her area. After the meeting
she lamented, "It is a shame that we all pass each other
and do not know who is who." This got me to thinking of opportunities
lost in our business marketing. Many, many times when we go to
"goat" events we know (sorta) a lot of other people
in attendance from the various e-mail lists. But....
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Goat
E-Groups:
When I wrote the article on Marketing Ideas and Tips, I mentioned
goat-related e-mail lists. Below are a few of the lists I subscribed
to.....
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Holiday
Sales Planning:
I recommend you find out what the popular goat-eating holidays
are in your area. I did a little bit of research, and this was
the information I was able to find about holiday dates at which
meat goats may be sold. In doing my homework we learned Easter
is a great time for us to sell. We have to consult a calendar....
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Shelter
Construction :
As some of you may know, we use ATVs (4 wheelers) on our farm.
A couple of weeks ago, our first 4 wheeler died and required replacement.
While I was in the dealership, I noticed that the new 4 wheeler
came shipped in a metal frame. I look at the 4 wheeler and the
frame and saw in my mind a shelter. I talked with the dealer and...
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Embryo
Transfer (Step 2):
With the actual flush date set and on the horizon, we spent several
days making our final preparations…getting the does ready.
In January we made the decision to definitely use Kattie as our
donor doe instead of Venus. Venus may be used in..
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Embryo
Transfer (Step 3): The Shots:
Since we had never given shots in this area, and since we wanted
this drug to be correctly administrated, Ken took Kattie to the
vet's. (And since all does needed health certificates prior to
travel to Alabama, this was accomplished at the same time.) The
First shot was...
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Embryo Transfer
(Step 4): The Flush:
The first doe produced 26 embryos. Shortly thereafter was when we
learned of a possibility we had not considered: not all the recipients
would work! If the recipient had not come into estrus at the same
time (approximately) as the donor, her system would not accept the
fertilized egg. We also learned we should have had... |
Embryo
Transfer (UNINTENDED Step 5)
The Adventure of the Runaway Goats:
The sideboards on our truck blow off with the goats loaded on
I 20 about 200 yards after we got on I 20. Two hours later with
help from the police and fire department and a couple of friendly
folks from Livingston, we capture the Doner and two of the receips,
but two receip were last seen heading south.....
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Embryo
Transfer (Step 7)
Babies are Born:
At 6:34, 9 August 2005, our wait was over. Matilda, the first doe
born on our farm, had the first two kids from the Embryo Transfer
we did in the spring. They are the offspring of Hercules and our
Kattie... |
Basic
Daily, Weekly and Monthly Schedule for our Boer Goat Farm:
We were recently asked, "What do you do on a daily, weekly,
and monthly basis?" While it was an interesting question
and one of which we gave much thought, we came to the conclusion
there is no one answer. Our goat management depends on a lot of
variables such as...
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Milking
Stand:
One of our first goats was a big, half-blood Boer. She kidded and
developed mastitis. Our vet was able to pull her through it, but
we had to milk her. Ken had not milked a goat, cows yes - goats,
no. |
Artificial Insemination (AI) :
Almost a year ago, we attended our first Artificial Insemination
(AI) class. At that time it was only a thought for the future.
We asked around to find if anyone was doing AI in our area: we
asked our Vet, the Coop, the County Extension Center - no one
knew
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Artificial
Insemination (AI) Step-by-Step :
Before the first doe can be inseminated, you must have a plan.
We plan our breeding program up to a year in advance – determining
when we want our percentage does to kid to best meet our best
market and when we want our full bloods to kid to best meet
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Semen
Tank :
In May we ordered a MVE ET23 Semen Tank (1200 straw capacity and
approximate 5 month holding time), along with an AI kit and 12
straws of semen, from Superior Semen Works..
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Bottle
Jaw :
When we bought Julie, a well-marked, overly friendly percentage
doe, in Aug 2001, we immediately wormed her before getting her
off the truck and into our quarantine pen. About 2 weeks later
we determined she still had parasites...
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Wormers
and Worming :
We have now had goats for over five years. Our first worry when
we got into goats was keeping predators from killing them. After
a few months with goats, our worry was keeping parasites from
killing them.
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Barn
Raising the Clear Creek Farms Way :
When most people decide to build and raise barns they have detailed
plans, store-bought wood, electrical tools, plenty of ladders,
and plenty of help. When we decided to build our barn, we had
plans, relatively detailed. We had wood, not store-bought but
harvested. We had electrical tools, but we’ll get to that
later. We didn’t have plenty of help; we had two workers
...
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Tattooing:
No one told us about mastitis or bottle feeding. Nor were we told
anything at all about wormers and worming. But the absolute worse
thing we weren’t told about – well, hoof trimming
is up pretty high on the scale – is tattooing...
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Pinkeye:
About the time Topper was leaving us, we determined that Dora,
our then-11-month old just-bred doeling, was blind. We came to
the conclusion she was blind when she started walking into the
walls of the barn. Bertie and Paul Hillhouse arrived to announce,
"pinkeye."
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Foot
Problems:
When we bought our first goats, hoof trimming was mentioned briefly.
Basically we were told if the goats have rocks to walk on, their
hooves wouldn't need to be trimmed very often. Well, we've got
rocks!! Lots and lots and lots of rocks. Rocks grow faster than
our weeds and are everywhere...
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Soremouth:
Soremouth, also called orf or contagious ecthyma, is a highly
contagious virus of the Pox family. Symptoms, transmission, and
treatment in goats is similar to symptoms, transmission, and treatment
of chickenpox in human children. Young animals are the most susceptible
to developing lesions around the lips, eyelids, nose, etc...
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Fitting
Your Goat:
Fitting goats is not just a job for folks who show. Any animal
can be “improved” if properly groomed, and a well-groomed
animal will bring more when sold than a dirty, stinky goat. The
time you spend fitting your goat will be well worthwhile...
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Poisonous
Plants of the Southeastern United States:
Poisonous plants cause significant annual losses of money through
injury to humans and livestock. No verifiable sums are available,
but figures as high as “several million dollars” are
often quoted. Undoubtedly, poisonous plants reduce productivity,
ands...
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Milking:
So you are new to goats? And you decided to have meat goat and
not to have dairy goats cause you don't want to have to milk goats?
You have never milked a goat? Never wanted to milk anything? Never
considered milking a goat...
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Urinary
Calculi (UC):
The other morning, while checking the herd, I noticed one of my
yearling bucks crying over next to the fence. At first I figured
he had gotten stung by a wasp or bee. But he kept it up. What
a mournful cry!...
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Homemade
Cures (Recipes):
Over the years we have learned, from ol' goat folk and from the
internet, of many homemade recipes to cure many common (and some
not so common) ailments afflicting our goats. These have worked
for us, but we urge you to consult with your vet before trying...
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Goat
Temperature:
The first thing you need to do is take its temperature because
that is the first thing your vet is going to ask...
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What
is GDS.. Are you at Risk?
Do you have GDS (Goat Delusional Syndrome)? There is no
known cure. We don't know how this disease is contracted, the
level of contageousness, and very few, if any, approach a full
recovery...
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Teaching
a Goat to Lead:
Every animal needs to learn to walk on a lead whether to
show or not. It’s much easier to move individual animals
from one lot / paddock / pen to another if it walks quietly –
not fighting you every step of the way...
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Rain,
Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day:
We got over six inches of rain and the bottoms flooded. About
5 feet deep water covered the hay field and was working it way
up the hill toward the goat barn. When I went down to check on
the animals, our herd sire, Hercules, was in his shelter, knee
deep in water. His feet were wet but his back was dry. I moved
him to a new sheltered pen....
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AI
Class and Semen Collection - Nov 21-22, 2004:
After a lot of negotiation, we finally got a date from Geoff and
Nancy Masterman of Superior Semen Works, Milton, New Hampshire
for our Artificial Insemination (AI) Class and Semen Collection.
We put the information out by e-mail, e-groups, on our web site,
and published posters inviting..
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My
"Goat Day" Story:
Mona Enderli, Enderli Farms, Baytown, TX wrote this and I though
I would add it to our site. Hope you enjoy. 13 goats all standing
up on sawhorse type feeders gobbling feed like they hadn't eaten
in a week, when suddenly one of the young does sneezed...
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Covered
Square Bale Feeder:
The feeder would not last very long out in the weather, so we
had to put it under cover of some sort. I added..
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Training
Livestock Guardian Dogs:
People do not “train” puppies to be livestock guardian
dogs (LGDs). The puppies are born with an instinct of what their
job is and how they are supposed to..
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Blue
Green Algae:
Our goats spend hours searching for new and unusual ways to kill
themselves. The most recent – and unique – method
they found at our farm was to ingest toxic blue-green algae.
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Mysterious
Deaths:
We found two more dead goats, three goats down, and several other
goats staggering around. One, stretched out on her side, thrashing
about and moaning loudly..
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Fecal
Analysis:
Several times we have attended classed on how to do fecal samples
and have purchased the equipment. The most expensive piece of
equipment is...
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Raising
Great Pyrenees Puppies:
As you may know, our Pyrenees, Dixie, is heavy breed - expecting
pups any day. Yesterday, an extremely cold day, Dixie was missing...
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Cattle
Panel Shelter:
I use three 16 foot cattle panels, 48 (approximate) inches high.
I purchased a 12 foot by 16 foot tarp from my local Coop or TSC.
This is one tarp we pay a little more for...
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Shots (Vaccines):
We give vaccinations SQ – in the loose skin behind the front
leg. IM vaccinations should never be given to meat goat in the
hip. The rump roast is the prime piece of meat, but rather IM
shots should be given in the neck...
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Goat Meat and Goat Milk:
One of the 5 risk factors for coronary/arteriosclerotic heart
disease and peripheral vascular disease is an elevation in the
lipid profile, particularly cholesterol and the low density lipoprotein
fraction, especially if the ratio of LDH-C/HDL...
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Weak
Kid 2:
Monday morning, around 9, we got a call from a friend. He had
a doe give birth Sunday night – a single 100% SA Boer–
and he didn't think the doe was going to survive. The baby had
been given "a little colostrum"...
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Pre-Breeding to Birth:
Kidding is the fun part of our operation. But before kidding can
begin good management dictates ...
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Postmortem Semen Extraction From the Buck Epididymis:
The death of your Boer buck is not a total loss; the semen he has
been storing can be recovered and used for breeding! ... |
Meat Goat Quality Assurance Through Proper Injection Sites:
In an effort to assist and educate goat producers on issues relevant
to food safety and quality assurance USDA’s FSIS has provided
funding for Alabama A&M University to implement a program ...
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Quality Assurance - Drug use in Food Animals:
The prime objective of farmers and ranchers is to raise
a profitable, marketable, and safe product. There are various medications
and vaccines available today that reduce lose from disease and illness,
but these products... |
LGC:
Clear Creek Farm has about 75 Boer goats, two Border Collies herding
dogs (Daisy and Sage), two Great Pyrenees (Dixie and DeeDee), a
mix sheep dog/Pyrenees (DaleDell). In addition, we have three Border
Collie puppies, two male and one female, and a female Great Pyrenees
puppy, and one male Great Pyrenees (Big Boy) who adopted us. Oh,
I almost forgot: Pooh, Tigger and Einstein the three ... |
Diatomaceous Earth:
For years we have been reading about
diatomaceous earth and its use in controlling parasites in goats.
And for years we’ve been reading reports that say diatomaceous
earth... |
Calculation Boer Percentages:
A brief decussion on how to compute
off spring percentage and a chart... |
Getting Started in the Goat Business:
What you need to do is to write a
business plan - include goals, timeline, and budget. Also write
a comprehensive marketing plan; know who you are going to sell to,
how you are going to accomplish this, when you plan to sell, and
what the market (buyers) wants. Every area of the country has different... |
The Conspiracy Theory:
Have you ever gone to check on your goats
only to find a few separated from the rest of the herd or browsing
away from the herd? Have you noticed during feeding that some groups
will eat together and keep the others away? Have you noticed... |
Goat Meat Recipes:
These are some of the quick and easy
recipes we use to prepare goat meat.. |
Buying a Doe:
The funds from selling the majority of our herd gave us the chance
to sit back and decide just what we wanted to buy for replacements.
What do you look for when buying a doe?... |
The Commercial Breeder:
What constitutes a commercial breeder who is successful? That is
a person who takes every advantage ... |
Preparing
for the Tennessee State Fair Goat Show:
A young girl appeared in the hay field and said, “Baa-baa
baa-b-baa baaaa waaaa.” (Which means in English, “I
want to show her.”) Little did I know what this meant.... |
Showing under a Memorandum of Understanding:
What if we offered Ollie to Tiffany, the Hallmark’s
teenage daughter, to show? We sat down and wrote a Memorandum of
Understanding. The memo gave her control of Ollie.. |
Exciting New Paddock:
Sweat and toil and get if finished. You open the gate and
the goats rush to the newly available browse. You are now patting
yourself on the back knowing you have made it better for your goats... |
Showmanship:
Showmanship begins long before you enter the show ring.
The amount of time spent teaching the animals to lead and to behave
regardless of who is touching them/startling them as well as the
amount of time spent grooming the goats will pay off in the ring... |
Natural
Breeding:
A Texas farmer got in his pickup and drove to a neighboring
farm and knocked at the farmhouse door. A young boy about 9 opened
the door ... |
Bucks
Fighting and the Winner Was.......the Duck!
I've been needing to get the does rearranged in kidding order and
penned/pastured accordingly, so today was the day for that. But
at the top of my list was getting those two big bucks, ... |
Zoonotic
Diseases:
A zoonotic disease is an illness that animals pass to humans; a
disease such as anthrax or ringworm that can be transmitted from
vertebrate animals to humans. Many of the following, while they
can be spread by goats.. |
Laminitis
(founder):
An inflammation of the laminae, sensitive tissue which lies under
the cover of the hoof. The first symptom of founder are feet warm
or hot to the touch. The owner will notice a sudden lameness due
to the extreme pain.. |
Goat
Show Packing Checklist:
We have included our Show Packing Checklist so we don't forget anything
before we leave for the show.. |
Ketosis/Pregnancy
Toxemia:
The moral of this little story: Ketosis must be recognized early
and treated aggressively...
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Biosecurity:
The need for a better biosecurity plan for Clear Creek Farms became
apparent several months ago when a buyer brought us a present...
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How
the Goats Leave the Farm:
Once you have received the money for the sale, it does not matter
if the buyer puts the goat in the trunk of the car...
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Puppy
Love :
We took delivery of her when she was just a few days over two months
old and placed her in the pen with Rim Fire and his does. We followed
the directions we give those buying puppies from us … we didn’t
do anything to her except feed her... |
Winter
Preparedness:
as the manager of your farm there are things that should have been
considered by now and things you need to consider for this winter....
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Pregnancy
Testing:
When we bought our first does, the owner said he would breed them
back after they weaned their kids. He delivered two does to us on
the 4th of July. And we began our wait for kids. Along around December
we were beginning to believe they weren’t bred.... |
Cost
of Bottle Feeding A Bottle Baby:
It is only a little baby and he/she is sooo cute and for some reason
his/her mother cannot or will not raise it. In making the decision
to start a kid on the bottle, unless your goats are “pets”,
cost should enter into the calculation... |
Goats
Born with Folded Ears:
The problem we present here is when the fold is down the middle
of the ear from the head to the tip... |
Hay Issues for 2007:
We have never had a problem with hay until last year. I like to
have about 550 small square bales for winter feeding. We have used
fescue, alfalfa and some Bermuda hay in the past... |
A Tribute to Dora:
I can’t believe it when I look at her. Her faults make up
her conformation.... |
New Trailer:
We purchased a new trailer to haul our goats around. We think they
deserve to graduate from the old cattle trailer. ... |
Ode to the Goat:
Adapted from the hymn "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb"... |
Increasing Milk Production in Boer Goats:
When we first got Boer goats we read (mainly from people
who did not have Boer goats) that the Boers were poor mothers because
they did not produce enough milk to feed their kids. We read that
Boer kids had to be supplemented with bottles. In our experience...
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A broke leg:
The goat had gotten her right front leg stuck in the fork
of a tree, and had, at some time, fell and broke the leg just above
the knee in what we learned later...... |
Hay Feeder Tub:
Our goats were wasting too much hay, there had to be a better
way...... |
Mange Mites:
We noticed a mild rash on the ankle of one of our breeding
bucks. It seems to be mildly irritating but not serious. We determined
we would just watch it for a few days. We were confused, to a degree,
because he had 14 does in the paddock with him; and......
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Milk-Goiter:
We went out to feed a doe and her 3-week old baby, we were
horrified to find a knot underneath the baby’s chin. Our
first thought was bottle jaw. But when we caught him and examined
his eyes, we realized he...... |
Chasing Ennoblement Points:
The more we showed the more we learned about ennobled goats. Primarily
we learned that ennoblement meant the “best of the best”
goats in the show ring. |
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