Name: How To Keep Goats

Summary: There are several ways of managing your dairy goats as to not be strapped to your farm 24/7.

Description: 
I only milk my goats Once a day. There are several ways of managing your dairy goats as to not be strapped to your farm 24/7.<br><br>

In the beginning of my milking venture I'd separate the kids at birth and bottle raise them. This determined that I had to milk twice a day.<br><br>

Later I started leaving the kids on Mom and putting them in a kennel at night and milking in the morning and then letting the kids nurse the rest of the day.<br><br>

Now I share... I leave kids on their Moms 24/7.<br>
I milk in the morning. I generally get about a quart from each doe. Around 2 months I barely get any because babies are growing and drinking most all the milk. At around 4 months I put the kids in a different pen and I continue to just milk in the mornings. I feed my girls hay and Timothy Pellets. I don't pile the protein on so I don't have milk overload.<br><br>

If I fed them a lot of protein and milked twice a day I'd be dealing with 5+ gallons a day.<br><br>

When selling milk that's great but when just milking for my family and my Mawmaw a gallon is enough.<br><br>

I do not keep a goat on my Farm that doesn't give a gallon a day at first freshening (that means the first time they give birth). All goats are not created equal. They all eat about the same.. Why feed 2 goats the same and get 1 gallon from one and a half gallon from the other? Even though I don't want milk overload I do want high producing goats.<br><br>

If you're starting a goat herd, you will know that goats require some knowledge to feed them right. Whether raising goats for meat, establishing a dairy herd, or just practicing sustainable living on your homestead, goats need attention to their nutrition to thrive.<br><br>

Goats are well-known for their ability to pasture on anything from lovely green grass to scrubby woods, where they can eat young trees and hardy shrubs. They are browsers versus grazers﻿ (for example, cattle, sheep, and horses are grazing species).﻿ For this reason, they are excellent at clearing rough, overgrown land.<br><br>

Let go of the myth, if you've heard it, that goats make good "lawnmowers." They would prefer to browse if given a choice.<br><br>

Goats are ruminants, animals who eat plants and digest them through a four-compartment stomach.﻿ However, they are more like deer regarding nutrition than they are to sheep or cattle, which eat lots of grass.﻿ In fact, goats should not eat a diet of entirely fresh grass.<br><br>

Hay is the main source of nutrients for goats apart from their range. It's what they mostly eat in the winter when they don't have access to the range. Hay can be grass or a legume, like clover or alfalfa.<br><br>

Each goat needs about two to four pounds of hay per day, minus what they might forage on pasture. Hay can be fed freely, or strictly twice a day.<br><br>

If a good range isn't available, dry grass hay of a horse quality is acceptable. Goats require additional hay, which is roughage, for their rumen to function properly. The long fiber is necessary for this. The rumen is the first stomach compartment, rich in live bacteria, that begins to digest the fiber.﻿ A healthy goat has a large rumen that feels spongy.<br><br>

Alfalfa hay is also popular for feeding goats and has more protein, vitamins, and minerals than grass hays, typically.﻿ It can be a good choice for feeding milkers as it has more calcium as well.<br><br>

<b>Minerals</b><br><br>
Loose minerals formulated for goats should be offered free choice. Feed minerals individually, not in blocks that contain combinations of them.<br><br>

<b>Kitchen and Garden Scraps</b><br><br>
Goats will do fine eating your compost, for the most part. Egg shells can be problematic, but most other basic kitchen and garden compost is fine for goats as long as they're used to it.<br><br>

Raisins and corn chips, just a few, or a slice of wheat bread, make nice "treats" for goats but don't overdo them.<br><br>

<b>Feeding Equipment</b><br><br>

You will also need some equipment for feeding your goats. Nothing fancy, but storing hay in a manger will help goats access it and waste less. I use super slow feed hay nets. And food containers or buckets will also help reduce waste. Metal or plastic feed storage containers with tight-fitting lids will keep pests out of your feed.<br><br>

For your goats you may need:<br><br>

Feed storage containers,<br>
Food buckets,<br>
Water buckets,<br>
Hay manger,<br>
Mineral feeder.<br><br>

<b>Water</b><br><br>
Of course, your goats need access to fresh, clean water at all times.﻿ You may want to raise your water bucket off the ground onto a platform or in an old tire, so it's less likely to get kicked over or pooped in. In winter, you will need to use a water heater so that your goats' water isn't freezing cold and doesn't turn to ice.<br><br>

Knowledge of goat nutrition has changed drastically in the last two decades. Twenty years ago, goats were lumped into the same category as sheep, and most people believed they didn’t need copper. Ten years ago, most vets realized goats needed copper, but they thought that deficiency was impossible if you were feeding a commercial goat grain and providing a free choice mineral. Today, we know that copper deficiency can cause a long list of symptoms, from cosmetic to life threatening.<br><br>

The earliest signs of copper deficiency are a faded coat, fish tail (balding tail tip), and losing hair on the face, especially around the eyes or the bridge of the nose. A black goat turns a rusty color; red goats turn gold; gold goats turn cream; and cream goats turn white. A goat may also fail to shed its winter coat in a timely manner.<br><br>

If left untreated, a goat will start to have fertility problems. A buck may not settle does (get them pregnant). A doe may not come into heat or may have silent heats. She may get pregnant but abort within a few weeks. Or she may give birth to kids that are too premature to survive.<br><br>
Goats may also appear to be anemic. A copper deficient goat will have more trouble dealing with a small load of internal parasites than a goat that is not deficient.<br><br>
In severe cases, they may have bowed legs or swayback, and some may wind up with spinal injuries. Ultimately, a severely copper deficient goat will die.<br><br>

Goats should have a free choice mixed mineral available, and it should have around 1500 ppm copper sulfate. Even though you provide as much copper as a goat needs, they can still wind up copper deficient. How?<br><br>

Secondary copper deficiency means that a goat is consuming enough copper, but they are also consuming a large amount of a mineral that is a copper antagonist. That means that it binds with the copper, making it unavailable for the goat.<br><br>

Sulfur, iron, molybdenum, and calcium are copper antagonists that are the most likely culprits. Sulfur, iron, and calcium can be found in well water. Sulfur makes the water stink like rotten eggs or a dirty dish rag. Iron turns sinks and bathtubs orange, and calcium leaves mineral deposits on fixtures.<br><br>

Pay attention to your goats. I provide an excellent free choice mineral and I give a copper bolus to each goat every 6 months. If a goat is showing signs of deficiency they immediately get an additional bolus.<br><br>

Livestock/Goats can be affected by worms just by grazing on pasture. They can also get worms by drinking water or eating food that has been contaminated with manure. No matter how clean you keep your animal feeders, worms are always a possibility.<br><br>

<b>How to make a natural dewormer</b><br><br>
Mix in equal parts by measurement (not by weight):<br><br>

fennel seed,<br>
dehydrated garlic,<br>
oregano,<br>
thyme,<br>
sage,<br>
pumpkin seed,<br>
hyssop,<br>
red clover.<br><br>

Mix well and keep any extra dewormer in a sealed container.<br><br>

Mix 1 tablespoon of the herb blend with one tablespoon of diatomaceous earth and then mix this with hay pellets ((or chopped apples and onions) and give every 15 days.<br><br>

I listed a recipe with ingredients that can easily be bought in bulk.<br>
I feed fresh herbs from my garden Spring-Fall. They get dried herbs in the Winter. If I see a goat showing signs of a heavy parasite load I will give a chemical de-wormer. Living in the Southeast we do not have heavy freezes and parasites are prolific. Once a goat gets down with worms they often die. The goal is to Prevent Not Treat.

https://goats.extension.org/goat-nutrition-copper/

https://www.wormx.info/obrien2014