I am still relatively new to owning and breeding goats and I am far from being an expert. I more every time I talk to another goat person. One thing I have learned is that there are as many different opinions on goat care, conformation, feeding, qualities and traits as there are goats on the planet. Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks their opinion is right. It can be overwhelming to a new goat person, or even an experienced goat person. The best way to find the correct answer, sometimes there is no correct answer, is to research and go with what feels right to you and makes the most sense.
I have learned a few things over the past month or so that may be useful to someone else. First, extreme cold can be very bad. Well duh, you say. I mean to be more profound that that! When the weather turns cold, bitterly cold, it can affect our goats in many ways aside from them just being cold and shivering. As an example, cold weather can affect their rumen in a such that they are unable to properly digest their food. In a matter of days, they can drop a lot of weight and even have mineral deficiency issues. Mineral deficiencies can kill your goat very quickly and you may or may not notice that there is a problem. Our Lilly was one such victim. She was fine, in decent flesh and over a period of one hour went from acting normally to deaths door. Even with emergency vet care, she still died. Bitter cold can also cause your does to miscarry as Lacey did last week.
How does one counter this issue? I asked! One thing about me, I am not afraid to admit that I don’t know the answer and I am not ashamed to ask for help. We have a solution! But… You have to start before you have a problem. Once the cold snap starts you will be hard pressed to make a difference. You need to start preparing in fall or early winter. Obviously this year I didn’t start in early winter. Alas, all hope is not lost. As I said, hard pressed; I didn’t say impossible. We are going to do a few specific things to help our goats make it through to spring healthy and in good flesh. Please know that there is sometimes no help for a doe that miscarries and when Heavenly Father calls a goat back to heaven, she goes. Sometimes, there is nothing that you could have done differently. So before you read on, accept that.
All of these things we will next year, start in October. This year, we are staring now. We will supplement our grass hay with alfalfa. Our vet dislikes alfalfa pellets but most goat people I know feel pretty comfortable with pellets. Realizing that pellets are not made from the ‘highest quality’ hay but they are still better than nothing. They are also denser, there is less waste and pellets are easier to store. We typically mix our alfalfa pellets with our grain, which we have done but I haven’t been feeding enough. Grain is also a good for helping keep the weight on. With more weight, they can stay warm better and have a better chance of making it through the winter healthy. So our first step is to feed grain/pellets to each goat on a daily basis.
Our goats already have minerals/salt blocks. I like the blocks because they last longer and keep the goats occupied. Occasionally goats need a mineral boost over and above what they get on a daily basis. Finding a good loose mineral is important. Copper and selenium are very important for the health of goats, so check the label carefully. Occasionally you may need to supplement selenium even more. You will need to get it from your vet. I alternate between ‘Goat Mineral’ from Jeffers and ‘Golden Blend Minerals’ from Hoegger Supply. Both are spread over grain and put in the bottom of the feeder for free use by the goats.
I spoke to a friend this week that said she feeds whole corn during the winter months. Whole corn is easily digested and is packed full of protein so the goats can use it to stay warm with little digestion. It is expensive in feed stores so if you can’t get it direct from a farmer it is really not cost effective. In that case, I would stick to a good grain.
In talking to our vet, she stressed the importance of putting our hands on each goat minimum once a week. While they may look ok, they may feel thin. She told the following story: A few years ago we had a 3 time National Champion bred to a National Champion buck. She was having a hard winter so we blanketed her. She looked good so we didn’t worry about her. She kidded in early February. She had a hard labor and we had to pull both kids. She died shortly after kidding. She was a bag of bones, she was so thin and I had no idea. I assumed that since she was blanketed, she was fine. Her death was my fault because I didn’t put my hands on her. I am a vet, I know better. Not only did I lose her, but she had two bucks so I didn’t have a doeling with her traits. I failed myself and I failed her.” After that story, two things stayed with me: Put your hands on your goat every week; everyone makes mistakes.
Since our little herd took such a hit when we lost Lilly, we are purchasing 3 more goats this weekend. One buck, Nephi needs a buddy and it will enhance our ability to provide breeding services. We are also buying two doelings. We will unveil all of their pedigrees in time, but we are very excited! Nephi has some of the best sires on his papers and P will be a great producer with excellent mammary and milk production potential. The new kids will complement our current herd and will allow us to offer bloodlines that are not often seen in this part of Colorado!
