The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: ballingall on October 26, 2014, 09:45:34 am
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Hello everyone!
How are you all getting on with your goats being mated so far?
Ours have been a bit odd, but we did manage to get 6 done in one week at the beginning of October. Evita came in on the Monday, though I am not certain that she will hold at all (her issue rather than the boy). Krystal and Kola came in on Tuesday, both to go to the same male kid, who had done Evita the day before. So we had to sacrifice Kola and not do her, so just Krystal done.
Brienne in on Wednesday, and she had to be taken to my sister's, fortunately only 10mins away. Ranvir on Thursday, who also had to be taken to my sister's. No one in on Friday, but the male at my sister's arrived at ours for his holidays.
Saturday, Romily was in, as we trying to get away early for the Scottish Goatkeepers AGM, so had to rush around getting her done. At least the male was on site now! Monday, Rula was in. I have to confess I have never seen a goat as desperate to get at the billy. She was even attacking us- biting and kicking! Think we know how Rue was born if she was like that last year....
Ria, the other goatling hasn't been in and is showing NO signs of coming in ??? Kola's 3 weeks are up this Tuesday, so hopefully she'll be back in. Charade is the only other one, and she hasn't shown any strings signs of being in either.
How is everyone else getting on?
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I'm only planning on getting Pom mated this autumn and she hasn't been in season yet so it could be a longish wait.
It is getting a bit late even for her but I think it's the milder weather.
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don't have goats yet, but excited to hear if Kola gets mated (its Kola's fault i like AN goats)
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Our two, Buffy and Diamond, both pygmies, are going to see one of Brucklay's lovely billies, Lewis in a couple of weeks. :fc: it all goes well.
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My billie is pimped out at the moment, hope he's having fun :innocent:
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So far we have only managed to get 2 Boer mated, The Dairys have been very hitty missy this year.
They all started coming in early but we try not to kid in the worst of the winter incase the vet is needed and we are snowed in. They then all stopped coming in. :thinking:
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2 GGs now covered so :fc: they take
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All but one of the 7 (SEVEN - I must be mad!) have now gone past the three weeks, but of course another possible wobbly at 6 weeks...
Also 6 should kid in the space of 2 weeks... I am mad! :-\ I could have anything from 10 to 15 kids next spring! I will be bottle-washing all day long! ::)
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What would be the latest date to try to get a goat in kid?
We are trying to dry up our horribly skinny goat - she came to us in kid and was in a pretty bad way. She is a lovely goat and easy to hand milk but would like to put some weight on her before putting her back into kid.
Can it be done in January? Has anyone tried sponging (is that the right word)?
Seems to be a bad goat day, our other goat (who refused to dry up) has completely gone off her food for the last 24 hours. We recently upped her concentrates as it was clear she wasn't going to dry up and I didn't want another skinny goat!
Have I done something terribly foolish? Is it wrong to up her concentrates and stop trying to dry her up? WORRIED!
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I'm sure Anke or a more experienced milking person will respond soon but I think you need to cut the concentrates to dry them up but keep feeding hay and presumably low protein feed? Maybe you are giving too much and upsetting her digestion? It's a difficult balancing act. Good luck
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What would be the latest date to try to get a goat in kid?
We are trying to dry up our horribly skinny goat - she came to us in kid and was in a pretty bad way. She is a lovely goat and easy to hand milk but would like to put some weight on her before putting her back into kid.
Can it be done in January? Has anyone tried sponging (is that the right word)?
Seems to be a bad goat day, our other goat (who refused to dry up) has completely gone off her food for the last 24 hours. We recently upped her concentrates as it was clear she wasn't going to dry up and I didn't want another skinny goat!
Have I done something terribly foolish? Is it wrong to up her concentrates and stop trying to dry her up? WORRIED!
Re goat that has gone off her feed - what's her general demeanour like - bright and alert or listless? Has she got a temperature? Runny droppings or none? Still eating hay (and cudding)? Is she in season? One thing that comes to mind would be CCN - brought on by sudden changes in diet, usually when diet improves too quickly (in sheep seen when moved from poor onto lush pasture). She would be listless and probably be going blind (shine a light in her eyes and watch the pupils). She will need Combivit injections asap!
Re skinny goat - if she was not in good condition during the summer and is still skinny now you will not put much weight on her between now and end of mating season - do you need to kid her again next spring? Why don't you just keep milking her, feeding her well (good roughage, readigrass, or if she can take it - Alfa A, and a good mix, plus shreds).. and let her regain condition slowly over the next summer?
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Thanks both, I will take a torch and check her eye sight now! She ate some oats, a little alfalfa and pumpkin this morning but wont touch her concentrates. She is up and about and seems alert but certainly not herself.
Skinny goat needn't be put back in to kid, I'm just concerned that she wont put on weight whilst I keep milking her!?
I've been back and forth with the vet, tested her for Johnes, worms, cocci.... He suggested I was giving her too much feed (2kg a day concentrates, alfalfa and sugar beet - she gives 2.5-3 litres a day) so I dropped this down a bit which seemed counterintuitive!
If there is a good chance she can put on weight and be milked I will definitely do this as she is so lovely to milk....
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Just got back from the goats, I shined a torch in her eyes which seemed to bother her, her pupils changed slightly but not that much, I will try again when it gets dark. She spotted me coming down the track! And she spotted someone else (who often feeds her apples) in the far distance...
She is very happy to much on branches and veg and is wondering about in the field.
We have stared feeding them on some new hay which is very green but dry. We bought it from a horsey place so maybe its too good? ???
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It seems counter intuitive but if the protein levels are too high in their feed that can cause weight loss.
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Great - if she is active, eating greenery and hay, there may just be an issue with the concentrate or she does get enough from other stuff. Keep offering small amounts and see if she picks again at it. Bananas and carrots are always eaten here.
Your skinny goat may not put on weight until next summer - I have been there too.... but if she doesn't want to dry off you are risking mastitis by trying to force her - just keep her diet varied. Dairy goats are not meant to be fat. My older BT girl is all skins and bones at the moment, milking between 3.5 and 4 ltrs per day just now and she gets probably around the same as yours in feed. She is also being run through and not in kid.
Hay can never be too good! If the protein level in your feed overall are too high you see the droppings become loose.
Is your concentrate goat mix or a dairy cow mix? Mine are on cow diary nuts (18% protein), some calf mix (18% protein too - the kids prefer it and some of my adults will not touch dairy nuts) and rolled oats, and soaked shreds. Dairy cow feed are higher in copper than most goat mixes, and goats need that for milk production. Maybe you want to check. A mineral/vitamin drench with copper (you can get sheep ones with added copper) may also be a good thing every few months. My goats refuse Caprivite, but I am trying to re-introduce garlic and seaweed - meeting with resistance right now... :(
Some times if the goat is on season she my not want to eat...
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Thank You Thank YOU! That's all so reassuring.
They are fed on molassed goat mix- fancy feeds which is 15% protein, I will see if I can get the dairy nuts around here.
The skinny goat does have a lovely shiny coat and is full of energy, seems healthy in every other way.
I will hold of from panicking for a while. :fc:
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I had 4 came into season a day apart so far they have held - due 1st week of Feb, 1 due 1st week of march with my own male, The day before yesterday took one to visit another male so hope she holds be due 1st week April, Have one more to put in kid due in season next week hope to visit other male but if I can't get away she can go to my own male as i don't want her to kid too much later . Last time she was in season jumped the electric fence stood in the middle of the farm road at the door of the bull pen shed screaming her head off (where my male is securely shut in with companion -don't want no more kidded kids) She definitely sniffed him out.
Will have to try string and nail -some peopl try this old wives tail and swear by it hold a piece of string over the goats back and if it swings straight up and down the spine in empty round and round or side to side in kid will be scanning aswell
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The last three have been mated, all about the same time. But 3 weeks after the others. Nine in total- far too many!
Bloomer, yes, Kola has been mated! Thinking of trying the string and nail trick too Talana
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My BG's have mated...we think, our Billy is young and Tina isn't and is too tall for him, so he was standing on a pallet - we'll see if he managed to reach in three weeks I guess (it was getting dark and I was at the wrong end to see if he made it!)
My BA hasn't come into season yet and we aren't sure who she is going to my BG Billy would need two pallets for her I reckon. The GGs will be mated next month or at least that's the plan.
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:( my one BT girly that I wanted to kid next year has just come back into season today - I thought we were safe as she was mated on the 1st. Guess she has long cycles. Now have the nightmare of trying to get her mated again as the billy is no longer at the same place.
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The only one to come back into season after being mated was the one I took to a different male - bother, couldn't get away from home between work and helping out with preparations for dunecht schools xmas fair, so I just put her in with my own Togg male so hopefully she'll stay in kid this time.
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:( my one BT girly that I wanted to kid next year has just come back into season today - I thought we were safe as she was mated on the 1st. Guess she has long cycles. Now have the nightmare of trying to get her mated again as the billy is no longer at the same place.
Oh bummer... trip to Guildy Den?
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My BG's have mated...we think, our Billy is young and Tina isn't and is too tall for him, so he was standing on a pallet - we'll see if he managed to reach in three weeks I guess (it was getting dark and I was at the wrong end to see if he made it!)
I have a very similar situation. Have mated my 2 girls and Billy is young and my one of my girls is pretty tall. He certainly tried his best but was very dismissive of my attempts to sort him a "booster seat". I guess only time will tell in a bit less than 3 weeks. My smaller girl came into season this morning and he certainly knew what he was doing with her.
Fingers crossed for May 2015. :fc: