The Rupert Ranch Herd

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Goats must have adequate shelter to stay warm and dry. A barn or small shelter such as a dog house works well. There are plenty of DIY goat shelter ideas online. Some people make them out of wooden pallets, but just make sure any homemade shelters are sturdy. They must be able to withstand storms and the goats jumping on them. A closed or open floor is fine. We use pine shavings for bedding. If your goat shelter is short enough for them to jump on, make sure it is not near the edge of the fence where they can escape! 

Fencing needs to be sturdy and have minimal gaps or spaces (including the gates). Goats are escape artists, and they will also wear out the fence over time as they rub against it and jump on it. Five strand electric fence only works for some goats that are already trained. We have discovered that it is not enough to contain new goats or younger ones. We use field fencing woven wire with a strand of electric wire around the bottom (inside the fence). This keeps the goats in and off of the fence. 

Forage: 

Goats are ruminants that require forage 24/7. That is the primary part of their diet. There are various types of hay that they can eat. Orchardgrass and timothy hay are good for wethers (castrated males), does, and bucks. Alfalfa hay is best for lactating does, growing kids, or sick goats that need extra protein to put on weight. Fescue hay should be endophyte free to avoid fescue toxicosis in pregnant does. We do have fescue in our pastures, and it has never been an issue so far. The quality of your pasture and browse may or may not be enough to provide adequate nutrition. If in doubt, assess the health, weight, and body condition score of your goats. 

Grain:

We feed grain to our entire herd once a day in the winter. Lactating does get grain twice a day on the milk stand when they are milked (as much as they want), and growing babies get grain once a day. Goats with digestive issues or diarrhea should be taken off grain. We have used multiple brands of goat pellets (Purina, Blue Seal, Dumor). Basically whatever is at Tractor Supply or the local feed store is what we get. A little cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds are added in with the goat pellets as well (optional). Goat kids may be fed medicated goat feed for coccidia prevention. If using medicated feed, make sure other animals do not have access to it (dogs, chickens).

Loose Goat Minerals:

Goats must have a loose goat mineral free choice. The solid blocks do not work well. We have tried multiple brands, and we tend to switch around often. Brands we have used include Purina Goat Mineral, Dumor, and Sweetlix Meat Maker goat minerals.

Copper Bolus:

We used to give copper boluses once to twice a year,. For the past two years, we have found that this has not been necessary for our herd. Purina goat mineral also has a very high copper content, so it may not be necessary if using this goat mineral. Signs of copper deficiency include anemia, weight loss, poor coat, or fertility issues. 

Routinely assess your goats' hooves to see if they are overgrown and need to be trimmed. You can get goat hoof trimmers at any farm supply store. There are plenty of instructional videos online to help with this. 

Goats are herd animals; you can't just have one! They also enjoy playing, jumping, and rubbing on things. Wooden spools and old play sets for children work great for goats. 

We annually test our entire herd for CAE, CL, and Johne's - Click on the diseases for more information. These are chronic, contagious diseases that do not have a cure. CL is also zoonotic (rare, but humans can get CL from goats).

For CAE and CL serology testing, we submit blood samples from each goat 6 months old or older to WADDL (Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory), and for Johne's we submit fecal samples from each goat 1 year old or older for PCR testing at WVDL (Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory - requires veterinary submission). Serology can also be used to test for Johne's, but the fecal test is best as it detects actual shedding of the organism - there are also false positives for Johne's serology, particularly in goats. False positives may occur with serology testing of CAE and CL on very young animals..

WADDL also has a Small Ruminant Biosecurity Panel which includes CAE, CL, and Johne's serology testing - You do not need a veterinarian to submit these tests if you are comfortable drawing blood yourself. Supplies you will need include exam gloves, needles, syringes, and red top blood test tubes. WADDL also offers a fecal PCR test for Johne's, but it is more expensive since they do not pool the samples like WVDL (each test is ran individually instead of in groups aka pooled - If a pool comes back positive, each individual sample in that group will be retested.). 

In addition to annually testing the entire herd, we also quarantine and test any new herd members immediately upon arrival to our farm. Buyers coming to pick up animals are instructed to park their vehicles outside the perimeter fence at our property. Pulling kids at birth and feeding heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk also reduces risk and helps prevent the spread of these diseases. 

Vaccines:

All kids get 2 doses of CDT vaccine (3 to 4 weeks apart) at 6 to 8 weeks old. Pregnant does are vaccinated annually, a month prior to kidding for passive immunity for kids. 

Antibiotics:

Make sure you have a livestock veterinarian that can tend to your goats' healthcare needs. Antibiotics now require prescriptions so we can no longer get them at farm supply stores. 

External Parasites:

Lice and mites are common external parasites in goats. Symptoms include hair loss, dry skin, thickening of skin, scabs, and pustules. We treat our entire herd in the spring and fall with one of the following:

•  Ultraboss (dose: 1.5 mL per 50 lbs body weight - up to a maximum of 18 mL for any one animal.) (May need to repeat treatment a month later)
• Eprinex 5mg/ml pour on solution (dose: 1.0 mg per kg bodyweight / 2 ml per 10 kg (22 Ibs)) in the spring and fall. (May need to repeat treatment a month later)

Internal Parasites:

Due to parasite resistance to deworming medications, goats should have a fecal egg count (FEC) done to determine if they need to be treated and what medication they need to be treated with. Assessing body condition score and FAMACHA scoring for barber pole worms are also good strategies to use to determine if a goat needs to be dewormed. Barber pole worm generally seems to be more common in adult goats while coccidiosis is typically more common in goat kids (less than a year old). Good management practices can help prevent high parasite loads as well. This includes pasture rotation, routine barn cleaning, keeping feed troughs and water free of debris/feces, and feeding hay off of the ground in raised feeders.

Coccidiosis Prevention:

Coccidiosis prevention for goat kids is very important to ensure they grow well and stay healthy. In the southeast, parasites will always be a risk / challenge due to the warm, humid climate. Bottle babies are started on coccidia prevention around 2 weeks old. We use:

• Pro-Bac-C (Lasalocid): This is a powder. Dose: a quarter of a 1/8 tsp per 8 oz of milk per goat kid - This measurement is fairly easy for bottle babies since each goat kid gets 1 bottle (8 0z of milk). We do eventually increase kids to 16 oz bottles which would be a half of a 1/8 tsp per 16 oz bottle of milk. When we use the bucket feeders for multiple kids, it comes out to 1/2 tsp per gallon of milk. (Do not use in combination with other sources of lasalocid).
• Calf Pro (Lasalocid): This is a liquid instead of powder form (pro-bac-c). Do not use in combination with other sources of lasalocid. Dose: 1 cc per 10 Ibs

Coccidiosis Treatment:

These are the medications and dosages we use to treat coccidia in goats. Please consult your livestock veterinarian before using these medications. 

• Albon 5% (sulfadimethoxine): Day 1: dose 3.5 cc per 5 Ibs. Days 2-5: dose 1.75 cc per 5 Ibs. Given Orally.
• SulfaMed 40% (sulfadimethoxine): Given orally. Day 1: dose 1 cc per 5 Ibs. Days 2-5: dose 1 cc per 10 Ibs

We do offer fecal testing services for our buyers ($10/per goat). Fecal samples must be at least 4 grams (10 to 12 fecal pellets), and kept refrigerated. Samples may be collected in a labeled sandwich bag. If shipping, they must be well insulted and on ice. 

The goat deworming chart and information provided below is from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. This is the chart we use.