Category Archives: Goat Vet Corner Files

By Deb Haines There are alot of mixtures out there on the internet and from breeders that you can mix up and raise baby animals of all sorts on. And many of those animals grow up to live happy productive lives. But they were designed to grow up on a specific formula with specific nutrientsContinue reading “Raising Healthy Bottle Babies by Proper Formula”

By Deb Haines Nutrition is about the kid, not how convenient it is to feed – ask any human mom and they will curse the late night feeding, but also say it is required. Feeding is based on an assumption that 20-30% of body weight is to be consumed the first few weeks to supportContinue reading “How Much To Feed Bottle Babies”

By Deb Haines When a goat kid is born, the rumen is small and the abomasum is the largest of the four stomach compartments. The rumen of a goat kid is about 30 percent of the total stomach area, while the abomasum is about 70 percent. Hence, digestion in the goat kid is like thatContinue reading “Development of the Four Stomach Compartments in Newborns”

By Deb Haines Lesson one: Heat goes from high heat *TO* low heat – so the heat has to be higher than the goat temp and it will equalize. For example, if the kid is 96 degrees and the heat source is 104, the eventual kid temp will be 100 as the kid absorbs heat.Continue reading “How To Warm A Cold Goat Kid Correctly”

By Deb Haines Keep in mind…. Early bleating and suckling activities are crucial for the development of maternal bonds between the newborns and their mothers. If a newborn is unable to stand up, suckle and bleat soon after birth, there is slim chance of developing a maternal bond, especially in the case of maiden does.Continue reading “Intervention When Mom Won’t Accept The Kid(s)”

By Deb Haines Shedding is different from hair loss. Shedding in goats is regularly observed in the Spring, but tends to be rather inconspicuous and slow. Goats may even go through several shedding stages depending on factors such as day length and weather. Sexual cycle, function of the thyroid and adrenal glands, and nutrition mayContinue reading “Flakey Skin, Hair Loss, Irritated Skin”

By Deb Haines Baby goat’s poop changes a lot within the first week, so it’s always important to know what’s normal so you can spot a potential problem. For the first day or so, a goat kid’s poop will be tar like – black and super sticky. These are meconium poops and will usually passContinue reading “Goat Kid Poop”

By Deb Haines The vast majority of lambs and kids that are born during favorable weather conditions will not require additional care or assistance at birth. However, there are several risk factors that you need to consider when animals are giving birth during cold weather: milk supply, kid/lamb size and vigor, maternal behavior and weatherContinue reading “Tube Feeding Goat Kids/Lambs and Adults”

By Dr. Timothy Snider Please please please vaccinate your goats for Clostridial enterotoxemia and tetanus. You may know the vaccine as CD-T. The first two letters indicate the subtypes of Clostridium perfringens (C&D) the bacterin is protective against; the T is a designation for Tetanus protection. In the whole spectrum of animal health supplies, CD-TContinue reading “Clostridial Enterotoxemia and Tetanus Vaccine: Importance”

By Deb Haines Pregnancy is maintained by a structure on the ovary known as a CL (corpus luteum ), not same thing as the abscess problem. Lutalyse is a hormone (prostaglandin) that disrupts the CL, lysing it, so that the ovary no longer produces the hormone (progesterone) that maintains pregnancy. Lutalyse is a brand nameContinue reading “Termination Of Goat Pregnancy with Lutalyse”