I have had a hard time with the Nubian baby goats. They were wormed with Valbazen, which did not work and then with a triple dose of Ivermectin drench, which only worked marginally. The two wormers are of a different class, one being the 'white' wormers and the other being the 'mectin' class. Neither were effective. So I sent away for Molly's herbal wormer program. The program consists of two parts, a once in two month wormer with wormwood and a maintenance wormer for in-between, once a week. No, this is not an inexpensive alternative to chemical womers, which are very expensive too, but look at the photo. While the chemical wormers barely had any effect on the worms and the anemia resulting from a high worm load caused death, the herbal wormer caused an immediate expulsion of worms visible in the stool. The wormer does not work like a chemical wormer, killing the worms, but rather it causes the host to be inhospitable and the worms expel themselves. Then it is up to the chickens to find the worms in the stool and pick through and eat them up so the cycle does not perpetuate itself. Ideally, after worming the animals should be moved to clean ground, and a new pen entirely, but in my world, there are only so many pens and so many shelters and that is not a reality. The best I can offer is a good barn cleaning, which did happen, and since the temperatures are so mild right now, the barn is closed until needed. The goats do have a three sided shelter filled with clean bedding, so they are not left without a home. 

Along with the herbal wormer, I included a lot of granulated garlic. This also helps to encourage the worms to get out of town. To make the powder palatable and edible, I mixed it with the granulated garlic and sugar beet pulp covered with molasses. The sweet pulp encourage the goats and sheep to eat up all the wormer and I even sprinkled a few oats in the mix, just to encourage the more reluctant ones. Ideallly, each individual animal should be fed a proper dosage and that works well with only a few animals, but there are 50 sheep and 20 goats, so it is not easily done. 

I am extremely pleased with the result of the herbal wormer. The treatment needs to happen for three days and then then the second formula happens once a week for the other 7 weeks. Diligence will be the key factor in eradicating the worms. Molly's herbal wormer is a patented formula, so the ingredients are not available. I think any number of worming herbs ground to a powder and mixed together will produce a similar result. For now, I ordered a ten month supply with the intent of getting rid of the worms in the sheep and goats. The other animals can use this program too, but getting dogs to eat it might not be so easy. I did give some to the chickens, however; they were not interested in it. It is there if they would like it though. I might add it to the oyster shell, which they consume in copious quantities to encourage them to eat it. 

Worm resistance is a growing problem for ruminants and their keepers. Years ago, there were no chemical wormers and the misuse of them, routinely worming twice a year wether the animals required it or not, and under dosing causes the worms to become resistant and then the chemicals no longer work. This is what happened with the Nubians. My own animals have been on a different herbal program which was working for this farm. The Nubians were stressed and the adult does were already anemic when they arrived, so I suspect the problem was brought to the farm. For every problem there is a solution. I strongly encourage farmers to investigate herbs for the eradication of worms. Resistance is not a problem then and the animals are not subjected to chemicals which stay in the meat and milk. 

It is a universal problem. Natural is the only way to make it disappear, but constant diligence is the key. I see it work firsthand and encourage all to give it a try. 

So, off to the store I went today. Yes, they do carry hay cubes, which are timothy and alfalfa mixed, chopped and pressed into cubes. How much they cost is rather amazing, but then there are the middlemen to deal with and in this case, the local Co-op store, which marks the feed up considerably from the producer. The hay cubes are out of my price range and I am curious as to whether the goats will even eat them or not, so I buy a couple of bags. The sheep certainly would eat them if the goats will not. 

The goats are looking for feed. They do not want to eat any more grass. That is why they waste incredible amounts of hay. They only eat the fine leaves and weeds from the hay and the rest is wasted. Anything that falls on the ground is never eaten. Of all the animals, the hay waste in the goats is likely 50%. I try to do the math. A large bale this last go round was 100 dollars for 2000 pounds. That is 20 cents a pound. A 50 pound bag of cubes is 16 dollars. At that price, for the 100 dollars a large round bale costs, the cubes would only provide a quarter the weight. So, if the goats waste half, the bale is still a better price. Then the waste removal has to be configured in, because with hay cubes, there is little to no waste. So they say. 

I brought the cubes to the goats and they turned their noses up at them. They want grain. The problem with grain is, is that it is like heroin to animals. One taste and they are hooked and they will do anything for more. They will eat themselves to death on grain if they get into it without supervision. They had some grain the day before and a little this morning and they want more and more and more. When they realized what was in their trough was what they were getting, they went back to smell the cubes. One of two goats tried them, taking a whole cubes in their mouths and chomping down. I guess they were not that bad, but only a few of the goats were at all interested. The others came over to ask me where the grain was and what was that crap I was trying to give them and they were insulted. Really!

The only other option is to take them to the market either on the 14th if I can get them all tagged and loaded in time and the hauler can fit me in or the next market on the 25th I think. I would keep a few, one Angora, Daphne, Sherry, Daria, …oh my, who would I not keep? See, that is how I got into the predicament of too many animals in the first place. And tomorrow, feeding the goats, number 3. 

The goatees are done kidding for this year, thank goodness. One of the animals above is not a goat. Can you spot him?

There were 7 dead babies this year, more than I could imagine, but apparently it is not an unusual aspect of raising Angora goats. Contributing to the problem, the rain and cold temperatures resulted in at least three of the weak babies with pneumonia. Two Bit is missing and I suspect he died in the bush and has not been discovered. He was the weakest, smallest triplet of Sherri and was being bottle fed to supplement his needs since he was always pushed aside by his stronger siblings. 

The little fellow on the right is half French Alpine and half Angora. Unfortunately for him and for most of the bucklings, their fate is for meat purposes. There were not many doelings born this year, but a few will be kept for breeding. Three new Nigerian Dwarf goats were first time mothers and two were decent mothers, but the third abandoned her babies. Angoras are very poor mothers as well and I will debate for the next six months whether to continue the Pygora/Nygora breeding project or not. I am in the process of procuring a Nigerian buckling with blue eyes and a registered Pygmy buck. Although I have not milked any of the goats, there are several with excellent udders and they would be excellent milk goats. 

One thing for sure though….the goaties are adorable, even the grown ups, and the kids are amazingly cute. If it was a more for sure thing, I would not hesitate to breed the other Angora buck again. At any rate, the Angora girls will be bred by the Pygmy buck for sure. No more pure Angoras on this farm, thank you!

Goats do not like winter. They hate the snow and do not make paths readily, only going where they have to and back to their winter housing trying to stay warm. My little goats huddle two or even three together in plastic dog houses in their shelters, keeping each other warmer than just sleeping alone. Moms huddle with their last year's kids and those who are close friends sleep together, too.

Now that spring is certainly on its way, the weather is warmer and the goats have been sleeping outside on the wasted hay and yes, they surely do waste a tremendous amount. Each year, I try to find a new way to feed them, so they do not waste as much, though, so far, those attempts are not successful. I have recently seen and new feeder model that might just do the trick.

The little Nigerian Dwarf/Myotonic goats are so small and so adorable. They are two years old and still look like young kids. They have killed the pine tree that was in the pen. Goats love trees and will eat the needles of pine trees and the bark until the tree dies. The branches are strong though, and the goats use them as a play area. Today, they were playing hide and seek there, all running to hide and then when they are caught, running away and back again. I was trying to catch Cocoa, because she was making a strange noise while sleeping. I though she might have pneumonia or something, but I listened to her chest and checked her nose and eyes and she is clear. Maybe she was just singing herself to sleep. I am anxious to see what the Angora cross babies will be like this year. So far, tentative buyers have come early, but there  is not a deposit placed yet, so until there is, the goats are not considered sold. I learned the hard way that people do not honour their intentions when it comes to animals. If they have money on the animals, they will come back for them, but they have nothing to lose if they decide they do not want them at the last minute if they have not paid a deposit. So, I presell with deposits.

There is a slight possibility that the tiny Pygmy buckling bred some of the goats that were too small for the Angora. We will just have to wait for kidding time in May/June for the cuteness overload. Baby goats are sooooooooo cute! They will be getting their own playground this year and they will still have their hide and seek trees. What fun!

It is not the most ideal situation for goats to be kept with sheep because of their nutritional requirements being different, but it is the only solution at this time. Raven was one of Weezie's tiny twins born this summer. He had a rough start on life, but got lots of love from my son and I, and that, along with some vitamin shots, helped get him on track. He is still tiny for his age, but not in his mind. He has been cohabiting with the rabbit, Petey, but Petey's diet is slightly richer than a young male goat should have, so now that he is big enough not to get through the wire fence, he has moved in with the boys. The boys were interested in him to see if by chance he might be female, but no such luck for them. Raven was frightened since his size is a tenth of Walter's and there also are quite a few ram lambs, all of which are very gentle. There are also the two goats, Leo and Colby Junior, the Angora bucks, but Leo is going to the females at the end of the month. I am quite sure Colby, who is a kid from earlier this year, and Raven will become good friends once Leo is gone. Poor little Raven! When I went to see how he was doing, he ran to me. I picked him up and cuddled him and he put his little head on my chest with his tiny heart beating so fast through his chest against me. He is a sweet heart.

Celia is a goat, a very healthy, strong, robust goat. She is not so friendly unless there is food, then she will come right up to me, climb on me, bowl me over or whatever it takes to get what she wants - NO FEAR. Celia had quadruplets last summer, three very beautiful healthy babies and a tiny, tiny one without the will to thrive. She was perfectly formed and in good health, but driven out by the three strong ones without the drive to succeed, she soon was a very hungry baby. She would not suck a bottle and ended her life a few days after entering the world. Celia is a great mom, too and fed the three babies with no problem, ushering them where she thought they were safest and happiest. But, Celia has a propensity for trouble.

The crate from the big plastic tank is on trial as a livestock feeder. For the most part it works, that is except for Celia. Two or three times a day she gets stuck in it. She has no trouble getting her head inside, but does not remember to twist the horns to get back out and then yells for me to come and rescue her. Once liberated, she runs away as though it was MY fault, again. Oh Cecilia, you're breaking my heart!

Raven is Weezie's baby, a twin born to her in late June. Weezie has not been 100% for a couple of years now and she was not meant to be bred, but things happen. Raven needed quite a bit of help getting a good start on life, as did his sister, but she has gone to a new home as a pet. The nursing of the kid has taken even more of a toll on Weezie, so he must be weaned. He is also an whole male, not castrated, and as such, even though tiny in stature, he can breed already. He would have trouble reaching any of the ladies, but he might just nab one of the doelings, of which there are three. So, Raven is isolated.
To keep him company, or rather because it seemed like the best place to put Raven, he is in the winter home with Petey. Petey will get a bunch of straw bales in his winter hoop house and then he will sculpt them into a den for himself. Captain Morgan will go live with Petey over the winter, since he has no feet and would not survive the cold without the ability to perch. Petey will keep Captain Morgan, the Japanese bantam rooster whose feet froze off, warm in winter. They will share some of their meals together too, though Petey is not much into sharing.
In the meantime, Raven has been crying pitifully, non stop for two days. He busted out today by pushing that hard little head of his through the chicken wire so now there is a straw bale to hinder his escape. Raven is used to wandering the yard, though he did not go any place other than to eat at the hay bale. Robbie, the border collie, liked to chase Raven, but he has never hurt him. Raven is used to Robbie and for the most part ignores him. Now Raven cannot wander and is confined to a huge cage. He gets out of every fenced area that there is on the farm because of diminutive size. This is the only alternative other than castration after weaning. In the meantime, there is a rabbit the size of the tiny goat living in the same house. Cute!

Two years ago, just after arriving on the farm, I acquired a beautiful young Pygmy goat pair. The doe had twins and basically they all played in the yard. There was little fencing in place and being so small, they were really no trouble at all.
The day before yesterday, the man who bought the twins that were born that year gave me a call. He is very busy with work and sold the goats and some donkeys he had and was wondering if I would like his two sheep and two male alpacas, for free. I went over to see the animals since he only lives on the next road. The sheep are Suffolks, one ewe and one wether, kept only as pets, and the two alpacas are how alpacas should look. I knew the two alpacas already on the farm were small, likely brother and sister and inbred. The male is infertile, but they were given to me. I must say, of all the animals on the farm , they are likely the least intelligent too.

So, I said I would take the sheep and alpacas and they will come home and at first live with the rams, except the ewe who will live with the sheep. Usually I quarantine the animals for a period to be sure they are healthy, but there is no place for them to be on their own at this time. I do feel that they are healthy and will not bring anything untoward to the farm animals. The Suffolk sheep are huge though, bigger than any of my sheep, including the E'st a Laine Merinos, who are big. I will have to learn to twist their heads to lay them down the way the shearers do because these critters are way to big for me to sit on their butts by lifting them up. I bet they are 200 pounds each.

So, Dwayne and Ethel, the two alpacas here, will soon have company. I also convinced the man to sell me his sheep feeder since he won't have to use it now. Yay! A round bale sits in it and they stick their heads through the bars but cannot climb on the hay, so hopefully they won't waste too much. Sounds good, eh?

The goaties get to come out in the yard from time to time, but only under supervision. They are highly destructive to vegetation. All trees within their reach will be decimated, all shrubs destroyed, especially pines, lilacs and Caragannas, and flowers, hanging baskets and other tasty morsels demolished. They will find their way into grain bags, bust through wire  and otherwise do almost anything to get grain. So, they are only allowed out when watched carefully. Over eating grain can cause death from bloat and they, like sheep, do not quit until they are too full or the grain is gone. Recently the sheep got into some grain. Fortunately, there was not much there, but it was enough to make about 6 sheep quite ill from stomach runs for two days. Yet, given a chance, they would be right back and eat the grain again as soon  as they could. Goats are the same with grain. They are not fed grain, nor are the sheep, only grass and hay.

Raven is a twin Pygmy goat born to a mother who was not well for almost a year. The mother, Weezie, had a skin condition which resembled psoriasis in humans with scaling scabby skin which resulted in hair loss over the entire lower part of her body, including her abdomen and legs. Poor Weezie. I treated her with many remedies and nothing seemed to work. The vet finally suggested that I put her down. That is when I dug my heels in and concocted a garlic oil and copper spray that has cured her. Along with injections of New Cell, a vitamin and iron complex to help build her blood again, she is finally really on the road to recovery. However, that did not come in time for her little ones. She gave birth to twins when she was still very anemic and struggling. The girl was the bigger and healthier one and Raven, the little buckling, was weak and feeble. He responded a little to the injections, but more so to the love and compassion shown to him by my 29 year old son, who named him and claimed him.

When Travis picks Raven up, he settles quietly into his arms and relaxes completely. The love Travis has for the little goat is very evident and he says it is his love that is helping him. I believe it! Raven is very slowly improving, but is still the tiniest little fellow. He sure is adorable though.