Breeding

Why Is My Goat So Skinny

September 28, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

When you have been raised around dogs and cats, you know when they are a little….chunky and you know when they are too skinny. But what happens when you are new to goats and have absolutely no idea what a goat should look like? Are you asking yourself why is my goat so skinny? Let’s talk about how to judge the body condition of a goat.

Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!

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Why Is My Goat So Skinny?

If you are new to the world of livestock, this is a very common question. If you have never had a ruminant, you will ask yourself this question 9283947239487239 times in the first year. The biggest thing you have to remember is that the body condition of cows, sheep and goats are totally different than a dog or cat. And if you’re anything like my family, the way we show our animals love is to feed them….a lot.

Champion

When we first got Champ, we noticed that she seemed a little skinny. Nothing terrible, but we didn’t know a whole lot about goats. From September through November, we realized that her body condition wasn’t fantastic, but she was eating and happy. Then in December through February, we got really excited because she was starting to get pretty chunky. We were over the moon because she was so thin when we went into winter, we were worried she may not have enough fat stores. Come March, we realized we had a really big problem.

She Wasn’t Chunky, She Was Pregnant

As someone who takes pride in my knowledge of animals, it was absolutely shocking when we figured out that she wasn’t chunky, she was pregnant. All that weight we thought she was gaining, turned out to be babies. When the babies dropped, we discovered that she was skin and bones. I felt terrible. We were told via the Vet and ultrasound, that she wasn’t pregnant. So we didn’t increase her feed. She had access to quality hay and occasionally grain, but nothing else. My poor girl had almost zero fat stores.

You can see her spine, the hollow between her rib and hips. Her body condition was about a 1.5-2.0

While I am incredibly grateful that she pulled through, it was really close. I refuse to allow any animal of mine to suffer due to my lack of education. We had already lost enough animals to that. I started devouring all the information on grain, pelleted grasses, hays, and other feeds that I could get my hands on. But one thing that “eluded” me was how to tell if your goat is chunky or skinny.

Livestock Are Not Like Pets

Chances are, you have had a dog or a cat. When they are skinny, you can tell pretty easily. Same thing if they are carrying a little extra weight. And it’s almost always seen in their waist first. With livestock, specifically ruminants, that is not the case.

Because of how a ruminants abdomen is set up, they don’t necessarily have a true waist. So to use that as a determining factor isn’t really going to work. Instead, you need to FEEL their “fat pads”. What that means is that you cannot correctly and adequately judge the body condition of a goat based solely on the way they look.

If you heard someone say “That animal has a little too much condition” and you were totally confused what they meant? They are saying that animal has too much fat. Sorry.

So What Is Body Condition Of A Goat

Body condition is simply the fat covering the body of an animal. The reason that this is so important is because it gives the farmer the ability to judge how much energy/fat reserves the animal has. The good thing is that there is a scale that you can use to figure out what body condition your animal has, and what you can do about it.

Areas To Check

There are three areas that you want feel on your goat. It’s important to remember that you are not trying to feel the bone, instead you are gently pressing to feel the layer of fat between the bone and the skin. It can take some practice. When going through the scale below, remember that pressure is minimal. If you are using a lot of pressure, you will not feel the fat layer. You will only feel the bone. If you think your goat is a 5.0, you are still not cramming down on the bony areas you are feeling. It’s still small amounts of pressure because you are feeling for that fat pad.

Areas To Check

Spine- You should feel the bony ridge on either side of the spine (technically it’s all the spine)
Ribs- You should feel the space in between the ribs
Sternum- You should feel the plate between the front legs on the chest

The Body Condition Scale

The biggest thing to remember is that this scale is a management tool just like the FAMACHA score cards. It is not an end all be all. Nor can you simply say, she’s skinny and needs more groceries. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that, and I explain more below.

The scale starts at 1.0 and goes to 5.0 and goes up in .5 increments. Where do you want your goat to live on the scale? We like our goats between 3.0 to 4.0. But depending on the circumstances we are okay with a 2.5.

What Is The Scale?

1.0– Goat is going to be absolutely no fat on ANY of the three areas you check. You can see and feel the individual bones of the spine, spaces between ribs, and chest plate. These goats are extremely sick and unless turned around quickly, are probably going to die. Common causes is going to be poor husbandry, malnutrition, parasites and possibly diseases.

2.0-This goat has little to no fat along the spine. You can see ribs and there is some fat between the ribs but not a lot. Like a 1.0, there is a noticeable hollow between the hip bones and ribs.

3.0– Goats at a 3.0 should have a visible ridge on their spine but when it’s touched, there should be little give with the fat. You should be able to barely feel the ribs and should not be able to feel in between the ribs without some pressure. The chest plate should be padded.

4.0– This goat should be a chunk. You should not be able to see the top ridge of the spine and when you feel it, should not be able to feel without a fair amount of pressure. There should be no discernable difference in the ribs without considerable pressure. The fat on the chest plate should move.

5.0– This is a super chunk. This goat needs LESS groceries, despite what it tells you. There is absolutely no way to visibly decern the spine, ribs or chest plate. When you feel, you will not feel bones without A LOT of pressure.

What To Do With The Information From The Scale

I know, it’s a lot to unpack, but stick with me here. Above I said that the body condition score and the FAMACHA score are management tools, right? Ok, this is why it’s a management tool.

If you have a goat that is a 1.0-2.0, they are pretty thin and need to be evaluated for parasites, disease, pregnancy and husbandry. Remember, I screwed up husbandry, too, so don’t get upset here. But we need to figure out why. If the fecal is clear and you or your vet can’t find a reason for the goat to be skinny, give it some more food. Start small and go from there. If the fecal isn’t clear, start a worming protocol that you find effective. Don’t have a worming protocol? Talk to a vet. If you don’t have a Caprine vet, get on Facebook and go to Goat Emergency Team or Successful Goating With Rosie. I swear those two groups have saved my goats more often than I care to admit.

If you have a 3.0-4.0, keep doing what you’re doing but monitor closely for changes. Do they gain weight? Back off the feed. If they lose weight, get a fecal and up the feed.

5.0? Back off the groceries but also check for pregnancy for does. Bucks are almost always a feed issue, but could be something else.

But if you have a goat that has clear fecals, good FAMACHA, no illness, no pregnancy, but you can’t get it to gain weight? You may just have a thin goat. Monitor this goat closely for rapid declines. Champ is a thin goat. We can get her to a 3.0 and she will slide back to a 2.0-2.5 for no reason. Her fecals are clear, FAMACHA is good, and vet clears her health wise. We just roll with it and keep an eye on her. Not that she would let us ignore her. EVER.

Why Is My Goat So Skinny?

There are a lot of reasons for your goat to be skinny. My first question is always, is she really skinny? If you are brand new to goats, you may think she’s skinny and she’s perfectly fine. Use the chart above to figure out if she’s skinny or just right.

Another reason your goat may be skinny is a high parasite load. Most vets can run a fecal for around $25, depending on your area. Or you can reach out to an independent lab. Meadow Mist is a great one. Last I heard, they do their fecals for $6 each. If they have a high parasite load, treat and then revaluate.

Lastly, she could be pregnant or sick. If you can, have her evaluated by a vet to rule out any possible illnesses. If she was possibly bred, have a pregnancy test done. She may not be getting enough to sustain her and the babies.

I hope this helps you figure out what to do in terms of management with your goats. Goats try to un-alive themselves constantly. So staying on top of their care is really important.

Don’t forget to check out the crash course below

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Champion

July 24, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Oh my sweetest girl. Champ is hands down the best goat we have. She is sweet, loving and only wants some scratches. She has produced some gorgeous babies despite the fact that two of them were stillborn.

Her blue eyes make her a show stopper and her red coat is absolutely beautiful.

She does have two downsides though, she is not a great milker or momma. I guess Bella makes up for it because they are exact opposites in every way.

This year we will be breeding her with Spike to see how she does and what their genetics will do. I’m hopeful that with his great milk genetics and her demeanor that we will have the full package genetics. Below you will see her baby Stella as well as Spike

Midas

July 24, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Ole Midas. He is our herd sire and has done a fantastic job. He has produced four living kids and he is just over a year old. His extremely gentle with his girls and loves to play.

Midas comes from great genetics and every single one of his babies have the Nubian ears we love so much.

When we first started in goats, we had no plans of breeding. Really, we just wanted long term lawn mowers. But I am so glad that I talked to Midas’ breeder and got into goats more seriously!

Below you will see all of the babies he has produced in 2022

Bellatrix

July 24, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Bella is the one that started it all. We don’t know anything about where she came from or her breeding. Due to this her or her babies are not for sale unless they are wethered or sold for meat. I know this sounds cruel to some, but her genetics are not something we want to pass to others. It’s kind of like having a disformed, bad tempered dog. In the breeding world, you don’t want to pass along bad genetics.

She is our only horned goat and she knows it. We talk in depth about why we choose to disbud our goats and she is the reason behind it all. Up until recently she has been a terror to deal with, including being the cause of two stillborn babies. After self weaning Bee Bee, she has calmed a lot but is still very skittish.

Bella has also been our best milker. At the height of her milking she gave over a quart of milk a day. She is also a first time freshner or FF, so that milking power is very impressive and should only improve.

She is also a great mama. She was extremely attentive to Bee Bee and absolutely loves the other babies. She will ram the other goats if they are in her way, but she is very gentle with all babies.

She is ineligible for registration because she has four teats instead of the normal two. This tells us that she is likely a Boer/ mini Nubian cross. Since her babies will carry on those genetics we choose to castrate her bucks and/ or use all her babies for meat.

2023 Breeding

Bella will be bred with Midas in November. We bred her with Midas last season and her dapple coloring was passed to Bee Bee.

FAQ

July 24, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Below are the most frequently asked questions that we get. We will add more as people ask more questions.

Why Mini Nubians?– The short answer is: we wanted a smaller goat that would produce great milk. The rest is much longer but here are the high points. We like the way they look, their personalities, and the ears. But for us it was more about the milk

Why do you breed?– Well, we want the milk. In order to get the milk, we need to breed them. We also only breed for what we are able to keep. So if we didn’t sell last years babies, we will be very selective on who we breed the following year.

Do you sell the milk?– Unfortunately, no. The stated of Georgia does not allow the sale of unpasteurized (raw) goat milk for human consumption. To be fair, we are not set up for that right now anyways. We are looking to do something with it in the future, but not right now.

How often do you have babies?– Currently, we have two breeding “seasons”. March and July, so babies should be ready around May and September-ish. We are looking to move towards a year round approach but we are not there yet.

Do you require deposits?– Sort of. We require a deposit if you want a wether or horned goat. We do this because if we do either of those two things it is a permanent modification, or lack of. If you back out of the deal, then I am stuck with a wether that could have been a herd sire but now can’t because he is castrated. Or if you want a horned goat and back out, then I am stuck with a goat that is more likely to get stuck in fencing.

Are deposits refundable or transferable?– No and for the same reasons as listed above. If you are on a waitlist or know that you want a doe from a certain breeding and she only gives bucks? You can transfer that deposit to another breeding.

Do you sell bottle babies?– Uh, sort of. We will not sell a baby as a bottle baby unless in certain and extreme situations. We believe that babies should stay with mama unless there is an issue. For example: mama dies or rejects kids. If the baby is bottled due to health concerns, it will not be sold until 100% healthy.

Do you vaccinate?– Every baby will leave this farm with it’s CDT vaccine and a copper bolus on board. They have also been on coccidia preventative since 3 weeks old and get another preventative every 3 weeks until they are about 6 months old. We do not send preventative with the goats at this time due to supply shortages. However, I will send you a link on the type we use. You can also consult your vet about getting some as well.

Other Helpful Tips:

Blog posts from Steel Raven Farms

www.wormx.org

www.facebook.com/goatemergencyteam

www.facebook.com/successfulgoatingwithrosie

Why You Need The Herd Health Sheets

May 31, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

I posted before about how goats are not beginner livestock. I’ve also posted about the basics you need to care for your goats. But how do you keep track of all of the things that you’ve done, need to do, or want to do? I have tried many different ways of trying to keep track of who has gotten what meds, who was breed by who, and who needs vaccines or boosters. But my herd health sheets have been fantastic over the last several years and I wanted to share them with you.

Why Keeping Track Is Important

Unlike other livestock, goats can be pretty fragile creatures that require constant care and maintenance. If you don’t know who is who, or maybe forget that you dewormed your milk goat, you can have some pretty serious problems.

For example, if you are breeding your goats for milk, you need to know who bred them around what time. Then you need to know if they have had any issues with milking in the past, how often they have had to be dewormed, how many kids they throw, and if they have any contagious diseases.

Another reason to help keep track is breeding. We decided to keep Champ’s kid Stella. We CAN breed Stella back to her father but that’s not an awesome idea. Also, by knowing that Champ hates being milked, we know that we need to work with Stella a lot on the milking stand.

goat kid in the house with black dog sniffing it

We also had an issue with Orf’s within the first few months of having Bella, Champ, Midas and Texas. So by keeping track of who had it, it helps keep us updated on who is likely to get it.

Obviously, if you only have two goats, you can probably remember these things. But we have more than two and will definitely have even more. Not to mention that we plan on breeding goats for a long time. It would be nice to be able to go back at a glance and see who has been healthy and who hasn’t. I am working towards breeding healthier genetics with less need for worming

Who Needs Herd Sheets

If you have livestock that you need to do treatments to or have on a breeding schedule, I would say that you need these herd sheets. Sure, if you only have one bull, buck, rooster, whatever, you probably don’t need the breeding part for them. But I’ve got two bucks and I do need to be careful about who gets bred to who. Midas can breed everyone but Stella. Spike can breed anyone this year. But I want to wait until the girls are at least eight months old.

While I can go down the rabbit hole of all the technicalities of this, I think it’s safe to say that it’s better to have all this information in one spot. If I’m having to flip pages or do mental gymnastics, someone could get left out and that is dangerous when dealing with creatures that are not so great at keeping themselves alive.

Sheets In Use

The first video is Champ’s sheet and the second is the actual product and how to use it.

Its important to note, on Champ’s sheet, that before I created these sheets, I totally missed documenting fecals and other medications that were given. That can be life threatening when dealing with worms. Here in the south, worms are lethal. Sure, you can have a strong herd that rarely needs deworming. But we aren’t there yet. You can see at the bottom, that the last entry she was dewormed because the strongyles can back with a vengeance. Not to mention that her FAMACHA was a 4.

This sheet also helps keep me aware of weight loss, FAMACHA trends, and so on.

This is a brand new sheet and how to set it up.

Where To Get These Sheets?

You can find them on our store as a digital download. The PDF is for the Google Sheet link and they are super easy to fill out. The best thing to do is to make a copy of the first page, by right clicking and then click duplicate. Then rename the copy to your goat name. After that you can remove the information on there and replace it with your own.

I hope this sheet will help you as they have helped me. I strongly suggest either creating your own or picking up ours.

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Meet The New Goats

April 14, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

I’m here to tell you, goats are addicting. What started as “long term lawn mowers” has turned into so much more. Goats are seriously the most entertaining critter on our homestead. They jump, play, and get into trouble. While they are not beginner livestock, they are totally worth it. On Sunday we brought 3 more new goats to the homestead.

We are slowly but surely working our way into the dairy goat business. In the mean time, we are building our herd with genetics that will make us successful. Crooked Oak Farm of SC hooked us up with two gorgeous doelings and a BIG buck.

Of course within 24 hours of them being on the homestead, they ended up ingesting mountain laurel and we had to bring them into the living room to nurse them through it. I swear, if it’s not one thing it’s another with these animals. But we got them through it and they are in their respective pens.

Spike is our new buck. We decided that we wanted to have the ability to retain doelings that caught our fancy. The problem is that I can’t breed the doe back to her father. I mean I could, but the chances of there being problems is high and I don’t want that.

Jade and Sapphire are our 8 week old, blue eyed doelings. They are adorable and full of piss and vinegar which I love. The first night we had them, they screamed the entire night because they wanted their momma back. The second night they were in my living room fighting off toxemia. The third night they were back to screaming their heads off. My poor neighbors must hate us.

The best part of the last four days is that Champ had her baby! So I ran a pool for how many she would have. I got guesses all over as well as different dates. Since she decided it kid a full week after her due date, the dates didn’t matter. But I guessed that she would have three babies and she did! Unfortunately, only one of them lived. We are not 100% the cause but we have our suspicions. But Stella was born and started screaming at me within about 10 seconds.

Champ is seriously the best momma. I was concerned at first because Champ didn’t seem to want anything to do with Stella, but over the last several days she has really become an awesome momma. Stella has blue eyes like her momma and I am absolutely thrilled to have her.

We are still on baby watch for Bella but she isn’t showing any signs of having those babies so I guess we’ll see what she does over the next week or so. We also think that Bailey and Oakley may be pregnant which would be awesome since they are just now big enough that I’m not super worried about the kidding.

So that brings our count to nine goats…. I think.

Why Is My Goat So Skinny