How we manage our goats
Deworming
Here on Silver Stone Acres we strive to manage our goats as naturally as possible. Deworming only happens when absolutely needed and confirmed by fecal, chemical dewormers are only given when they have high loads that can’t be managed with herbs or EOs (essential oils) other then a occasional chemicals they are maintained with herbal dewormers and EOs throughout the year.
Malloys TD Candy Crush 1*M AR
Feed
Our whole herd is fed a base hay of high quality grass hay such as brome/Timothy mix or orchard depending on what we can find. Does in milk are fed alfalfa to keep production and weight on. Kids are fed alfalfa til they are sold, if they’re retained they are fed whatever their dam is fed. Bucks get grass hay year round and during rut they’re given a mix of whole grains to keep conditioning on. Milkers are fed a grain mix of Alfalfa pellets, Oats, Oat pellets, Black Oil Sunflower seeds, and a dairy grain. We try to provide the most nutrient dense but low In unnecessary nutrients feed we can, we would love to feed organic but it is not feasible at the moment so we feed a mix of whole grains instead. We do not wean our keeper doelings as we’ve had very great success with the no weaning method. Our whole herd is fed the mineral buffet to makes sure they have every mineral need they need without the risk of overdosing on them. We don’t supplement any other minerals since they can self balance on their own.
Silver Stone CH Sage (unregistered) FF buckling
Medication/injury protocols
On our farm we have decided to not vaccinate any of our animals with the CDT vaccine. We have done lots of research and looked at the pros/cons of vaccinating our animals and have decided it has more cons then pros. It takes away the animals natural immunity to tetanus (which is actually a very preventible bacteria) and tetanus is so rare that the vaccination isn’t really needed. Tetanus is caused from wounds being covered and not being aired out properly. If wounds are rinsed and then left open for oxygen to circulate through it the odds of tetanus go down by high amounts. Any wounds a goat gets here is treated with colloidal silver to kill any bacteria and then is left alone to heal. We of course take lots of care to watch the wounds and make sure nothing gets Infected or an animal starts acting off. We have never had a goat get a bad injury and rarely need to treat anything. If one does get a bad injury that could use antibiotics we use oregano oil instead orally to help fight off any infections naturally, along with garlic to boost immune systems. We don’t seperate them from the herd because it causes so much stress and makes it harder for them to fight off any infections they may have. You may be wondering about entertoximia in goats when not vaccinating but the truth is this is also easily prevented with good management, slow transitions to new grains or hay and not letting animals gorge on things is a easy way to prevent it. I want to note I am not a veterinarian and this is all from research I’ve done myself, but I recommend to anyone to do their own research on any matter like this. This is just what has worked for my herd and it may not work for everyone’s:)
Coccidia prevention is something I don’t do naturally in my herd, I’ve had problems with coccidia in the past and I don’t want to risk my goats growth so I have chose to treat them with prevention starting at 3 weeks old til around 3-4 months depending on the weather. I don’t do it in a schedule just whenever they seem to need it or when they get stressed. I use Baycox as a prevention and have had awesome success with it.
Coccidia prevention is something I don’t do naturally in my herd, I’ve had problems with coccidia in the past and I don’t want to risk my goats growth so I have chose to treat them with prevention starting at 3 weeks old til around 3-4 months depending on the weather. I don’t do it in a schedule just whenever they seem to need it or when they get stressed. I use Baycox as a prevention and have had awesome success with it.
Silver Stone PC Olive (unregistered) Rebel Acres Farm Fiona’s Fire