[Cat Cborg]

Hi! This is my first time using this app and I’m hoping some people can help me. My herd is made up of six at the moment. There are 4 babies and one of them is less than a month old. We are expecting the temperature to drop to about -8 Fahrenheit. How should I handle this? Should I temporarily lock them in their shed so that the wind doesn’t hit them? Maybe feed them in their instead of spreading it around their pen? I’ll probably bottle feed the babies warm milk but, besides that, what should I do?

 

[NigerianDwarfOwner707]

How should I handle this? Should I temporarily lock them in their shed so that the wind doesn't hit them?

How big is their shelter? What type is it?

They need deep bedding of straw, and to stay out of heavy drafts and wind.

Maybe feed them in their instead of spreading it around their pen?

Goat feed should never be spread on the ground.

I'll probably bottle feed the babies warm milk but, besides that, what should I do?

Are they already bottle babies or are they dam raised?

 

[goatblessings]

Agree with all the above - plus lots of hay and warm water.

 

[Sfgwife]

Hi! This is my first time using this app and I'm hoping some people can help me. My herd is made up of six at the moment. There are 4 babies and one of them is less than a month old. We are expecting the temperature to drop to about -8 Fahrenheit. How should I handle this? Should I temporarily lock them in their shed so that the wind doesn't hit them? Maybe feed them in their instead of spreading it around their pen? I'll probably bottle feed the babies warm milk but, besides that, what should I do?

If the kids are not bottle fed already no sense in doing that. Their dam will take care of the warm milk part. And gettin month old kids to take a bottle when they are not used to it.... good luck with that cause it is most likely not happening. . Esp when the milk buffet is right there wi5h them.

 

[wheel-bear-o]

It's been down to below -17 here over the last week. We brought the pregnant gals into the indoor kidding stall so they weren't overly stressed, but the rest of the herd is doing completely fine with their normal shelter although I do lock their door at night so it can warm up extra in there.

 

[Caileigh Jane Smith]

Regarding locking goats in: I've had issues with dominant goats becoming aggressive, and the other goats not having a way to escape. This may not be an issue for everyone, but it's definitely something I'd be concerned about, especially if there are kids involved who might get trampled in a scuffle. I never close my goats in. It's better for them to be a little more chilly than to have someone get pinned into a corner and beaten up on.
Make sure they have plenty of hay, maybe in a few different locations so everyone can access it whenever they want. Keeping hay in front of them will keep their rumens going, which will warm them up.

 

[JML Farms]

Make sure they have lots of hay. It's my understanding that it warms them from the inside out during the process of rumination.

 

[21goaties]

lots of hay and warm water.

:up:

 

[Cat Cborg]

How big is their shelter? What type is it?

They need deep bedding of straw, and to stay out of heavy drafts and wind.

Goat feed should never be spread on the ground.

Are they already bottle babies or are they dam raised?

Thanks for the help! They are already bottle fed. The shelter is about 12 by 12, I think, and there is also a doggy igloo inside. I constantly change the hay so that it's nice and warm. As for the goat feed, I've built a few feeders but they either break them or jump in until all the food is on the ground. I don't want them getting an infection from taking in their own droppings or the droppings of other goats. How should I build one?

 

[Cat Cborg]

Regarding locking goats in: I've had issues with dominant goats becoming aggressive, and the other goats not having a way to escape. This may not be an issue for everyone, but it's definitely something I'd be concerned about, especially if there are kids involved who might get trampled in a scuffle. I never close my goats in. It's better for them to be a little more chilly than to have someone get pinned into a corner and beaten up on.
Make sure they have plenty of hay, maybe in a few different locations so everyone can access it whenever they want. Keeping hay in front of them will keep their rumens going, which will warm them up.

Thank you so much for the help! I'll keep that in mind

 

[Cat Cborg]

If the kids are not bottle fed already no sense in doing that. Their dam will take care of the warm milk part. And gettin month old kids to take a bottle when they are not used to it.... good luck with that cause it is most likely not happening. . Esp when the milk buffet is right there wi5h them.

Thanks for the tip! I've already been bottle feeding three of them because the one baby was born at my house. Sadly, one of the babies already passed away today due to worms but the other three are doing well so far and I have no pregnant goats anymore.

 

[Sfgwife]

Thanks for the tip! I've already been bottle feeding three of them because the one baby was born at my house. Sadly, one of the babies already passed away today due to worms but the other three are doing well so far and I have no pregnant goats anymore.

I would be rethinking the kid that died from worms.... a month old is a tad early for a bad bad worm load. A fecal on the rest of them for worm load and cocci would be a good idea to have done. Does included. Cocci would be my guess i stead of worms at this point. Meadowmist lab is a great place to send off poop for a fecal. Easy peasy... collect poop, fill out the form and send it in. She usually jas your results pretty quikly.

 

[Goats Rock]

You probably know this, but make sure the milk is really warm- 102º F. If you can feel the warmth on your wrist, it is the right temp. What kind of milk are you feeding? Do they have plenty of fresh water and hay? You could tie each adult up and give them each their own pan of grain. (rubber feed dishes work great). That way you know who is eating and no one hogs it all.
The babies can eat out of a big rubber dish, too. Away from the adults.

 

[Kass]

Thats what I do. I have three does, and they each have their own feed dish. They know where it is. I just dump the feed in, open the gate, and clip them in. They learned really quick, and its easy to feel them over every day and give boluses/medicine individually.

 

[goatblessings]

I feed grain separately as well and have multiple hay feeders. Agree - take a fecal sample to vet to test kids for coccidia - they are at the age where this may be an issue for all.

 

[Cat Cborg]

I would be rethinking the kid that died from worms.... a month old is a tad early for a bad bad worm load. A fecal on the rest of them for worm load and cocci would be a good idea to have done. Does included. Cocci would be my guess i stead of worms at this point. Meadowmist lab is a great place to send off poop for a fecal. Easy peasy... collect poop, fill out the form and send it in. She usually jas your results pretty quikly.

Sorry! The baby who died wasn't the one that was born at my house who's about a month old. The baby who died was I think at least 3 months old. He'd eat well like the other goats(I usually watch them so that I know they're all getting their fair share)but he was continuously getting very bony and thin. I thought it was something else but the two others who are his same age are doing very well. Thanks for the input though and I'll definitely look up other possibilities like cocci

 

[lottsagoats1]

I live in Maine, where it gets well below 0 most of the normal winter months. Their stall door opens to the outside all the time. I don't use straw because the dumb buttheads eat it, leaving nothing for them to lie on, so I just put a layer of shavings on the floor. They curl up in buddy groups and stay warm. I feed extra hay, and in the morning they get a warm mash of soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes with their grain. Even the newborns do well in the sub 0 weather as they curl up in the middle of the buddy piles and the combined body heat keeps them warm. They will drink extra milk from their dams, which not only keeps them warm, it makes them grow faster and fatter. If they are bottle kids, away form the herd, I give them an extra bottle or 2 so instead of 4 bottles a day, they get 5-6 bottles. My deep winter kids always grow so much better than the later born ones.

 

[Cat Cborg]

I live in Maine, where it gets well below 0 most of the normal winter months. Their stall door opens to the outside all the time. I don't use straw because the dumb buttheads eat it, leaving nothing for them to lie on, so I just put a layer of shavings on the floor. They curl up in buddy groups and stay warm. I feed extra hay, and in the morning they get a warm mash of soaked beet pulp and alfalfa cubes with their grain. Even the newborns do well in the sub 0 weather as they curl up in the middle of the buddy piles and the combined body heat keeps them warm. They will drink extra milk from their dams, which not only keeps them warm, it makes them grow faster and fatter. If they are bottle kids, away form the herd, I give them an extra bottle or 2 so instead of 4 bottles a day, they get 5-6 bottles. My deep winter kids always grow so much better than the later born ones.

This comment was super helpful. I really appreciate it!

 

[Cat Cborg]

Everything has been situated. I’m sorry about all of the posts. I just got this app on friday so I didn’t know how it worked. Thanks for all your help

 

[toth boer goats]

I don’t use the app, I just go to the goat spot on the internet through my cell phone.
Seems easier for me.