Goat Owners...is it just me??

[Kala]

Or does it seem like there is ALWAYS something going on? I feel like we get one problem cleared up and then there's another right behind it! Is it there curious nature that causes them to get into trouble? Or is it the fact that we're new to this and are probably making mistakes and learning along the way?

I also think that one of the goats is just always going to be sickly. Like right now she is covered in little cuts and I could not for the life of me figure out where she was getting them from!! We took out EVERYTHING in the barn that could even remotely cause her an issue but it seems like more and more keep popping up. I've been trying to spend lots of time in the barn and run to observe her and see what she's getting into. And honestly she scratches herself so much she keeps opening them back up! From what I understand about lice wouldn't the other goat also have it since their always together? She's actually developing bald spots on her! It seems like she just has really dry skin and is always itching. Ugh...off to do some research I go!

 

[Javamama]

I've not had any real problems yet, but I'm always expecting them. I have mine within view of the house though so I can see them at all times. Really I think some goats are just not as hardy as others.

little cuts - could they be from blackberry bushes or something with thorns? Or a sharp piece of fence that she rubs on? That's all I can think of.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Sorry you are having problems . When I first got my goat, she wa not in the best shape. But she was in milk, so I figured I could get her fixed up. First thing I noticed when I went to look at her was she had a bald spot on her back where her hip bones are. the previous owner said she scraped her back on the gate, but when I got her home, I noticed it wasn't healing up (it wasn't raw, just no hair there). On observing her teh first few days, she woudl not leave the salt lick alone, her hair was reddish rough and sparse. I soon found out this was becasue of copper deficiency. I couldn't get ahold of copper boluses, so I just gave her free choice minerals all teh time. I had to hand feed it to her, since I keep her witht he sheep. I have had her since May, and she now has a nice black shiny coat, her dry skin and itchiness has gone away, and she is gaining weight. I feed her black oil sunflower seeds, oats, and alfalfa cubes while she is in the stand.

Are you giving them enough minerals and salt? BOSS helps witht he dry skin and itchiness. And she might have lice, and if her immune system is compromised more than the other goat, she might be more susceptible.

 

[Kala]

Ugh. We've only had these guys since March and we've already dealt with staff infections on their udders (our stupid mistake of using wire in the barn in their area. Apparently wire is too tempting to NOT jump through and cut your udders all up ) And then the goat that seems a little hardier got mastitis. We followed all of the milking procedures and steriized the equipment .

The sickly goat seemed to have a copper def so we gave her supplements and it appeared to clear up some and her coat became nice and glossy although the discoloration never really cleared up. And now this! I'm a little worried it might be mites now after looking some things up. I need to research a little more and call the vet I guess. Ugh. I just feel like a bad goat owner or something. It feels like there is always something going on even though we try and do our best!

We do feed BOSS too and that really seemed to help with their coats.

I think there was some fencing that she was cutting herself on so we removed it. But now I think she's itching so much those cuts aren't healing up.

 

[lorihadams]

I was gonna suggest BOSS as well....our older goat had really bad dandruff/dry skin and after 2 months of supplemental feeding with BOSS and free choice loose mineral supplement she looks like a different goat.

I would think thorns too for the cuts....could you put some lanolin (nipple cream) on them to keep them from itching and heal them up?