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About Cheryl K. Smith
Expertise
Goat Health Care; basic goat management

Experience
Publisher of Goat Health Care, www.goathealthcare.com. I have raised miniature dairy goats since 1998. I published Ruminations, the Nigerian Dwarf and Mini Dairy Goat magazine for 7 years and mentor other goat owners, as I was mentored for my first years.

Organizations
American Goat Society, The Miniature Goat Registry

Publications
Goat Health Care (book), Ruminations, Dairy Goat Journal, Issues in Law and Medicine, Topics in Health Records Management, Oregon Bar Bulletin, Midwifery Today, Countryside

Education/Credentials
BS, Health Information Administration JD, Law

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Domestic/Farm Animals > Goats > fenceing

Goats - fenceing

Expert: Cheryl K. Smith - 11/5/2009

Question
QUESTION: 4" x 2" roll fence with 3 strands of barbed wire on top. 2 perfect boer nannies get out everyday. No holes, no crawl spots, 3 goats are gently hobbled to have no problem standing but out of step to walk. THEY STILL GET OUT !!!!!! Any ideas ?

ANSWER: Yes, use electric wire. Barbed wire is too dangerous for them. And higher fence.

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QUESTION: Southern Oklahoma has mild winters but I have a round bale delievered and wrap a cattle panel around it so they have to eat through the 4 x 4 wire and thus don't waste so much. What is your opinion and what kind of hay do you recommend. Someone said I need to give them some "overeating" medicine yearly. Do you know anything about that ? I wormed them with pour on Ivectin last month. How often do I need to worm them ? Someone suggested changing back and forth between worm medicines. What is your opinion ?

ANSWER: Doens't the hay get moldy from the moisture? I am not sure what hay they have there. The best is orchard grass. I have a timothy/orchard grass mix right now. I avoid fescue, and my goats hate bentgrass.

The overeating medicine is the CDT vaccination. You can get that at a feed store and it has the amounts on it. That is supposed to be annual. I don't use it, but veterinarians recommend it.

You need to give all wormers except moxidectin, at twice the cattle dose, to goats orally with a syringe down the back of the throat, even pour-ons. Ideally you would send a sample of feces to a lab for testing to see what parasites you have and how bad they are, or do your own with a microscope. Otherwise, NO, do not keep changing worm medicines because that is what causes resistance. You can change once a year. Some people deworm twice a year. Always do it the day after a doe kids, because her resistance is down and she can be affected then. I check my own under a microscope, so I don't do it very often. Go to www.scsrcp.org to read up on the latest in deworming goats, particularly in southern states.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Every summer I have one nanny die. A month ago, when this year's nanny died, I opened up her gut to look for worms. Everything seemed perfect and healthy looking to my ignorant eyes. Nothing that looked like the worms that I was told she probably had. My spring babies never seem to grow much. I feed them cattle creep feed and fabulous grass but they just seem to be stunted even though their parents are big goats. Any ideas ? Thanks a million !!!!

Answer
Steve,
I can only answer this with a bunch of other questions. Did this doe have diarrhea? Did you look at the liver? There is a parasite called a liver fluke that kills.

I am also thinking coccidiosis, a protozoal parasite, which you wouldn't be able to see. That could kill an adult doe. If goats have a chronic case it could stunt their growth. You can give them medicated feed or put a preventive in the water and see if that helps.

Are you giving them minerals? If not, they could have a deficiency.

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