This should be reported & taken care of ASAP

That reminds me of some people near here who had an old horse in it's 30's. It started looking kind of pitiful, but the owners had it under constant veterinary care. The vet said it wasn't in pain, so it didn't need to be put down (yet). The owner was giving it top care, and spending a great deal of money for special supplements and to have the vet out frequently. They were pampering this horse like a prized poodle.

There were other horses on the property in fine shape. But one day someone saw the old one in the pasture and called the humane society. They came out there, got the sheriff, and seized the horse. Of course when their own vet examined it, they put it down because there was no way they were going to give it the special treatment the owner had done.

The owners lost a dear family member through someone's ingnorance.

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goat^farmer, I hope you don't feel like I was attacking you. I didn't mean it that way. I am glad you were concerned about the goats and their welfare. I just think the whole story needs to be known and see it with your own eyes before deciding the authorities need called. I truly hope the pictures you take show healthy goats. You may be right, they *may* be starving with no hay or browse available. I just want you to be *sure* of it before causing the authorities to be called.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

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The goats in the back ground are looking good and they are eating grass.

The old black goat is not going to gain much weight because she is to old and is pregnant and she still looks fine. Look at her front shoulders which are showing health and no bones.

People who have brush goats do not keep them fat with grain because they will not eat as much brush either.

They are not showing any signs of sickness either.

Goats do not need grain to start with either. They can live healthy lives on leaves, weeds, and brush, and small tree limbs, and bark off of trees.

Just like they do all over the world with out being fat, nor do they eat any grain.

The goats in the pictures are far from starving.

bumpus
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I don't see any grass, but isn't that a big patch of nice, green brush and woods right behind them? So what if there is no grass. If they have access to those woods, they should be happy little critters. I think your friends may be overreacting.

Let's not forget that as goats age they store fat differently than when they were younger. It is carried lower in the gut and not on the back. Same in cows.
I have a Pygmy/Dairy cross who looks close to that on occassion and she is 8 years old. They roam 80 acres for a good portion of each day and get grain. She certainly isn't starving.
People driving by at one time or another have seen our animals in what could be considered "abusive" situations. If that was all the animal had then yes they would be abusive. If someone stopped by now they would find our herd dry lotted when they aren't out on pasture, but they go out on a pasture every single day and come back filled.
I had a herd of does that looked like death warmed over last Summer. I had them bred at their previous home to my buck and they looked to be in tip top shape. Brought them home and the ones that kidded had twins and triplets and then every thing fell to pieces. Their minerals had been neglected for years and their worming had as well which was brought out by all the stress. They are back into decent shape this year but had someone seen them last year they would have claimed abuse on us. It simply wasn't the case.

I always urge people to talk to the owners first. Having the Humane Society out is a waste of everyone's time if their is an explanation for what is happening. If there is hay in a barn for them, they would still go out and eat down the grass.

I agree with Emily and the others that have said that they do not look like they are starving. Like Emily, We have rescued goats in much worse shape than those goats and they had access to grass pasture. I have dairy does that have a big belly and the sunk in look over the back. Very common for dairy or nursing does. From the pics you can't tell how close some are to kidding. If a doe was close to kidding, she would be sunk in with a large belly. Don't do anything unless you know for sure that they are not being properly taken care of.

Carisa

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Carisa Engel
Lyceum and Engel Farms Dairy Goats
Attica, IN
www.teamplayerusedbooks.webs.com
Team Player Sports Cards and Used Books
Tons of Books For Sale on Website

And all of this is why we do not live near the road and waaaay back in the woods.No one is being cruel to those goats.We could use a lot less reporting and more talking to neighbors.

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Pro Libertate!

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That old black goat is still good for breading and having more babies until she dies.

If those goats were starving they would be eating the brush pile of tree limbs beside the old black goat which someone throwed in which proably had leaves on them which they cleaned up and they would be climbing over and riding down the fence, and heading for the woods in the back ground full of brush and grass if they were starving, which they are not doing.

You don't know what else is in the pasture and how big it is.
Usually the ground close to the sleeping quarters is bare ground with no grass, and the farther away you get the more grass and brush you will find.

According to the pictures you don't know that.

If the pasture was real small they would have already eaten everything in sight.

Your picture tells a story of good a pasture, and good healthy goats.

Leave it alone and let the owner take care like they have, which is a good job.

bumpus
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I couldn't agree more. Very well said.

yes, please be careful about calling any humane society, some of those guys really have an axe to grind. I was watching one of the shows at a relatives (whoa satelite!) where someone had reported an abused horse. the "officer" walked up to the horse,(no halter, and tried to pick up its feet. the horse pulled away (no $#%&) and the officer said that was proof that it had bad feet, with thrush and had been abused!!!! WHAT!!! I can't stand to watch those shows now, when an oppurtunity arises, after watching that. people used to call in all the time at my place of employment about the horses, many of the school horses were old and thin and just did walk/trot lessons with tiny beginner kids. of course.... some people would look at them and say "oh they are so beautiful" and I would always snicker, because they would be looking at some old, sway backed, skinny nag with their bottom lip drooping. the eye of the beholder in both ways. my point is that a humane officer is likely to know NOTHING about goats, and do not have a good point of reference to whether they are healthy or not.i

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A mystery is not an explanation..... on the contrary....no sooner is a myth forged than, in order to stand it needs another myth to support it.

I don't see a problem here, either. My goats eat a lot of trees and other brush. They don't need grain - although I give them a small amount in the mornings. If I don't give it to them, they THINK they're gonna starve, but they do fine without it. They love grass, but are just as happy with brush.

I also agree that it is usually best to be in the middle of now where so "inquisitive minds" can mind their own business.
That isn't a knock on anyone here, just a fact.

THESE GOATS ARE PYGMIES, NOT DAIRIES!!!! They are a meat type breed. Do you often see a properly taken-care-of meat cow as thin as a dairy cow? Same thing!

Pygmy goats should NEVER look like that, lactating or not! They are totally different types from dairies and don't produce a ton of milk to sap their bodily reserves... Especially not a doe that hasn't even freshened for the year yet! The full 'rumen' that you're seeing in the pictures is a preggo belly, and the OP has told us.

Pygmy goats just don't look like that. All my minis are on (and they're most if not full pygmy) is hay, lactating/preggo or no. They all have nice fat reserves on their spine and backs. No bony protrusions, and never do they look that sunken, even when they run out of hay for the day and their rumens are empty.

Oh, and the pasture may have woodiness. but it doesn't take long for that many goats to graze down all within reach. So it's possible they're getting no hay with browsed down pasture.

More irrefutable pictures would be nice, however.

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Dona Barski

"Breed the best, eat the rest"

Caprice Acres

French and American Alpines. CAE, Johnes neg herd. Abscess free. LA, DHIR.

Lets also not forget that portions of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina are seeing the worst drought conditions in history. Not sure when the photos were taken so throw this factor in as well....My pastures were is such rough shape because of the drought that I had to fell trees daily just to keep my herd fed. Glad no one took pictures of that.

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TOPSIDE FARMS

The only goat in those pictures that could even be called thin, is the black doe in front. She looks part pygmy to me, as does the red roan to the left. The red roan by the way is in fine condition.
I have owned pygmy's and pygmy/dairy crosses. The dairy croses had protruding hipbones like the dairy side.
This black doe looks elderly to me, and that is good reason for her to be thinner, she is "thinner", not skinny. As for the pregnant part....no one really knows that, its a guess on the part of the OP or the neighbor. And let me say this. I have bought starving skinny pregnant does before and they don't even look pregnant. The babies don't even show! The does looked like boards when I got them and a month later dropped twins. No baby belly. To get a baby belly like that, a goat has to be getting something to eat.
All the OP knows and all WE know, is that its a goat. Its got shiny, healthy hair and eyes, and its part pygmy. Other than that, its all guesswork. No one knows for sure if its pregnant, dry, lactating, old, young, hungry, tired, just got over being sick, healthy as a horse, etc, etc.
Regardless of the breed, the goat in the picture is not hurting and until we know more, its just silly to comment much more about it.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

Another thing is that this herd may have had a bout with cocci, which, with it's severe diarrhea, usually affects those lowest on the pecking order and can leave them looking sort of peaked. There are other diseases that can cause thinness, too.

And I don't think it's possible for goats to get pregnant right after they kid, time and time again. My bucks ran with my does right after birth and they never got bred back that way. Maybe once in a while, but the whole herd, like you're talking about? Man, we could make a fortune (with proper care) if it worked that way!

I think you are making a lot of assumptions.

None of the goats seem to be full pygmy to me. They are too tall and not short and heavy built like a pygmy. They have to be crossed with a dairy breed of some sort.

Parts of the country are in severe drought. Hay is in short supply and prices are high. Feed prices have gone up. Our beef cattle are not as fat as they should be right now due to lack of pasture. They are getting hay, but no grain since prices are so high and we have so many cattle out there.

I know a goat dairy that kept their bucks running with does even when does were kidding in the pasture. Not that I would reccomend it. In fact it is not a good idea.

If you know someone that knows that owners, have them go and talk to them and see if they are able to afford to feed them right now. If they need help finding hay, help them.

Carisa

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Carisa Engel
Lyceum and Engel Farms Dairy Goats
Attica, IN
www.teamplayerusedbooks.webs.com
Team Player Sports Cards and Used Books
Tons of Books For Sale on Website

I only see one picture?

Me too????

I just looked at the first post. One pic has been edited out.

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I wonder why that is?