Wax Plugs and Teat Dip, and other NEWBIE questions

[Katgowen]

I have only owned goats for a total of one month; so I am still learning and what not. I have the following questions and what not.

When do wax plugs form, what age do most goats get a wax plug?

I now know what wax plugs are; but I don't know if any goat can get them or if they only get them at a certain age. I posted in another thread that I thought I might have a pregnant goat; she does have a pooch feel to her udder, and I did not know at the time that the knot I felt and took off was a wax plug.

What was the liquid I got out if she is not pregnant or could she be one of the goats that could give milk and not be pregnant.

I do eventually want to milk both of theses goats; should I start now getting them used to the idea of being hand milked?

I do not have any teat dip at this time; so what can I use and how soon do I have to use it or is it better at this point to just leave her alone? I have a providine solution; but I am not sure if this would work or not.

I also own her sister( they were bought together) her sister is 8 months old and I checked her so I could tell the diffrence she does not have a poochy udder and or the wax plugs that I can feel.

Someone mentioned that just because she has the wax plug and I got liquid out of her teats, that she does not have to be pregnant. I do know that at some point a buck got in with the girls, they just did not know if she was in heat and or if he got to her or not before they got him back in the buck pen. They know for sure that her sister is not pregnant, as her sister was only about 5-6 months at the time the buck got in with the does. Most of the does they have started giving birth in the last week or so and they still have a few that will kid in the next 1-3 weeks, which they said if she was pregnat would be longest she would go. This would be her first kidding and they said she would most likely only have one kid the first time around.
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated

[sadie6447]

To start off with you can tell if a doe is in heat because she will waive her tail around in a wagging motion. That is called flagging. When your does do this they are in heat. As for the rest of the questions they are dairy questions and I have no Idea as I do not have a dairy doe at this time however I will be getting at least one, just have not found the right one yet. Then I will probly be asking the same questions lol!!

[Katgowen]

Both of mine are always waving their tails; mostly when I shake the grain bucket.

I have noticed a wide range of things people feed their goats; how do I know what is best to feed at which time? Right now I am feeding milk pellets( feed store guy said it was good for wet or dry does) mixed with an all purpose scratch type feed. They are also on about an 1 1/2 acres that is full of saplings, wild blackberries, wild grapevines, green brier and other sundry of weeds and grasses. We have 4 acres ( when all fenced in they will have 5 1/2 acres)that we are slowly fencing in with field fencing, which they will be able to roam over, I do have a source of cow quality hay that I can feed them if and when they need it.

I just gave them the pellet form of dewormer; do people like the paste way better or do pellets work just as well. I have read that with just the two I have now or even the two more at the end of the month, I will most likely only have to worm evey 8 weeks instead of every 6 weeks also since I will only have four goats on 5 1/2 acres I won't have to worm as often.

[Minelson]

My suggestions....Feed good horse quality grass hay free choice. Only feed grain if they are pregnant and/or nursing. I used 16% horse grain for Gretta when she was preggos. Now they just get some oats as a treat and to move them from here to there. 1% ivermectin injectable given orally 1cc/22lbs for worming. Have fecals done to see if you have to worm and if the worming you have done has been effective. Get a hold of some good loose mineral with a lot of copper. I use MasterGain 12-6 it has3000 ppm copper. Don't use mineral labeled sheep/goat...there isn't enough copper in that.
Mine are always wagging their tails too...even the wether.

[Katgowen]

I use an all purpose stock salt block; so far they have not seemed to use it. Do I need to find something better as a salt block? When I had horses; we used Morton's light salt, usually 1-2 pinches in the food.
I don't give them the pellets/scratch everyday mostly when I want to catch them and as a reward for letting me catch and touch them.
The hay that I can get used to be horse quality; but was last years hay( may have gotten a little damp) which is why I said it is cow quality. Is alfalfa pellets better? What is best for does that are not pregnant, I am guessing from reading and looking at a few pictures that mine are not pregnant? I want to feed the right stuff; is having 5 1/2 acres of grass and brambles enough during the summer and or winter? Here in Georgia at least in the part of Georgia I am in, we usually don't have that harsh of winters. It was 46 yesterday and 56 today and is supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow, at night it does get a little colder last night it was 28, tonight its supposed to be 33. Do I need to have a heat lamp or something?

[goatkid]

Goats can be precocious and have milk when they are not pregnant. They have the wax plugs until they freshen and either the kids or you remove them by milking her. You don't want to remove the plugs before they kid. The plugs seal out bacteria. In removing the plugs you risk the doe getting mastitis. It is good to get the doe used to the stanchion before she kids. What I do is put her on the stanchion and touch the udder area. I don't milk the teats prior to kidding. Small first fresheners usually have a single kid, but they can have twins and I even had one who had triplets. You can order teat dip from places like Hoeggers or Caprine Supply. Some folks use iodine teat dip. I clean the teats with Chlorhexadine.

[Chaty]

How old is she??? I have had them kid at 8 mths and its not fun. I have had a FF kid with triplets also and man waht a shocker that was and twins too...you never know whats in there till it comes out...lol...I train mine also by just leading them to the stanchion and touching. I do this when they are babeis also and that way its not to much of a shcok when the time comes. I dont feed scratch grains as its to much corn and empty calories...makes them to fat. I feed goats feed and oats and alfalfa pellets to mine and they have hay and browse too.
Worming is tricky without a fecal and most vets will do it for you. I use the cattle pour-on type of wormer and give it via a needles syring orally. I give 1 cc for 22 lbs and I dont worm every 6 wks. Natural wormers dont work and a waste of money. I do use paste wormers for tapeworms on babies.
Cocci prevention is a must also. The plugs are to prevent bacteria from entering the udder whether she is pg or not. I dont remove mine on younger does or older does till kidding time. It should fix itself.
If her udder gets tight and bigger and her belly gets bigger also then start watching for babies. Pray for twins as its easier than a large single.
Good lcuk its a learning game...

[Katgowen]

I am starting to think that she is not pregnant; just from what people have posted and what not about pregnant goats. Most of the other goats she was with when I bought her has already kidded, so she should have to, just in case I am going to wait a week or two just to make sure.

I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get mastitis; I don't think I got the teat dip on her in time. I used the providine solution I had on had, she did not like having her udder touched at all.

I know I have only had them a month; but I sure thought they would be more friendly by now. Most of you who have bought adult goats; how long did it take for you to get them friendly?

[Minelson]

I have some suggestions...

Originally Posted by Katgowen

I use an all purpose stock salt block; so far they have not seemed to use it. Do I need to find something better as a salt block? YES...they can't lick enough off a block so I would suggest loose minerals
I don't give them the pellets/scratch everyday mostly when I want to catch them and as a reward for letting me catch and touch them. I would use something more tasty as a reward...raisins/mini wheats/animal crackers. I don't know what scratch is...if it's for chickens don't feed to goats. Also, never chase goats that you are trying to make friends with...make them come to you with the treats...and they don't like to be petted on the head. (not saying that you are doing this, just stuff I learned)
The hay that I can get used to be horse quality; but was last years hay( may have gotten a little damp) which is why I said it is cow quality. Is alfalfa pellets better? If it doesn't have mold it should be ok. I give my goats alfalfa pellets when they don't have browse and/or when Gretta was pregos I gave her alfalfa hay. What is best for does that are not pregnant, I am guessing from reading and looking at a few pictures that mine are not pregnant? I want to feed the right stuff; is having 5 1/2 acres of grass and brambles enough during the summer and or winter? Here in Georgia at least in the part of Georgia I am in, we usually don't have that harsh of winters. It was 46 yesterday and 56 today and is supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow, at night it does get a little colder last night it was 28, tonight its supposed to be 33. Do I need to have a heat lamp or something? No heat lamp needed. as long as they have shelter out of the wind/rain with clean bedding they will be fine

[Katgowen]

I'll get loose salt instead of the salt block and just add it to their food.

The scratch has yellow cracked corn and wheat, it does get fed to chickens but the feed store guy said it would be good for goats too, I have been mixing one handful of the scratch feed to two handfuls of the goat pellets. They each get about three handfuls of this mix; on top of the 1 1/2 acres they graze on, I do not give them this grain mix every day. I have even seen them push the pellets out of the way, just to get at the cracked corn and the wheat. Should I stop feeding the scratch feed?

I have notice that one of the goats likes carrots, the other likes raisins, my kids spilled some cherrio's out side and they both LOVED those. Both goats also really liked bread; they have even gone so far as to steal the bread and butter from the kids( the human kind) I always try and have something with me to give them; I try not to chase them, I do sometimes walk after them shaking the feed bucket.

Their shelter does let them get out of the wind and rain; they also seem to have a pretty shaggy coat.

[Katgowen]

Do does do the same thing Mare's do when they come into heat, by peeing on themselves?

I noticed that one of them( the one I thought was pregnant) looks like she might have peed all over herself. I also have been reading that you can tell when a goat goes into heat or is pregnant by the look of her vulva. One of my goats( the one that is 8 months) has a nubby looking vulva( more like a dog's shape) the other one ( the one that is a year old)has a more elongated looking vulva.

Do diffrent breeds have diffrent shaped vulvas?

If I want to breed them; what price should I expect to pay to have them covered?

I am not wanting to become a goat breeder or raise show goats, so I am not looking for a registered buck. Where would I look for a good buck?

[nehimama]

I'd venture to say that the goat with the elongated vaginal opening is not in heat. The one with the "nubby-looking" (might you mean "swollen-looking") vulva is probably at some point in her heat cycle.

I don't think that goats pee on themselves; rather the messy tail is from the mucous discharged during a heat cycle.

Hope this helped a little.

NeHi

[LaManchaPaul]

Katgowen,
a farm center in Tifton has great goat (loose) minerals.
I also sent you a PM.
Paul

[Katgowen]

I'll try and get pictures of it, is looks sort of like something was hanging on it. It does not look open like I have seen in some of the pictures of goats that are about to have kids.

[Katgowen]

Ok, I noticed that the older of my two goats; has started butting her sister away, its not just when I go to feed them anymore. I went to see if my chickens had laid any eggs today and it almost stomped on the cat that was just out side the coop, and head butted the cat into the coop gate. I know that some head butting is normal; but I thought it was just the boy's that did that.

[Minelson]

Girls head butt too! They also hump their brothers LOL!

[Katgowen]

I have been reading that goats need a playground; how many people have playgrounds for their goats. Is it just the kids that need things to climb on or do adults need it too?

[nehimama]

A couple of old, metal water tanks, overturned. The goats play King of the Mountain, and they love the sounds their feet make on the tubs. I can hear them clear in the house - "Klunk Klunk Klunk".

There's also an old, downed elm tree in their pasture. They LOVE walking along the trunk.

NeHi

[Katgowen]

My husband is bringing home two empty wire spools from work; I will cover all the holes so they can't hurt themselves, I am going to try and find few other things for them to play on.

[Minelson]

Mine love jumping on cars and into the UPS truck too