Nubian ears!

christie · #1 12/26/08, 09:46 PM

Crazy question...
Its freezing here where I am and noticed the other day that when my nubaians drink there water their ears go in the water too! So they are all wet and outside all day.
Can they get frostbite on their ears?
Is their something I should do for them?

Freeholder · #2 12/26/08, 10:03 PM

They can get frost-bitten ears but where you are (Connecticut?) I doubt that it will ever get way below zero, which is what it would take to cause damage. A little below freezing isn't cold enough to hurt them.

Kathleen

Neecie · #3 12/26/08, 10:50 PM

We had some really nasty weather here the last couple of weeks. -10 with windchills in the -30s. (Indiana) My doeling that likes to 'dip' her ears while drinking is at the breeder's, so she is being taken care of there. My other little doeling won't drink out of the bucket <rollingeyes> she has to drink straight out of the milk jug of warm water, so she doesn't 'dip' her ears. lol

But, I was thinking that if she did, and I was afraid of frost bite, then I could rub her ears down with vaseline. I put it on my chickens that have large combs to keep them from getting frost bite, so why not the goat's ears. Couldn't hurt.

Cyngbaeld · #4 12/27/08, 11:17 AM

Is a nipple type waterer out of the question there?

pookshollow · #5 12/27/08, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Is a nipple type waterer out of the question there?

Something like that would freeze up pretty quickly - rabbit bottles certainly do!

christie · #6 12/27/08, 12:52 PM

yeah and my girls would never suck out of a nipple at this stage in the game.
Maybe if and when it gets cold enough I will try the vaseline.

Cyngbaeld · #7 12/27/08, 01:34 PM

If the bucket is wide enough, my Nubian can raise her ears enough that they don't get wet.

jill.costello · #8 12/27/08, 03:03 PM

They make narrow-mouthed/wide-based heavy bowls for DOGS whose ears dangle into their food! Room for their muzzle to go in, and the ears stay outside! Perhaps this would work???

christie · #9 12/27/08, 05:02 PM

They don't lift their ears up either. They have a huge trough or a 5 gal water bucket. The dog bowl could be an option!

thaiblue12 · #10 12/27/08, 06:43 PM

No the dog bowl won't work unless it is heated. The dog bowl would have to hold enough water so they can get enough but not so big that their ears fall in. I have some non heated bowls and they are frozen in about an hour.
My 3 Nubians get their ears wet, if I am out there I dry them off. But they have a 50 gallon water tank with de-icer, can't keep their ears out of that. When we had -14 degree weather I worried about their ears.
My goats refused to drink out of the stock tank for the first couple of days. They kept looking for their 5 gallon buckets and rushing me when I had them to fill the tank. But I dealt with enough frozen buckets last year to and wanted to avoid that mess. It took them a bit but now they use it.
I have serious doubts they would touch a nipple waterer, they are so fussy about change as it is. Plus here it would freeze within an hour some days, most nights. We all aren't lucky enough to live in warm Texas, I am currently living on the frozen tundra

southerngurl · #11 12/27/08, 06:54 PM

A goat has to have room to straighten it's neck out and drink the manner they normally do in order to get the water in the proper stomach. A nipple water would not allow them to I don't think. I don't know if a little dog bowl would. Perhaps put a thin layer of vaseline on the ends of their ears if you are worried about it. I've not had a problem from it.