Introducing a new goat to the herd.

oz in SC V2.0 · #1 02/19/12, 04:07 PM

We got back a few hours ago from picking up 'Spotty Dotty' a spotted Boer doe.

She is quite skittish,and is also underweight,hopefully will fill out soon enough.She tested neg to CAE,CL and Johnes.

Anyway,we took her down,locked our girls in the neighboring paddock and put her in the other one.
Everyone was fine,she was of course scared but soon enough seemed okay,let our girls out and Anna(the Queen) soon made it known how things were....a little butting,a little chasing but soon it settled down.

Weather is raining/sleet so not the best time for all this but she seems to have settled in okay,she is in the one paddock with our smallest doe,the other two are in the shelter trying to keep out of the rain.

How do y'all introduce new goats?
This is her when first introduced...before the rain/sleet.
Introducing a new goat to the herd. - Goats

Introducing a new goat to the herd. - Goats

Backfourty,MI. · #2 02/19/12, 04:16 PM

She's beautiful! I'm sure things will settle down pretty soon but the more space you can give them all together the better. That way Dottie can get away from the Queen when she needs too.
Sometimes separating them with a cattle panel or 2 between them so they can all smell each other & get aquainted that way helps but they will still butt each other & have to work things out when you do put them together.

oz in SC V2.0 · #3 02/19/12, 05:14 PM

She is pretty if you like spots(this is my mother's doe,she is all into spotted Boers) and seems well put together.

Downside is,she may have been bred,something we didn't really want,but the seller put one of his bucks in with her for a month.She is, in our opinion, too small,but at that time it was his to do what he wanted.

Things seem to have settled down out there now between the girls.

Now tomorrow we drive 5+ hours one way to get our boy...hopefully he will be everything we want out of a buck.

Backfourty,MI. · #4 02/19/12, 07:55 PM

How exciting, sounds like alot of changes going on there. Post pictures of your buck when you get him home.

thaiblue12 · #5 02/19/12, 08:17 PM

When was she bred? If it was not that long ago I would Lute her, you can get 2ccs from the vet and abort, then get her wormed and let her grow and breed her later on.

I think she is cute, I like the more solid colored Boer to the traditional red heads.

oz in SC V2.0 · #6 02/19/12, 09:02 PM

She was in with the buck from Jan 18th to some time in Feb,either the 2nd or the 18th.
She is nice,timid,hungry and underweight but hopefully that can be fixed

thaiblue12 · #7 02/19/12, 09:59 PM

One month is not bad to Lute her if you do it sooner then later. How sure of those dates is he?
I hated doing it but it was needed since the buckling escaped the big bucks pen and I did not want my 7 month old Nigies pregnant. He got a few, and missed a few and it was a rough 2 days but they got over it faster then I did.

Let it ride if she is old enough and you think you can get her in shape for it. If you want to Lute then I would do it in the next couple of days. I would not wait any longer.

Kits&Kids · #8 02/19/12, 11:04 PM

Very prety doe.She dosent look underwight to me.

Patrick · #9 02/20/12, 01:24 AM

I don't even think about trying to introduce new arrivals until they have been quarantined for 30 days. This is across the board, for all species.

Bearfootfarm · #10 02/20/12, 02:31 AM

Quote:

I don't even think about trying to introduce new arrivals until they have been quarantined for 30 days.

That's a good plan.

That goat doesn't look too small to me.

I think I'd let her kid if she's been bred, because the only way to make anything from them is by kidding, and she's got different genetics than your others

Is it an optical illusion, or is there some swelling below her jaw?

Patrick · #11 02/20/12, 03:00 AM

It's one of the basic tenets of responsible animal production, and the one which is probably ignored the most.

wintrrwolf · #12 02/20/12, 08:09 AM

If you really don't want her kidding at this time of her growth then definitely lute to be sure. Am going to mention the first year I started up in goats I bought 4 different doe's all supposedly bred. But someone told me sometimes the stress of traveling and new place can cause an abortion and if they aren't very far along its just absorbed back into the body.
Its hard to tell from the picture but she looks nice and stocky, love that color didn't know boer's had spots, and is she chocolate?

thaiblue12 · #13 02/20/12, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

I don't even think about trying to introduce new arrivals until they have been quarantined for 30 days. This is across the board, for all species.

He had her tested, he stated so here:
She tested neg to CAE,CL and Johnes.

So if he knows she is clean it is up to him if he wants her alone and yelling or have her in with the others.
What if something comes up 82 days after purchase? 30 does not seem long enough then does it? He at least had her tested and waited for the results before he brought her home, which is more responsibile then those who impulse buy and bring home who knows what.

TroutRiver · #14 02/20/12, 11:49 AM

How old is she? From that picture, she looks more than old enough to breed. But maybe the picture is misleading.

CaliannG · #15 02/20/12, 04:23 PM

She is lovely.

And yes, it depends upon how you look at it. She looks big enough to breed *to me*, but I am not a meat goat person, and there are probably vastly different ideas on proper breeding weight/age.

CopperPennyKids, would be more the one to talk about that. Or any one of our long time, Boer breeders.

See? I *know* I do not know it all! LOL

At any rate, quarantine is different for everyone. If I get TESTED, paperwork-in-hand, disease NEGATIVE goats from a herd that I have looked at and haven't seen anything that causes any alarms to go off, and the breeder also has previous, NEGATIVE tests on their herd, then I might introduce them right away also.

(I generally keep them in a chain link dog kennel for a day, so all the goats can sniff at them through the fence, then let them loose the second day.)

If the person only tested the goat because I insisted, and doesn't have test results for the rest of their herd, then I quarantine. Quarantine lasts until a second set of results come in from blood that was drawn two weeks after they get to my place.

I do that because if they have diseases, their antibodies will be through the roof due to the stress of moving to a new place, different environment, etc. So if the second test comes back negative, they get introduced after that.

So I don't think Oz was being irresponsible.

Sherry in Iowa · #16 02/20/12, 04:48 PM

Oz, what a beautiful girl you have there! I would breed her, she looks big enough to me.

The advice to keep a new animal separate for a while is good.

Since your topic was "introducing a new animal into the herd" here is a little diddy of when our last new buck went into the herd.

Introducing a new animal to the herd.

LOL..a businessman used this and showed it to all his current employees and to the new ones that came later.

oz in SC V2.0 · #17 02/20/12, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

I don't even think about trying to introduce new arrivals until they have been quarantined for 30 days. This is across the board, for all species.

She was tested for CAE,CL and Johnes BEFORE she arrived,same with our buck we picked up today.

oz in SC V2.0 · #18 02/20/12, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

That goat doesn't look too small to me.

She is just over a year old,small compared to our girl who isn't huge by any means,especially for a Boer.

Quote:

I think I'd let her kid if she's been bred, because the only way to make anything from them is by kidding, and she's got different genetics than your others

She is my mothers,so it is up to her really,depends some on the bucks pedigree.
We plan to try and have two different lines running,we have our paint buck,she is getting a spotted buck.

Quote:

Is it an optical illusion, or is there some swelling below her jaw?

Optical illusion,hard to get nice pics of her,she is flighty.Although I did actually get hold of her tonight.

oz in SC V2.0 · #19 02/20/12, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

It's one of the basic tenets of responsible animal production, and the one which is probably ignored the most.

Our place has never been a farm,it was woods and so hasn't been exposed to anything nasty...and we hope to keep it that way.

All livestock is to be tested(at our expense naturally) BEFORE it gets here,before we even see it in person most of the time.

While meat goats seem to be less prone(or meat goat people just aren't as concerned) to the three big diseases,why take the chance?
The cost of testing is negligible really,it takes a little time to send off blood and get results but still.

What we wonder is how at shows disease control is practiced....really makes us not want to go to any shows.

oz in SC V2.0 · #20 02/20/12, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

If you really don't want her kidding at this time of her growth then definitely lute to be sure. Am going to mention the first year I started up in goats I bought 4 different doe's all supposedly bred. But someone told me sometimes the stress of traveling and new place can cause an abortion and if they aren't very far along its just absorbed back into the body.

Good to know.

Quote:

Its hard to tell from the picture but she looks nice and stocky, love that color didn't know boer's had spots, and is she chocolate?

Spotted Boers are the next big thing...we are traditional types ourselves,but this is my mothers goat,you should see the little buckling she is buying,as well as another doeling.Black and white spotted....