New to goats! Any help appreciated!

[Mamakim159]

Hey everyone!
I am totally new to goat ownership! I've been around horses, cattle, and hogs for a while but I've never had a goat before. Well I got two Boer babies and their mama at the beginning of September! The kids were born september 1.
Their mom was just out in a large pasture with other nannies but now she's in my backyard. There's grass and weeds and trees/shrubs and stuff for her to eat but I don't think it's enough for a lactating nanny so I've been feeding her 1/2 scoop all-stock (with a goat balancer mixed in) twice a day and "like" a scoop of alfalfa/Timothy cubes (soaked so she doesn't choke) once a day. I'd like to get her off the cubes and feed her "real" hay. (it'd be SO much easier to not have to soak the cubes).
So basically my questions are: am I feeding her too much grain? How would I go about switching her from cubes to baled hay? Do goats need to be deformed and when/how should I do it? Do the kids need vaccinations? When/how should I castrate the buckling? When should I wean the kids? My plan for hay in the future is to give her a flake or two of coastal hay and a handful or two or alfalfa: is this a good plan for goats?
Thank you so much!!!!!

[where I want to]

A nursing doe needs calcium and a lot of food. But I only fed grain with one or two does who seem to need it. Since a "scoop" can vary quite a bit, how many lbs or cups or something standardized is that? I always vote for more hay and less grain- it's so much safer for the animals and makes them happier.
You can change to alfalfa hay right now as cubes are just compressed hay. I would start putting hay in front of her and taper off the cubes by the same weight of hay.
I also don't know what all-stock is. Probably a corn-oat-barley thing? But it is not something my goats ever used so I can't say. But lots of good quality hay has always been my choice.
And I do the hay at least twice a day if she has cleaned up the hay way before the next feeding.
If you are speaking of disbudding (dehorned?) it is too late for the kids at 2 months- they probably have a fair amount of growth. It's usually done in the first 10 days or so. Dehorning can be done but it's a messy process that would scare me. I'd ask the vet.
I never banded or disbudded the bucklings as they all went off for meat before the were 6 months so I have nothing there either.
The kids The kids permanent vaccinations can start when they 8 or more weeks old. CDT at the least.
The kids should not be weaned until three months of age although I did wean a couple at a 9 weeks when their mom got sick and they did fine. Basically I have let the mom wean the kids, which she starts being serious about around 3-4 months. Depending on the doe, they will be totally weaned in a month from when she start getting cranky about them nursing.
You did not mention minerals which they need free choice.

Oh and welcome to the wonderful world of goats- but watch it, they are addicting.

[oberhaslikid]

This is what I do with mine,you can take out of my ways what you want to. Everyone is different and has different ways that work for them.

I have Nubians and feed mixed hay. They also have 3 1/2 acres of pasture.
Once a day I feed 12% sweet feed mixed half n half with alfalfa pellets.
Its not rabbit pellets. Not the cubes either. They are a pellet for horses.
Pure alfalfa.
I also have free choice a Meat maker loose mineral,and baking soda.
Worm twice a year and vaccinate. I add Copper to the drinking water for extra copper and for the Buck I add Ammonium Chloride.

[Mamakim159]

Thanks!
I just realized my phone autocorrected "dewormed" to deformed! :P sorry for the confusion
All-stock is a 12% sweet feed

[where I want to]

The kids might need cocci treatment, which is not deworming but if they came from a herd, they migh already have a problem. Cocci can push kids over the edge in a hurry. I treat mine with Sulmet, although lots of people prefer other preventatives.

The doe might need worming too- depends. The professional thing would be to do a fecal to see what she has. Then worm accordingly.

I'm sure you will hear lots of opinions on how worming is done. Used to be a recommendation to do it regularly but that has changed in the lastfew years to an as needed basis. Trouble is you don't neccessarily know when it is needed without a fecal.

If she has a worm load, it would be nice to reduce it before she infests the whole place.

[Goat Servant]

Glad to know you weren't considering deforming the kids.

We do alfalfa here. And a regular meat goat feed with a coccistat.
By now your kids should be eating hay & helping mom finish her grain ration.
We slowly work up to about 1 & a half #s for the moms twice daily till they or we wean. Meantime kids get their own feed away from mom twice a day, sometimes 3 times a day.
Boers aren't real keen on bothering to wean, at least ours aren't.
We don't worm kids till they leave for a new home. If they are going to the freezer they aren't.

ps welcome to HT & Boers!