With the does at their last 2-3 weeks of gestation, I am opening up small strips of pasture for them to graze on. This gives them fresh vitamins and extra calories! I will be sure to move them to another ‘strip’ after 5-6 days to help break the internal parasites life cycle. I’ve used electrical netting that is easy to move.

GREAT Article by PSU: Prevent Parasites Through Grazing Management

• A few quotes from the Penn State article above
  • Larva can survive for long periods, even as long as 120 days, when weather conditions are cool and moist. However, when the weather is hot and dry, those parasites can die very quickly.
  • [the infective stage of parasite eggs] can take as little as six days to go from egg to infective stage. Therefore, producers can use grazing rotations to stay ahead of this cycle. 
  • Parasites can also go into a hypobiotic or dormant state inside sheep or goats. Parasites can remain in this state until environmental conditions improve. Sheep and goat producers often see problems when this occurs during the summer. 
  • Most parasite larva are found in the first two inches of forage growth, so the goal is to move the sheep and goats out of a field before they graze down to levels where parasite larva will be consumed.
  • Producers should cull animals that they consistently treat more often than most animals in the flock or herd. This allows producers to develop genetics that are more resistant to parasite infections. The parasites will still be present, but the animal’s immune system can better withstand the infection.

Knowing how much grain you’re feeding your animals is important but most people really do not know. Figuring this out is easy and all you need is your favorite ‘scoop’ or ‘cup’ and a scale. For our hogs, we simply use the large tin coffee cans that are 5 pounds filled with pellets. Easy enough. However, for our goats, we must be more careful so we use smaller and more accurate measurements.

For the goats we use a 1.5 cup, 2.0 cup and a 4.0 cup for measuring grain. Chinese soup containers are great for this. After taring each cup, we filled it up with our goat feed (Blue Seal Caprine Challenger).

• 1.5 cups = 0.4 lbs (heaped up is 0.5 lbs)
• 2.0 cups = 0.7 lbs (heaped up is 0.8 lbs)
• 4.0 cups = 1.4 lbs (heaped up is 1.5 lbs)

We’re trying a new product this year! This product is to ensure our pregnant does have a constant rich energy supply during their last 8 weeks of gestation.

The Kent/Blue Seal product called EnergiLass is a hard molasses/protein/vitamin/mineral substance. It does NOT have added salt as an inhibitor so they can lick as much as they need. I just put it out a week ago and have noticed (watching the camera a lot) that, so far, only two of the goats are spending a lot of time licking it (Ashara & Tzuriel).

NOTE that we also feed grain twice daily (1.0 lb each) and they have orchard grass at night in each of their stalls and Sericea Lespedeza round-bale in the pasture during the day. They also have loose minerals, kelp, and copper sulfate free choice. We will slowly increase their grain ration during the last 4 weeks of gestation up to 2-3 lbs each depending on how large their baby belly grows (indicative of multiple kids). In the last 2-3 weeks of gestation, we will also be adding alfalfa pellets to their diet for additional calcium.

Read the entire AWESOME article —–> Goat Pasture Management

PARASITE RESISTANCE Is here!! Please take steps now to slow the resistance cycle! Non-chemical control methods must be included!

We currently are utilizing a few of the methods:

• Dry-lot (no grazing, only forest area)
• smart drenching – only drenching goats with high worm loads utilizing McMaster FEC (fecal egg counts)
• rotating pastures for parasite control

NOTE: Pasture Rotation is NOT the same as “Rotating Pastures for Parasite Control”.

Pasture Rotation – getting the most consumption/better forage growth from the land by rotating pastures every 1-7 days and allowing each section to rest/grow for 30 days before allowing grazing back onto the land. This will actually increase internal parasite loads!! Except in the most arid or cold states, at only 30 days, the larvae are primed and ready to be ingested and start their long life cycle inside your goat.

Rotating Pastures for Parasite control – This is rotating pastures leaving it fallow for 8-12 months thereby allowing all internal parasite eggs/larvae to die off before allowing the same species back onto the land.

We do not have enough pasture to rotate for ‘parasite control’ nor do we have cows or horses to rotate behind the goats to ‘vacuum’; so instead we ‘dry lot’ our goats. They are fenced in approximately 1.5 acres of woods and fed hay off the ground year round. We began the dry lot method in 2017 when their internal parasite load was high and becoming difficult to manage (numbers bounced back a month after deworming). Removing their access to the pasture has helped tremendously to break the life-cycle of the worms and we can now manage them more easily. We check their fecals and only deworm if needed. A follow up fecal is also done to ensure that specific dewormer was still effective.

UPDATE: We had a great time at the annual Son Of A Buck show in Amelia, Virginia. It was a single day show with an impressive FIVE RINGS! We are extremely proud of Hiro winning a Grand Champion and also a Reserve Grand Champion!! <3

Three days and counting until we drive up to Amelia, Virginia for the annual Son of a Buck Show. This year it will be a FIVE RING show all in one day! This is great because we can show out of our trailer which reduces the bio-security issues a lot.

We currently only have one yearling buck (MLRT Hiro) so it should be a relaxing day ….but very stinky! He is in full rut and has already lost over 25 pounds. He now eats very little and spends his days pacing the fence while hollering for the ladies.