New goat questions (and pics of the new goats too)

[4H kids and mom]

Well, y'all know it was just a matter of time before I posted somethin here about the goats! lol

Anyway, Fudge (oh, yea, they've been renamed. The brown and white one is Fudge, and the dark one is Hershey- as in Hershey's Special Dark -which is her FULL name....lol) has been doing soooo well. Now today I notice she has runny poo.

I washed her bottom, and clipped the hair a bit to keep the area a little cleaner. Is there anything else I can do? I know its from the feed change (they went from a bottom-of-the-mill-generic goat feed to the more pricey Sweet feed) because she gorged on it the first day. Do I need to medicate her, or will this pass? You know me, I dont like to medicate anything unless absolutely neccesary.

Ok, question number 2. I have heard a TON of you guys here say that #1) Goats don't like grass and #2) Goats only eat grass if nothing else is available to them. If this is true, then why are both of my goats eating my yard? They have a hay feeder in their yard, as well as the Sweet feed in their pen, along with their mineral and some calcium supplement available to them at all times. They hardly touch the hay anymore now, but they eat alot of grass and their feed. Hershey's poos are firm little 'bee-bees' so we must be doing something right! Should I be trying to get them to eat more hay? This is top 'o the line hay too. Paid top dollar for it from the lady we got our organic seeds from for our garden. It has no alfalpha in it, but some grass. Grown organic with no pesticides. Anywho, is Fudge not getting enough roughage and is that causing the runny poo? Or is it just the switch to the sweet feed from their cheap feed that was mainly cracked corn?

Any other goat advice will be welcomed and appreciated! We are leaning as we go!

 

[4H kids and mom]

Thought I'd post pics of them here too instead of making up a whole new thread.

So here they are!

Fudge... (I just love the perspective view my daughter caught in this pic...)

Fudge says "What's this thing for?" and tries to 'taste' the camera...

Hershey...

and the side of her you see most often... lol

 

[Critter Crazy]

The goats are adorable, but I have no idea about them I have yet to get any goats, but I definitely see some in my future!Know nothing about goat poo!

as far as the ear tag goes, that is just for Identification, They can be removed if I remember correctly. You can cut the plastic tube, that goes into the ear, with tin snips, or very sharp scissors, but you will need someone to firmly hold the goat.

 

[4H kids and mom]

Thank critter! Oh, I know about the tag, I meant that line to be a photo caption...lol She kept trying to eat my camera! Thanks for pointing out my slip! I really must start proof reading!

As for your goats, I see them in your future too!

Good luck!

 

[texascorgi]

The sweet feed could be a little too rich for her. I would definately give them free choice on hay for a while until the ones poop hardens up. When I had goats I usually did not feed much sweet feed cause it was rich.

 

[Oaknim]

My goats eat grass frequently - they graze alongside the horses - but they prefer to browse on trees, shrubs and weeds. There's nothing wrong with them eating grass - in another thread, I said that goats will eat grass if there's nothing else for them to eat, but if I remember correctly, that's all that was going to be offered for them to eat. Hay is definitely the number one priority in a goat's diet - the sweet feed should only be offered once, maybe twice and day and not allowed to be fed free choice - they can overeat and get sick. I give our goats sweet feed, corn, and BOSS in the morning and in the evening, they get about one to two cups each. Diarrhea is usually a sign that their digestive system is upset. You can offer them some baking soda to help rebalance their rumen ph.

On a less "lecturing" type note - those guys are real cuties! Congratulations.

~ Oaknim

 

[4H kids and mom]

Ahhh..baking soda! I knew I'd heard someone say something about "Tums for goats". I have some in the cupboard. Do I give it to them straight, add it to food or water. or make a paste or sollution with it? Also, I have the hanging bucket feeders in their pen with free choice (out all the time) sweet feed and mineral and water. When they are out during the day, they rarely go in the pen, and eat more grass than anything else. Should I still pull up the bucket with the sweet feed during the day or night? Also, how do I get them to eat more hay? Neither are really touching it at all, and thats worrying me.

 

[Oaknim]

I leave out the baking soda for them to just nibble on as they go - for babies, if they're severely sick, you can give it to them as a pasty ball. They probably like the fresh taste of the grass compared to the dry hay. I don't know how to get them to eat more hay, other than to tell them, "Eat more hay!"

~ Oaknim

 

[texascorgi]

I would just offer them sweet feed in the morning and evening and not allow them to have free choice to it. As for the hay just keep it out and hopefully they will nibble on it. Sound like they are filling up on grass and sweet feed and just not hungry for hay

 

[4H kids and mom]

Ok the talented DH of mine divided one of the hanging bucket feeders so we can put the mineral on one side and the baking soda on the other. Little Fudge ate a bit of the 'soda' straight away. Though she got a little up her nose, sneezed, and then looked at me with her white powder facial-gone-wrong lookin like a coke addict or something! lol Today its raining, and neither of the girls are bold enough to venture out of the pen, so I've locked them up for the day with their hay feeder in the pen, and pulled up the sweet feed out of their reach. I came back to check on them an hour or so later and both were loudly munching on their hay. I think I'll start pulling up their feed in the a.m. and keeping them in the pen for a couple hours with their hay before letting them out into the yard for the day. That way, maybe they'll fill up on some of the hay they need before chowing down on my yard.

Fudge's poo is still runny, but with the baking soda and extra hay today, I'd think it should start to look better by tomorrow, right?