Below is what we have been doing for routine care and maintenance of our goats. There are as many ways to feed and care for your goats as there are goat owners, so this way won’t necessarily be what will work best for your goats but gives you a general idea of some basics.
Salt Creek Acres – Goat Care Routine
- Quality Orchard Grass Hay, always available free choice.
- Alfalfa, fed daily for milking does.
- Plenty of fresh clean water, change daily or more often.
- Plenty of browsing, grazing, etc. They love maple leaves, blackberry bushes, fir bows.
- Trim hooves monthly.
Free Choice access to:
- Minerals (we use Sweetlix MeatMaker 16:8)
- Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate; for the Does only)
- Organic Kelp Meal
For parasite control use the following 2x/week:
- Herbal DeWormer from Fir Meadows
We mix this herbal powder into their daily grain ration. I usually spray a little water in the container of feed and then sprinkle the herbal powder on and mix; they eat it right up. Bucks and wethers don’t need the higher protein and calcium in the grain, so we mix it into a combination of Pumpkin Seeds and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. In the 2 1/2 years we have had our goats never have we had to chemically deworm them or had problems with parasites. We believe prevention is better than treatment.
CD/T vaccinations (toxoid):
- Newborns, given at 3 weeks and 6 weeks old.
- Whole herd is given an annual booster.
Other/Optional:
- ProBiotics as needed, we are using Naturs Way MSE Probiotic Paste.
- Vitamin E/Selenium Gel.
- Replamin+ is a vitamin/mineral supplement to improve overall condition and immune function.
- COWP (Copper Oxide Wire Particles) about every 6 months and that has done wonderful things for the coats and overall condition of our herd.
Everything provided here is for general information. We have spent countless hours reading, sharing, listening along with trial and error, to determine what works for our animals. We are not veterinarians and do not intend to replace professional veterinary advice. We all need to evaluate our animals, our location, potential deficiencies and with the consultation of a vet and other trusted goat breeders, determine what is the best feeding and care routine for our animals.
Hello. I like your information. We are a 2 person, married for 39 years couple with grown children. We moved to a 12 acre farm after our kids had grown. Now have 20 Boer goats in 3 separate fields. 1 for bucks, 1 for does, 1 for new generations of doelings and whethers. Expecting more than 12 kids in our third year with 7 does. 12 does online next year.. We have gained much experience in 3 years “in sickness and health” (translate FOOD, Vaccinations, Parasite Control and TLC) with and lots of late night checks in each of 3 shelters for health &security. I like the feed bins you designed. I would like to stay in touch.
Hi Lisa, not really sure what happened but I didn’t ever see your comment, sorry for the delay in responding to you. Love how far you have come in so short of time. Like us it sounds, much learn as you go! There is SOOO much to know, truthfully that is the only way you could do it anyway. We have since changed up the feed and now feed Chaffhaye instead of alfalfa to the milking does, I find there is much less waste. We had 17 babies this kidding season, with still one doe to freshen in June. Keep in touch, we aren’t going anywhere!
Michael
Michael, just received my first email from “On the Banks of Salt Creek”. It was titled goat feeders for sale but I followed the link to your site. I hadn’t seen your previous response to my message so I am glad to reconnect. Our Location is outside Zillah, WA (very rural Eastern WA). We have had a full life, grew up rural, had non rural city jobs for 30 years, then moved to help family. Your story could be our story with Christian Values, schooling, etc. We have had Boer goats for the past 6 years. This year we have 16 kids from 7 dams, bottle feeding two, – 2 bucks in buck pens for genetic diversity. Feeding two bottle babies is amazing life energy in the midst of chaos. We have 6 Doelings/yearlings in a separate field for next year. We are prepared in “every” way, Farm-wise and in other ways. It would be nice to stay in touch.