Vaccination and Worming Strategy
At TUA Farms we give Annual CDT vaccines to our goats. Goat kids get CDT at 3-4 weeks and a booster at 7-8 weeks. When it comes to our de worming strategies, we follow the recommendation of small ruminant veterinary specialists who warn us of the risks of developing drug resistant parasites in our animals. For this reason, we do not worm our goats on a schedule. We take fecal samples and watch FAMACHA scores to determine whether a goat requires de worming. We have found that our Nigerian Dwarf goats tend to be very parasite resistant.
Feeding Strategy
We feed rich alfalfa hay to our breeding does and growing kids. Grain is fed to milking does only on the milk stand and we feed a mixture of dairy feed, BOSS and alfalfa pellets. Kid goats are given small amounts of dairy feed when they are locked up at night away from their mothers. Our bucks are fed a mixture of alfalfa and grass hay as we attempt to feed a 2:1 Calcium to phosphorus ratio. Bucks as a rule are not fed grain.
Care of kids
Goat kids will receive BoSe shot at birth. They recieve CDT shot at 3-4 weeks and a booster at 7-8 weeks. They are disbudded at 5-7 days old if they are not naturally polled. They receive coccidia prevention at age 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 9 weeks of age. Buck kids who are not destined to be breeding stock will be wethered at 8 weeks of age. We use banding as our technique of choice for wethering. Buck kids intended for breeding stock will be weaned at 8 weeks of age. Supplemental bottles will be given if necessary. Doe kids are weaned at 10+ weeks of age. We do not routinely sell kids prior to weaning on a bottle, but will make exception to buyers who are experienced in the bottle raising of kids. All of our kids are dam raised, but they are trained to take a bottle at an early age. We spend a great deal of time handling the baby goats on a daily basis. They are given every chance to be well socialized and friendly. Most of the kids we sell are just as friendly as bottle raised kids, but personalities differ and there are some who insist on being more stand offish than the rest.
If buying a goat for the first time, or relatively new to owning goats, we are very happy to provide you with as much information as you want in the care and management of your goats. We encourage our buyers to use us as a resource and to freely ask questions about your goats and their care.