FreeFall Nubians
HERD CARE & MANAGEMENT
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Does
We test our show string annually for CAE, and our whole herd biannually. We are a CL, Johne's, and sore mouth-free herd. Brucellosis and TB are also tested biannually in our milking does. Only goats who tested negative for CAE, CL, and Johne's come onto the property, who then proceed to quarantine before making contact with our herd. We request any persons visiting our farm wear clothes and shoes that they have not worn around other animals to keep from tracking possible diseases.
Our milkers are free-fed high-quality mixed pasture and locally grown grass hay, in addition to twice-a-day custom mixed pellet feed on the stand that ensures proper condition and mineral and supple levels are maintained. We also offer loose and crumble block minerals, sodium bicarbonate, protein pails, and salt blocks.
Once weaned, our goats are wormed on an individual basis, vaccinated against clostridium perfringens types C & D, tetanus, and Pasteurella for pneumonia, given supplemental copper boluses when needed, and BoSe monthly as a constant source of selenium. They also get a shot of Vitamin B monthly to keep them from getting stressed, greatly reducing the chances of polio and reproduction issues.
All goats get their hooves done once every couple of months, though we usually trim individually depending on the goat. All adults are bathed and clipped at least once yearly so that we can take updated pictures for our website, and also allows us to make sure they don't have anything irritating lingering in their coat.
Kids
Our kids are raised on a strict CAE and disease prevention program. Our kids get heat-treated colostrum ASAP after their birth via bottles, then get fed pasteurized goat milk from a lambar. They are penned separately from the adults (no shared fence line) for their safety and herd biosecurity. We keep kids inside our barn full-time until they are at least 3 weeks old. After that, they are let out into a pen to exercise during the day. We bring them back inside for the night to make sure none of them get cold, injured, etc. At about 6 weeks old, we will start letting kids stay outside full-time.
As a prevention for coccidiosis, medicated liquid supplementation is added to their milk. Kids are also offered medicated grower pellets at a couple of days old. Keeping them from getting stressed and deworming them as needed also decreases the chances of worm blooms. As the kids grow, we offer more milk and electrolytes in our feeding program. Fresh hay is always available, we encourage them to start eating more calorie-rich food at a young age. Hay usually doesn't become a noticeable part of their diet until a week old, but is offered free choice starting at a couple of days old.
We disbud all of our kids. Kids are disbudded with the Rhinehart Electric Dehorner X30 at 5-14 days old and get a shot of Tetanus Antitoxin immediately afterward. Their burn wounds are treated with Fight Back, and they stay inside for the next few days to ensure the wounds stay clean and there are no issues with healing.
We like to wean our keeper kids around 5-6 months old. Our young stock are given access to calcium-rich feed to help their growth while still being fed medicated grower feed for Coccidia prevention. We avoid Coccidia medications like Corid unless absolutely necessary. Allowing our kids a routine before weaning helps keep their stress levels lower. We don't change the times we refill the lambars, but do change the amount of milk we put in. We don't change their environment either. At this age, kids are kept outside and stay there during weaning.
BREEDING
We're very serious when it comes to researching the lines we consist of. Looking through performance records, show results, LA scores, offspring achievements, titles of each goat's ancestors and other relatives, growth rates, and parasite resistance, are very important to us.
Once a doeling hits 80lbs we will breed her during the closest breeding season. If a doe is in the ideal weight range to get bred but is narrow or small-bodied, we will hold off on breeding her until the next year. Around late September and October, we start feeding more caloric pellets to our bucks (goat weight builder and senior horse feed) to make sure they bulk up before going into rut. Since rut is a very stressful time for a buck we do everything possible to make sure they don't get drained or die. Does will have their feed increased or decreased as needed so that they're at an ideal weight to settle.
Before breeding, we will trim hooves, and give Selenium, Copper, & Vit. B. Because we have Nubians, we test GS6 levels before breeding. Does in our herd tend to sync up their heats, though we do watch them throughout the year and mark down when they go into estrus. We hand breed all of our goats. If multiple does meant for one buck come into standing heat at the same time, we pen breed and remove them as soon as we see them being covered. All does are put with the main herd once they are bred.
KIDDING
About 1 month out from kidding, we will deep clean our doe barn. Just in case a doe gives birth early and we aren't there, this will keep the kid from getting an umbilical infection and lessen the dam's chance of getting mastitis. When she exhibits signs of labor, we separate her from the herd and put her into a clean kidding stall to keep stress levels lower and ensure her and her kids' safety. Once separated, we will check in with her regularly to insure everything is progressing smoothly.
When does are giving birth, we like to be in the stall with them but we don't help unless they need it. Assuming the birthing process goes smoothly, we only step in to dry off the kid and check its sex before removing them. We also make sure the placenta is passed and check if the dam needs antibiotics due to any possible vaginal tearing. After the doe gives birth, she is offered warm molasses water and gets dewormed to avoid a worm bloom.
Umbilical cords are sprayed with Fight Back and clamped ASAP. We hold off on giving Selenium or another type of artificial booster/supplement until the kid is a couple of days old and has had time to unfold. All kids get heat-treated colostrum within the first hour and for the next 24 hours, after which they'll start getting pasteurized milk from their dams.
SHOWING
We start feeding BOSS 1-2 months before our first show to bring out the natural oils in their hair and skin. Making sure they aren't deficient in copper, selenium or zinc keeps their coats smooth and full. We like our goats to be in the 3-3.5 range on the body score charts.
Daily handling is the key to consistent, good behavior. We teach our goats to walk nicely with their head up, to respect personal space and pay attention to their handlers, how to stand and stay still once set up, and that it's ok to be touched everywhere to keep them from getting stressed in the ring. We found that our goats walk better when we use a lead. We try to keep sessions short and end on a positive note to encourage our goats to like working with us. If we're taking them to a fair we teach them to accept loud noises and anything else that might scare them during their stay.
At least 1 month before the show, we will bathe with color-correcting shampoo and clip. We don't usually clip young kids under 2 months old. We clip everyone with a 7 blade on the body, lower legs with a 10, and udders with a 40 before using razors and shaving cream. Ears and cornet bands are also clipped with a 40. After we clip them, we rinse them off to remove any loose hairs and then use conditioner to bring back some shine. This is repeated a week before each show to ensure that there are no lines or guard hairs and that our goats are clean. Before heading into the ring, we also use black or clear hoof oil, wipe baby oil on the eyes, nose, and udder, and use a bit of coat shining spray.
At shows, we come with disinfected clothes and clean goats. We refrain from touching other animals and don't let ours' have direct contact with those from other herds, also making sure to keep enough space between us and other handlers in the ring. When we use stalls, we spray them down before bedding and put barriers up between stalls for biosecurity. Afterward, we spray down our equipment and pack up. Once we get back, we bathe our goats and wash our trailer. The goats are then let out with the others, and we make sure to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't get sick.