Goat Husbandry

It's a new year, and the weather is so beautiful, sunny and mild. It's a perfect day to spend a bit of time on our goats, so one by one, we brought them into the barn and had them hop up onto the milking stand. The first task was hoof-trimming, which Jess has by now gotten quite good at. He uses a small pair of gardening shears for the job, which is mostly just a matter of removing the overgrown hoof part and making sure the foot bed is flat and level.

The next thing we do while the goats are up on the milking stand, conveniently locked in place, is to give them an injection of vitamin B. It gives them a nice boost and helps them if they've undergone any stress or suffered at all from illness. Our five goats are all pretty healthy, but it's good to give an injection of vitamin B to maintain proper immune function, especially during the winter months. While we have them on the stand, we take the time to check their eyes and eyelids for colour and give them a good check-up to ensure we haven't missed anything that might alert us to any health problems.

We are hoping our female goats are pregnant, so I took the time to feel their bellies and check the size of them. I believe Minstrel is quite pregnant, and likely to give birth within the next six weeks, so I will be keeping a close eye on her udder. She should fill her udder during the week or two leading up to the birth.