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🐐 Goats: Milk, Meat and Brush Control

How to keep goats with no feed store, no vet and no fridge: choosing milk and meat goats, fences and sheds that stop cougars, feeding on browse and hay, the local plants that kill goats, selenium and other minerals, kidding and kid care, castrating and disbudding, daily milking, hooves, worms, sickness, humane slaughter and butchering, hides and manure, and using goats to clear brush and keep fire breaks open. What to do with the milk once it is in the pail (cooling, pasteurizing, butter, yogurt, cheese) is in the Milk, Butter & Cheese guide. The goat books are in Animals\Goats-Sheep, with no-vet medicine in Animals\Veterinary, slaughter in Animals\Cattle-Horses-Pigs, predators and fire in Animals\Planning-Predators-Toxic-Plants, and poisonous plants in Wild-Plants. Sheep books are used where goats and sheep share a problem, and the guide says so.

The short version

🐐 Choosing goats: milk, meat or brush

A goat "will supply sufficient milk for the average family and can be kept where it would be impossible to keep a cow"; 6 to 8 goats eat what 1 cow eats (USDA FB 920, p. 3; p. 25). Goats are "the hardiest of the domesticated ruminants" and give milk, meat, mohair and leather (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 390).

Breed Best for What the books say
Saanen Milk Largest Swiss breed, white. Does about 120 lb, bucks 185 lb. The USDA herd averaged 5.6 lb (about 2½ qt) a day for 8–10 months, about 3.5% butterfat (FB 920, p. 11; p. 13)
Toggenburg Milk Brown, light stripe down each side of the face. 5–6 quarts a day in Switzerland; a few US does averaged 4–5 quarts for 8–10 months; the USDA herd 4.1 lb (about 2 qt) at about 3% fat (p. 14)
Nubian Rich milk, meat Long drooping ears, Roman nose. Milk highest in butterfat — best for butter and cheese — but less of it; "less hardy than the leading European breeds"; bucks smell less (pp. 15–16)
Alpine Milk Large, "quite hardy," heavy milker; any color (p. 17)
Common "American" goat Meat, brush Short-legged, "meaty," very prolific, horned; short lactation, small teats. A good base to cross with a dairy buck. Mexican goats show Spanish blood (p. 19)
Boer, Kiko, Spanish Meat, brush The common modern meat breeds. No book on the drive covers them; a dairy × meat cross gives milk and heavier kids (rule of thumb)
LaMancha, Nigerian Dwarf Milk Newer breeds; the Nigerian Dwarf is small and eats less (rule of thumb)

Buying a goat: bright and alert, clean rear, walks freely, clear eyes, teeth that meet the pad, normal hooves, knees not swollen (CAE), no lumps behind the ears or under the jaw (CL) (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 28–29). Avoid any herd with abscess problems (No Animal Doctor, p. 239). A milking doe should have an udder "very much reduced when empty" and teats big enough to milk; a fat doe in milk is "a strong indication that they are not good producers" (FB 920, pp. 21–22). Age: one pair of big lower front teeth at about 1 year, two at 2, all four pairs at 4 (No Animal Doctor, p. 54); goats are in their prime at 4–6 years (FB 920, p. 23). Keep new goats apart for 30 days and deworm them first (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 103; p. 123).

The lower front teeth of a goat from a kid to a four-year-old: the big permanent teeth come in one pair a year Count the big lower front teeth: one pair at about 1 year, two at 2, three at 3, all four pairs at 4 to 5 (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 409).

🏠 Fences, shelter and predators

Fences (OSU EC1646, p. 1; FB 920, p. 35): woven or welded wire about 48 inches high, stock panels, high-tensile or electric. No barbed wire — it "can cause severe injury." Field fence traps horned heads; netting entangles goats, so use it only where you watch them. Electric works once goats are trained: two hot wires held mature does but not kids, and "the goats will soon know it" when the charger is off. Wrap young trees in wire (FB 920, p. 25). Tethering: a chain with a swivel at each end, away from trees, shade and water in reach — but a tethered goat can't run from a predator (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 416).

Shelter (EC1646, p. 2; FB 920, p. 9): a three-sided shed with clean bedding, room for all, and fresh air without drafts — damp air and ammonia cause pneumonia. "Goats must be kept dry and out of cold winds" (FB 920, p. 26). Plan about 15–20 sq ft of shed floor per adult, plus a separate buck pen (rule of thumb). Add something safe to climb (climbing structure), a stand or chute to hold one goat, and kidding pens made from hurdles. Store hay in a separate building from the goats (PNW783, p. 8).

Predators: dogs, bears and coyotes kill adult sheep and goats; foxes and hawks take young ones. Shut the herd in a predator-proof pen near the house at night (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 132–133). Cougars: "Fence and shelter livestock. Move them to sheds or barns at night" (ODFW, p. 2). Guardian dogs, donkeys and llamas protect a herd (EC1646, p. 1; guard dog, llama). Mark every goat: ear notches can be read from a distance; a tattoo inside the ear is permanent (FB 920, p. 33).

📚 Go deeper: USDA AIB 588 Livestock Guarding Dogs — choosing and raising a guardian dog; FB 920, p. 9 — plan of a small goat barn.

🌿 Feeding with no feed store: browse, pasture and hay

Goats browse: they prefer "leaves, twigs, and weeds to grass" (FB 920, p. 25), pick the best part of each plant, and walk twice as far in a day as sheep or cattle (Peace Corps Vol 4, pp. 392–393). But "a doe cannot be expected to produce milk at her maximum level" on browse alone: she needs legume hay or pasture plus grain (FB 920, p. 26).

How much (FB 920, pp. 25–26):

Here in the valley (rule of thumb): pasture browns from June to the October rains and winter is mud, so plan hay for both. Browse: blackberry, poison oak, willow, maple and oak leaves — "goats will browse woody vegetation like blackberry and poison oak" (OSU EM 9184, p. 14). Oak: goats are "less susceptible than cattle," and leaves lose their poison as they mature (AIB 415, p. 79); young leaves, buds and green acorns are the risky part (WSU, p. 27), so make oak part of the diet, not all of it (rule of thumb). Raked leaves are poor winter feed, only for a shortage (FB 920, p. 26). Poison oak rides on goats: the oil on their coats reaches whoever handles them, so wash goats and clothes with soap and water, and never burn poison oak — the smoke can put people in the hospital (OSU PNW 108, p. 4).

Feeding safely: change any feed over 7–10 days; keep hay out when they graze fresh alfalfa or clover so hungry goats don't gorge; keep grain locked up (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 95–96). Let them drink before feeding (No Animal Doctor, p. 207). Feed in racks, so goats eat up off the ground and can't stand in their feed (UF VM271, p. 2).

📚 Go deeper: FB 920, pp. 25–26 — rations for bucks, does and kids; Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 45 — feeding through breeding, pregnancy and milking.

☠️ Plants that poison goats here

📷 Not sure what's growing in the pasture? Photograph it with the plant identifier (🔧 Tools tab): it suggests a name and flags poisonous groups. Then check that name against this list.

Most poisonings happen when goats are hungry, moved onto new ground, short of water, or out in early spring when poisonous plants are the only green ones; for most there is no treatment (AIB 415, p. 11; Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 96–97). Keep goats fed and watered, and walk new paddocks before you turn them in. The "where" column is local knowledge (rule of thumb).

Plant Where What happens
Western azalea, rhododendron, laurel Creeks, serpentine meadows; gardens "Leaves and stems are attractive to goats." Drooling, vomiting (rare in goats — a red flag), bloat, tremors, collapse; activated charcoal may help (WSU, p. 15)
Pacific yew, garden yew Shady creek forest; hedges "Death may be so rapid that signs ... may not have time to develop" (AIB 415, p. 113); hedge trimmings (WSU, p. 2)
Oleander SW Oregon yards All parts very poisonous (OSU, p. 12), fresh or dry; even its smoke (WSU, p. 3)
Chokecherry, wild cherry, cherry laurel Fencerows; wilted, frosted or fallen branches Cyanide: gasping, bright red blood, death in minutes (AIB 415, p. 26; WSU, p. 1)
Water hemlock, poison hemlock Ditches, creek banks Tremors, convulsions, death within hours; water hemlock roots are worst (WSU, pp. 12–13)
Lupine Dry hillsides Seeds and young plants; the poison passes into milk and can cause birth defects in people (WSU, p. 15)
Death camas Spring meadows One of the first green plants in spring; all parts toxic (WSU, p. 3)
Bracken fern Woods edges, burns Bleeding and bloody urine in ruminants; also in hay (WSU, p. 11)
Foxglove, larkspur Gardens; escapes Heart poisons, fresh or dried (WSU, p. 28; p. 24)
Tansy ragwort, St. Johnswort Pastures, roadsides Ragwort: slow liver damage, fresh or in hay (WSU, p. 21); goats resist this kind of liver poison better than cattle (AIB 415, p. 43). St. Johnswort: sunburn-like sores (WSU, p. 26)
Nightshade, green potato, tomato vines Gardens, compost piles Solanine: drooling, colic, paralysis (WSU, p. 21)
Elderberry leaves, milkweed, buttercup Moist ground, ditches Gut poisoning; milkweed hits the heart (WSU, p. 29; p. 31; p. 26)
Pigweed, lambsquarter, dock Garden weeds Nitrate or oxalate poisoning, worst in drought (WSU, pp. 4–5; p. 30)

📚 Go deeper: WSU Selected Poisonous Plants of the PNW — photos and signs; USDA AIB 415 — western poisonous plants in color. The Horses guide has photo pages for tansy and the hemlocks.

🧂 Minerals: selenium, copper and salt

Selenium (OSU EM 9094, pp. 1–6):

Copper: goats need it; sheep are poisoned by it. Copper oxide wire particles help control barber pole worm in goats, but "there is a concern for copper toxicity in sheep" (UF VM271, p. 2); pig feed can hold enough copper to poison sheep (No Animal Doctor, p. 74). Never feed goat mineral to sheep, and don't feed goats a low-copper sheep mineral (rule of thumb). The drive has no map of copper in Oregon soils; a goat with a faded, rough coat may be short of it (rule of thumb).

Iodine: kids born dead or weak with a swollen neck (goiter) mean iodine shortage. Give pregnant does iodized or trace-mineral salt; if you have none, mix 2.2 g of potassium iodide into 10 kg of salt (No Animal Doctor, p. 282; p. 329). Calcium and phosphorus: grain is high in phosphorus, legume hay in calcium; keep the diet near 2–3 parts calcium to 1 of phosphorus against urinary stones in bucks and wethers (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 94). On lush spring grass, offer hay too, against grass tetany (p. 92).

📚 Go deeper: OSU EM 9094 — normal blood selenium for goats (170–300 ng/mL); salt vs injections vs selenium-fertilized pasture.

🍼 Breeding, kidding and kids

What to know
Heat Regular September–January, weak January–March, rare in spring and summer. Every 18–21 days; lasts 24–36 hours. Tail shaking, bleating, swollen vulva, less milk (FB 920, p. 23; Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 419)
Breeding Wait about 12 hours after you see heat; for more twins breed again 24 hours later; breed in the cool of the day (Peace Corps, p. 419)
First breeding Not before 7–8 months (Peace Corps, p. 419); FB 920 waits until 15–18 months, or 12–15 if well grown (p. 23). Breed a doeling her first fall only if she is big; otherwise wait a year (rule of thumb)
Gestation 146–152 days (about 5 months); twins usual, triplets common; 168 kids per 100 yearling does, 196 per 100 mature does (FB 920, p. 24). Breeding Sep–Nov = kids February–April (arithmetic)
The buck "Half the herd": pick one from a doe that milks long (p. 21). A yearling covers 25 does, a mature buck 40–50 (p. 23). House him away from milking does — his smell gets into the milk. Feed: 3 lb of hay and 1½ lb of grain a day in winter, 2 lb of grain in the breeding season, none on good pasture (p. 25)

Before kidding: feed more for 2 weeks before and after breeding ("flushing") for more twins. The last 6 weeks carry 75% of the kid's growth, and twin-bearing mothers need almost twice the energy, but never let does get fat (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 45–46). A few days ahead, give the doe a clean, dry, draft-free pen of at least 5 × 5 ft (KSU MF3689, p. 8; FB 920, p. 29). Signs within a day: she leaves the herd, paws a nest, the udder fills, the vulva swells. 70–80% of kid deaths happen in the first two weeks; check due does every 2–3 hours (Langston, p. 4).

When to help (KSU, pp. 4–5): most does need none. A kid should come within 30–45 minutes of the yellowish water bag. Help if there is no progress 30 minutes after it, she strains with no water bag, she is exhausted, or a leg or tail shows wrong. Wash, glove, lube, and feel which legs belong to which kid (positions). Backward kids: don't turn them — pull straight back, quickly (p. 7). Never pull the front legs unless the head is coming too (FB 920, p. 30); pull only with your hands, as she strains (Peace Corps, p. 421). Stuck after 15 minutes of trying? Get the most experienced person you can (KSU, p. 8).

Four drawings of a kid inside the doe: the normal position, rump first (breech), one foreleg bent back, and upside down Normal (1) is front feet first with the nose between them (KSU, p. 6); rump first (2), a foreleg back (3) or upside down (4) need help (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 422).

The first hours (KSU, pp. 10–13):

  1. Clear mucus from nose and mouth; if the kid struggles to breathe, pat its side firmly. No mouth-to-mouth — diseases pass (Peace Corps, p. 421).
  2. "Clip, dip, strip, sip": cut the navel cord under 2 inches and dip it in iodine; strip the wax plugs from the doe's teats; make sure the kid nurses.
  3. Colostrum within 30–60 minutes, at least 10% of body weight: a 10-lb kid needs about 7 oz in the first hour and 16 oz over 24 hours, in 2–4-oz feeds (tube-feeding photos). It protects only in the first 24 hours; replacer is no substitute; another doe's colostrum is the best stand-in.
  4. Kid under 99 °F? Warm it first — a chilled kid can't absorb colostrum. Normal is 102–103 °F.
  5. Never pull on the afterbirth; it comes in 4–6 hours. Burn or bury it, and see that both halves of the udder are emptied (FB 920, p. 30). Retained afterbirth or fever over 3 days needs skilled help (KSU, p. 8).

Raising kids (FB 920, pp. 28, 31–32): on the doe is little work — a doe giving 3–4 lb of milk a day raises two kids, and meat-goat keepers wean later (Peace Corps, p. 424). By hand you get the milk and a record of it, and avoid lopsided udders: warm (90–98 °F) milk, as much as they drink readily — at least 1½–2 pints a day, often 2–3 — in 3 feeds until 6 weeks; after 10 weeks hay and grain replace most of it; wean at 3–4 months. Offer hay and a little grain early (1 part cracked corn, 1 oats, ½ bran; up to ½ lb a day). Use the doe's milk for people only from the 4th–5th day. Separate buck kids from doelings at about 4 months — doelings can get pregnant at 4–5 months (p. 32).

📚 Go deeper: KSU MF3689 — when to help, each wrong position, tube feeding; Langston — the stages of birth with photos.

✂️ Castration, disbudding and marking

Castration: buck kids not kept for breeding are castrated at 10 days to 3 weeks — "the older they are, the more severe the operation" (FB 920, p. 32). Wethers (castrated males) are calmer, grow better and taste less "gamy" (Peace Corps, p. 410; No Animal Doctor, p. 187). Castrating very young raises the risk of urinary stones later (same page), so a wether you will keep for years as a brush goat can wait a few months (our reading). Pick a cool, dry day and give dry bedding.

  1. Knife: wash the scrotum, cut off its lower third, press each testicle out and pull it away with its cord; iodine on the wound (Peace Corps, p. 410). Over 4 months, scrape the cords through instead of pulling (FB 920, p. 32); over 6 months, tie each cord first (No Animal Doctor, p. 189).
  2. Burdizzo (crushing clamp): no open wound. Crush each cord separately at a different height — never both at one level, or the scrotum dies (pp. 187–188).
  3. Rubber ring (elastrator): feel both testicles below the ring before letting go (KSU, p. 14); "less preferable" where tetanus is a risk (No Animal Doctor, p. 189).
  4. Give tetanus antitoxin (150–200 units) if you have it; check the wound for 2–3 days; fly ointment or heavy grease keeps maggots off (Peace Corps, p. 410).

Disbudding (FB 920, pp. 33–34):

  1. In the first days of life, always before 3 weeks. Clip the hair: on a naturally hornless kid the skin slides over the spot; a horned kid has shiny buds with the skin stuck to the skull.
  2. Heat a disbudding iron (or a ¾-inch steel pipe on a handle) cherry-red (where to burn); ⅞-inch for doelings, 1-inch for bucks. Hold it on each bud 5–10 seconds, rotating, until a copper-colored ring shows. Keep it as short as you can: newer studies found brain injury in kids even at 5 seconds, so have someone experienced show you first (rule of thumb). A second ring behind each bud "de-scents" buck kids (Peace Corps, pp. 412, 415).
  3. Give tetanus antitoxin. Meloxicam (prescription) eases the pain (KSU, p. 15).

Three drawings of a kid's head from above: where the horn buds and a buck kid's scent glands are, the ring to burn around each bud, and the second ring behind each bud that de-scents a buck Burn a ring around each horn bud; on a buck kid, a second ring just behind it takes out the scent glands (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 415).

Grown goats' horns can be sawn off close to the head with a wire saw in cool, fly-free weather, with pine tar on the stumps (FB 920, p. 33). Marking: notch ears soon after birth, tattoo at 3–6 months (same page; ear marks).

📚 Go deeper: Where There Is No Animal Doctor, pp. 187–189 — castration step by step with drawings; Livestock dehorning.

🥛 Milking the goat: daily routine and yield

How much: a doe giving about 1,000 lb (about 500 quarts) in a 10-month lactation is a fair milker; 1,200 lb is good, 1,600 lb or more excellent. Good does milk 8–10 months a year and give 8–15 times their own weight (USDA FB 920, p. 5). That is about 1½ quarts a day (our arithmetic). Lactations run 3 to 10 months; regular, thorough milking makes them longer (p. 27). Milk peaks 3–4 weeks after birth (ewes: Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 46). Two does bred a few months apart keep milk coming all year (rule of thumb).

Every milking (FB 920, pp. 27–29; Lincoln Univ, pp. 1–2):

  1. Doe on a milking stand with a head catch (stand); a little grain teaches young does to jump up. Milk in a clean place away from the goat pen and the buck.
  2. Clip the udder hair. Strip the first squirts into a strip cup and look for clots every milking. Dip the teats; wipe each goat with her own towel.
  3. Squeeze the teat in your hand as for a cow; strip small teats between finger and thumb. Don't wring the teats for the last drop. Dip again after. Twice a day, 12 hours apart (a heavy milker 3 times for a while), same milker, gentle and regular. Weigh each doe's milk now and then and write it down (p. 28).
  4. Strain it and cool it fast; cooling, pasteurizing and keeping milk without a fridge are in the Milk, Butter & Cheese guide.

A man milking a doe that stands on a raised wooden stand with her head through a head catch, a cleated ramp leading up to it A milking stand: the doe walks up the ramp and puts her head through the catch, and the milker sits on the stand beside her (FB 920, p. 28).

"Goaty" milk comes from a buck near the does, dirty pails, slow cooling, strong weeds like wild garlic eaten close to milking, a sick doe, or a very long lactation (FB 920, p. 29). A monthly California Mastitis Test finds hidden mastitis early (Lincoln, p. 1). Drying off: stop milking about 2 months before kidding so the udder rests (rule of thumb); most does dry up by the tenth month anyway (Peace Corps, p. 424). Cut grain and water back for 2–3 days while she dries, and watch the udder (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 113).

🦶 Hooves and hoof rot

Rocky ground wears hooves down; in soft pens and wet pasture they overgrow, and goats "will not thrive or gain weight if their feet are neglected" (Peace Corps, p. 410). Look at every foot monthly (FB 920, p. 35); trim every 4–6 weeks in a wet winter (MSU M2487, p. 1).

  1. Hold the goat, or set it on its rump (trimming), and clean the hoof with a pick.
  2. With hoof shears, pruning shears or a sharp knife, trim the wall level with the sole so the foot sits square, following the angle of the hairline (hoof parts). Stop when the sole turns pinkish instead of white (Peace Corps, p. 410). Bring a badly overgrown hoof back a little at each trimming (FB 920, p. 35). Disinfect the trimmers between goats (MSU, p. 1).

Three drawings of a goat's foot: an overgrown hoof with dashed lines showing where to trim, the hoof wall, and a properly trimmed foot Trim the overgrown wall back to the dashed lines, level with the sole, so the foot sits square (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 411).

Hoof rot (foot rot) comes with wet winters: lame goats, rotten-smelling tissue between the toes, hoof wall coming loose; it is contagious (photo; MSU, p. 1). Separate lame goats and trim away all rotten horn. Stand them in zinc sulfate for an hour — 10% = 1 kg in 10 liters of hot water (about 2¼ lb in 2⅔ gallons (our conversion)) with a little detergent — weekly for 3 weeks; then put them on ground with no sheep or goats for 2 weeks, and cull goats that don't heal — they carry it (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 116). MSU recommends a 15–18% bath. Water the goats first so they don't drink it (rule of thumb). Dry pens and clean bedding prevent it (MSU, p. 1).

🪱 Worms with few or no dewormers

The barber pole worm sucks blood and "can cause sudden death" (UF VM271, p. 1). Dewormers will run out after a collapse and worms already resist them, so use them only on the goats that need them (pp. 2–3):

  1. Every 2–4 weeks (every 1–2 weeks in warm, wet weather), score the inner eyelid against the FAMACHA card (1 = red, 5 = white), and check back (body condition), rear (scours), jaw (bottle jaw) and nose (pale eyelid and bottle jaw, in sheep).
  2. Deworm only pale, thin or scouring goats. 20% of goats carry 80% of the worms; FAMACHA usually leaves at least half the herd untreated, which keeps the drug working (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 124).
  3. Dose by the heaviest goat's weight — underdosing breeds resistance (p. 76). No scale? Use a heart-girth tape (see "How many goats feed a family").
  4. Cull goats that always need treatment; keep the ones that stay red-eyed and fat (UF VM271, p. 3).

Grazing against worms: 80% of larvae live in the bottom 2 inches of forage, so don't graze short. Rest pastures at least 30 days; it helps, but barber pole larvae live 3–6 months on pasture, so resting alone won't clear them. Tannin-rich clovers and birdsfoot trefoil help (UF VM271, p. 3). Hot, dry weather kills larvae; warm, moist ground keeps them alive up to a year (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 118) — our dry summers help and wet springs are the danger (rule of thumb). Wide, dry hillside range prevents worms; small, wet, low pastures spread them (FB 920, p. 40). Goats browsing brush at head height pick up far fewer worms (rule of thumb), and cattle grazing behind goats clean up their larvae (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 123).

Coccidia cause scours, sometimes bloody, in kids in damp, shady pens fed on the ground; feeders and waterers that manure can't reach, and sunlight, prevent it (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 121–122). Lice: clip long-haired goats; treat the whole herd at once (FB 920, p. 40).

📚 Go deeper: UF VM271 — FAMACHA, the Five Point Check, fecal egg counts; Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 118–126 — worm life cycles and a salt-float egg test (needs a microscope).

🩺 Goat health with no vet

Know normal first. No Animal Doctor lists 104 °F for a mature goat, "varies with weather," and 103 °F for young goats (p. 66); newborn kids run 102–103 °F (KSU, p. 11). Take each healthy goat's temperature on a cool morning to learn its normal (rule of thumb). Pulse about 75 (110 in young goats), felt inside the lower jaw; about 15 breaths a minute (20 in young) (No Animal Doctor, p. 67). A healthy goat eats, chews its cud and drops firm pellets; a goat that stops eating is sick (rule of thumb). Before you put a hand in a sick goat's mouth: rabies can look like bloat or choke (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 96).

Problem Signs What to do
Bloat Belly swollen, worst on the left, drum-tight; pain; after a feast of fresh green feed Pass a stomach tube or hose to let gas out (No Animal Doctor, p. 205). Raise the front feet on a block; drench a cup of vegetable oil (Peace Corps, p. 417; drench bottle); No Animal Doctor gives ¼–½ liter every 2–4 hours (p. 207). If she is going down: stab the left flank midway between the last rib and the hip (site)
Grain overload Dull, weak, scours, stops eating after getting into the grain About 4 heaping spoonfuls of baking soda in water, plus water and mineral oil, by mouth (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 96)
Enterotoxemia The best-growing kid found dead after a jump in grain, lush grass or milk Treatment rarely works. Vaccinate (CD&T) pregnant does, and kids at 1 month with a booster (No Animal Doctor, pp. 213–214). With no vaccine: slow feed changes (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 117)
Pregnancy toxemia Doe with twins or triplets, last weeks: stops eating, stands alone, presses head into walls, may smell of acetone Propylene glycol (or glycerol) by mouth twice a day (No Animal Doctor, p. 273) — about 60 mL (2 oz) a dose is usual (rule of thumb: no book on this drive gives an amount). Prevent: no fat does, more grain late in pregnancy, exercise (p. 291)
Milk fever Around kidding: weak, cold to the touch, can't stand Calcium gluconate under the skin in 3–4 places; into a vein only slowly, listening to the heart. Don't milk her out fully. No alfalfa-heavy feed late in pregnancy (No Animal Doctor, pp. 289–290)
Ketosis Days to weeks after kidding: milk drops suddenly, off feed, acetone smell on the breath Usually follows another illness — treat that. Propylene glycol daily for several days (p. 290)
Mastitis Hot, hard, lopsided udder; watery, clotted or bloody milk; first sign may be a limping hind leg (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 112) Milk that half out every 2 hours, at least 4 times a day; warm wet cloths; antibiotics if you have them, then don't drink her milk for at least the drug label's milk withdrawal time (No Animal Doctor, pp. 175–176). Never push straw or sticks up a teat
CAE Swollen knees, wasting; a fatal brain form in kids. Spread by colostrum and milk No cure. Buy test-negative goats. Take kids from infected does at birth; feed heat-treated colostrum and pasteurized milk (Idaho, p. 1) — heat colostrum 1 hour at 135 °F (rule of thumb)
CL and abscesses Lumps behind the ear, under the jaw, on neck, shoulder, flank or udder (where; abscess). The pus infects people Isolate; drain with clean tools away from the herd (Idaho, p. 1): cut at the lowest point (No Animal Doctor, p. 241), flush with iodine or bleach 1:40, burn or bury pus and bedding. Antibiotics don't reach it. Best: butcher and trim the abscesses — the rest is safe to eat (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 109)
Urinary stones Buck or wether strains with a hunched back, dribbles or passes no urine Snip the thin tip of the penis if the stone is there (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 94); if fully blocked, butcher before the bladder bursts (No Animal Doctor, p. 267)
Goat "polio" Blind, wobbly, head tipped back "gazing at the stars," after a feed change Thiamine (vitamin B1) shots (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 93–94)
Tetanus Stiff, can't swallow, after a wound, castration or disbudding Usually fatal. Prevent with vaccine or antitoxin; clean wounds (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 117–118)
Sore mouth (orf) Crusty sores on kids' lips and nose Heals in weeks; catches on people's hands — gloves (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 106)
Abortion, brucellosis Does losing kids early Isolate the doe until discharge stops; burn or bury the fetus, afterbirth and bedding (FB 920, p. 38). Brucellosis spreads to people through raw milk and aborted material (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 115) — test new goats where you can (FB 920, p. 37)

Keep sick goats warm, dry, watered and apart. Goats in good condition seldom get sick; most goats condemned at slaughter were just thin, often from worms (FB 920, p. 36). When to cull: butcher a goat that can still stand and walk, isn't in severe pain and has no drug residue; kill and dispose of one that can't, or is feverish, very thin, or has nervous signs (UF VM114, p. 4; Slaughter and Preservation of Meat, pp. 28–30). Cull does whose udders mastitis has ruined (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 113), goats that always need dewormer, and goats whose foot rot won't heal.

Stock now (KSU, p. 3): thermometer, gloves, lube, 7% iodine for navels (No Animal Doctor, p. 400), needles and syringes, a kid feeding tube, propylene glycol, calcium gluconate, tetanus antitoxin, hoof shears, zinc sulfate, a disbudding iron, a burdizzo, a FAMACHA card, dewormers, selenium mineral and activated charcoal.

📚 Go deeper: Where There Is No Animal Doctor — exams, drenching, injections, every body system; Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 90–118 — the same diseases with photos; Raising Healthy Goats — illustrated goat care (pictures only, no searchable text).

🔥 Brush, fire breaks and fire season

Goats are "a mobile pruning machine": they clear undergrowth and "will actually kill some trees up to 6 inches in diameter" (Peace Corps Vol 4, p. 392). Cattle keep grass down; goats eat the leaves and green stems of brush, but need temporary fencing, water and predator control (OSU EM 9184, p. 14).

How to graze brush down:

  1. Hit it hard, then rest it long. Crowd goats on a small paddock briefly, then take them off for a long recovery. It works only on plants goats like, and they eat the good plants too, so don't overstock (Peace Corps, p. 392).
  2. Move them when about half is gone. Grazing 40–50% of the forage in the growing season breaks up fuel; ungrazed bunchgrass was 200% more likely to burn than grass grazed in spring (PNW783, p. 3). Come back every year: goats keep poison oak down but won't kill it unless grazing goes on "intensively for several years" (OSU PNW 108, p. 5).
  3. Fuel breaks: on flat ground, about 2–3 times as wide as the tallest plants are high, along roads and driveways where most fires start (PNW783, p. 4). Keep the 5 ft around buildings bare and out to 100 ft light on fuel (p. 5); the Wildfire guide shows which zones to clear and when.
  4. Wethers and dry does make the best brush crew; keep milking does and kids on better feed (rule of thumb). Walk strange brush for poisonous plants before turning goats in.

When fire comes: decide ahead which goats leave and which stay, and where they go; move animals early, calmly, in daylight (PNW783, p. 7). Goats that stay belong in a heavily grazed pasture, gates open, with feed and water for 7–10 days (p. 8). In smoke: less exercise, plenty of water, shade, dampen dusty pens and feed, and put off weaning and other stress (p. 10). After a fire, check burned goats daily — damage can show days later — and give smoke-hurt lungs weeks to heal (ODA, p. 1); badly burned animals may have to be killed (PNW783, p. 9).

🔪 Humane slaughter and butchering

When: kids at 8–12 weeks, tasting like lamb; goats "do not fatten" like sheep (FB 920, p. 35). Wethers raised on summer browse can wait for cold fall weather, when meat keeps hanging (rule of thumb). Kill only healthy goats — never one found dead, feverish, very thin or wobbling — and let a doe due to kid give birth first (Slaughter and Preservation of Meat, pp. 27–29); wait out any drug's meat withdrawal time (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 76). No feed for up to 24 hours beforehand, but give water; lead the goat by jaw and tail, not legs or hair (Slaughter and Preservation of Meat, p. 69).

Killing (UF VM114, pp. 5–12):

  1. A .22 long rifle is enough for young animals (hollow points may not get through an adult's skull), held a few inches from the head, never pressed against it (p. 5). Hornless goat: top of the head or just behind the poll. Horned goat: behind the poll, aimed toward the muzzle. Not between the eyes (pp. 7–8; AVMA placement). Watch for ricochet.
  2. Bleed at once: a rigid, pointed knife at least 6 inches long, in behind the point of the jaw and drawn forward through the big neck vessels (p. 11). Hang the goat by the hind legs; stay clear — an unconscious animal kicks hard. Dead means no heartbeat, no breathing, and no blink when you touch the eyeball (p. 12).

Skinning and gutting (like sheep, but skinned with a knife: Slaughter and Preservation of Meat, pp. 70–77):

  1. Cut off the feet at the joint; slit the skin up the inside of each leg and down the belly; work it off with fist and knife, keeping hair off the meat (steps). Tie off the food pipe and the rear gut (bung) with string. Open the belly with two fingers inside guarding the knife point; take out the bladder, then let guts and rumen roll out without puncturing them. Cut the gall bladder off the liver; take out heart and lungs; wash the carcass inside and out (pp. 72–74).
  2. Look at the liver, lungs and guts. Offal with worms or cysts is not food: boil it and bury it. Don't let dogs eat raw offal or dead goats — it spreads hydatid tapeworm to dogs and people (pp. 74–75; Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 120–121). Trim out CL abscesses (p. 109).

Keeping the meat without a fridge (Slaughter and Preservation of Meat, pp. 89–92): hung whole in a cool, airy place it keeps no more than 3 days. Dry it in thin strips, or salt it: 1 part salt to 3 parts meat, strips under 1 inch thick, layered in salt and kept under the brine for at least 28 days; throw the batch out if the brine turns sour, thick or ropy. Canning and jerky are in the Preserving Food guide.

♻️ Using everything: hides, manure and more

📅 A goat year in the Illinois Valley

When Goats Work
Sep–Nov Does come in heat; first rains Flush does 2 weeks before and after breeding; breed; butcher wethers once nights are cold; trim hooves before the mud; get the hay in
Dec–Jan Early pregnancy; mud Dry shed and bedding; watch for hoof rot; FAMACHA every 3–4 weeks; buck back in his own pen
Feb–Apr Kidding; the last 6 weeks need more feed Kidding pens ready; colostrum; disbud in the first days; castrate at 2–3 weeks; watch kids 3–8 weeks old for white muscle disease
Apr–Jun Lush grass, peak milk, worms rise Move onto pasture over 7–10 days; FAMACHA every 2 weeks; make hay; graze fuel breaks while the brush is green
Jun–Oct Brown pasture, heat, smoke, fire season Browse and hay; shade and water; wean at 3–4 months; separate buck kids by 4 months; no open burning; fire plan ready

The breeding and kidding times are the book's (FB 920, p. 23); the local fit is a rule of thumb.

🧬 Keeping the herd going for years

👪 How many goats feed a family

Goal What it takes Source
About 3 quarts of milk a day for a family of four 3 fair does, bred months apart: about 1,500 quarts a year, of which hand-raised kids drink about 350 FB 920, pp. 5, 31 (arithmetic)
Meat 3 does raise 5–6 kids a year; keep 1–2 doelings, eat the rest. A carcass is roughly half the live weight (rule of thumb) FB 920, p. 24 (arithmetic)
Hay 3 does + a buck: about 1 ton with 6 months of pasture, 2 tons with none FB 920, p. 26 (arithmetic)
Grain About 450 lb per doe for full milk; less grain, less milk FB 920, p. 26
Pasture 1½–2 acres of good pasture for 4 adult goats over a 5–6-month season, plus brush FB 920, p. 26 (arithmetic)
Water Up to 12 gallons a day for 3 milking does in summer Peace Corps, p. 394 (arithmetic)
Buck One buck serves 25–50 does: share one among several households FB 920, p. 23

Weighing with a tape (heart girth just behind the front legs; No Animal Doctor, p. 60): 20 in (51 cm) ≈ 34 lb · 26 in (66 cm) ≈ 69 lb · 30 in (76 cm) ≈ 96 lb · 34 in (86 cm) ≈ 132 lb (our conversions). Use it for drug doses, growth and slaughter weight.

🧯 If this goes wrong

Problem Likely cause and fix
Kid 3–8 weeks old stiff, trembling, can't stand White muscle disease — selenium shortage (OSU EM 9094, p. 2)
Milk tastes "goaty" Buck kept near the does (FB 920, p. 25), dirty pails or slow cooling (p. 29)
Goat found dead, the best kid in the bunch Enterotoxemia after rich feed; or a poisonous plant — check the pen and fence line (No Animal Doctor, p. 213)
Goats walk through the electric fence Charger off or grounded out — goats learn fast (FB 920, p. 35); grass on the wire (EC1646, p. 1)
Doe keeps coming back into heat Check the buck's fertility; keep a second male (No Animal Doctor, p. 184)
Wether straining, no urine Urinary stones; butcher before the bladder bursts (p. 267)
Pale eyelids, bottle jaw in a wet spring Barber pole worm — treat that goat and move the herd (UF VM271, p. 2)

⚠️ Old advice in the library to ignore

Book says Do this instead
Phenothiazine mixed into salt as a constant dewormer, or drenched twice a year to every goat — FB 920, p. 26; p. 39 Breeds resistant worms. FAMACHA-targeted deworming (UF VM271, p. 2)
Copper sulfate, nicotine sulfate or tetrachloroethylene as dewormers — FB 920, p. 40 Poisons. Targeted dewormers and grazing management
Iodoform in mineral oil put into the uterus, or hormone shots, for a retained afterbirth — FB 920, p. 30; p. 38 Outdated. Never pull the afterbirth; get skilled help if it stays over 3 days with fever (KSU, pp. 8, 13)
Caustic-stick disbudding — FB 920, p. 34 It runs into eyes and burns other kids or the doe. Use a hot iron
Barbed wire on goat fences — FB 920, p. 35 Woven or electric wire; barbed wire "can cause severe injury" (EC1646, p. 1)
Copper sulfate foot soak — FB 920, p. 39; 10% formalin foot bath — No Animal Doctor, p. 249 Copper poisons sheep that drink it; formaldehyde "should not be used" (Raising Healthy Sheep, pp. 116–117). Zinc sulfate
DDT, BHC, toxaphene, chlordane, methoxychlor or rotenone dips for lice — FB 920, pp. 40–41 Clip long hair; a pyrethrin pour-on, all goats at once (Raising Healthy Sheep, p. 128)
Lindane ointment on castration wounds — Peace Corps, p. 410 Heavy grease or fly ointment (same page; No Animal Doctor, p. 188)
Potato peelings as goat feed — FB 920, p. 26 Only peels with no green and no sprouts (WSU, p. 21)

🖼️ Pictures & diagrams

Look before you try it. 🖼️ = drawings and photos in the books on this drive (sheep photos show the same signs as goats); the other links open the offline Wikipedia.

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