August 13, 2020 • 38 mins
New episode all about show goat care! Everything you need to know before you show! This episode is also available on our YouTube Channel NMSU Grant County Cooperative Extension Service. Informational, instructional, how-to about show goat care. Topics covered: feeding, training, daily care, disease/illness, biosecurity, record keeping and much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Extension Connection podcast.
The Grant County CooperativeExtension Service is here to
help connect you with researchbased information about Economic
Development, Energy and WaterFarming, Ranch, Yard and Garden,
Natural Resources, Health, andWellbeing, and our very popular
(00:25):
Youth Development program.
4H.
I'm your host, Jessica Swapp,the 4H and Agriculture Agent
here in Grant County, NewMexico.
We are part of New Mexico StateUniversity's College of
Agricultural Consumer andEnvironmental Science, and we a
r e h ere to serve you.
So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Welcome back everyone.
Today, we're going to be talkingabout show goats with some
helpful tips and tricks aboutfeeding, taming training, all of
those types of things.
So I hope you find this helpful,and it helps you with your
project.
We're going to talk a little bitin this presentation about
feeding training, some of thedaily care things, some diseases
(01:14):
and illnesses, um, as well asbiosecurity and record keeping.
Feeding.
So you're always gonna want tohave a plan.
Part of that plan needs to bethe brand selection, the
consistency of that brand andusing it consistency in time.
In terms of when you're feedingalso your feeding area, um, your
(01:35):
hand feeding plan, and then howmuch should they be eating?
That's another question thatgets asked a lot.
Feeding equipment and care aswell as worming.
And of course, we're alwaysgoing to talk about water.
Brand Selection.
So the first thing that you'regoing to want to do is to think
about your budget.
You're going to want to buy feedthat you can afford to feed all
(01:57):
through the feeding season, allthrough the summer, in our case.
You're going to need to haveaccess to that feed.
So around here, it's verydifficult for us to get feed.
So we have to kind of keep thatin mind, when we're talking
about what kind of feed we'regoing to be feeding animals.
Once you select a brand, youreally need to stick with it
(02:19):
unless you have to or need toswitch.
And in that case, you're goingto want to blend in that new
feed with the old to slowlytransition.
Goats, their nutritionalrequirements, that in their base
feed, they need to have protein,fat carbs minerals and vitamins.
Goats need about 15 to 18%protein, a fat level of 2.5 to
(02:42):
4% and fiber at 15 to 19%.
Also, they're going to need somegrass hay to help scratch that
rumen and keep it working andfunctioning correctly.
Um, also water, they're alwaysgoing to need water.
Feeding time consistency, you'realways gonna want to try to feed
at the same time every day.
(03:03):
It's just like us.
We're used to eating breakfast,lunch, and dinner around the
same times of day.
These animals are no different.
The best thing to do though, isto feed them during the coolest
parts of the day.
So, um, a lot of times you'llhear the recommendation of
feeding your animals.
Um, you know, if you feed himseven in the morning, you feed
(03:25):
him seven at night.
Which is a good rule of thumb.
But if you happen to live whereit's a very hot, like we do in
the summer, sometimes you needto feed a little bit earlier in
the morning and a little bitlater in the evening, just so
that you can hit those coolestparts of the day.
That's going to help you interms of getting these goats to
eat.
Um, there are no different thanpeople I don't know about
(03:45):
anybody else, but when it getsreally hot, sometimes you just
really don't feel like eating.
Your Feeding Area.
It needs to be clean, dirty penswill kill goats.
Um, it starts off with a snottynose.
Pretty soon, they're breathingthrough their mouth.
They're breathing in dirt anddust.
Then you have some respiratoryissues.
Their pens can be wet down, um,and then have that dirt packed
(04:09):
down and then you just have tosweep it.
You just sweep all the manureand everything out every day.
Your feeding pens need to beclose to water.
Your pens also, you either needto have individual pens for them
to go into, to eat, or you needto have an area where you can
tie them up to eat.
Um, also be careful about tyingup your goats to eat and walking
(04:30):
away.
It's not something you want todo.
If you're going to tie them tothe fence, then you need to stay
there and watch them so thatthey don't get a leg hung in the
fence.
And then you have a big wreck onyour hands.
Um, individual feeding is morecontrolled.
You can, um, observe the animal,obviously and watch them and
make sure that they're okay.
(04:51):
It's also a good part of thetaiming process.
And, um, it's also gonna allowyou to watch them consume that
feed.
Are they eating it too fast, tooslow?
Are they not eating enough?
Um, all those questions can kindof be answered by individual
feeding and hanging out there,watching them.
When you're observing theseanimals.
Some things to watch for, um,looking at their eyes, make sure
(05:13):
nobody's got Pinkeye.
I'm taking a look at their ears,their manure, and make sure
there's nobody with diarrhea,scours, making sure that their,
their nose isn't dry.
A dry nose is an indication of asick goat.
Um, a wet noses is a healthygoat.
Um, another thing is to watchtheir head, make sure they're
not, you know, kinda droopy or,or acting weird.
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Um, their skin.
You can take a look at theirskin for any kind of lice or
fungus type issues.
And again, seeing if they'reactive, um, seeing if they're
acting normally, looking forswollen joints or for anybody
who might be limping.
This is when you can find thesetypes of things and you can
treat them before it goes toofar.
(05:58):
So how much should they beeating?
Um, if you're going to full feed, uh, your goats, the rule of
thumb is about 3.5% of theirbody weight.
If you're holding a goat, you'regoing to want to back that down
to about 2% of their bodyweight.
And typically the older theyget, the less feed they usually
need.
That's kind of a rule of thumb.
(06:18):
That's not always the case.
Some other helpful tips is toseparate those goats while they
eat.
Feeders need to be cleaned.
And the old feed needs to bedumped on a daily basis so that
they always have fresh feed infront of them.
Nobody wants to eat old food.
Wanting to have a feed scale.
(06:39):
You're going to want to usefeeders that hang on the fence
once again, do not leave thoseanimals unattended while, while
feeding them on the fence.
If they're tied to that fence.
Caution when feeding alfalfa,just because of a couple of
reasons.
The protein level it's going to,it's going to add to the protein
level of a feed that you'realready feeding.
And another thing, is it canalso cause bloat.
(07:02):
Don't let your goats eat weedsor rocks or dirt or anything
like that.
If they have a turnout area,making sure that there's no
weeds or rocks in that area, aswell as all the way around it,
because they will eat it.
Um, it can make them sick.
It could also really mess withthem actually eating the food
that you want them to eat.
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If they're all filled up onweeds, um, they're not to want
to eat that, that good showfeed, to give you that show
look.
And another thing is if youhaven't done so already, now's
probably a good time to start,um, getting some weights on
those animals.
Really, they need to be weighedabout once a week, just so that
you can figure out how manypounds per day that they're
(07:44):
gaining, um, to determine whatthey're going to be at during
your County fair or the showthat you're going to.
You're going to want to knowthat, especially if those shows
have a minimum or a maximumweight.
And in every presentation I talkabout this the most, The most
important part of your feedingstrategy is water.
(08:04):
Clean, cool, fresh water, makingsure that there's no mold or
dirt, mud manure, algae,anything that might cause them
to not want to drink that water.
Making sure that it's not old.
Um, and also making sure thatthe water is cool.
Um, I don't know about you, buton a hot day, I do not want to
drink, you know, hot water outof a, a black bucket.
(08:28):
Um, that's been sitting outsidein a hundred degree heat, uh,
your goats don't either.
And when you decrease that waterintake, there's a few things
that are gonna happen.
You're gonna increase your,you're gonna increase the risk
of getting Urinary Calculi, aswell as your feed consumption is
directly related to your waterconsumption.
So a lot of times, if they'renot consuming enough water,
(08:51):
they're going to go off of feed.
It's the same thing for us.
We all like to have something todrink when we're eating.
So if they're not getting enoughwater, they're definitely not
going to hit the feed like theyshould.
And another thing to remember ismuscles made up of 75 to 80%
water.
And if an animal loses 20% oftheir body weight in water, they
(09:11):
will die.
And then another fun fact isthat studies have shown that
goats like to drink more waterout of yellow water buckets
followed by light blue.
So something to just kind ofkeep in mind kind of a little
fun fact.
Okay, we're going to talk alittle bit about worming.
Um, you're going to want to wormevery 21 to 30 days and you're
(09:33):
going to want to rotate thosewormers, just like we've talked
about before, um, you know,rotate between Safeguard,
Dectomax, Ivermectin.
You're really gonna want to workwith your veterinarian on this
kind of stuff and get with themand, and get on some sort of a
worming schedule.
They'll be able to best adviseyou on which wormers work best
in your area.
As well as lice, that's anotherthing that's very specific to
(09:56):
goats.
That you're going to need towatch for.
Usually all goats get lice atsome point, and it needs to be
taken care of.
Again, working with yourveteran, veterinarian.
But you can, you can sprayprolate on them as well as, u m,
a f ly spray, a flea and tickspray.
You're just go nna w ant to makesure you treat, you know, 14
(10:18):
days apart, just so that you getthe entire li fe c y cle o f any
lice that might be hatching.
Okay.
Talking about some Daily Care.
We're going to talk abouttaming, exercise,as well as, leg
and body hair, and some hooftrimming.
We ta lk about this a lot.
That taming is a part oftraining, and if you have not
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tam ed yo ur goat yet, it'sprobably about time to get out
there and get it done.
Um, a r e lationship must existbetween the exhibitor and the
goat.
So not the goat and a parent,not the goat and an Extension
Agent, not the goat and an Agteacher.
It needs to exist between theexhibitor and the goat.
For a couple of weeks you cancatch that goat, tie him up with
(11:00):
a, with the halter, to the fence, um, with some space in
between.
And then you can sit in a chairor on a bucket or on the ground,
whatever you want to do.
For about 15 to 20 minutes aday, just brushing them, rubbing
them, petting them, settingtheir legs, just getting them
used to your presence and thefeeling of, of being touched.
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Uh, goats, they need to be ableto stand tied for about, without
fighting their halter, for about15 to 20 minutes before they're
ready to lead.
Another thing is never leavegoats, unattended while tied up.
It's just a recipe for disaster.
If you're going to tie him up tothe fence, another thing you can
do is to also put a piece ofplywood, like a, I don't know if
(11:44):
I've mentioned this before, butputting a piece of plywood
there.
So that way they can't actuallystick their legs through the
fence and possibly break a legor something or injure
themselves.
Um, cause they are going tofight that halter initially.
So you're going to want to tryto keep them as safe as you
possibly can.
And again, no matter what, evenif you have the plywood don't
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ever leave them.
Then you're g oing t o want towalk them in their pen, using a
halter, or chain, whatever th e,whatever you're going to use is
whatever, y ou need to, to getthem used to.
Then you can transition towalking them outside of their
pen.
Of course you do not want toyank on a lead rope that doesn't
ever wo rk.
Y ou're going to want to use thepressure release method.
(12:27):
Another method that works reallygood is a two person method.
Where one is on the lead and theother is kind of ushering from
behind.
So if you have, um, multiplekiddos, um, this would work
really well.
Um, you can also use a leadanimal if you have one.
So if you have sheep that arebroke to lead or possibly some
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other goats that are broke tolead, you can always use them.
Um, kind of that monkey seemonkey do mentality.
Uh, something to keep in mind isthat goats need to be broke to
lead before you can start anexercise program.
Um, that's just good, goodadvice so that you don't have
any kind of accidents happen.
Okay, we're going to talk abouttraining.
(13:09):
Um, there's a few things to talkabout in the training process.
The first one being standtraining.
So this is where you're gonnawant to place them on their
stand.
Um, and while they're up thereand you're gonna wanna rub them,
handle them, set their legs, runa blower and pet their neck.
This is going to again, get themused to being on the stand.
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Um, having to stand on thatstand and have a blower,
running, the sound, the feeling.
As well as, setting those legsgets them used to standing in
the proper position, forwhenever you start to, put them
out in the showring.
Another one is hand walking.
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This is very important.
So once you get them to walk,you're going to want to walk
them, stop them, set their legs,and then just keep doing it over
and over and over again.
Eventually those goats willlearn that every time they stop,
they need to set their legs ina, in a specific position.
Um, and that position will besetting them up just so that you
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can, um, brace them or drivethem.
Um, eventually once they getused to walking, stopping, you
know, getting their legs set,you're going to want it want to
add in the bracing, the drivingaspect.
All right.
So when we talk about bracing ordriving, um, that's when you're
going to want to have all fourfeet on the ground.
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Um, we never want to pick thosegoats up where their front two
feet are off the ground.
You need to have all four feeton the ground.
Um, one of the ways to trainthem to, to actually brace is
you can place a goat on a standand then have the exhibitors
slowly push the, goat off theback edge, um, of, of the stand.
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Um, they will, once you pushinto them, a lot of times, they
will push back cause they, theydon't know what's behind them.
And if they happen to step off,um, with one foot, they learned
that whenever you push againstthem, they don't want to fall
off the back end.
And so they will start to pushback, back into the exhibitor.
Um, you're going to have totrain them at least every other
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day on bracing and driving.
So every other day doing, youknow, your, your walk, stop, set
those legs, get them to a brace.
If they ever get to wherethey're not bracing, you can
always go back to the stand andpush them slowly off.
Um, that'll get them back into,in line, in terms of bracing.
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Now we're g oing t o talk aboutexercise.
So when to start?
This is kind of a tough one toanswer.
Just because it's very dependenton the type of goat, as well as
your goals in terms of wherethose goats need to end up, u m,
i n their weight class.
So condition and maturity aregonna play a big part in that, u
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m, e xercise.
I guess as a general rule shouldstart about 45 days before your
show.
If you're here, in the GrantCounty area, that's right about
now.
Um, so you better be thinkingabout, um, getting those goats,
um, exercise if they need it.
Um, you can use a Walker.
Walkers are great for endurance,which are important for them.
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Another thing is that, uh, toadd in here is that, um, if
you're going to do a handwalking type thing, um, that's
also good for the exhibitor,because exhibitors and the
animals need to have endurance.
Walkers are good for a warmup aswell as a cool-down.
It also trains them to walk withtheir head up in the right
position.
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Another tool that can be used isa treadmill.
They actually make specifictreadmills just for these
animals.
But goats need to be trained towalk on a treadmill.
So you're going to want to startthat training process early.
I don't recommend just tryingto, to all of a sudden start one
day and think that it's going towork.
Um, you have to start veryslowly and getting them used to
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that.
You're going to want to makesure that your treadmill has a,
a front feet platform tomaintain that balance look.
And again, you're going to wantto start slow.
So once you start week numberone, maybe just do a half minute
of walking backwards.
A week number two, you can moveup to a minute of walking
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backwards.
Just dependent on how they'redoing.
The goal is to do about threeminutes backwards, as fast as
they can every other day andthree to five minutes going
forward, depending on theircondition.
Some things to understand isthat going backwards on a
treadmill builds, rump, hipshape, inner thigh, and lower
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leg shape.
U m, going forward just burnscondition and it builds
endurance.
Some more on exercise.
A lot of people like to use, um, the track method, u m, with a
dog or even you can, u m, youcan just chase them yourself.
Um, this is a high intensitysprint.
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That's going to add muscle toneas well as give them an
adrenaline rush.
You can also do reward basedexercise.
So you can take them away fromtheir pen and then let them run
back.
You're just going to want tomake sure that the path is clear
, um, making sure that they'renot gonna be running into, you
know, anybody in between any,any other, you know, car or
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something like that that mightbe dragging through the pasture
as well.
You want to think about having acatch pen and usually about a
quarter of a mile, um, isusually sufficient for these
animals, maybe even a little bitless.
Daily exercise.
Standing again, build endurance.
So that standing, in there inthe, on a stand or tied to a
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fence is going to help buildthat endurance as well as the
hand walking and bracing.
Again, that's going to reallyhelp both the exhibitor and the
animal with their endurance.
I have here lambs, but it shouldsay goats.
Goats and exhibitors needendurance.
So always remember that.
The next one is really fun totalk about.
This is a cool trend that hasstarted over the past few years,
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which is leg hair.
When to start?
When do y ou want to starttraining and taking care of that
leg hair?
Um, u sually if you notice themstarting to pick at it, that's
usually a good time.
Um, o r when you start yourexercise program also a good
time or roughly that 45 daysbefore the show.
This is a lot like sheep, soyou're go ing t o w a nt t o r
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inse and wrap those legs everyother day.
Same as your exercise program.
Rinse the legs, and you're goingto want to work in a
conditioner.
You're go ing t o w ant to blowit out and, u m, a nd then leave
it just a little bit damp.
You're going to brush that hairand train it to stand up.
You can use a rotary brush ifyou want to.
It's also good to do this alongwith your exercise and taming
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process.
And then you're going to want tokeep those legs unwrapped for
about 30 to 45 minutes.
Um, again, you can use that timeto put them on the treadmill,
the Walker do some hand walking,bracing, that kind of stuff.
Then once you're done, you putthem back on the stand and blow
them completely dry and rewrapthose legs.
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Um, you're going to want to puton a muzzle because they're
going to want to pick those,those leg wraps off.
Something to make sure, makesure that your leg wraps are not
too tight.
Um, it can cause some injury tothe animal.
As well as it can actually dothe reverse and start to rub the
hair off.
Another one is trimming feet,their, their hooves need to be
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trimmed about once a month justto keep the angle of their bone
structure, correct.
And keep them walking and movingcorrectly.
Body hair.
This is another fun one.
When we're talking about theirbody hair, a lot of times it has
to do with freshness.
So, uh, a goat that feels reallyfresh, usually has really, well
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taken care of, hair and skin.
So one of the things to do is toblow the hair, and get all of
the dirt out.
You can go from front to backand then you're going to want to
blow up.
Brush in a fly spray, whichkeeps the flies off and also
kills lice.
You want to do that, usuallydaily.
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Apply a conditioning spray andbrush it in, and then you can
blow it in and then just coverwith a blanket.
If you're going to use blanketsthough, make sure that those
animals have access to some sortof place to get out of the sun.
We don't want them to getoverheated.
So either they have shade orthey have some moving air in a
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barn.
Just so that they don't getoverheated.
Um, something to keep in mind isthat you only want to wash goats
if you're going to a show.
Washing them actually takes outthe natural oils that exist in
their skin that are honestlybetter than any other type of
conditioner oil that you can puton them.
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So you only want to wash themwhen you're actually going to be
showing them soon.
All right.
A little bit about clipping.
This is another one that you'regoing to want to limit as well.
Limit the amount of times thatyou clip a goat before show,
just because, depending on whereyou're wanting that goat to be,
usually when you clip them, theyhave a growth spurt usually
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right afterwards.
Another thing is that a lot oftimes that hair is protecting
them from the sun.
So when you take that hair off,you're exposing them to the sun
where they can get sunburned.
And then we start to have someskin and hair issues.
Um, when you're clipping, youalways want to start with a
clean goat.
That does not mean you have towash them.
If they're fairly clean andthey, you can blow them out with
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the blower and get most of thedirt out.
That's usually the best way togo.
If you have to wash them, that'sokay too.
Clip the body using cover coator extra cover blades.
Um, and then clip the hair fromthe hock up.
You want to leave that leg hair.
Um, if you're watching the, theYouTube video, I have an
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illustration of exactly whereto, where to actually clip and
what to leave behind.
You always want to blend thelegs and knees with a, usually
like a number 10 blocking bladeand just blending all of that
in, making it look really,really smooth.
You're going to want to trimthose ears, the head, the nose,
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with a body blade, or usingguards.
Clipping their heads is not thefunest activity, but it can be
done.
And then you need to clip theirtail so that it makes them look
more square and attractive.
And there's a lot of helpfulvideos and stuff out there that
can help you do that.
Or you can reach out to your AgTeacher or your Extension Agent,
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and they'll, they'll help, youor a breeder or a friend or
something like that.
And they'll help you be able toclip these goats.
So we're going to cover a littlebit about some disease and
illness stuff, just cause I feellike this is important.
Normal body temperature forgoats is about 102 to 104.
Some things to watch out for isOvereating Disease.
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This happens when feed isabruptly changed and they intake
an ex- or they intake anexcessive amount.
Um, it's a clostridial organismin the intestines, and it grows
really fast, producing a lethaltoxin causing death within a few
hours.
The bad part about this isthere's little to no symptoms,
which is why it has such a highmortality rate.
(24:47):
Uh, vaccinating for this diseaseis crucial in terms of
management.
Another one to watch for andvery, very common is
Coccidiosis, usually coming frombird droppings.
So this is a pretty seriouscondition with a high mortality
rate if it's not treated.
Symptoms include watery, bloodydiarrhea, weight loss, lethargy,
(25:08):
dehydration, and just generally,they don't feel good.
Um, it's highly contagious.
So animals that are infected,they need to be separated until
treatment is complete and, andthey are no longer contagious.
So that way they don't get therest of the goats sick, or if
you have sheep as well, they canget it.
They can pass it to them.
(25:29):
Uh, always consult with yourveterinarian on proper
treatment, depending on whatstrain of Coccidiosis.
Um, usually you can take a fecalsample into your vet and they
can tell you and kind of helpyou out and, and get a treatment
plan put together.
So always work with yourveterinarian.
We talked a little bit aboutthis one earlier, which is
Urinary Calculi.
Um,also referred to as waterbelly.
(25:51):
Urinary Calculi is caused by animproper balance of calcium and
phosphorus.
Usually these, these showrations have already balanced
this out for you.
Um, so you usually don't have toworry about it.
Um, but it's a metabolic diseasethat basically causes a stone
formation in the urinary tract.
(26:12):
Um, and it, it basically blocksthem from being able to urinate.
If it's not treated promptly, itcan be lethal.
Um, Urinary Calculi is a prime,is primarily an issue in feeding
grain based diets, um, that arehigher in phosphorus and lower
in calcium.
Again, these show feeds areusually balanced out to where
(26:34):
this type of thing does nothappen.
So I always recommend going witha proven show feed, um, just to
make sure that you don't havethis.
Uh, symptoms can includerestlessness, failed attempts to
urinate, um, kicking at their,their belly, their abdomen, um,
much like a horse that would becolicing.
A treatment usually consists ofremoving any stones surgically
(26:57):
or by administering fluids, um,that help break up those stones
so that they can pass on theirown.
Again, you're going to want toget with your veterinarian and
work closely with them to getthis taken care of.
Okay.
So some something that, uh, that, uh, is also very bad in the
sheep world is Ringworm and ShowFungus.
(27:18):
Ringworm affects many livestockspecies and it's highly conduct
contagious to other animals andhumans.
So it's, it's actually a fungus,um, that is contracted by
contact with other infectedanimals or equipment.
Um, so it's important torecognize the development of the
fungus before it spreads, um,and then possibly, you know,
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gives it to the kiddos.
Maybe some, the other goats, theother lambs, if you have those,
u m, you definitely do not wantRingworm.
So some prevention methods arewashing your animals with an
antifungal shampoo aftertraveling to a livestock show.
Disinfecting all your equipmenton a regular basis.
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U m, especially between contactwith different animals and also
isolating animals that areinfected to prevent the risk of
that fungus spreading toeverybody else.
Another one to watch out for isE-coli.
Uh, usually you'll see they havewatery scours, yellow scours,
um, dehydration, weakness.
(28:24):
Um, you're going to want toseparate and consider actively
treating everyone that you know,all the animals that you have.
Um, you're gonna want to getwith your veterinarian, so that
you can get some treatmentgoing.
It's usually, um, byprescription.
So you'll have to work with yourveterinarian on getting the
right treatment plan for E-coli.
Some other ones to talk about isSore Mouth.
(28:45):
Um, that's kind of common.
Um, it's a viral disease thatcauses the formation of scabs,
um, around the face.
But if you leave it untreated,it can get really bad and spread
to their entire body.
Uh, this virus also affectshumans.
Um, so it should be treated withcaution using gloves, um, and
(29:06):
then making sure that you washyour hands, um, after every time
you touch an animal, you shouldwash your hands afterwards.
It's just good practice for yourhealth and for the health of the
animal and the other animalsaround them.
Even, even though this iscommon, this disease is very,
very treatable.
Um, treatments include, uh, yourub off the scabs on the
(29:29):
infected area.
You can use, um, iodine to drownout, to dry out the lesions.
Another thing, um, that's prettycommon is goats cough.
Um, they call it Barn Cough.
So they have a tendency to coughdue to dust, um, picking at the
ground, running, et cetera.
(29:50):
And some of those things arejust, they're normal, but it can
be sign of allergies.
So you might want to watch outfor that,clearing their throat,
et cetera, caution should,should just be taken just to
make sure that they don'tactually have a symptom of a
respiratory infection.
Disease and Illness.
So Tetanus or lock jaw.
(30:12):
Tetanus, commonly affects lambsand goats, particularly after
castration and or they'regetting their tail docked.
If they are sheep.
Um, unlike other diseases,Tetanus is an extremely serious
condition that animals rarelyrecover from.
Um, and Tetanus is caused by abacterial infection from an open
(30:33):
wound where bacteria produces aneurotoxin that affects their
nervous system.
Treatment is available.
Um, however it has a very lowsuccess rate.
So vaccination is one of theonly ways to keep Tetanus under
control, so your gonna want aalways make sure that any lambs
that you get, or excuse me, anygoats that you get, um, have
(30:54):
been vaccinated.
Some other ones to watch for is,is Polio, which is just a
Thiamine deficiency.
It's the most, the most commonsymptom of this disease is
blindness, but there are othersigns such as seizures,
paddling, u h, drawing theirhead back stiffly, so it's
pressed against their spine, andlethargy.
(31:17):
Sudden death is commonlyassociated with this disease as
well.
Affected animals really need tobe treated immediately with an
injectable or an oral, Thiaminetreatment.
So get with your veterinarianright away.
Pinkeye it's contagious, betweenall the other animals.
(31:37):
I t's also contagious betweenhumans and animals.
So it's caused, a lot of times,by constant exposure to sunlight
or dust, and or, dustyenvironments.
So again, just making sure theyhave somewhere that they can get
out of the sun.
M aking sure that they are notin a dirty dusty environment.
(31:58):
So the symptoms of Pinkeye a reexcessive watering of the eye
and clouding in their eye.
This disease is easily treatablewith over the counter
medications that you can find atyour local feed store.
All r ight, last one,respiratory disease or
Pneumonia.
And this is basicallyinflammation of the lung.
(32:20):
It occurs when infectious andnon-infectious agents, cause
lungs to become inflamed, uh,usually, um, by Pasteurella, P.
multocida or Mannheimia, man-, Ithink it's how you say this,
Mannheimia haemolytica, a, Bothcause an outbreak of acute
(32:41):
pneumonia, um, of all ages.
Usually it's associated with asecondary infection due to the
management practices or severestress.
So causes, um, transportation,stress, viral infection, lung
parasite, a prior bacterialinfection, overcrowding, poor
housing conditions, suddenenvironmental changes, plus
(33:04):
many, many more.
A lot of things can, can be, um,a primary cause of pneumonia and
it can cause death without awhole lot of signs that they're
sick.
Um, so you really have to watchthem.
So some symptoms, um, they'llhave a fever with, you know, 104
to 106 temperature, uh,increased respiration rate,
(33:27):
moist painful cough, difficultybreathing, crackling sounds when
they do breathe, nasal andocular discharge, loss of
appetite, depression, thosetypes of things.
So if you feel like your animalmight have this, um, you're
gonna want to get with yourveterinarian for treatment.
Cause they're going to know thebest way to treat this
(33:49):
particular respiratory diseaseand be able to look at your
animal and, and get them back ontrack.
So now that we've talked aboutall the bad stuff.
Really in terms of trying tokeep your animals healthy,
biosecurity is the best way togo.
Just practicing good biosecurityfrom the get go will help
eliminate a lot of the diseaseand illness issues.
(34:13):
So limiting exposure from theoutside.
Your friends, relatives, um,those types of things, with them
may come diseases.
Um, if someone from the outsideis coming to your facility,
that's been around other goatsor sheep, or other animals for
that matter, you might want tomake them wear, you know, some
type of protective booties orhave their shoes dipped in a
(34:37):
foot bath.
Also once again, outsidevisitors need to wash their
hands before touching the goats.
And it may not even be a badidea to wash your hands in
between goats.
And then of course, we alwaysrecommend that you wash your
hands after handling animals,any time, just to keep everybody
healthy.
If you're going to use scalesthat are being used by, y ou k
(35:01):
now, several exhibitors, u m,you're g onna want to make sure
you sanitize between weighing, um, and then sanitize your pens
regularly.
If you've, especially if you'vehad sickness or any kind of
fungus, Ringworm problems.
After sickness, make sure thatyou sanitize your facility
before the sick goat comes back,just making sure that everything
(35:25):
is c lean.
So we don't have a reoccurring,u m, event.
We always talk about thistowards the end of these
presentations, which are recordkeeping this a s part of the
learning process for, u m, yourkiddos.
There is a 4H livestock recordapp, um, where you're able to
keep weights.
You can keep track of averagedaily gain calculations, feed,
(35:45):
weights, changes in feeds.
When you've done wormers,supplements, expenses, any kind
of income that they get in, youcan keep track of that all i n
an app.
U m, you can also, u m, get withyour Extension Agent.
U m, we also have forms that youcan use to keep track of these
types of things for your recordbooks.
(36:06):
U m, so if you do this kind ofall year long, u m, throughout
the process, it's a lot easierto have done when you get
towards the end.
Up next.
I'm going to be talking aboutsteers, steer showmanship, a s
well as showmanship for all thespecies.
So those will be some, someinformational, u h, v ideos and
(36:29):
things that are becoming up.
Um, this information is providedcourtesy of the Grant County
Cooperative Extension Service.
My name is Jessica SwappMassengill and I'm the Grant
County 4H/Ag Agent.
M y office number, if you haveany questions, you can always
reach me at(575) 388-1559.
(36:49):
Uh, w e're not in the office allthe time, just due to the
COVID-19 restrictions.
But if you call and leave amessage, we'll, we'll get you
called back, as soon as we can.
Sometimes a better way to getahold of me is Jes se J and
that's jessiej@nmsu.edu.
(37:09):
Feel free to email me, call mewith any of your questions or
recommendations for future,future videos or pod cast ep
isodes, that type of thing.
And I hope that this has beenhelpful to you.
I hope it helps you in yourprojects along the way.
I really appreciate everyone outthere who watches these videos
(37:30):
and listens to my podcast.
I hope this is helpful to you inso me way,
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Catch you next time.
Thanks everyone for listening.
If you enjoy this podcast, don'tforget to hit the subscribe
button on Apple podcast,Stitcher, Google play, or
whatever app you're using tolisten to this podcast.
Want more information?
You can visit us at our website: grantextention.nmsu.edu Follow (37:49):
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Snapchat at (38:00):
G r ant County NM 4H.
Shoot us an email at: grant@nmsu.e du o r give us a (38:00):
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call(575) 388-1559.
New Mexico State University isan equal opportunity/affirmative
action employer and educator.
(38:22):
NMSU, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculturecooperating.
Welcome to the Extension Connection podcast.
The Grant County CooperativeExtension Service is here to
help connect you with researchbased information about Economic
Development, Energy and WaterFarming, Ranch, Yard and Garden,
Natural Resources, Health, andWellbeing, and our very popular
(00:25):
Youth Development program.
4H.
I'm your host, Jessica Swapp,the 4H and Agriculture Agent
here in Grant County, NewMexico.
We are part of New Mexico StateUniversity's College of
Agricultural Consumer andEnvironmental Science, and we a
r e h ere to serve you.
So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Welcome back everyone.
Today, we're going to be talkingabout show goats with some
helpful tips and tricks aboutfeeding, taming training, all of
those types of things.
So I hope you find this helpful,and it helps you with your
project.
We're going to talk a little bitin this presentation about
feeding training, some of thedaily care things, some diseases
(01:14):
and illnesses, um, as well asbiosecurity and record keeping.
Feeding.
So you're always gonna want tohave a plan.
Part of that plan needs to bethe brand selection, the
consistency of that brand andusing it consistency in time.
In terms of when you're feedingalso your feeding area, um, your
(01:35):
hand feeding plan, and then howmuch should they be eating?
That's another question thatgets asked a lot.
Feeding equipment and care aswell as worming.
And of course, we're alwaysgoing to talk about water.
Brand Selection.
So the first thing that you'regoing to want to do is to think
about your budget.
You're going to want to buy feedthat you can afford to feed all
(01:57):
through the feeding season, allthrough the summer, in our case.
You're going to need to haveaccess to that feed.
So around here, it's verydifficult for us to get feed.
So we have to kind of keep thatin mind, when we're talking
about what kind of feed we'regoing to be feeding animals.
Once you select a brand, youreally need to stick with it
(02:19):
unless you have to or need toswitch.
And in that case, you're goingto want to blend in that new
feed with the old to slowlytransition.
Goats, their nutritionalrequirements, that in their base
feed, they need to have protein,fat carbs minerals and vitamins.
Goats need about 15 to 18%protein, a fat level of 2.5 to
(02:42):
4% and fiber at 15 to 19%.
Also, they're going to need somegrass hay to help scratch that
rumen and keep it working andfunctioning correctly.
Um, also water, they're alwaysgoing to need water.
Feeding time consistency, you'realways gonna want to try to feed
at the same time every day.
(03:03):
It's just like us.
We're used to eating breakfast,lunch, and dinner around the
same times of day.
These animals are no different.
The best thing to do though, isto feed them during the coolest
parts of the day.
So, um, a lot of times you'llhear the recommendation of
feeding your animals.
Um, you know, if you feed himseven in the morning, you feed
(03:25):
him seven at night.
Which is a good rule of thumb.
But if you happen to live whereit's a very hot, like we do in
the summer, sometimes you needto feed a little bit earlier in
the morning and a little bitlater in the evening, just so
that you can hit those coolestparts of the day.
That's going to help you interms of getting these goats to
eat.
Um, there are no different thanpeople I don't know about
(03:45):
anybody else, but when it getsreally hot, sometimes you just
really don't feel like eating.
Your Feeding Area.
It needs to be clean, dirty penswill kill goats.
Um, it starts off with a snottynose.
Pretty soon, they're breathingthrough their mouth.
They're breathing in dirt anddust.
Then you have some respiratoryissues.
Their pens can be wet down, um,and then have that dirt packed
(04:09):
down and then you just have tosweep it.
You just sweep all the manureand everything out every day.
Your feeding pens need to beclose to water.
Your pens also, you either needto have individual pens for them
to go into, to eat, or you needto have an area where you can
tie them up to eat.
Um, also be careful about tyingup your goats to eat and walking
(04:30):
away.
It's not something you want todo.
If you're going to tie them tothe fence, then you need to stay
there and watch them so thatthey don't get a leg hung in the
fence.
And then you have a big wreck onyour hands.
Um, individual feeding is morecontrolled.
You can, um, observe the animal,obviously and watch them and
make sure that they're okay.
(04:51):
It's also a good part of thetaiming process.
And, um, it's also gonna allowyou to watch them consume that
feed.
Are they eating it too fast, tooslow?
Are they not eating enough?
Um, all those questions can kindof be answered by individual
feeding and hanging out there,watching them.
When you're observing theseanimals.
Some things to watch for, um,looking at their eyes, make sure
(05:13):
nobody's got Pinkeye.
I'm taking a look at their ears,their manure, and make sure
there's nobody with diarrhea,scours, making sure that their,
their nose isn't dry.
A dry nose is an indication of asick goat.
Um, a wet noses is a healthygoat.
Um, another thing is to watchtheir head, make sure they're
not, you know, kinda droopy or,or acting weird.
(05:38):
Um, their skin.
You can take a look at theirskin for any kind of lice or
fungus type issues.
And again, seeing if they'reactive, um, seeing if they're
acting normally, looking forswollen joints or for anybody
who might be limping.
This is when you can find thesetypes of things and you can
treat them before it goes toofar.
(05:58):
So how much should they beeating?
Um, if you're going to full feed, uh, your goats, the rule of
thumb is about 3.5% of theirbody weight.
If you're holding a goat, you'regoing to want to back that down
to about 2% of their bodyweight.
And typically the older theyget, the less feed they usually
need.
That's kind of a rule of thumb.
(06:18):
That's not always the case.
Some other helpful tips is toseparate those goats while they
eat.
Feeders need to be cleaned.
And the old feed needs to bedumped on a daily basis so that
they always have fresh feed infront of them.
Nobody wants to eat old food.
Wanting to have a feed scale.
(06:39):
You're going to want to usefeeders that hang on the fence
once again, do not leave thoseanimals unattended while, while
feeding them on the fence.
If they're tied to that fence.
Caution when feeding alfalfa,just because of a couple of
reasons.
The protein level it's going to,it's going to add to the protein
level of a feed that you'realready feeding.
And another thing, is it canalso cause bloat.
(07:02):
Don't let your goats eat weedsor rocks or dirt or anything
like that.
If they have a turnout area,making sure that there's no
weeds or rocks in that area, aswell as all the way around it,
because they will eat it.
Um, it can make them sick.
It could also really mess withthem actually eating the food
that you want them to eat.
(07:23):
If they're all filled up onweeds, um, they're not to want
to eat that, that good showfeed, to give you that show
look.
And another thing is if youhaven't done so already, now's
probably a good time to start,um, getting some weights on
those animals.
Really, they need to be weighedabout once a week, just so that
you can figure out how manypounds per day that they're
(07:44):
gaining, um, to determine whatthey're going to be at during
your County fair or the showthat you're going to.
You're going to want to knowthat, especially if those shows
have a minimum or a maximumweight.
And in every presentation I talkabout this the most, The most
important part of your feedingstrategy is water.
(08:04):
Clean, cool, fresh water, makingsure that there's no mold or
dirt, mud manure, algae,anything that might cause them
to not want to drink that water.
Making sure that it's not old.
Um, and also making sure thatthe water is cool.
Um, I don't know about you, buton a hot day, I do not want to
drink, you know, hot water outof a, a black bucket.
(08:28):
Um, that's been sitting outsidein a hundred degree heat, uh,
your goats don't either.
And when you decrease that waterintake, there's a few things
that are gonna happen.
You're gonna increase your,you're gonna increase the risk
of getting Urinary Calculi, aswell as your feed consumption is
directly related to your waterconsumption.
So a lot of times, if they'renot consuming enough water,
(08:51):
they're going to go off of feed.
It's the same thing for us.
We all like to have something todrink when we're eating.
So if they're not getting enoughwater, they're definitely not
going to hit the feed like theyshould.
And another thing to remember ismuscles made up of 75 to 80%
water.
And if an animal loses 20% oftheir body weight in water, they
(09:11):
will die.
And then another fun fact isthat studies have shown that
goats like to drink more waterout of yellow water buckets
followed by light blue.
So something to just kind ofkeep in mind kind of a little
fun fact.
Okay, we're going to talk alittle bit about worming.
Um, you're going to want to wormevery 21 to 30 days and you're
(09:33):
going to want to rotate thosewormers, just like we've talked
about before, um, you know,rotate between Safeguard,
Dectomax, Ivermectin.
You're really gonna want to workwith your veterinarian on this
kind of stuff and get with themand, and get on some sort of a
worming schedule.
They'll be able to best adviseyou on which wormers work best
in your area.
As well as lice, that's anotherthing that's very specific to
(09:56):
goats.
That you're going to need towatch for.
Usually all goats get lice atsome point, and it needs to be
taken care of.
Again, working with yourveteran, veterinarian.
But you can, you can sprayprolate on them as well as, u m,
a f ly spray, a flea and tickspray.
You're just go nna w ant to makesure you treat, you know, 14
(10:18):
days apart, just so that you getthe entire li fe c y cle o f any
lice that might be hatching.
Okay.
Talking about some Daily Care.
We're going to talk abouttaming, exercise,as well as, leg
and body hair, and some hooftrimming.
We ta lk about this a lot.
That taming is a part oftraining, and if you have not
(10:40):
tam ed yo ur goat yet, it'sprobably about time to get out
there and get it done.
Um, a r e lationship must existbetween the exhibitor and the
goat.
So not the goat and a parent,not the goat and an Extension
Agent, not the goat and an Agteacher.
It needs to exist between theexhibitor and the goat.
For a couple of weeks you cancatch that goat, tie him up with
(11:00):
a, with the halter, to the fence, um, with some space in
between.
And then you can sit in a chairor on a bucket or on the ground,
whatever you want to do.
For about 15 to 20 minutes aday, just brushing them, rubbing
them, petting them, settingtheir legs, just getting them
used to your presence and thefeeling of, of being touched.
(11:21):
Uh, goats, they need to be ableto stand tied for about, without
fighting their halter, for about15 to 20 minutes before they're
ready to lead.
Another thing is never leavegoats, unattended while tied up.
It's just a recipe for disaster.
If you're going to tie him up tothe fence, another thing you can
do is to also put a piece ofplywood, like a, I don't know if
(11:44):
I've mentioned this before, butputting a piece of plywood
there.
So that way they can't actuallystick their legs through the
fence and possibly break a legor something or injure
themselves.
Um, cause they are going tofight that halter initially.
So you're going to want to tryto keep them as safe as you
possibly can.
And again, no matter what, evenif you have the plywood don't
(12:05):
ever leave them.
Then you're g oing t o want towalk them in their pen, using a
halter, or chain, whatever th e,whatever you're going to use is
whatever, y ou need to, to getthem used to.
Then you can transition towalking them outside of their
pen.
Of course you do not want toyank on a lead rope that doesn't
ever wo rk.
Y ou're going to want to use thepressure release method.
(12:27):
Another method that works reallygood is a two person method.
Where one is on the lead and theother is kind of ushering from
behind.
So if you have, um, multiplekiddos, um, this would work
really well.
Um, you can also use a leadanimal if you have one.
So if you have sheep that arebroke to lead or possibly some
(12:48):
other goats that are broke tolead, you can always use them.
Um, kind of that monkey seemonkey do mentality.
Uh, something to keep in mind isthat goats need to be broke to
lead before you can start anexercise program.
Um, that's just good, goodadvice so that you don't have
any kind of accidents happen.
Okay, we're going to talk abouttraining.
(13:09):
Um, there's a few things to talkabout in the training process.
The first one being standtraining.
So this is where you're gonnawant to place them on their
stand.
Um, and while they're up thereand you're gonna wanna rub them,
handle them, set their legs, runa blower and pet their neck.
This is going to again, get themused to being on the stand.
(13:30):
Um, having to stand on thatstand and have a blower,
running, the sound, the feeling.
As well as, setting those legsgets them used to standing in
the proper position, forwhenever you start to, put them
out in the showring.
Another one is hand walking.
(13:50):
This is very important.
So once you get them to walk,you're going to want to walk
them, stop them, set their legs,and then just keep doing it over
and over and over again.
Eventually those goats willlearn that every time they stop,
they need to set their legs ina, in a specific position.
Um, and that position will besetting them up just so that you
(14:11):
can, um, brace them or drivethem.
Um, eventually once they getused to walking, stopping, you
know, getting their legs set,you're going to want it want to
add in the bracing, the drivingaspect.
All right.
So when we talk about bracing ordriving, um, that's when you're
going to want to have all fourfeet on the ground.
(14:33):
Um, we never want to pick thosegoats up where their front two
feet are off the ground.
You need to have all four feeton the ground.
Um, one of the ways to trainthem to, to actually brace is
you can place a goat on a standand then have the exhibitors
slowly push the, goat off theback edge, um, of, of the stand.
(14:56):
Um, they will, once you pushinto them, a lot of times, they
will push back cause they, theydon't know what's behind them.
And if they happen to step off,um, with one foot, they learned
that whenever you push againstthem, they don't want to fall
off the back end.
And so they will start to pushback, back into the exhibitor.
Um, you're going to have totrain them at least every other
(15:16):
day on bracing and driving.
So every other day doing, youknow, your, your walk, stop, set
those legs, get them to a brace.
If they ever get to wherethey're not bracing, you can
always go back to the stand andpush them slowly off.
Um, that'll get them back into,in line, in terms of bracing.
(15:38):
Now we're g oing t o talk aboutexercise.
So when to start?
This is kind of a tough one toanswer.
Just because it's very dependenton the type of goat, as well as
your goals in terms of wherethose goats need to end up, u m,
i n their weight class.
So condition and maturity aregonna play a big part in that, u
(16:00):
m, e xercise.
I guess as a general rule shouldstart about 45 days before your
show.
If you're here, in the GrantCounty area, that's right about
now.
Um, so you better be thinkingabout, um, getting those goats,
um, exercise if they need it.
Um, you can use a Walker.
Walkers are great for endurance,which are important for them.
(16:23):
Another thing is that, uh, toadd in here is that, um, if
you're going to do a handwalking type thing, um, that's
also good for the exhibitor,because exhibitors and the
animals need to have endurance.
Walkers are good for a warmup aswell as a cool-down.
It also trains them to walk withtheir head up in the right
position.
(16:44):
Another tool that can be used isa treadmill.
They actually make specifictreadmills just for these
animals.
But goats need to be trained towalk on a treadmill.
So you're going to want to startthat training process early.
I don't recommend just tryingto, to all of a sudden start one
day and think that it's going towork.
Um, you have to start veryslowly and getting them used to
(17:07):
that.
You're going to want to makesure that your treadmill has a,
a front feet platform tomaintain that balance look.
And again, you're going to wantto start slow.
So once you start week numberone, maybe just do a half minute
of walking backwards.
A week number two, you can moveup to a minute of walking
(17:27):
backwards.
Just dependent on how they'redoing.
The goal is to do about threeminutes backwards, as fast as
they can every other day andthree to five minutes going
forward, depending on theircondition.
Some things to understand isthat going backwards on a
treadmill builds, rump, hipshape, inner thigh, and lower
(17:48):
leg shape.
U m, going forward just burnscondition and it builds
endurance.
Some more on exercise.
A lot of people like to use, um, the track method, u m, with a
dog or even you can, u m, youcan just chase them yourself.
Um, this is a high intensitysprint.
(18:09):
That's going to add muscle toneas well as give them an
adrenaline rush.
You can also do reward basedexercise.
So you can take them away fromtheir pen and then let them run
back.
You're just going to want tomake sure that the path is clear
, um, making sure that they'renot gonna be running into, you
know, anybody in between any,any other, you know, car or
(18:32):
something like that that mightbe dragging through the pasture
as well.
You want to think about having acatch pen and usually about a
quarter of a mile, um, isusually sufficient for these
animals, maybe even a little bitless.
Daily exercise.
Standing again, build endurance.
So that standing, in there inthe, on a stand or tied to a
(18:56):
fence is going to help buildthat endurance as well as the
hand walking and bracing.
Again, that's going to reallyhelp both the exhibitor and the
animal with their endurance.
I have here lambs, but it shouldsay goats.
Goats and exhibitors needendurance.
So always remember that.
The next one is really fun totalk about.
This is a cool trend that hasstarted over the past few years,
(19:19):
which is leg hair.
When to start?
When do y ou want to starttraining and taking care of that
leg hair?
Um, u sually if you notice themstarting to pick at it, that's
usually a good time.
Um, o r when you start yourexercise program also a good
time or roughly that 45 daysbefore the show.
This is a lot like sheep, soyou're go ing t o w a nt t o r
(19:41):
inse and wrap those legs everyother day.
Same as your exercise program.
Rinse the legs, and you're goingto want to work in a
conditioner.
You're go ing t o w ant to blowit out and, u m, a nd then leave
it just a little bit damp.
You're going to brush that hairand train it to stand up.
You can use a rotary brush ifyou want to.
It's also good to do this alongwith your exercise and taming
(20:04):
process.
And then you're going to want tokeep those legs unwrapped for
about 30 to 45 minutes.
Um, again, you can use that timeto put them on the treadmill,
the Walker do some hand walking,bracing, that kind of stuff.
Then once you're done, you putthem back on the stand and blow
them completely dry and rewrapthose legs.
(20:27):
Um, you're going to want to puton a muzzle because they're
going to want to pick those,those leg wraps off.
Something to make sure, makesure that your leg wraps are not
too tight.
Um, it can cause some injury tothe animal.
As well as it can actually dothe reverse and start to rub the
hair off.
Another one is trimming feet,their, their hooves need to be
(20:50):
trimmed about once a month justto keep the angle of their bone
structure, correct.
And keep them walking and movingcorrectly.
Body hair.
This is another fun one.
When we're talking about theirbody hair, a lot of times it has
to do with freshness.
So, uh, a goat that feels reallyfresh, usually has really, well
(21:13):
taken care of, hair and skin.
So one of the things to do is toblow the hair, and get all of
the dirt out.
You can go from front to backand then you're going to want to
blow up.
Brush in a fly spray, whichkeeps the flies off and also
kills lice.
You want to do that, usuallydaily.
(21:33):
Apply a conditioning spray andbrush it in, and then you can
blow it in and then just coverwith a blanket.
If you're going to use blanketsthough, make sure that those
animals have access to some sortof place to get out of the sun.
We don't want them to getoverheated.
So either they have shade orthey have some moving air in a
(21:55):
barn.
Just so that they don't getoverheated.
Um, something to keep in mind isthat you only want to wash goats
if you're going to a show.
Washing them actually takes outthe natural oils that exist in
their skin that are honestlybetter than any other type of
conditioner oil that you can puton them.
(22:16):
So you only want to wash themwhen you're actually going to be
showing them soon.
All right.
A little bit about clipping.
This is another one that you'regoing to want to limit as well.
Limit the amount of times thatyou clip a goat before show,
just because, depending on whereyou're wanting that goat to be,
usually when you clip them, theyhave a growth spurt usually
(22:36):
right afterwards.
Another thing is that a lot oftimes that hair is protecting
them from the sun.
So when you take that hair off,you're exposing them to the sun
where they can get sunburned.
And then we start to have someskin and hair issues.
Um, when you're clipping, youalways want to start with a
clean goat.
That does not mean you have towash them.
If they're fairly clean andthey, you can blow them out with
(22:59):
the blower and get most of thedirt out.
That's usually the best way togo.
If you have to wash them, that'sokay too.
Clip the body using cover coator extra cover blades.
Um, and then clip the hair fromthe hock up.
You want to leave that leg hair.
Um, if you're watching the, theYouTube video, I have an
(23:20):
illustration of exactly whereto, where to actually clip and
what to leave behind.
You always want to blend thelegs and knees with a, usually
like a number 10 blocking bladeand just blending all of that
in, making it look really,really smooth.
You're going to want to trimthose ears, the head, the nose,
(23:40):
with a body blade, or usingguards.
Clipping their heads is not thefunest activity, but it can be
done.
And then you need to clip theirtail so that it makes them look
more square and attractive.
And there's a lot of helpfulvideos and stuff out there that
can help you do that.
Or you can reach out to your AgTeacher or your Extension Agent,
(24:03):
and they'll, they'll help, youor a breeder or a friend or
something like that.
And they'll help you be able toclip these goats.
So we're going to cover a littlebit about some disease and
illness stuff, just cause I feellike this is important.
Normal body temperature forgoats is about 102 to 104.
Some things to watch out for isOvereating Disease.
(24:24):
This happens when feed isabruptly changed and they intake
an ex- or they intake anexcessive amount.
Um, it's a clostridial organismin the intestines, and it grows
really fast, producing a lethaltoxin causing death within a few
hours.
The bad part about this isthere's little to no symptoms,
which is why it has such a highmortality rate.
(24:47):
Uh, vaccinating for this diseaseis crucial in terms of
management.
Another one to watch for andvery, very common is
Coccidiosis, usually coming frombird droppings.
So this is a pretty seriouscondition with a high mortality
rate if it's not treated.
Symptoms include watery, bloodydiarrhea, weight loss, lethargy,
(25:08):
dehydration, and just generally,they don't feel good.
Um, it's highly contagious.
So animals that are infected,they need to be separated until
treatment is complete and, andthey are no longer contagious.
So that way they don't get therest of the goats sick, or if
you have sheep as well, they canget it.
They can pass it to them.
(25:29):
Uh, always consult with yourveterinarian on proper
treatment, depending on whatstrain of Coccidiosis.
Um, usually you can take a fecalsample into your vet and they
can tell you and kind of helpyou out and, and get a treatment
plan put together.
So always work with yourveterinarian.
We talked a little bit aboutthis one earlier, which is
Urinary Calculi.
Um,also referred to as waterbelly.
(25:51):
Urinary Calculi is caused by animproper balance of calcium and
phosphorus.
Usually these, these showrations have already balanced
this out for you.
Um, so you usually don't have toworry about it.
Um, but it's a metabolic diseasethat basically causes a stone
formation in the urinary tract.
(26:12):
Um, and it, it basically blocksthem from being able to urinate.
If it's not treated promptly, itcan be lethal.
Um, Urinary Calculi is a prime,is primarily an issue in feeding
grain based diets, um, that arehigher in phosphorus and lower
in calcium.
Again, these show feeds areusually balanced out to where
(26:34):
this type of thing does nothappen.
So I always recommend going witha proven show feed, um, just to
make sure that you don't havethis.
Uh, symptoms can includerestlessness, failed attempts to
urinate, um, kicking at their,their belly, their abdomen, um,
much like a horse that would becolicing.
A treatment usually consists ofremoving any stones surgically
(26:57):
or by administering fluids, um,that help break up those stones
so that they can pass on theirown.
Again, you're going to want toget with your veterinarian and
work closely with them to getthis taken care of.
Okay.
So some something that, uh, that, uh, is also very bad in the
sheep world is Ringworm and ShowFungus.
(27:18):
Ringworm affects many livestockspecies and it's highly conduct
contagious to other animals andhumans.
So it's, it's actually a fungus,um, that is contracted by
contact with other infectedanimals or equipment.
Um, so it's important torecognize the development of the
fungus before it spreads, um,and then possibly, you know,
(27:42):
gives it to the kiddos.
Maybe some, the other goats, theother lambs, if you have those,
u m, you definitely do not wantRingworm.
So some prevention methods arewashing your animals with an
antifungal shampoo aftertraveling to a livestock show.
Disinfecting all your equipmenton a regular basis.
(28:02):
U m, especially between contactwith different animals and also
isolating animals that areinfected to prevent the risk of
that fungus spreading toeverybody else.
Another one to watch out for isE-coli.
Uh, usually you'll see they havewatery scours, yellow scours,
um, dehydration, weakness.
(28:24):
Um, you're going to want toseparate and consider actively
treating everyone that you know,all the animals that you have.
Um, you're gonna want to getwith your veterinarian, so that
you can get some treatmentgoing.
It's usually, um, byprescription.
So you'll have to work with yourveterinarian on getting the
right treatment plan for E-coli.
Some other ones to talk about isSore Mouth.
(28:45):
Um, that's kind of common.
Um, it's a viral disease thatcauses the formation of scabs,
um, around the face.
But if you leave it untreated,it can get really bad and spread
to their entire body.
Uh, this virus also affectshumans.
Um, so it should be treated withcaution using gloves, um, and
(29:06):
then making sure that you washyour hands, um, after every time
you touch an animal, you shouldwash your hands afterwards.
It's just good practice for yourhealth and for the health of the
animal and the other animalsaround them.
Even, even though this iscommon, this disease is very,
very treatable.
Um, treatments include, uh, yourub off the scabs on the
(29:29):
infected area.
You can use, um, iodine to drownout, to dry out the lesions.
Another thing, um, that's prettycommon is goats cough.
Um, they call it Barn Cough.
So they have a tendency to coughdue to dust, um, picking at the
ground, running, et cetera.
(29:50):
And some of those things arejust, they're normal, but it can
be sign of allergies.
So you might want to watch outfor that,clearing their throat,
et cetera, caution should,should just be taken just to
make sure that they don'tactually have a symptom of a
respiratory infection.
Disease and Illness.
So Tetanus or lock jaw.
(30:12):
Tetanus, commonly affects lambsand goats, particularly after
castration and or they'regetting their tail docked.
If they are sheep.
Um, unlike other diseases,Tetanus is an extremely serious
condition that animals rarelyrecover from.
Um, and Tetanus is caused by abacterial infection from an open
(30:33):
wound where bacteria produces aneurotoxin that affects their
nervous system.
Treatment is available.
Um, however it has a very lowsuccess rate.
So vaccination is one of theonly ways to keep Tetanus under
control, so your gonna want aalways make sure that any lambs
that you get, or excuse me, anygoats that you get, um, have
(30:54):
been vaccinated.
Some other ones to watch for is,is Polio, which is just a
Thiamine deficiency.
It's the most, the most commonsymptom of this disease is
blindness, but there are othersigns such as seizures,
paddling, u h, drawing theirhead back stiffly, so it's
pressed against their spine, andlethargy.
(31:17):
Sudden death is commonlyassociated with this disease as
well.
Affected animals really need tobe treated immediately with an
injectable or an oral, Thiaminetreatment.
So get with your veterinarianright away.
Pinkeye it's contagious, betweenall the other animals.
(31:37):
I t's also contagious betweenhumans and animals.
So it's caused, a lot of times,by constant exposure to sunlight
or dust, and or, dustyenvironments.
So again, just making sure theyhave somewhere that they can get
out of the sun.
M aking sure that they are notin a dirty dusty environment.
(31:58):
So the symptoms of Pinkeye a reexcessive watering of the eye
and clouding in their eye.
This disease is easily treatablewith over the counter
medications that you can find atyour local feed store.
All r ight, last one,respiratory disease or
Pneumonia.
And this is basicallyinflammation of the lung.
(32:20):
It occurs when infectious andnon-infectious agents, cause
lungs to become inflamed, uh,usually, um, by Pasteurella, P.
multocida or Mannheimia, man-, Ithink it's how you say this,
Mannheimia haemolytica, a, Bothcause an outbreak of acute
(32:41):
pneumonia, um, of all ages.
Usually it's associated with asecondary infection due to the
management practices or severestress.
So causes, um, transportation,stress, viral infection, lung
parasite, a prior bacterialinfection, overcrowding, poor
housing conditions, suddenenvironmental changes, plus
(33:04):
many, many more.
A lot of things can, can be, um,a primary cause of pneumonia and
it can cause death without awhole lot of signs that they're
sick.
Um, so you really have to watchthem.
So some symptoms, um, they'llhave a fever with, you know, 104
to 106 temperature, uh,increased respiration rate,
(33:27):
moist painful cough, difficultybreathing, crackling sounds when
they do breathe, nasal andocular discharge, loss of
appetite, depression, thosetypes of things.
So if you feel like your animalmight have this, um, you're
gonna want to get with yourveterinarian for treatment.
Cause they're going to know thebest way to treat this
(33:49):
particular respiratory diseaseand be able to look at your
animal and, and get them back ontrack.
So now that we've talked aboutall the bad stuff.
Really in terms of trying tokeep your animals healthy,
biosecurity is the best way togo.
Just practicing good biosecurityfrom the get go will help
eliminate a lot of the diseaseand illness issues.
(34:13):
So limiting exposure from theoutside.
Your friends, relatives, um,those types of things, with them
may come diseases.
Um, if someone from the outsideis coming to your facility,
that's been around other goatsor sheep, or other animals for
that matter, you might want tomake them wear, you know, some
type of protective booties orhave their shoes dipped in a
(34:37):
foot bath.
Also once again, outsidevisitors need to wash their
hands before touching the goats.
And it may not even be a badidea to wash your hands in
between goats.
And then of course, we alwaysrecommend that you wash your
hands after handling animals,any time, just to keep everybody
healthy.
If you're going to use scalesthat are being used by, y ou k
(35:01):
now, several exhibitors, u m,you're g onna want to make sure
you sanitize between weighing, um, and then sanitize your pens
regularly.
If you've, especially if you'vehad sickness or any kind of
fungus, Ringworm problems.
After sickness, make sure thatyou sanitize your facility
before the sick goat comes back,just making sure that everything
(35:25):
is c lean.
So we don't have a reoccurring,u m, event.
We always talk about thistowards the end of these
presentations, which are recordkeeping this a s part of the
learning process for, u m, yourkiddos.
There is a 4H livestock recordapp, um, where you're able to
keep weights.
You can keep track of averagedaily gain calculations, feed,
(35:45):
weights, changes in feeds.
When you've done wormers,supplements, expenses, any kind
of income that they get in, youcan keep track of that all i n
an app.
U m, you can also, u m, get withyour Extension Agent.
U m, we also have forms that youcan use to keep track of these
types of things for your recordbooks.
(36:06):
U m, so if you do this kind ofall year long, u m, throughout
the process, it's a lot easierto have done when you get
towards the end.
Up next.
I'm going to be talking aboutsteers, steer showmanship, a s
well as showmanship for all thespecies.
So those will be some, someinformational, u h, v ideos and
(36:29):
things that are becoming up.
Um, this information is providedcourtesy of the Grant County
Cooperative Extension Service.
My name is Jessica SwappMassengill and I'm the Grant
County 4H/Ag Agent.
M y office number, if you haveany questions, you can always
reach me at(575) 388-1559.
(36:49):
Uh, w e're not in the office allthe time, just due to the
COVID-19 restrictions.
But if you call and leave amessage, we'll, we'll get you
called back, as soon as we can.
Sometimes a better way to getahold of me is Jes se J and
that's jessiej@nmsu.edu.
(37:09):
Feel free to email me, call mewith any of your questions or
recommendations for future,future videos or pod cast ep
isodes, that type of thing.
And I hope that this has beenhelpful to you.
I hope it helps you in yourprojects along the way.
I really appreciate everyone outthere who watches these videos
(37:30):
and listens to my podcast.
I hope this is helpful to you inso me way,
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Catch you next time.
Thanks everyone for listening.
If you enjoy this podcast, don'tforget to hit the subscribe
button on Apple podcast,Stitcher, Google play, or
whatever app you're using tolisten to this podcast.
Want more information?
You can visit us at our website: grantextention.nmsu.edu Follow (37:49):
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us on Facebook at (37:57):
NMSU Grant County CES.
Snapchat at (38:00):
G r ant County NM 4H.
Shoot us an email at: grant@nmsu.e du o r give us a (38:00):
undefined
call(575) 388-1559.
New Mexico State University isan equal opportunity/affirmative
action employer and educator.
(38:22):
NMSU, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculturecooperating.
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