# Just got a Boer doe with a kid doeling at side



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I just got into goats. My original intent was just to do the Nigerian Dwarfs. But I found a deal that I couldn't pass up and decided having a meat goat or two may not be a bad idea. 

The doeling kid was born on Tuesday, December 8th. The birth was unexpected by the original owner. She was getting rid of all her goats and they were going to auction on Saturday, December 12th. On Thursday, December 10th was when she put the ad in for this mom and baby. It has been extremely cold in Ohio and this doe had twins and the other kid died, more than likely from cold. She pulled this doeling from mom and brought it into the house so she wouldn't die. I went over on Friday, December 11th and decided to buy them. The whole herd was very healthy looking and had been vaccinated and wormed in August. I brought them home and my husband and I worked throughout the night to get mom and baby back together. Anyway, the doeling is nursing just fine and she had gotten colostrum from mom because they were originally nursing on mom. The original owner was also milking mom and feeding the kid mom's milk.

I have given the doeling a shot of BoSe so far. Mom was not vaccinated 6 weeks prior to birth. When should I vaccinate with CDT for this doeling?

I know nothing about boers and don't know if things are done differently with boer goats. When would you rebreed mom? I'm not anxious to get her rebred or anything, just trying to learn how often boer goats are bred. She is 5 years old and in very good health.

I'm hoping my pictures are attached.


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

I would go ahead and vaccinate the kid and the momma now and again in 60 days for the kid. If you have a heat source such as a heat lamp or heater then go ahead and put them in the barn. We breed our Boer does once a year, just because they will hold up better over time, but some folks breed to have a kid(S) every 15 months. She looks like a good looking doe and she should do well for you.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That is good you gave BoSe....Great job :thumbup: the babies legs showed it needed it... :wink: 
With my boers... we vaccinate the kids at 2.5 to 3 months old...some may do it different ...but that is when we give CD&t then 28 days later... 

re breeding at the soonest... is about a month after pulling the kid...but ......I don't recommend it...we let them dry up for quit a while.... 3 months or more....
We breed 1 x a year....

If you don't know when mom was.. last vaccinated.... I would give it to mom.....or find out ....when she was last given the shot....

boers are a little different in various treatments...so feel welcome to start a new post with any question...you may have.... :greengrin: 

Your new boers are nice...and the baby is adorable.....  congrats... :thumbup:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> I would go ahead and vaccinate the kid and the momma now and again in 60 days for the kid.


 Fred....Are you sure.... giving it at a few days old... is OK ...I personally think ..the baby is a little young.... other people that I know.... at the earliest ... give it... 4 to 8 weeks old :worried:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the info. The previous owner gave me the registration for the doe. She only bought them in January of 2009 and never transferred them into her name. This doe had triplets for this woman. I'm guessing maybe she had the triplets shortly after she bought them. Then this doe must have been bred not too long after to give birth again in December. Poor thing. Sounds like she was bred back too fast. Would it be good to wait until next fall to breed her? I don't want winter births here. It just gets too cold. I would prefer spring.

Mom was vaccinated in August. Would it hurt to vaccinate now anyway? Eventually, I will let them be with my Nigerians. 

Should I do another BoSe shot at some point for the doeling or is this one enough?

Thanks


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

hi
She'll probably only need one shot of bo-se. her legs should get better in time, they look pretty weak there. Good job taking care of them so far, if its cold there give them a lamp (not too low) and secure it tightly. the coat is cute 


How old is the doe? next time you breed make sure his back is nice and straight, she looks good but must be fairly old because her back is starting to sway.

I vaccinate my kids at 1 month with CDT and then 28-31 days later with a booster (2cc's for all goats, and the booster is also 2cc)

good luck!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Your welcome... :greengrin: 

On the registration...Was the part where previous buyer...filled in or left blank.. so you can fill in your part? and was it signed by the breeder or previous...owner?.....

If she was bred back so soon....I would give her a good long break ...it is really hard on them...I would wait til fall personally....so she gets that break well deserved... :wink: 

She should be OK with the CD&T ....they are good for a year.... 

One shot should be enough..... of BoSe :greengrin:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

vaccines work off the immune system -- right now the kid doesnt have one so it would be ineffective to give her a shot of teh CD/T wait till she is older 5-8 weeks before giving the CD/T shot.

Giving mom a break would be my suggestion 

you might be able to breed her in teh spring for a fall kidding but if you dont have to then waiting till next fall would ensure she is in good condition


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks

The original owner signed and dated the registration but left the buyer info blank. The owner that I bought these goats from never filled it in. The doe is 5 years old. I'm not sure if this is considered old or not. Since the plan is to just use them for personal use, I'm not sure if I will bother with the whole registration thing.

At this point my plan is to use my Nigerian Dwarf buck on the girls. I don't want to own more than these 2 girls and I definitely don't want to own a Boer buck. The plan would be to take the offspring from these 2 girls and take them to market for our own personal meat.

Right now the girls are in their own stall in my barn. It has been pretty cold here and windy. Once all my goats are home, I am going to have the vet out and have them all tested for CAE, CL and Johnnes. I don't plan to show and want to keep a closed herd.

I will wait till next fall to breed mom. I would prefer to have all my kidding in the spring.


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

Believe it or not, as green as it stays where we live and with such a heavy dew many days we have had blooms of overeaters several years in the past even with mama's being vaccinated for it so we vac the kids a day or two after birth just for an insurance thing. Overeaters can hit and it only takes 24 hours or less to ruin a kids rumen if you are not there to recognize it and give the antitoxin. Four years ago we had a bloom and lost 8 kids, it was horrible! Losing kids to overeaters is not a pleasant experience.  So now we vac and haven't had a problem since. It is just a management decision that we have made. Folks in different climates may not need to do it. We boost when we band the boys.


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

K, at 5 she is allowed to get a little sway-backed. Stuff's gonna start sagging for you in about 10-15 years! :doh:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

sealawyer said:


> Believe it or not, as green as it stays where we live and with such a heavy dew many days we have had blooms of overeaters several years in the past even with mama's being vaccinated for it so we vac the kids a day or two after birth just for an insurance thing. Overeaters can hit and it only takes 24 hours or less to ruin a kids rumen if you are not there to recognize it and give the antitoxin. Four years ago we had a bloom and lost 8 kids, it was horrible! Losing kids to overeaters is not a pleasant experience.  So now we vac and haven't had a problem since. It is just a management decision that we have made. Folks in different climates may not need to do it. We boost when we band the boys.


I cant see how it would actually be working since the milk from mom inhibits the working of the CD/T shot

now the antitoxin would be what you should be giving. It takes the CD/T shot 2 weeks to actually be effective. The CD Antitoxin is immediate protection.

I am not saying you shouldnt give the vaccine just saying that the Toxoid is designed to work differently then how I am gathering you are using it for.


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

Stacey I did misspeak. Overeaters ruins their small intestine and doesn't allow nutrients to be absorbed. When the Vet did a necropsy their stomachs were full and the small intestine was black. That's why they look like they swallowed a balloon. 
All i know is that since we started to give the vac right after birth the incidences of overeaters stopped. Maybe the vac we were giving to the momma's was bad? For a couple of years in a row? What do I know?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

maybe -- or maybe the research stating that the vaccine doesnt work till they are older is incomplete and no correct?

I am glad its working for you and I hope that you never have to deal with that again.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> Thanks
> 
> The original owner signed and dated the registration but left the buyer info blank. The owner that I bought these goats from never filled it in. The doe is 5 years old. I'm not sure if this is considered old or not. Since the plan is to just use them for personal use, I'm not sure if I will bother with the whole registration thing.


Your welcome... :wink: :greengrin: That's good that the paperwork is blank and you can fill it in.... if you decide to.... 

5 years... isn't old at all ....from what you mentioned... the poor girl was over bred ... it is so hard on them... so she is showing it earlier...then others.... If you ever seen a broodmare....they sag really bad at a young age because of always keeping them pregnant and not giving there bodies time to recoup and go back into shape....there is nothing wrong with her ....she was just over bred ...if taken proper care of ...she will give you ....many more years on nice healthy babies.... :greengrin: :thumbup:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Do you ever give the kids a shot of Vitamin ADE? We do this for alpaca crias, especially when they have leg issues going on like crooked legs, down on pasturns, loose tendons/ligaments. I did notice that the doeling's front left leg is a bit off (woobly) and it appears to me to possibly be loose tendons/ligaments. At least going by what I see in alpaca crias. She already got a BoSe shot.

My plan would be to breed once a year and in the fall for spring kidding. So mom will get a much needed rest. I'm assuming breeding once a year is fine. She really is such a sweet goat. She loves to be pet and get attention from you. She is easy to work with. 

Sea - When you are talking about an overeater, do you mean the mom or the kid?

Here are some updated pictures. Today was a bit warmer so I took her coats off for the day.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Yes once a year is fine for her.... she will love you for it... :wink: :greengrin: 

They are looking great to me.... :thumbup: 

It wouldn't hurt ...the baby...to give Vitamin AD...E ...it will do it good.... :wink: Of course... the Bo-se will help alot with that to......you should see... improvement... with loose pasterns within 2 weeks... if they are really severe ...you can brace the leg ... :greengrin: good luck... :hug:


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## sealawyer (May 31, 2009)

Yes, you can vaccinate both with CD/T if you aren't sure of their previous vac schedule. You may want to look into other vacs that the doe may need such as orf or pnuemonia (SP?). With the doeling you can booster at 30 days. We vac at birth because we believe that it prevents the overeaters in young kids early on. Check with your vet about what YOU should do, look into what others recommend, then make YOUR informed decision. good Luck!


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