# Suggestions on boers?



## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

I seem to be asking yall a whole lot of questions since i found this app lol, sorry. 

So i finally made myself choose my favorites and i cut down to 7 goats...4 nannies, 2 doelings, and a buckling. The 4 nannies have already weaned this years kids, one doeling is 4 months and one is 7 months, and the buckling is 6 months. 

The 2 young does are separate and on pasture, hay, and im going to be giving them feed once i find a good mixture. I have been giving them pro manna minerals from my hand everyday because i think if they get bored they will get sick on it. The younger ones eyes are turning pale could i give her red cell or is she too young? if so how much? I wormed her and she looks and act fine.

The older does are in a field with piles of weeds and a little grass, just that keeps them pretty hefty and im going to be giving feed and hay but i don't want to spoil them and make them stop eating grass so ill probably give it to them at night. And they get minerals left out for them.

Then here is the hardest one lol. My buckling is with the older does. He is a boer, i tried to weigh him with the tape measure with the heart girthX heart girthX length and got 70lbs so hes a decent size but nothing like some of yalls big boys that make my mouth water  lol. But when we got him he was 3 1/2 months old and 60 lbs so hes only grown 10 lbs since them. He's not skinny or anything hes a chunky monkey. But I've got high hopes for my little buddy and he will probably be the only buck i will have for the next couple years so i want to make sure im not stunting his growth. His eyes, like the little does, are starting to get pale too so i wormed him, what could be causing it? Are they sick? I've never had a buck and dont know much. I want to make sure hes getting enough nutrients so he'll grow right but i don't want to give him feed and have him get the horrible urinary calculi that i keep reading about. What do yall usually give your growing bucks? Im a worrier so i just want to make sure im doing everything right.  

Any suggestions, answers, or changes i should make are gladly appreciated.  thanks


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

Sorry for the long confusing post, and the many questions it contains... . I didnt read it till after i sent it


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## AmandaKayLeeRogers (Apr 1, 2013)

I feed my wethers and my friend feeds her buck every morning. As long as you don't feed your boys corn you should be fine. I also split the purchase of a 55pd bag of ammonium cloride (that I had special ordered in to Tractor Supply from ivesco for $35 for the whole bag) with another friend and I put that on my boy's food. I just sprinkle a little on the and shake up the food. I feed my does and boys the same main feed which is A&M from a feed mill 2 hours away. It has ammonium cloride in it and whatever it is to keep the does from getting toxiema while pregnant. To the does food I add a sweet feed, and black oil sunflower seeds (boss). I put calfmana in all my feed. That's what I do, my goats are show goats but they are really healthy and not overweight, others may do it different.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Ask all the questions you want, that is what we are here for. 

Get a fecal for cocci and worms, both can stunt growth. Cocci doesn't always show scouring signs.
If you can't get a fecal, treat for cocci.

When you wormed, what did you use and how much?

Give an iron supplement for pale gums, to rebuild blood cells.

Any lice?


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

I used cydectin to worm them... What do you check for lice? I hope thats not it... I've had a problem with liver fluke i think this year but im not really sure our vet won't do goat fecals. Isnt there only a few wormers that get it? I forgot what kind? The symptoms i had with the others was they would get pale eyes then loose weight from the back back bone part of their ribs i think i read thats a sign from another thread?what should i treat cocci with?

It never gets cold here, we wear shorts on Christmas lol. Then its really humid (im not sure if humidity has anything to do with worms) and the weather has been changing alot from bone dry to flooding. It's driving me crazy haha. 

His dad was really big and his mom was medium sized and he was 13 lbs when he was born and a single kid so that probably has a lot to do with it (i never thought about it) i guess since he got weaned hes not going to grow as much in a short amount of time? But then again his eyes are still paler than before. Will red cell work or should i use something else?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What dosage did you give with the Cydectin? Have you had a fecal done?

I would have a fecal test done to include coccidia. 

The key to feeding grain is to make sure the calcium to phosphorus ratio of his whole diet is at least 2:1 and better 2.5:1 calciumhosphorus. You can feed him things like alfalfa pellets or a balanced goat grain with some added alfalfa pellets.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

I believe it is ivomec plus injectable given like 1cc/30lbs orally for the liver flukes. A fecal probably would be a good idea to see if your wormer is working. Not sure about a test for liver fluke. How sure are you about having that before? I'm a believer in pelleted feed for goats with rumensin (monensin) in it for cocci prevention and a balanced Ca/P ratio. My almost six month old buck kids are well over 100 lbs. Do you have pictures?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Good advice above, yes, Ivomec plus takes care of liver flukes.


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

On the cydectin i gave 1cc per 22 lb and our vet wont do fecals but im trying to find another one that will. I found an animal hospital thats pretty close do you think they would do it? Ill have to call and see before i drive all the way there, do yall bring yalls goats or just a sample from each?

This is him when I attempted to set him up for a nice picture a few weeks ago they aren't the best but compared to the recent pics you can tell hes lost weight...

















And here is some from today...


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

Ill get some ivomec plus and start using that.  thanks for all the great answers


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

As Tenacross said, feed some kind of ration with monensin made for meat goats. 
So far we havent had UC. The full grown wether even gets a little during the winter.
Dairy tapes are useless for meat animals. Invest in a scale or take him somewhere to be weighed.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

He doesn't look terribly unhealthy. I think he needs more vittles. He may or may not have other problems, and you are doing right to keep investigating and trying things, but you will still need to put him on a higher plane of nutrition to get him up to par. Another thing you might consider... 11 females is a fairly significant herd you have. If this buck just isn't that great a buck, you are repeating the mistake 11 times if you use him on your does. It might just be a lack of feed coupled with low level chronic coccidia and he might make a dramatic turn around, but still you need to ask yourself what is best for the *whole* herd.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Valbason also kills liver fluke and it's oral just an FYI He's a cutie


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

What do yall think about giving him half alfalfa pellets half medicated dumor goat feed with the UC stuff mixed in it (i forgot what yall called it). Maybe 2-4 cups in the morning and 2-4 cups at night? More or less? I guess ill just have to try a few different things and see which works for him but so far he eats anything that is put in front of him lol. 

I wasn't really sure about weighing him with the tape because its only length and heart girth and most of his weight is his neck, legs, chest, and belly but i just saw it on another site and thought I'd give it a try. I might see about getting a scale i just sold off a pile of chickens and some goats so i have a little money saved up. 

Thank you again for helping im new to boers ive always had small milk-like goats the only time ive ever had a boer was before i got really into goats when i was like 6 and i had a wether that ate corn and horse feed and never once got sick and was a breeze to care for. so now that i got more its way different than what i remember but im learning thanks to you guys. 

What im doing with them is i live in a small town and twice a month the counties within an hour or more away get together and have a livestock auction, theres a separate one for cows and horses then there is one for hogs, sheep, goats all kinds of fowl, donkeys, mules, and even ponies. So its just a small thing everyone knows each other and they sell around 200 -500 goats per time. It's really fun i love going and anything that goes in the ring thats bulky and big sells for more then the smaller ones sell for less. they think paying 200+ is "crazy" to pay for a goat and most dont care about conformation which is a little scary haha but thats how they do it. So they arent going to be showed or anything. So i wanted to help break even on my spending and sold my other ones and got some boers from a breeder and this is my first year and yall have helped alot.  thanks.


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

Sorry guys... Wow that was a long post and not even half was needed lol.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Feeding those feeds are fine. I would start out gradually, maybe 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup evening, then as times goes by, increase just a little at a time, until you get to a bigger portion. 

Be careful at the Auctions, you may get someone else's problems, such as bad diseases or can't get preggo ect. You don't need that. I stay away from them and buy from a good breeder. Goats are an investment and problems are not something that is good, when it is a bad issue and not curable and take a loss.


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

This morning the little doe with pale eyes had scours even though i just wormed her with cydectin. So I went and got valbazen and i went to give it to her and the buck and his jaw was a little puffy but no scours for him. I had one do that the other day and i treated it like bottle jaw and it was gone the next day never came back so im hoping it will work for him too. Im still thinking liver fluke since cydectin dosent cover that so im hoping the valbazen will help. If it dosent ill probably have to make a health and wellness thread for like the 5th time this month. Im so tired of having sick goats but i guess that comes with it. 

The valbazen said 1 cc per 25 lb but it didnt say when the next dose should be given? Isn't it 10 days apart?

I dont buy from the sales i just sale them ( and i have no idea what the guy is saying half the time lol ) im hoping within a few years maybe even next year i can sell to some of my 4H and FFA friends that show.  but i still have a lot of work cut out until im ready for that. 

Thank you everyone.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Yes, 10 days apart, if they are really wormy, I would go 3x 10 days apart. 

I highly recommend a fecal, guessing, can be dangerous, especially when the goat was already treated, could be cocci in there as well.

Give iron supplement as well.


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

Would red cell work for the iron supplement? Im clueless  ....or someone has told me to use hog iron before i think it was a shot? 

On the way home the yesterday i ran into my friend that shows goats. They were picking up a few kids from our schools show goats and said it was vet day. She's supposed to call me today and im going to ask her who she goes to because i need to change vets badly even if it a long ride. So maybe by this weekend ill be able to take them all up there. 

Those of you that has had fecals done what do you do? Ill probably call ahead and let them know im coming. What is the estimated price of a fecal and when do you get the results back? Do you bring them samples or the goat itself, all of the goats or just a few? (I only have 7)


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

I bet i sound pretty dumb right now...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Red cell, is a good source of iron yes.

Fecal samples: if it is super runny, you can glove up and collect directly from the source. Have a plastic lunch baggy, get a fair amount.

You can just take a sample from the goat, that is worse. If you can't afford to do all.

Take in the sample or call them. It usually takes my vet a day to get the results back, some vets though are a bit slower, if they are to busy.

After collection, take the sample in right away or if you can't, put it in an old fridge in your barn, make sure it is wrapped well and won't spill out. 

Fecals aren't that much in cost, you will have to call your vet and ask what they charge though.


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## georgiagirl98 (Jun 30, 2013)

The little doe dosent have scours today, thank goodness. I gave them all valbazen because none of them are pregnant. The little bucks jaw is alot more puffy so im going to make him that magic recipe and give him red cell. Thank you guys im going to start posting updates and stuff like that on a health and wellness tab. Thanks again


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