Preparing for Winter

This is November and winter is here. Hopefully, you began your winter preparations long ago by making sure all your winter feeds and needs are in place or planned for. If you are just going into your first winter with goats hopefully you got some advice from successful producers in your area. Exploration of the internet may be of benefit as well.

Alberta Goat Producer's Questions Answered

Answers to Questions Asked at the Alberta Goat Producers Meeting in Leduc Alberta August 2011

How can we recognize Johne’s disease?

Johne’s disease is a chronic disease, which is transmitted to kids through their infected mother’s manure or that of other infected goats in close proximity who may be shedding the bacteria. The first sign you may see is weight loss, despite a good appetite. She may have intermittent loose manure. The symptoms often become worse right after kidding. The doe is usually mature but Johne’s can occur in animals just over a year of age and can also be seen in bucks. You may initially suspect internal parasites and deworm and see no response. Eventually she will become very thin and develop a fluid non-painful swelling under the skin below her jaw, at this time she may have diarrhea.

Johne’s because of its long incubation period and the fact that goats can shed the organism in their manure without being or before becoming clinically can make this a difficult disease to eliminate from your goats unless you are prepared to do some major culling.

Advise to New Goat producers:

·        Plan to maintain a  closed herd, bringing in only those goat you know the farm of origin, you have seen their goats , their production records and their daily herd management records

·        Never buy a goat from the auction market, unless you are prepared to keep two separate groups: the clean and the auction Market  specials

·        If purchasing a group from a dispersal sale, check the records “no herd records no sale”

·        Word of mouth is not good enough only the cold true facts should be followed

·        If you are bringing in bucks check his maternal history, is his mother still on the farm, are his siblings still there if not where are they.

Caseous Vaccination:

For a detailed paper on this topic go to http://www.clgoatcare.org/#5.0. There are no vaccines available in Canada for CL in goats. An autogenous vaccine made specifically from the bacteria infecting your goats is your only option, plus proper hygiene when dealing with the problem. Again, CL is a disease if you are careful you do not need to bring on your farm, by following the advice above. An effective control programme must include reduced exposure to contaminated materials associated with a ruptured or lanced abscess. 

Biosecurity

The Alberta Goat Breeders Association and The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, supported by the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada have published a Biosecurity Best Practices Pocket Guide. This is an excellent easy to use guide covering the actions, precautions, and the protocols to protect your goats from disease through physical barriers and proper hygiene.

For more information, please call 310-FARM or toll free at 403-742-7901 or consult the Bio-Security (Farm Service Provider) Web site.

Fecal Egg Counts

This is a link to an excellent presentation on parasite control http://www.slideshare.net/schoenian/integrated-parasite-management-ipm-in-small-ruminants. The special Mc Master slides can be purchased from http://www.vetslides.com/EPGfecalkit.html.

Another great link

The devastating Impact of Roundup This is an informative link to the scientific papers concerning the devastating impact that Round up is having on our environment and on the soil that we rely on to grow our food.
Thriving  local economies centered around local responsible and accountable food production is the only way we are going to survive. But is it too late to trade "guns for goats"? Has  the industrial military complex become to powerful and pervasive for the world to survive?

Fit for a Pet: The Truth About Pet Foods: Introduction to an Developimg Online Nutrition Cou...

Fit for a Pet: The Truth About Pet Foods: Introduction to an Developimg Online Nutrition Cou...: "“To repeatwhat others have said requires education; To challenge it requires brains” Mary Pettibone Poole Nutrition affects every living..."

Fit for a Pet: The Truth About Pet Foods: Introduction to an Developimg Online Nutrition Cou...

Fit for a Pet: The Truth About Pet Foods: Introduction to an Developimg Online Nutrition Cou...: "“To repeatwhat others have said requires education; To challenge it requires brains” Mary Pettibone Poole Nutrition affects every living..."

Let's discuss bio security

Bio security what  does this mean to you personally as a livestock producer, one who rises sheep or goats? How many of you have experienced losses in your animals  from diseases that  you innocently brought on your property:

·        through the purchase of already infected animals,

·        by visiting a farm, a livestock auction, a livestock show

·         through the purchase of feedstuffs

·         perhaps through the shearer

·         by bringing in kittens for mouse  control

·         perhaps you have no idea how your animals became infected.

·        Purchasing animals that have a genetic predisposition

When this happens the losses can be devastating .  There re  many common diseases of sheep and goats that a producer must be particularly vigilant . Some of these diseases are:

·        Johne's disease

·        Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis

·        Enzootic Abortion

·        Orf

·        Q fever

·        Scrapie

·        Caseous Lymphadenitis

Bio security is a word conjured up by possibly academics or governmental people that describes measures by which a producer can prevent these devastating diseases. One can be cynical about the use of these terms but this cynicism is quickly lost when a producer becomes a victim to one of these problems.

Many of these problems have far reaching implications as to the viability of the operation involved.

The reason why I am sending out this e-mail to all my contacts and posting this on my blog www.theamazinggoat. blogspot.com is to try and promote this concept of bio security and a healthy discussion about what  you as sheep and goat producers think should be done to prevent these diseases from occurring. Also one has to consider the some of the programs recommended in the prevention of these diseases can be quite costly to the producer. This raises the question who should be paying for some of these procedures. The majority of sheep and goat operations are small and do not have the resources that the large pig and  poultry producers have to implement strict bio security measures

Causes of Early Embryonic Death in Goats

Conception to 90 days:

Signs

•Early Embryonic death

•Delayed return to heat/ prolonged  breeding season

•impaired placental growth

•Decreased # of live kids

•sporadic malformations

•Small weak kids

•Does in poor body condition

Causes:

•Urea/NPN in diet

•Remove Urea from diet

•If protein required add protein

•Internal/external  \parasite 

•Check for parasites prior to breeding 

•deworm

•Fed 20 to 30 % Below nutritional requirements

•Formulate an appropriate ration  Put on a rising plane of nutrition at breeding

•Heat stress 1o increase in body temperature

•Provide shelter from the heat

•Chronic disease johnes, scrapie, pneumonia, caseous lymphadenitis

•bad teeth

•Cull