January 2023 Issue |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
• Subscribe to Meat Goat Mania • Email Us • Onion Creek Ranch • Bending Tree Ranch • OCR Health & Management Articles • MGM Archive |
||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe FREE now! Monthly issues with new articles and other educational information on meat goat health, nutrition, and management written by Suzanne W. Gasparotto of Onion Creek Ranch and Pat Cotten of Bending Tree Ranch. In all cases, it is your responsibility to obtain veterinary services and advice before using any of the information provided in these articles. Neither Suzanne Gasparotto nor Pat Cotten are veterinarians. None of the contributors to this website will be held responsible for the use of any information contained herein. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chemical vs. "Natural" Deworming There is no scientific evidence that any "natural" product, including Diatomaceous Earth (DE), is effective against internal parasites in goats. In addition to "natural," "herbal," and/or "organic" dewormers being unproven for effectiveness, these products can have the additional drawback of being dangerous because effective and toxic levels can be very close. Example: Wormwood is a plant-based "natural" product believed by some to have deworming properties. But for wormwood to achieve any level of effectiveness, the dosage has to be so high that it can kill the goat. Plants protect themselves from pests by producing high levels of toxins. Chemical compounds occur everywhere. Because something grows untouched by human hands ("naturally") does not mean that it is safe. Arsenic is a good example; there are many more. "Natural," "organic," and "herbal" products can and do vary in product composition, safety, and effectiveness, and mean different things in different states and geographical areas. There are a few plants which you can cultivate for goats to eat that have some documented success in controlling worm loads. Serecia lespedesia is one of them, but it is not successfully grown in dry climates. Worm-trapping fungi (Dunningtonia flagrens) is new non-chemical method to control worms in goats. There are some serious limitations to it use and the cost may be prohibitive. See my article on this topic on the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com. Bottom line: ethical chemical dewormers must be used with goats to control stomach worms. Although companies sell some "natural" dewormers because people want to buy them, they do not work. Suzanne W. Gasparotto, Onion Creek Ranch, Texas 1.7.23 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EMERGENCY ON-FARM TRANSPORT FOR SICK OR DEAD ANIMALS Here's a neat idea for quick, easy, and inexpensive emergency transport of sick or dead goats around your farm or ranch. Add rope to an inexpensive toboggan-type snow sled and hook the rope to the back of an All Terrain Vehicle like a Kawasaki Mule, Polaris, John Deere Gator, or even a truck or tractor. Worse case scenario, you might have to pull the sled by hand but it slides easily. This is very helpful for goat raisers who have to do the job alone and have difficulty moving sick or dead goats, sheep, or other small animals. Example: Amazon carries an Avalanche brand classic 48 inch downhill toboggan snow sled for about $60. Other styles are available but a flat bottomed sled is most useful. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||
|
|
|
KIDDING INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE AT ONION CREEK RANCH IN TEXAS Kidding cannot be taught. It must be learned by doing it. On-the-job training. There are too many little things that can happen that classroom instruction cannot cover. In addition to offering GoatCamp(tm) every October, Onion Creek Ranch offers Kidding Internships during kidding season. Persons who qualify will live on site at Onion Creek Ranch in excellent facilities and assist with kidding for 7-day internships. No tuition is involved but you must provide your own transportation and food during your stay. Shorter internships are NOT available; you need to be on site for 7 days, interacting with the pregnant and nursing does day and night, to experience the depth and breadth of kidding and its variations. Does don't kid on command. They kid in groups and shorter internships will result in missing kiddings entirely. I try to pair an experienced person with a novice, providing 2 people for every 7 day cycle. Contact Suzanne Gasparotto at onioncrk@centex.net for additional details. Provide your name and phone # and I will call you to discuss in detail. You will have to sign a liability waiver, not have any physical or mental issues, and NOT bring alcohol or illegal drugs onto this working ranch. Kidding for spring 2023 should begin around March 15, 2023. |
||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
