According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agriculture Law on September 1, 2021 all Farm Owner need to be aware of: The Texas Legislature has passed and Governor Abbott has signed House Bill 365, which will make important changes to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act (FALA). All farm animal owners should pay careful attention to the changes coming to the FALA, which will modify the scope of application and will also require additional steps be taken by farm animal owners. Background The Texas Farm Animal Liability Act is a statute offering limited liability to farm animal owners if injuries are caused by an inherent risk to a farm animal activity. For example, when a person rides a horse, there is an inherent risk that person could get bucked off. Through the FALA, the Texas legislature intended to ensure the horse owner in this example would not be liable for resulting injuries. The statute was passed in 1995 and was amended in 2011 to expand the scope beyond just equine animals to all “farm animals.” In 2020, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Waak v. Rodriguez, a case involving an employee who was killed while moving a bull. The Court found that the FALA was inapplicable if the injured party was a “rancher or ranch hand.” The Court believed that the legislature intended the Act’s protections to apply only to situations such as “shows, rides, exhibitions, competitions, and the like.” This bill was designed to essentially modify the FALA to ensure that it does, in fact, apply to working ranches and in situations involving injured ranchers and ranch hands, among other changes. In other words, HB 365 would essentially undo the Texas Supreme Court’s verdict in the Waak case going forward. House Bill 365 was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 4, 2021. The new provisions of the Farm Animal Liability Act included in this bill will be effective as of September 1, 2021. There are a number of key changes made by HB 365 of which farm animal owners should be aware. Specifically, this bill would add language to ensure its application to working farms and ranches and in instances where a rancher or ranch hand is injured. The meaning of “farm animal activity” will now also include owning, raising, transporting, or pasturing a farm animal. Similarly, the definition also includes assisting in or providing animal health management activities, including vaccines, assisting in or conducting customary tasks on a farm concerning farm animals, and transporting or moving a farm animal. “Engages in a farm animal activity” will be modified to include feeding, vaccinating, exercising, weaning, transporting, producing, herding, corralling, branding, dehorning, assisting in or providing health management activities, and engaging in routine or customary activities on a farm to handle and manage farm animals. The bill also adds express language to a couple of additional definitions. It adds “farm owners or lessees” to the description of those protected throughout the bill, and includes a person who handles, buys, or sells livestock animals to the definition of “livestock producer.” Currently, the FALA defines a farm animal professional as a person engaged for compensation in instructing a participant or renting to a participant a farm animal for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger on the farm animal; renting tack to the participant; examining or administering medical treatment to a farm animal as a veterinarian; and someone providing veterinary or farrier services–who would be required to hang the sign. Tex. Civ. Practice & Remedies Code § 87.001(5). HB 365 will expand the “farm animal professional” definition to add persons engaged for compensation in the following activities: “providing nonmedical care or treatment to a farm animal, including vaccinations; assisting in providing animal health management activities, including vaccination; providing care, feeding, and husbandry of farm animals; assisting or conducting customary tasks on a farm concerning farm animals; and transporting or moving livestock.” One of the most important changes for farm and ranch owners to be aware of has to do with the requirements that a sign be hung for farm animal professionals. The amendments will require farm animal professionals (which is more broadly defined, as noted above) as well as all farm owners or lessees to post and maintain a sign with statutory language per the Act’s requirements. Additionally, the same statutory language must be included in every written contract that a farm animal professional, owner, or lessee enters with a participant, employee, or independent contractor for professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack of a farm animal. The required language has been slightly modified by the new bill, and will read as follows effective September 1: WARNING UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE), A FARM ANIMAL PROFESSIONAL OR FARM OWNER OR LESSEE IS NOT LIABLE FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN FARM ANIMAL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING AN EMPLOYEE OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR, RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF FARM ANIMAL ACTIVITIES. This is critical for farm and ranch owners. Previously, farm and ranch owners and lessees were not required to hang the sign. Now, however, they will need to do so. Moreover, because the statutory language required for the sign has been changed (by including farm owners or lessees to the list of those protected and adding the language about independent contractors or employees), farm animal professionals and farm and ranch owners may want to obtain signs with this new language out of an abundance of caution. In an amendment that was added during the House committee process, the new FALA will expand “farm animal” to include “a honeybee kept in a managed colony.” This means that for beekeepers, the FALA’s protections will now be available for the first time. The bill will also alter the structure of the section titled “limitation on liability.” The changes will provide that all persons, including a farm owner or lessee, are not liable for damages or injury caused by the inherent risk of a farm animal, farm animal activity, showing of an animal at a livestock show, or the raising or handling of livestock on the farm. Additionally, there was a slight change to the list of inherent risks that will ensure it applies to injuries to a person on the animal, handling the animal, or otherwise around the animal. Previously, there had been disagreements in lower court opinions regarding whether the Farm Animal Liability Act applied to independent contractors and/or employees who were injured. As of September 1, the amended statute includes both independent contractors and employees in the definition of a “participant.” Thus, this defense is available even in situations with an injured employee or independent contractor. The passage of House Bill 365 makes important changes to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act. In addition to expanding the scope of the Act to expressly cover working farms and ranches and to apply to cases involving injured employees and independent contractors, the Act will also require farm and ranch owners or lessees to hang a sign with the required statutory language. 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I was recently asked about how fast a baby goat reaches puberty. My hope this post will help any questions for any first time owners. Boer Buck The male goat is called a “buck” or “billy.” If he is castrated, he is called a “wether.” Male goats up to 12 months of age are sometimes referred to as “buckling’s.” Adult male goats can weigh anywhere between 100 to 350 pounds, depending on their breed, health, and nutritional status. Although they can come into puberty and breed does as early at 4 months of age, waiting until a buck is a year of age to start using him for breeding is best. The number of does a buck can breed during the breeding season is often referred to as “Buck Power”. At 1 year of age, the buck should service no more than 10 does at a time (in one month). When he is 2 years old, he should be able to service 25 does at a time. At the age of 3 and older, he can breed up to 40 does at one time, if his health and nutritional needs are met. The number of does a buck can service at one time also depends on individual sex drive of the buck, the terrain of the land and if he is managed by a hand- or pasture- mating system. The buck has the greatest genetic impact on the herd and should be well always taken care of. Day length influences reproduction in the buck and the doe. Bucks have the highest libido (sex drive), fertility, and semen quality and volume in late summer and fall, the same time that of the doe. As the photoperiod, or day length, gets longer, less sperm is made, and more abnormal sperm cells are found in the semen. During the fall, the endocrine system also increases levels of the sex hormones, testosterone, and luteinizing hormone. THE DOE The female goat is called a “doe” or “nanny.” Up to the age of 12 months, she is sometimes referred to as a “doeling.” The doe can reach puberty between 4 to 12 months of age, depending on the breed, season of birth, level of feeding/nutrition, and overall health status. Under-feeding can lower her chances of getting pregnant and having kids and can also reduce milk production after having kids. The genetic makeup of the animal also determines when puberty occurs in the female. Puberty is reached when the female exhibits her first heat (estrus) and ovulation. Estrus, or heat, is the period in which the doe will stand and allow the buck to breed her. This phase of the reproductive cycle may last between 12 to 36 hours. The period from one heat cycle to the next is referred to as the estrous cycle. In goats, the estrous cycle occurs every 18 to 24 days, or 21 days on average. Does that are in heat may exhibit signs of mucous discharge from the vulva, swollen vulva, bleating, frequent tail wagging, pacing down the fence line and standing in heat. The doe can be bred when she has reached 60 percent to 70 percent of the average adult weight for her breed (80 pounds for an average Boer doe for example). Does that are bred too early may have problems during kidding (dystocia – kidding difficulty), and/or their future reproductive performance may be harmed. The gestation period, or length of pregnancy, of the doe ranges between 145 to 152 days, or 150 days (5 months) on average, and under normal circumstances, the doe can have multiple births (twins, triplets and rarely, more). Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to get updates delivered right to your inbox. Blessings,
Margarita & Stace As cold weather approaches, it is important to consider the comfort of the goats we care for. This post may contain affiliate links but at NO extra costs to you. For further details, please read my full disclosure policy. When livestock gives birth, cows calve, sheep lamb, and goats kid. Because calves are so big and lambs are born with a wool coat, winter birthing doesn’t cause anywhere near the issues that it does for goats, which are smaller and have less insulation. The smaller the goats and the lower the temperature, the more you need to keep an eye on goats that are close to giving birth. Preparing for goats giving birth in cold temperaturesOne of the most important things we use is a baby monitor or outdoor camera. We bought ours from Amazon the Wyze Cam Pan 1080. It connects to our cell phones and we can watch the goats. Nothing in this article will help your baby goats if you are not there when the mama gives birth, and it’s easy to miss a birth if you don’t have a monitor. You also need to have plenty of large bath towels — at least one for every kid you are expecting, plus one or two extras just in case you get a surprise. If temperatures are going to be below freezing, you also need a heat lamp, and the colder it is, the more it is necessary to also have a blow dryer and a heating pad. The heating pad keeps me warm and the kids warm too. I put the heating pad on my lap, and put the kids on it while blow drying them. It helps me stay warmer, and it warms up the bottom half of the kid while I’m blow drying the top half. when goats give birth in winterYou need to get kids dried off as quickly as possible when temperatures are cold and freezing because of the risk of hypothermia. And if it’s windy, and the goat is outside, a kid can also get hypothermia at fairly cool temperatures. One time we had purchased some goats already bred, and almost lost the kids to hypothermia when one of the does gave birth unexpectedly in the pasture. Although temperatures were in the 40s, it was very windy, and the doe had triplets. I was able to get the doe and triples in the barn under heat lamps to warm them up. When a doe has that many kids, she doesn't have time to clean each kid to keep them from getting chilled before she has another one. So, in some cases you need to be there not because a doe might have problems but because she gives birth too easily and too quickly. This is where the towels come in so you can help the doe clean the kids and keep them warm with the towels. We live in south Texas and normally we don't get snow. This year February 2021 it snowed for two days and we had freezing temperatures for over a week. We have heat lamps in the barn and blankets for all the kids. Our goats were not use to this extreme weather. Neither were we. We worked very hard that week to keep all our kids and does warm. I take my hat off to all of you who live were it snows for days on end. We have dog houses that the kids get in. They curl up next to each other and stay nice and warm. Normally we have a heat lamp hanging so it can shine into the door way of the dog house where the heat can build up a little bit and make it warmer than the outside. Once the kids are dry, they don’t seem to be bothered by cold weather much. However, this can vary depending upon the kid’s size. In cooler weather we put blankets on the babies. Keep in mind that heat lamps are the number one cause of barn fires, and if you use one, use a quality style not a Chicken Lamp and make sure there is no way that a curious goat can knock it down. If the heat lamp ends up in the bedding, it can easily cause a fire. The coat pictured can easily be made from the sleeve of an old sweatshirt. The wristband of the sweatshirt becomes the neck band for the kid. Cut two small holes for the kid’s front feet, and you’re good to go! Remember, if the kid is a buck, you need to be sure the coat doesn’t go under his belly far enough for him to be able to pee on it. We only use jackets to help warm the kid up. Some may just need a few hours to figure out how to regulate their body temperature. When we use a jacket on a kid we make sure to remove the jacket when it warms up outside. Getting started with nursingThis is always important, and I don’t leave the barn until I’ve seen all of the kids find the teat and nurse without assistance. When it’s cold out, however, it is even more important! When kids get chilled, the first thing to go is their sucking instinct. A lot of people are quick to assume that a kid has a selenium deficiency if it can’t figure out how to nurse, but if temperatures are below freezing, the kid could simply have hypothermia. Once the kid is warmed up, it will nurse. If a kid has hypothermia its digestive system will shut down. It won’t digest anything if its body temperature is less than around 100, so tube feeding is not the answer. The quickest way to know if a kid has hypothermia is to put your finger in its mouth. It should feel warm. If it’s cool, the kid’s body temperature is below normal. If it feels like ice water, you need to work quickly to get the kid warmed up. My go to mentor told me to put a kid on a heating pad while moving a blow dryer across the top of its body. The colder the air is, the closer the blow dryer has to be to the kids body. When it’s below zero, it can’t be more than a couple of inches from the kid or the air will be cold. I always have my hand moving across the kid’s body while the blow dryer is on, so I know how warm it is — or not. You can also place the Kid in a large plastic bag with the head out of course, and put it is a tub or sink of warm water to help warm it up. Do NOT wrap a kid in a heating pad because you could overheat it — especially if you walk away for a little while. I’ve never heard of anyone making this mistake more than once. If the kid gets overheated it can have a seizure, which can kill it. As you are trying to warm up the kid, put your finger in its mouth every 10 to 15 minutes. It should start to feel warmer, of course. But you know things have really improved when the kid starts to suck on your finger. Once the kid’s mouth is warm and it sucks on your finger, you can stick it under the doe’s udder to see if it will nurse. I usually give it a minute or so, and if it hasn’t found the teat, I’ll open its mouth and put the teat in it, then close the mouth and hold the kid there. You may also squirt a little milk in the kid’s mouth before closing it. Some will start to suckle right away. If the kid doesn’t start nursing after about 10 minutes of working with it, I’ll milk the mother and give the kid colostrum in a bottle. I use a regular baby bottle. For more on this process, check out my post on How to Bottle Feed A Baby Goat, which includes a video. Sometimes kids just need the colostrum — called liquid gold by some — to get them jump started. I prefer a regular baby bottle because you can squeeze the bottle and drip the milk into the kids mouth. Especially if this is a late night kidding, I am not going to leave the barn until I know the kid has 5 to 10 percent of its body weight in colostrum in its belly. If the kid is finding the teat and nursing on its own, I know this will continue to happen overnight. But if I have to give it a bottle, I want to be sure it has that colostrum before I go to bed. Why kid in winter?After reading all of this, you’re probably wondering why anyone would choose to kid in winter. There are a few reasons people chose to kid in winter, it may be to have kids at the right age for Livestock shows in their region, it may be so they can sell at a certain time frame. Then there are sometimes when the breeding time get chosen for you due to accidental breeding. Somehow a buck managed to find a doe in heat, and now you’re expecting babies. We have chosen to kid in the winter here in South Texas for many years now. It is one of the strategies we used to overcome a problem with the heat. The heat here in South Texas can draw the does down, and also put a strain on kids during the weaning process. Your can read our post on Breeding Season to learn more on this subject. Winter Goat Care TipsHere’s a quick summary of basic winter goat care:
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Margarita & Stace Anyone raising goats should be aware of those two little words that cause such a horrible problem. Whether you have backyard goats or a whole herd of show animals, you have or will have to deal with Urinary Calculi (UC) at some point. So what is this menace, how do we treat it and better yet how do we prevent it from happening in the first place. With winter coming or in some parts of the country already there, this problem will become more prevalent due to your animals not consuming large amounts of water. *We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here for more info about cookies collected and our privacy policy.* What Is Urinary Calculi?Urinary Calculi is the formation of crystals or stones in the urinary tract which block the elimination of urine from the body. (These are commonly referred to as Kidney Stones in humans.) Most often these crystals are formed due to a metabolic imbalance in the body caused by feeding too much grain to bucks and wethers. This is most commonly found in show wethers, or bucks being given large amounts of a high-concentrate feed along with low amounts of roughage or hay. The goat urinary tract consists of 2 kidneys, the ureters, a bladder and urethra, along which urine flows during urination. Male ruminants have a long narrow urethra which end in the urethral process which is particularly narrow. Fine calculi often form in the urinary system, but are often excreted with the urine; however, in males they can become trapped and block the normal flow of urine. As the pressure builds up from the blockage, if undetected, it will eventually rupture the urethra, the goat will rapidly deteriorate and die, hence it is important to detect urinary tract issues early. Urinary calculi or stones are caused by the precipitation of minerals. High levels of minerals tend to crystalize and aggregate in the urine forming calculi. In goats calculi usually comprise of phosphate salts, especially apatite (calcium phosphate) or more commonly struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate). Increased urine concentration as a result of decreased water intake, urine stasis can recur and water loss all increase urine pH favoring the formation of phosphate calculi. However, the diet is considered the most important risk factor associated with urolithiasis. Prevention of Urinary Calculi:A large part of this problem is the early castration of bucks/wethers. When bucks are wethered at an early age, they lose the hormones needed to fully develop their urinary tract, basically once the testosterone is gone the urinary tract quits growing. If your wether was castrated early though there is still hope that he will be fine, with some due diligence on your part. First things first, if you have wethers or even bucks making sure their diet is high in roughage and low in grain is imperative. Some breeds or bloodlines are more prone to urinary calculi just as some humans are more susceptible to having kidney stones. If you must feed a concentrate feed to your wethers or bucks:
All feed products are required to provide a feed tag on the bag. These ingredients are listed from highest concentration to lowest concentration in the bag of feed. So the first product on the list should say something like alfalfa, roughage source, etc. If the bag of feed's first ingredient is grain products, that is the product that is of high concentration in the bag. You may have an issue finding a roughage based feed at your local feed store so the next best thing to look for is Ammonium Chloride. Ammonium Chloride is a common ingredient in meat goat feeds because of the high incidence of Urinary Calculi seen in market animals. These market animals are usually pushed to develop quickly by giving a high concentrate feed with very little hay or roughage. Ammonium chloride is a common ingredient in most commercially based meat goat feeds. If you still have an issue with finding one containing the Ammonium Chloride, you can add Ammonium Chloride into your goats feed 3 times a week. We like to feed a good feed that already has ammonium chloride in it to both our Boer and Nubian goats. NOTE: You must be careful when feeding Ammonium Chloride to any does in the pasture, especially milk animals. When does are lactating the ammonium chloride will not allow for the uptake of calcium and in later years does bones will become brittle if being fed a ration containing ammonium chloride. The key to avoiding Urinary Calculi is feeding the goat a proper diet. If you are experiencing Urinary Calculi in your goats, then you must change their feed regimen. Carefully read feed labels for proper calcium-to-phosphorus ratios (2-1/2 to 1 calcium-to-phosphorus is best). Some prepared goat feeds contain ammonium chloride in the formulation, but this is no guarantee that Urinary Calculi will be avoided. Most importantly, offer lots of free-choice forage/browse and good-quality small-stemmed grass hay and reduce the amount of grain concentrates being fed. Even though your wethers and/or bucks have plenty of pasture, they must be given a good quality hay source. Pasture is great for sustaining these guys but knowing from day to day what the quality of grass, browse, or other vegetation in your pasture is would be a daunting task. Make it easy and provide them with a supply of hay. Water is a huge issue, especially in the winter when water buckets are constantly freezing over. Goats love to have a fresh bucket of water every day. I scrub out the water buckets every morning. This will also encourage bucks and wethers to drink more water. Make sure buckets are kept clean, I mean clean enough for you to drink out of clean. Some studies are even indicating that large doses of medication can trigger bouts with Urinary Calculi, especially using antibiotics for an extended period of time. Because antibiotics can trigger metabolic changes in the diet it would be good to feed a product such as Fastrack to help keep the goat’s metabolism consistent. Symptoms of Urinary Calculi:Things to look for if you suspect Urinary Calculi:
Treatment of Urinary Calculi:As with most other goat issues, prevention is a whole lot easier than trying to cure the problem, but if the problem occurs there are some things you can do although if the problem is not caught early enough these treatments may not work. Even veterinarians have limited success with treatment of Urinary Calculi. If your goat cannot pass ANY urine, he is completely blocked and THE VETERINARIAN SHOULD BE CALLED IMMEDIATELY. This condition is VERY painful and the goat could die soon from a bladder or urinary tract perforation/or rupture. Most common places for the urinary calculi to deposit are in the sigmoid flexure which is in the body cavity not as previously thought in the penis shaft. The veterinarian, depending on experience with goats, may try to reroute the urine flow from the penis. I have heard of this being done several ways, but be cautioned this is not to be taken lightly and most have to have constant treatment even after the surgery. Some veterinarians have re-routed the boy to basically become a girl, urinating out the back end. Others have put in a stint that the goat will urinate out of. The stint has to be monitored daily and cleaned regularly. Most veterinarians forward these surgeries onto a University clinic and charges can run upwards of $2,500. If your goat is not completely blocked there are several different treatments you can try. Depending on your confidence with treatments of your goats, you can try these yourself or go ahead and call the veterinarian. These treatments are suggestions from goat breeders and in no way guarantee the success of treatment of your animal. If your animal is at this stage his very life depends on treatment. First, for the pain management, giving an injection of an analgesic will help with pain and swelling. Next you will need to try one of these methods to see if the breakup of the calculi is possible. Home Remedy: As stated before, this is an option for treatment of Urinary Calculi. This treatment in no way guarantees the successful treatment of your animal.
You might experience difficulty in dissolving this amount of ammonium chloride per gal of water. This will depend on the salinity of water being used. Doses were selected assuming a 20 cc drench gun would be used to administer the ammonium chloride solution. These doses will need to continue for more than one week. This will help to break up any remaining calculi. Please be aware that Ammonia toxicity could occur with prolonged use of this treatment, especially at the higher doses. ***It is imperative to NOT force your animal to drink large amounts of water during this time. If they are having problems urinating you are only making things worse and could cause a rupture. Urinary Calculi are a very real problem whether you raise backyard pets or show animals. Prevention is paramount when considering the treatment options and their limited success. If any animal is completely blocked as a veterinarian should be called immediately. Join us by signing up for our newsletter
Blessings, Margarita & Stace Our sweet Sugar. You may remember Sugar from earlier in the year. She was our bottle baby that we had in the house for several weeks. She went everywhere with me. She rode on the cart in the truck. I think she thought she was one of the dogs. Now she fits right in with all the other goats her age. Just let us get out the animal cookies and here they all come. This past weekend Stace was helping me fix the electric fence where one of the deer's ran through it. If it's not our livestock breaking the fence, it's the deer. Go figure... Sugar decided we wasn't fixing the fence right 😉 so she had to come out and tell us how to do it her way. Stace and I was busy working on the fence while Sugar was laying on the trailer talking to us. When we were all done and headed back up to the house Sugar rode along with us 😄 All of our critters here at Tailspin Farms are spoiled rotten. Join us by signing up for our newsletter.
Blessings, Margarita & Stace Health Conditions of Goats with Sore MouthSore mouth, also known Contagious Ecthyma, Orf, and “scabby mouth,” is a contagious disease found in goats and causes scabs or pus-filled sores to form around the goat's mouth, lips, face, ears, feet, scrotum, teats, or vulva. Sore mouth is a virus that is part of the chicken pox family. Caused by the herpes-like parapox virus, it enters the goat’s body via cuts and abrasions. Sore mouth occurs worldwide, is highly contagious, and there is no known cure and usually lasts one to four weeks. What Causes Sore Mouth in Goats?Sore mouth, or contagious ecthyma, can be caused by direct or indirect contact between suckling kids and adult goats, or among sibling kids suckling from the udder of dams. The virus that causes contagious ecthyma is contagious to humans, so use extreme caution when handling livestock known to be infected with sore mouth. Wear rubber gloves and sanitize clothing, shoes and skin immediately after handling infected animals. A goat infected with Sore mouth appears to have fever blisters on the hairless or lightly haired parts of its body (lips, vulva, teats, and scrotum). Sore mouth can also occur on the face, ears, and coronary band above the hoof of the goat. Sore mouth must run its course and this can be as long as one to four weeks per goat. Goats that are immune to the virus and therefore don't contract it are still carriers, so they can infect other goats. Most goats that survive Sore mouth become immune to it and usually don't contract it again, similar to humans who have had chickenpox. How to Treat Sore Mouth in GoatsThere is no known treatment for sore mouth or contagious ecthyma in goats; however there are ways that you can help ease your goats' discomfort while the condition runs its course. If lesions develop on both the upper and lower part of the goat's mouth, it can sometimes be difficult for the goat to feed, which could cause weight loss and intense pain. Feed goats softer concentrates to prevent weight loss. *We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Click here for more info about cookies collected and our privacy policy.* You can do several things to ease discomfort to Sore mouth-infected goats. Use Gentian Violet on the blisters and scabs. Sore mouth is highly contagious to both humans and goats, so use disposable gloves. Gentian Violet is an old-time inexpensive purple-colored liquid medication used to treat fever blisters and impetigo. It is available without prescription from a pharmacy, but it may have to be ordered and will probably be kept behind the counter. Gentian Violet dries the blisters and hastens healing. Drying scabs sometimes contain staph bacteria or screwworm maggots. Gentian Violet kills bacteria that may cause a secondary infection. The purple color of Gentian Violet gives you the added benefit of being able to see which goats have already been treated. To help with systems antibiotics are recommended if a secondary bacterial infection exists. Campho-Phenique is another good product to apply topically to blisters and scabs. Campho-Phenique Maximum Strength also has antibacterial properties. When virus-containing scabs from infected animals fall off, the virus can remain viable in the environment and serve as a source of infection to susceptible animals. A flock can become infected through contaminated bedding, feed or tucks, or by direct contact with infected animals. Once Sore mouth is on the property, it is there to stay. Clean up of pens, pastures, and paddocks is sometimes possible by bleaching, burning, removing topsoil, and keeping animals off that particular ground for an extended period of time. The size of the area, available manpower, and cost will determine if this approach is practical. The smart goat raiser learns to cope with Sore mouth. A good bio-hazard management practice is to require that all visitors to your property place the soles of their shoes in a shallow pan filled with a small amount of bleach. A live vaccine is available for herds where sore mouth is a problemProducers considering using an orf virus vaccine product in their herd SHOULD CONSULT A VETERINARIAN. Use of vaccine is only suggested for previously infected herds, as vaccination will cause an orf virus infection in the animals and lead to contamination of the operation with virus-containing scabs. All orf virus vaccines contain live virus which can cause infection in humans. Join us by signing up for our newsletter.
Blessings, Margarita & Stace What does a farmer do on a daily basis?I would say Farmers live one of the most interesting lives that anyone could live. Before my feet hit the floor in the morning I thank the Good Lord for the day and ask Him to guide me through the day. A lot of things can happen on a daily basis. Here is a glimpse of a day in my life. A farmer's tasks vary according to the type of Farm / Ranch they have. Farmers who concentrate on livestock might breed and raise their own animals, although some buy their animals at a young age and then raise them for sale, slaughter or show. Livestock can include food animals such as goat, cattle, sheep and pigs. Farmers also care for animals used for pleasure such as riding horses or exotic animals such as deer and bison. Each type of animal requires specialized knowledge and management. Some, such as horses, need to be trained. Dairy farmers must milk their animals and handle the milk. animals often need routine vaccinations, worming or other care that the farmer manages or performs. A farmer who raises only crops will be responsible for preparing land for planting, caring for the crops and harvesting...Crops can include livestock feed such as hay or grain, fruits and vegetables for human consumption or specialty crops such as cotton. A Farmer / Rancher's main goal is to produce a good quality and healthy livestock and or a good crop in order to make a living and to feed the community around them. Farmers have one of the most important jobs in a society for they grow and prepare the food we eat on a daily basis. Equipment and Tools A farmer must know how to operate a wide variety of farming machinery. Tractors, trucks, plows, combines, milking machines, sprayers and harvesters are typical equipment that a farmer might own or operate. Some farms still use draft animals rather than or in addition to tractors, and farmers on those operations must also know how to drive, handle and care for their teams. Small tools and equipment are also used on farms, such as garden tillers, pumps and chain saws. In addition to operating equipment and tools, a farmer must often know how to repair them. Farmers may also need construction skills to build or repair farm buildings. To be successful as a Farmer, you should have a passion for the outdoors, knowledge of agricultural machinery, and physical stamina. Ultimately, a Farmer should possess physical strength, good hand-eye coordination, and a keen interest in agriculture. Your day-to-day responsibilities will vary depending on the type of farm and the time of year, but may include:
Blessings,
Margarita & Stace |
AuthorI'm Margarita. A Christian, Wife, mother of three, & grandmother "Mimi" of three. I create blog post about our life on the farm. Archives
May 2024
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The Goat Management Binder
$15.00
The Goat Management Binder This binder will help you keep your goats health records organized and more. Remembering all the identifications and medical records for each goat is difficult so I quickly learned that I needed to write down our goat herd information. We created all the pages for our goat heard. This system works for us. I think our Goat Management Bind will help you with your recordkeeping. This eBook has 24 pages Print our the pages, fill in your goat information and place in a binder of your choice. When all of your goat information is kept in one place it saves time in case of an emergency. Homemaking / Home Management Binder
$15.00
Digital Homemaking / Home Management Binder I'm excited to share with you my Homemaking / Home Management Binder. This is a beautiful simple binder to write your Weekly task for you home. You can use every day over and over. You will get: Faith based / Proverbs 31 Women Weekly Cleaning Schedule Organizing your home Daily Chores Monthly Plan Meal Planner Grocery List Bill Tracker Savings Tracker Vacation Budget 20 pages 8.5"x11" letter size that matches any printer Unlimited prints (personal use) Instant download and get started PDF Printable Enjoy getting organized with our Homemaking / Home Management Binder ** THIS IS A DIGITAL PRODUCT. ** NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED. Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. * You may print the files as many times as you like for your own personal use. * Sharing this product is not allowed. ** We do not accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations, but please contact me if you have any problems with your order. Instant Download Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. Farm/ Livestock Management Binder
$25.00
Farm / Livestock Management Binder In this binder you can log all your livestock needs and help you stay organized with all records. Such as: *Goats *Chickens *Horses *Medications *Purchases of Livestock *Sold Livestock Our Farm / Livestock Management Binder is 24 pages. Print our the pages, fill in your Livestock information and place in a binder of your choice. When all of your Livestock information is kept in one place it saves time in case of an emergency. Gardening In the South
$20.00
Gardening In the South E-Book Learn about Gardening in South Texas Zone 8 In our e-book we cover Fruit trees, Perennials & Pollinator, Garden checklist, What months to plant. Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. I don't accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations. But please contact me if you have any problems with your order. Thank you for shopping with us! Margarita Common Goat Medications
$20.00
Common Goat Medications We give you goat medications that we use for our goats. Included: Common Goat Medications & Easy to Understand Dosages General Information on Injection Wormers Antibiotics Anti-Inflammatories & Hormones' Injectable Vitamins and Minerals Oral Treatments You will get: 13 pages - eBook Unlimited prints (personal use) Instant download and get started PDF Printable ** THIS IS A DIGITAL PRODUCT. ** NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED. Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. * You may print the files as many times as you like for your own personal use. * Sharing this product is not allowed. ** We do not accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations, but please contact me if you have any problems with your order. Instant Download Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. Thank you for shopping with us. Crochet Cup Sleeve Cozy
$6.00
Only a few left! Pretty cup cozy for both hot and iced beverage cups. It will slide up over a standard size non handle travel cups or store-bought coffee cups. They are great at protecting hands from the heat and cold of the travel mug/cup. *100% cotton yarn. * Colors may vary due to stock so message me if you prefer something specific. *Machine washable and dryer safe on low heat. *All Cozy’s make a great gift for literally anyone! *If you don’t see one you love don’t hesitate to message me! I love creating new products. Thank you for visiting our store. Handmade Goat Milk & Honey Soap
$7.00
Handmade Goat Milk & Honey Soap 4 oz. bar. Benefits from goat milk & honey - it's moisturizing, clarifying, and naturally antibacterial. Goat milk & Honey Soap has always been a favorite, it smells divine, and there are loads of skin benefits. Goat milk & Honey Soap hydrates and nourishes dry skin. It doesn't leave your skin feeling dry. Ingredients: Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauretha Sulfate, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Goat Milk, Honey Titanium Dioxide. Due to the handmade nature of our soaps and fragrance oil added, all bars vary in color. |
Handcrafted items made with love.
Farm / Homesteading eBooks Faith eBooks Notary Public Service Goats when available |
New items coming soon.
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Tailspin Farms
2273 FM 1681 Stockdale, Texas 78160 |
210-771-7205
Email - mcgoats@tspinfarms.com |