Isn't he GORGEOUS! Meet Beaux! He is our Nubian Herd Sire!
Beaux has not been behaving lately and has put us through the wringer! He likes to make mommy worry day and night about him! You see, I am going to let you in on a little unknown FACT about GOATS!
That's right! You heard me correctly! No, you can't start calling me The "CRAZY" Goat Lady! I will stay "The Goat Lady" as I am fondly referred to on my YouTube Channel Wholesome Roots. It's TRUE!
People always joke with me that they need a goat so they won't have to mow the lawn and I am always sharing this information with them. Goats are NOT designed to eat grass. Their rumens simply can't handle it! They will get a very bad case of green diarrhea if they try eating too much! A little is fine but if they eat a lot of grass it can lead to toxemia and even death.
This is Spice the day I brought her home...
We recently had one of our yearling does, Spice, pass away with no other symptom than diarrhea. We are not sure exactly how it happened so quick (48 hours), it could have been a blockage from something she ate or a toxic plant or even a snake bite. But now that we are dealing with a third case of diarrhea that points to grass consumption I am starting to think that could be what got her, unfortunately.
The Three Amigos!
So Why did Beaux eat too much grass but our other two bucks in the same area did not, that I can't say! The amount of herbal remedies I pumped into him to get him well again was immense, lol. He was very sick and I was VERY afraid we would lose him too, but he is now back out with his buddies and doing well!
Fancy Girl is a snuggler...
So now that he is better his mother, Fancy Girl, decides SHE is going to put me through another struggle of worry and herbal remedies every hour! Fancy is my herd Queen, my First goat ever (with Beaux) and my Favorite! I know, I know, I'm not supposed to pick favorites amongst my children but we have an incredible bond! All of my goats are my children and I will do anything to get them better and keep them well.
So while Beaux is back to his old self again his momma is now in the sick ward. I hope she recovers quickly and we don't have anyone else get a hankering for a bunch of grass they aren't supposed to eat!
You can watch through our daily Vlog on youtube from this week if you are interested in seeing how we struggled through Beaux's sickness and what we did to diagnose and treat. There are 5 videos (I am editing yesterdays discovery of Fancy being sick and that will be out later today) so I'll just share the first one here and you can watch the rest too if interested.
Thank you for reading and watching Wholesome Roots!
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STOPthat guy is cute :))
Thank you! I think so!
And now I miss my Pygmy goats!
Aww! I bet!
Can goats smoke grass? Hihi
I am sorry to hear you've been put through such a trial lately with your children, truly. I didn't know that grass was toxic to goats, so very glad that we didn't try to get them instead of sheep for our grass! Our neighbors just got two pygmy goats for their land... it's covered in kudzu... hope that works for them?
They can have some grass but they are better suited to anything above the knee. Sheep are better for grass. Kudzu is a legume so high in protien. Good food source for goats. Might be a little rich for a buck so could cause urinary culculi but not if you give them a pinch of ammonia chloride daily to counter it.
Aww he is so beautiful. When I was growing up my grandparents had 9 goaties, since then Ive always loved them
I had goats as a child and always wanted my own herd! Now I'm living the dream or
Like one sick goat wasn't enough. You poor lady, with three in a row. I hope mama goat makes it through.
Would you consider sharing the herbal remedies you used once things calm down?
Certainly! I mainly use Molly's Herbals from Fiasco Farm. I do acute dosage if sick which means I triple the normal dose for immune support. It also works as a natural dewormer. I just started today using a garlic ginger paste recipe from Happy Vagabond Farm. I am making a video on that too. I also use essential oils and other things.
I'm glad he is starting to feel better and you have some peace knowing what it was.
thank you!
Fancy is same but stable! Prayers or well wishes appreciated!
thank you so much for the post. I had no idea that goats cant eat grass
most don't!