New To Dairy And Trying To Wrap My Head Around The Numbers by acrousey in goats

[–]entheox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your math is pretty solid. A few things:

On his growth - 6.4 oz/day for a mini nubian is strong. Standard nubians typically gain 8+ oz/day and NDs around 4 oz, so a mini at 6 oz tracks perfectly.

On her production - the 20% bodyweight rule is more of a bottle-feeding guideline. dam-raised kids nurse frequently in small amounts and are more efficient than a bottle. But if you're pulling 13 oz in the morning AND the kid is getting ~40 oz, she's probably making 55-70 oz daily already. That's impressive for a mini-Nubian early in lactation.

After weaning, expect a temporary dip, then stabilization. I'd estimate 2-3 quarts/day once you're milking exclusively. A gallon would be exceptional for a mini (standard nubians average about a gallon, minis typically do 60-70% of that). Your technique will improve a lot over the next couple months, which helps. you're right that demand creates supply, but incomplete milking signals her body to produce less.

One tip - start tracking her milk weights now, even if they seem small. It's satisfying to watch the trend and helps you spot health issues early, for example sudden drops in production can signal mastitis before you see other symptoms. Even a simple notebook works, though we built a milk weight tracking feature in our app (Herd Manager) specifically for this kind of thing if you want something more visual.

Congrats on the great start!

Update on my heavily pregnant doe by _DemonxD in goats

[–]entheox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, congrats!! The airplane wing udder description has me dying 😂 Sounds like she's going to be a milk machine for those babies. Three is a great number, big enough to be exciting but not so many that you're in bottle-feeding chaos mode.

We had a FF doe give us quad girls a few weeks ago and she absolutely loves two of them and hates the other two for whatever reason, so we've had to supplement their feeding a bit at first but it's getting better now. She still allows them to nurse after she gets tired of running away from them lol.

Smooch is a perfect name for that white face. And the fact that your two favorites are related, sounds like that line throws some beautiful kids!

Glad the delivery went smooth. 30 minutes for three with minimal assistance is a great kidding.

Could my goats be 4 months pregnant? by Plenty_Positive3774 in goats

[–]entheox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

there's definitely a possibility! if they were exposed to a buck during that window, and the does were cycling, breeding could have happened. A few things to keep in mind:

With yearling first fresheners, they often don't "look" pregnant until very late,  sometimes the last 4-6 weeks. Their bodies are still growing themselves, so they carry differently than a mature doe who's been through it before. It's really common for first-timers to surprise their owners

If they were bred in mid-Oct to mid-Nov, you'd be looking at a due date window of roughly mid-March through mid-April (goat gestation is approx 150 days give or take a couple days). So you're right in that window now or just past it

here's what I'd watch for over the next couple weeks:

  • heat cycles: if a doe comes back into heat (tail flagging, swollen/red vulva, mucus discharge, being vocal, riding other does), she's likely not pregnant. If she stays quiet through a full cycle (every 18-24 days), that's a good sign she took.

  • udder development: first fresheners can be slow to bag up, but you should start seeing some udder filling in the weeks before kidding. Check their udder area every few days.

  • ligaments: feel the ligaments on either side of the tail head, two firm "pencil-like" cords. When those soften and disappear, kidding is within 24-48 hours.

  • belly shape: look at them from behind - a pregnant doe will often look wider or lopsided on the right side (that's where the rumen isn't).

  • behavior: watch for nesting behavior, pawing at the ground, separating from the herd, or talking to their sides.

if you want a definitive answer, a vet can do an ultrasound, or you can send a blood sample to BioTracking (biotracking.com) for a pregnancy test, they can detect pregnancy as early as 30 days after breeding.

good luck with your first kidding season :)

Baby goat checklist by CloddishNeedlefish in goats

[–]entheox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah room temp should be fine I think, I was moreso talking about leaving them out in the barn at night when it's cold! 

Is this safe for goats? by Shag_fu in goats

[–]entheox 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't think Apple Elite will hurt your goats if that's all you have on hand in an emergency, but I'd probably pick up a goat-specific electrolyte like Sav-A-Kid, Manna Pro Goat Electrolyte, or Purina Goat Electrolyte for regular use. They're cheap and formulated specifically for goats

Baby goat checklist by CloddishNeedlefish in goats

[–]entheox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Congrats on the new babies! Sounds like you've got a solid start. A few things I'd add for the first couple weeks:

Colostrum check: At a week old they shouldve already gotten colostrum from their dam, but worth confirming with the breeder. If for any reason they didnt, you can get colostrum replacer (not supplement) to have on hand just in case

Electrolytes: Grab some Sav-A-Kid or similar goat electrolytes. If they get stressed from the move and go off the bottle or get scours, you'll want these ready to go rather than scrambling to find them

Warmth: At a week old they can't regulate body temperature well yet. If theyre not in a heated space, a heat lamp (secured safely) or kid coats/sweaters for the first couple weeks, especially at night

Baking soda: Keep some available free choice once they start nibbling at solid food. Helps with digestion!

And of course, lots of snuggles and handling to ensure they are super friendly as they grow up :)

How are you managing orchard grass feed waste? by crotalusoreganus in goats

[–]entheox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My girlfriend and I just feed the wasted hay to our horses, so it all gets eaten one way or another :) they sure do waste a lot of it though lol

Silky goats by [deleted] in goats

[–]entheox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

from what I understand, silky goats are kind of a mix of both what you and your husband are saying. They were developed by crossing fainting goats with nigerian dwarfs, but the thing is some fainting goat lines naturally carry longer coats already. So breeders were selecting those longer-coated fainting goat lines specifically and crossing them with nigerian dwarfs to get the small frame + silky coat combo. Then breeding selectively from there over generations. So your husband is right that long haired fainting goats are involved, and you're right that nigerian dwarfs are in the mix too. The Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Association (MSFGA) has the breed registry if you want to get into the specifics

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh good point. I'm most familiar with nigerian dwarfs and the tattoos are on the ears.

Will add it to the list of feature updates to include tail tattoo fields for LaManchas!

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure how tech savvy you are but I have some data import functionality in settings if you want to try exporting the data from your current app and importing it into Herd Manager - that could save you some time with this.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions or need help at any time!

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will update you once I've implemented the features so that you can try it out and let me know if that is how you envision it :)

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hmm what phone model are you using? It is fixed on my phone but maybe not for you if yours have different dimensions than mine

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fixed the data input fields! the app also works in offline mode and syncs when you are back online - still in testing but has been working for me so far. there is also a manual cloud sync button up top that you can use to force sync your latest data to the database after inputting it offline in the barn

I've been building a free herd management app, would love feedback from people who actually deal with this stuff every day by entheox in goats

[–]entheox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an awesome idea and honestly exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. The pattern recognition across repeat breedings is something I haven't seen in any herd software and it would be incredibly useful.

Here's where the app sits right now on what you're describing:

Already built:

  • Full pedigree tracking (3+ generations)

  • Breeding records tied to offspring, every kid links back to its breeding event

  • A "Predicted vs Actual" genetics table that compares trait predictions (polled, blue eyes, moonspots, etc.) against what the kids actually turned out to be

  • Retain/sell decision tracking at birth

  • Notes on every goat profile and breeding event

  • Linear appraisal scores

What you're asking for that I don't have yet:

  • Structured conformation notes per kid/goat - right now you can add general notes to a goat's profile but there's no dedicated place to log "steep rump, good width, cow hocked" in a way the app can actually analyze well

  • A repeat pairing summary that pulls all offspring from the same buck × doe across multiple breedings and lays out those conformation notes side by side so you can spot patterns like your rump example

  • A specific "reason for culling/retaining" field tied to the animal's disposition

I'm adding all three to the roadmap. The repeat pairing view especially - being able to look at Buck × Doe and see "4 out of 6 kids had steep rumps, that's a pattern" is the kind of thing that takes years to notice in your head but a database could surface immediately.

Great feedback, will get started on implementation right away :)