I'm Pregnant!

Well, the farmer finally got tired of trying to figure out if I was pregnant by looking at me and squishing on my belly. She took a blood sample from me and sent it to a lab for the goat BioPRYN test. This test will tell you for sure if a goat is pregnant or not. Guess what? I am pregnant! The farmer is kind of bummed about it because she says I will be due the same weekend she was supposed to go to a conference for work at a casino. I have never heard of someone having a work conference at a casino so I think the farmer’s “conference” is really an excuse to get out of town and gamble. Humph! Us, goats, are smart enough not to gamble. We save our pennies for the truly important things – like more animal crackers!

The farmer is glad she did the pregnancy test because now it explains why I have been in such a bad mood lately. I have been beating up my roommates and have been very obstinate about getting grain and hay all to myself. The farmer believes any goat that gets grumpy in their last two months of pregnancy must be carrying only male kids. The testosterone of the male kids messes with the mom’s hormones and makes her angry and ready to fight any goat in her path. I believe that I am grumpy because the farmer has me rooming with a sheep that swears he’s a goat (he says he’s an Angora goat) and a Nubian who swears she’s an Alpine (she’s only ¼ Alpine so that doesn’t count). Anyone would be grumpy if they had to live with those two! I guess I will have to grin and bear it until I get closer to kidding so I can get the kidding pen all to myself.

I will keep you updated on when my kids come!

CAE True or False?

1. T/F: CAE is a virus.

2. T/F: CAE can be cured.

3. T/F: CAE causes abscesses.

4. T/F: CAE spreads through milk from infected dam to kid.

5. T/F: CAE can be spread through breeding infected bucks to uninfected does.

6. T/F: CAE is largely subclinical so you don’t need to worry about it.

7. T/F: You can tell if a goat has CAE by looking at it.

8. T/F: You can vaccinate for CAE.

9. T/F: CAE affects the milk and infected milk shouldn’t be used by humans.

10. T/F: Negative animals only need to be tested once.

1. True – CAE (Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis) is a viral disease.

2. False – There is no cure for CAE. Once a goat is infected with the virus, they will always carry it and be able to spread it to other goats. Holistic or herbal remedies may boost the immune system and stave off active infection but a goat that has the virus will always have it.

3. False – CAE is often confused with CL (Caseous Lymphandenditis). CL is a bacterial disease that causes large abscesses both externally and internally on a goat. CAE is a viral disease that doesn’t cause abscesses.

4. True – CAE is most commonly spread through colostrum and milk from infected does to uninfected kids. The only way to stop the spread of CAE is to pull kids from their dams at birth and then feed them colostrum replacer or cow colostrum and then heated treated milk or milk replacer. Kids must never receive raw milk from infected goats.

5. True and False –There is much debate as to whether CAE can be transmitted sexually. Due to CAE being a blood borne virus, it is possible that it can be spread through breeding, especially if the goats have open sores or lesions. CAE is spread less commonly through nasal secretions and sputum, especially when the infected goat is suffering from colds or pneumonia. CAE can spread through unsanitized milking equipment.

6. False – Although it is true that CAE is often subclinical in infected goats and shows no symptoms for many years, it still needs to be worried about. It is a known infection that can spread easily from doe to kid, thus all goat breeders need to be aware of it and ready to prevent it in their herds.

7. False - The only way to verify a goat’s CAE status is through blood test. Most of the symptoms of CAE are similar to other goat ailments, thus it is impossible to tell just by looking at a goat if they have CAE or not.

8. False – There is no vaccination for CAE. There is a vaccine for CL. Many people confuse the two diseases and think their goats have been vaccinated for CAE when in fact it was the CL vaccine.

9. False – CAE is a goat only disease. It does not affect the milk or its quality. It does not hurt humans to drink infected milk or handle infected goats.

10. False – Negative animals should be tested annually to make sure they remain uninfected. The only time it is possible to stop testing a negative herd is if you never, ever bring in goats from outside sources or expose your goats to other herds (which is almost impossible especially if you need to bring in new genetics). Since testing is the only true way to tell if your goats are infected, it is good practice to test your herd once a year.

Not so much of a baby bump!

Last post, I talked about our growing baby bumps. Well, as of right now, only two out of three of us have bumps. My mom, Gloria has a huge baby belly right now. She is waddling and huffing and puffing every time she walks from hay manger to feed bin. She's still got two whole month to go so the farmer is convinced Gloria may be having a litter this year.

Cookie is also quite large for her stage in pregnancy. Being a Nubian she isn't sure if she is pregnant or just large from too many grain treats. But I can tell she's big for the first reason. She should be having a couple of kiddos in a few months too.

I, on the other hand, have no bump. I am still quite slender in appearance and the farmer is trying to decide if that is because I am a month behind the other two blimp-Os or if it is because even though I had three different bucks show their affection, I decided to not deal with the whole "preggers" thing this year.

I am keeping it a secret. Stay tuned to find out!

Baby bumps!

We, goat girls, are all getting some good baby bumps now! Cookie is winning the race with a large bump that is making the farmer think she may have more than her usual twins in there. Gloria is not far behind her on the bump-o-meter. Gloria is so long and deep bodied that she can have 5 kids in there and not look any more pregnant than after eating a double hay burger extra value meal. I am last in line for the bump-o-thon. The farmer hopes it is because I got bred a month later than the other two. I hope it is because I am only having one small kid this year and not two GOLIATHS like I had last year! Sheesh!

Guys and Dolls

Here is the spring line-up for who was bred to whom:

Cookie was bred to

Rosco


Gloria was bred to

Abel


Lucy was bred to Abel and...
Macabee


AND...
Oberhasli buck #2

The Dating Game!

It's that time of year again. The leaves have fallen off the trees, there's a hint of snow in the air, and I am looking for love! The farmer was very nice and brought home a lovely Oberhasli buck named "Abel" last month. He came from the farmer's friend who has many lovely bucks to choose from. When Abel got here I was quite smitten with him. Let's just say that I was willing and Abel was able! Then my mom, Gloria, got all goo goo eyes over Abel and he started to hang out with her more often. I decided that even though I liked Abel at first, I was not a goat who wanted her family tree to look like a wreath. If I let myself have kids with Abel and my mom had kids with him, my kids would also be my half-siblings! I couldn't let that happen. I decided that I would not have kids with Abel.

This month I came back into heat and the farmer decided to take me to her friend's farm so I could choose my own date. At first the farmer's friend brought out a large Saanen buck. He was very nice but didn't seem to interested in getting the job done. After a while the farmer's friend brought out different Oberhasli buck. He was pretty like Abel. I decided that this Oberhasli would be all mine and I wouldn't share him with my mom.

I think I will have kids now. The farmer is hoping I am pregnant. We won't know until the spring if I was bred by the Saanen or the Oberhasli. If I have white kids, then the Saanen did it. If I have chestnut kids with black trim, then the Oberhasli did it. If I have a white kid and a chestnut kid then I will be the first goat to appear on Maury Povich!

Who you calling a "wild animal"?

It never ceases to amaze me when people wonder why their domestic livestock need so much human intervention to stay healthy. They ask, "What do wild animals do? Why do my goats need all this stuff when wild animals don't?". Let me tell you as a member of the domestic livestock family, the differences are many.

One reason domestic livestock need more interventions than wild animals is that humans expect livestock to live in confinement. Whether confined to pastures, paddocks, pens or stalls, these are all artificial means of containment. A wild animal is not contained. They are free to roam as they please and as they need. Wild goats roam miles every day in search of the food they need that day. They satisfy their food requirements by nibbling constantly on just about every plant they pass by. The satisfy their mineral needs by nibbling on a very diverse set of plants. They satisfy their shelter needs by bedding down in softer spots and on the not windy sides of rocks. All this is done following the rhythm of the goat and their needs at this time.

Livestock are confined to small spaces and not allowed to roam freely. The pastures and paddocks are filled with monocultures of grasses that aren't the same as the variety of browse found on the free range. Goats are fed in short bursts, usually twice a day. This does not allow them to keep their stomachs' full continuously as they would if allowed to free range all the time. The feed is concentrated hay or grains that provide fiber and calories but not the full complement of nutrition a goat would seek out if left on its own to roam for food. Mineral supplementation becomes a must and farmers are turned into chemists and nutritionists as they try to simulate a diet that mimics a goat's natural diet while still working within the principles of agriculture.

Another reason domestic livestock are different than their wild counterparts is that humans have bred livestock for thousands of years to artificially produce more meat or milk than a wild animal would. In the wild, extra meat or extra milk is a detriment to the animal. It is a waste of precious calories that could be spent on survival and passing on of their genetics through breeding. A prodigious milker in the wild is prone to mastitis due to improper emptying of the udder. They are prone to malnutrition due to needing more calories to produce the extra milk and not being able to eat enough to produce the milk and keep their weight up. They are also prone to parasite overload due to being stressed from the extra energy spent on unneeded milk. This leads them to be poor producers of kids and lag behind. And yet, dairy goats are continually bred to produce more and more milk. Farmers should not wonder why their star milker needs extra grain or more medications or more delicate care.

Domestic livestock are not allowed to express their wild ways. We expect goats to get along with each other and act surprised when there is a fight in the herd. In the wild, goats would be living in a full herd consisting of a dominant buck, a herd queen, several junior does, kids, and younger males. The dominant buck would be in charge of keeping the herd safe and fighting off predators. The herd queen rules the social aspect of the herd. She keeps the younger does in line and makes sure the kids are watched over. The queen decides where and when the herd will eat. She's learned through her years what plants are the best and where is the nicest place to bed down. She teaches this to the younger animals as they watch her. The junior does are always waiting for a crack in the queen's rule to allow them a chance to fight for the top spot. Much fighting is observed amongst the younger does as they are constantly trying to push for a better herd position. The younger bucks are at the periphery of the herd. They aren't totally out on their own yet but they are kept at a distance by the dominant buck in charge. The kids are cared for by all the does.

On farms, goats are not allowed to live in a true herd. The bucks are usually kept separate from the does. The does do create a social hierarchy but the herd queen is not allowed to make the decisions as to when and where the herd will eat. The farmer makes those decisions. Kids are pulled at birth and kept separate from their dams to prevent diseases. They are bottle fed to induce tameness. Fighting and pushiness are bred out by the farmer selecting animals for breeding based on their tameness and domestication. Their abilities to fight for survival and live on their own are disregarded as duller and duller animals are bred together to create the farmer's dream of a domestic animal.

In conclusion, please don't compare me to a wild animal. I am a sophisticated, domesticated, dairy goat!