After we read about the goat, we made contact with the folks that had him. These folks are very privacy oriented, as are we, so we met them at a big box hardware store a couple of hours away from our house. It sounds like something out of a spy novel, doesn't it? But, we respect people's privacy, and we're glad when people respect ours. They were nice folks and we appreciate their willingness to meet us and save us a few miles.
When we bring a new animal to our place they spend the first week in isolation. This is accomplished in our stock trailer, which is very convenient. We pull it into the barn to provide shade, protection from weather and have the new animal in close proximity to the herd.
Bill was not very happy to be alone for the first two nights. The second day he was here we wormed him with Cydectin, then the third day we used Safeguard which is fenbendazole. At this time, we are still using chemical wormers for the goats. We don't use them very often, usually no more than twice a year, and some day we hope to eliminate them altogether. We have honeysuckle, wormwood and garlic growing which will deter or cause worms to expel from the goats, but haven't learned enough to use them effectively yet. The key word there is yet. That will come in time.
The third evening Bill was joined in the stock trailer by One Stripe's two adopted nine week old boys, which began their weaning process. Now we had three crying babies in the trailer. But at least Bill had company now. We continued to watch Bill for any signs of ill health. The previous owners provided us with a bag of feed for him. We gradually used this up while getting him accustomed to our feed ration. He had a good appetite for the hay, grain and water we gave him and appears to be a strong, healthy animal.
One week later, Bill and the boys joined the older wethers out in the 'boys' pasture. Bill seems small now, but we expect him to grow and fill out quickly since he is already four months old. We will feed him, and the other boys, everyday for a while. Bill's first breeding duties will come about mid June when we plan to breed One Stripe. We would like for her to have babies about Thanksgiving to keep us in milk through the winter. We will breed the other does around November 1st for April babies next spring. So Bill will not be full grown before he will be put to work. He still calls for his mom and his old herd sometimes, but he is enjoying all of the new growth of the pasture. He should work out just fine.
Until next time - Fern