Vet Stress Cold snap blues and sleepless nights secondary to incessant goat bleating

January 3rd, 2008  

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I'm wondering if a foal blanket would work. Or, if fleece is sold down there, a fleece snuggy could be stitched together rather quickly and cheaply. (Double it up, stitch one of the 2 short open ends, then cut a hole across the corner for the head. Stitch chest and belly ties to keep it on and back leg ties like a horse blanket if desired.) Would a goat just chew those up I wonder?

Deanna January 3rd, 2008 09:33:00 AM

That's what I thought. She would easily chew it off given half the chance. Goats do not play dress-up if mine is any measure of the norm. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 3rd, 2008 09:56:00 AM

Ours wear foal rugs (it's snowing right now) and though the littlies don't mind, the older two pull them off in about 10 seconds flat.

JC January 3rd, 2008 11:47:00 AM

Awwww, bring her inside! It will be more easier to be annoyed at her destruction than feel guilty listening to her cry for you from the cold. :)

Jules January 3rd, 2008 12:45:00 PM

I found a web site that talks about this issue and offers some ideas:
http://getyergoat-goatgifts.blogspot.com/2007/11/h...

Several other sites mentioned giving warm water and lots of bedding. Some said to use soiled bedding at the bottom, which generates heat, with fresh, clean bedding on top.

I use a waterproof mattress pad under bedding for dogs with incontinence -- would something like that work if you were to bring her inside? I'm not sure if you can confine her in an area that would be covered by the mattress pad (in case she urinates) or not.

Mary January 3rd, 2008 12:54:00 PM

Mary: I guess I'm more concerned about her horns butting through my door. They pack a powerful whallop when she's agitated. I have decided, however, to borrow a large crate for next time (turns out the front is lifting by tonight). I'm going to try my collegue's fold-up crate. We use it at the hospital only when his 150 pound-plus Presa boards. This is the obvious solution to the dilemma. The hard part will be getting her in. I needed to come up with a hurricane solution anyway and I think this'll be a great dry run. Anyone have experience crating goats?

Dr. Patty Khuly January 3rd, 2008 01:09:00 PM

Mary: I just checked out that site. I'm going to try to make a goat coat out of sturdy padded nylon after checking out her ideas. btw, she nixed my heat lamp concept.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 3rd, 2008 01:11:00 PM

A lamb or piglet warmer can be put underneath a wooden board to protect it because it is made to bear weight and is very hardy but it does need an electricity source.

emily January 3rd, 2008 01:39:00 PM

Get another goat :)

Laura Bennett January 3rd, 2008 01:48:00 PM

Laura: I love that suggestion!

Dr. Patty Khuly January 3rd, 2008 04:01:00 PM

I'm with Laura. Seems like another goat would ameliorate both the cold issue (body heat) and the possibly lonely issue.

Love goats! They are ADORABLE!

stefani January 3rd, 2008 06:01:00 PM

Crating goats? Might this be something like trailering a horse?

You probably need to train her slowly and gently to go in there.
Bribery is probably a good thing. Do you have goat treats?
There must be web sites on clicker training or other methods of
teaching horses to go in trailers. If you do this by force, it will
just make it worse the next time.

I know that the way I put my cat in a carrier won't work, because
the dimensions are wrong.
Set open carrier on small end.
Pick up and gently stretch out cat.
Slide cat into carrier head end first, pushing in remainder of tail
before zipping up carrier.
Place carrier into normal position.

Miss Kitty's Mom January 3rd, 2008 10:58:00 PM

I'll second the "add hay" comment above. Give her lots of bedding, and when you give her water make sure it's a bit warm (as in "tepid"). That's what we Mainers do with our livestock in freezing temperatures. Right now it's about 10 below zero outside, and our herd of goats is huddled together for warmth. Our one little billy goat (exiled from the herd from the day he was born, bottle raised by us) is by himself in another barn with oodles of bedding, wool blankets, warm water and extra grain to keep his metabolic processes going and generating heat for him.

And if you want to bring Poppy inside, the garage (if you have one) is just fine--especially if you set her up with a couple of bales of hay and a heater of the type that won't set it on fire (one of those oil-filled "radiator type" electric heaters, for example, or a heat lamp hung a few feet above the hay).

Good luck.

JaneA January 4th, 2008 06:52:00 AM

On issue with hay is that it is a terrible fire risk when there is any equipment not designed to avoid heat or sparking even when broken. That is why I favour the lamb warmer which is pretty much bomb proof. Alternatively the old rubber hot water bottle, again under a metal grill or wooden plank to prevent ingestion :).

emily January 4th, 2008 09:48:00 AM

Maybe I can buy one of those heavy-duty waterbeds and warm it in the sun all day before night falls. Either way, I think training her to crate well is a good idea for hurricanes. Another goat is definitely in the works, though. A recently freshened Nubian tops my list. I've done the warmed water, more bedding thing and last nights in-the-fifties temp helped a lot. Thanks for all the help!

Dr. Patty Khuly January 4th, 2008 10:11:00 AM

Get her a doghouse. My goats have a dog Igloo in the goat shed and they love to go inside! The head (hugely preggers)goat is squeezing herself inside now that it's cold-the lowest ranking goat gets it when it's hot!

rheather January 4th, 2008 02:20:00 PM

Hi Patty,

Love your blog.

Regarding crate training your goat, try clicker training. They use this method with antelope and other really skitish wild creatures in zoos to teach them to enter crushes and accept all sorts of necessary handling even standing for blood sampling. A domesticated and friendly goat should be a breeze. I gather goats are really quick learners and find training in this way stimulating and fun - as do their owners. Having a really manageable goat would be a definite plus in the event of a hurricane, too. I've use clicker training for my dogs, birds and fish (and even human kids!) (Just google "clicker training goats".)

Alison January 4th, 2008 11:27:00 PM

Thanks, Alison. I always thought clicker training a useful method for those with a lot of patience. I'll have to muster some of my reserves (way low lately) for that project. As to the Igloo, that seems somewhat doable in place of a waterbed. It even fits inside her roomy (too roomy?) three-sided space.

Dr. Patty Khuly January 5th, 2008 10:37:00 AM

Realise this is an old post now, but if a horse is cold you feed it some hay. The hay warms the horse from the inside. If you understand goat digestion, you may be able to find out which foods would have the same effect on a goat. A feed before bed should be warming anyway. Maybe a warm mash would help. Also, anything that can block the wind.

Robin January 17th, 2008 07:53:00 PM

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