Dosage for CoRid

Recommended dose: " Amprolium 50 mg/kg body weight per head per day for 5 days.(*NOTE: This dose is five times the recommended calf dose.)"-Pugh 

Calf dose:90cc Corid-16 oz(or 480cc) of water give at a rate of 30cc/100# btw. NOT STRONG ENOUGH!! 

Here are the drugs recommended for coccidiostats used for treatment and prevention of coccidiosis in small ruminants. 

Lasalocid-20 to 30 g per ton-approved for use in sheep in US 
Decoquinate-0.5 mg/kg per head per day-approved goats 
Monensin 10-30 gram/ton of feed-approved goats, may be most effective choice for goats. 
Amprolium (Corid)-50mg/kg.. 
Sulfaquinoxaline 13 mg/kg bwt per head per day as solution in water-3-5 day-approved 
Sulfamethazine 119 to 238 mg/kg per head/day 50 g/ton in feed...not approved 
Salinomycin 382 g/ton feed-not approved 

If you are going to use the corid, use it at the following rates and syringe it into each kid according to weight. 
Don't use water treatement the kids will not drink enough of the water. 

Treatment dose....use once a day for 5 days..no less.Use it full strength...no water! The "calf dose" isn't strong enough for goats. 

Doses below are 50mg/kg (2.2#)....recommended treatment levels for caprines. 

6cc/25# 
12cc/50# 
18cc/75 
24cc/100#

Safeguard for Goats

We treated all of the goats for worms today.  We used SafeGuard (fenbendazole) for horses.  The dosage for goats is 4 times the horse dose.  So when we dosed Asha, we calculated her weight at 150 pounds, multiplied by 4, and dosed her for 600 pounds.  She was not interested in helping, but holding her in the stanchion made it nearly impossible for her to object.

Covexin 8 for Baby Alpines

K gave Freestyle and Romeo their first Covexin 8 shots today.  He did a fantastic job, drawing up the meds, injecting, drawing back for flash, and administering the meds.  We gave each buckling 2ccs.  We did not do this with the meat bucklings because we prefer to keep all meds out of our meat unless necessary.

Disbudded Babies

We disbudded the Alpine bucklings today.  They are nine days old today and boy am I glad we didn't wait.  Romeo's horn buds were quite large.  We used the disbudder, counting for five seconds and then another five seconds to get a beautiful copper ring.  Freestyle's rings did not look quite as copper as I would like, but I am not comfortable going beyond ten seconds of burning.  Hopefully, with their age and the previous successes we've had disbudding, we will have horn-free goats.

Escape Goats

We knew from experience that a four foot fence was laughable.  We knew that it was only going to buy us a little bit of time.  And we were reminded again.  All of my roses are eaten.

Because we are a little short on cash, we needed to figure out how to keep the girls from jumping the fence anytime they want to until we can buy hot wire.  This was the first attempt.

It was successful - for about a day.  We will be getting hot wire tomorrow.

Asha Delivers Twins

This morning while we were graining the goats, M mentioned to me that Asha had a "balloon coming out of her butt."  I told him that this meant she was going to have the babies today.  He and Z were both still home, so we decided to keep them home to watch the delivery.  I ran in the house to get dressed (doesn't everyone do their chores in pjs?)  While inside, M yelled to me that the balloon had popped!

Asha has kidded before and done it without complication so I knew that she would be fine.  She walked, pawed the ground, lay down, got up, and walked some more.  Two little black and white hooves began to poke out of her rear end.  Each time she would lie down, the baby hooves would come out further.  Each time she would stand up, the baby hooves would suck back inside.  I wanted so badly to just reach over and tug...but I had to trust the momma.  She knew what to do.

Here's our goat delivering twin A.

The boys and I watched for what seemed like forever, but was actually about a half an hour.  Finally, we saw a head and with a few hard pushes, the baby was born.  Asha went right to work cleaning her baby up.  She made sure that he was breathing and stimulated, just like she should.  There was no need for us to intervene.  She made sure that the amniotic sac was gone and that he would begin to dry soon in the morning sun.

Soon, the second "balloon" appeared.  It popped almost immediately.  Asha alternated between standing, lying, pushing, and cleaning.  Soon the first baby was up on his wobbly legs.  He walked right behind Asha as she began to deliver the second baby's head.  As she delivered him, she paused - his hind quarters still inside her, but his front already out and starting to breath and move.  She seemed a bit confused, stood up quickly and turned.  Baby B came slipping out quickly.

Within fifteen minutes, both babies were cleaned up and drying.  Asha is a little protective and it was hard to get close enough to check to see if these were boys or girls.  But after several failed attempts, we determined that we have two beautiful, albiet unmilkable, Apline bucklings.  They look just like their daddy.

Here's a photo of the two boys a few days old on their first romp.  Introducing Rogers' Roost Romeo in the foreground, and Rogers' Roost Freestyle in the back.

Show Ducks?

I'm a sucker for ducks.  So when this gal was looking for 4-H kids who would like to have some show ducks, I responded.  I figured that they would want more money than I was willing to shell out.  But no...they were free.

Z and I went to select the three ducklings that we were going to bring home for him.  There were several varieties of Runner - white, pencil, black, fawn & white.  It was hard to choose.  So we came home with four.  I think it was either the ducklings or the two extra turkens that K brought home for me that put hubby over the edge.  He came up to my room and quietly asked me what keel-hauling was.  I've been married to a sailor long enough to know this one, so I batted my eyelashes and coyly agreed to a moratorium on all things poultry.

Here is a picture of our four Runner ducklings - Pencil, Chalk, Sharpie, and Crayola.

I mean really, who could say no to those faces?

Lucky for hubby, possession date for 4-H is today.  So...we won't be adding any more livestock - until the meat chickens arrive in June.

Our Family is Whole Again

This weekend we brought home the goats.  It was fantastic.  We didn't have the palace set up as much as we'd like, but it is something we can continue to work on as we go.  And now we'll have help.  Goat help.

We went to our friend's house to pick up the goats in the Expedition.  Now, we have been struggling with hoof rot, hoof scald, and lice at their house.  Because we didn't have a trailer to quarantine the goats in for a few days (and hubby refused to let them stay in the car that long), we had to do our best to treat as we moved them.

To this end, we cleaned and treated their hooves as we loaded them into the car.  We treated their hooves again when we got to the house.  And we treated for lice the minute they were out of the car.  Permethrin really stinks so I didn't want it in the car.

Here is the video of the goaties unloading to their new home.

By the way, we tried a new procedure for delousing this time.  Because I usually use Eprinex Pour-On, I had to do some searching to find the correct dosage for Permethrin - what I had bought at the store, thinking that is what I always use.  I mixed Permethrin 10% at a 1:2 ratio with vegetable oil.  That brought the percentage down to 2.5%.  I saw several references to 1% and several to 5%.  I figured 2.5% was a good compromise (and an easy ratio to convert).  With a small syringe, I poured no more than 1.5cc's of the mix down the spine of each adult goat, and about .75cc's for each little one.

NOTE:  AFTER TALKING WITH THE VET, WE LEARNED THAT USING PERMETHRIN AT FULL STRENGTH IS JUST FINE FOR GOATS.

Show Chickens

We are now the proud owners of show chickens.  We've had them for about two weeks now and while some of the chicks are easy to tell which breed they are, others are still a mystery.  We got the chicks through Urch Hatchery - as a favor to our poultry 4-H project.  It was a great deal.  We ordered 100 chicks.  He sent us 100 chicks at $2 a piece.  He guaranteed that all chicks would be show quality birds, but that was it.  He got to choose the breeds and it was a straight run.

We shared the chicks with all of our poultry project kids and Z kept eight of his favorites.  Here are two that we can tell will be fun birds for fair.  This first one is most likely a Plymouth White Rock Frizzle.  His/her name is currently Mrs. Frizzle.

Our second favorite is a Naked Neck Red.  Her/his name is Ostrich (for obvious reasons).

Oh, it is so much fun to watch them grow into their breeds.  I love my chickens.

Springtime Looks Different This Year

It's amazing when I reflect on how far we've come.  Not only are we in a new state, with new jobs, but we also have a completely new climate to adjust to.  It's been a little over a year, yet I am newly amazed by the beauty of this place.  The chickens seem to enjoy their new digs too.

More Chicks

I took in 13 wayward chicks today.  The owner was a friend of our previous landlord's daughter (if you can get further away in connections than that...).  Her hubby was in a horrible accident and she will be spending most of her time at the hospital.

I know nothing about the chicks other than what I can see.  It looks like I have two ages.  There are Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Americaunas, and Black Australorps.  Some will go to a friend's house, but the rest will live with us.  We'll have to wait and see if they are boys or girls.

Hubby doesn't understand how this happens.  But really, I'm not out looking for chickens.  They just find me.

New House

We have finally found a place that we can afford with a little land.  It's beautiful.  A little under two acres, with woods all around.  The house is a 1900's farmhouse that has been overhauled inside.  There is room for the goats and chickens, and every kid gets their own bedroom!

As we've explored the yard, I've found lots of fruit trees - one cherry, three plum, two pear, and three apples!  It's gonna be fun to try to keep up with the bounty.

I'm looking forward to creating a nice garden here too.

You drive through a marsh to get to the house.

First glimpse of the house.

Looking up the driveway.

The chicken coop in the back and part of the shed/shop.

Looking at the house from the chicken coop.

Another view of the yard.

Love the back decks.

We have a working wood burning stove. 

Ode to Butter

A perfect ball of fluff you were
The day we brought you home
So soft and bright and yellow
With your waddles and your comb

You grew into a fine young hen
Who loved to sit and talk
We always knew you laid an egg
By your incessant squawk

Alas, dear girl, your days were short
And sickness brought an end
To such a lovely chicken
And an even better friend.

Companion Planting Guide

Disbudded Babies

We disbudded the bucklings this morning.  It was wonderful to use a brand new iron instead of an old one.  My only concern is that we waited way too long to do this.  The babies are already three weeks old and because they are mostly Boer and bucklings, they are likely to have more substantial horns.

A Little Baby Goat Cuteness

Kids for Lilo

Lilo kidded this morning.  I was in between dropping two-legged kids off at school and racing over to our friends' house...but they came before I arrived.  I always try to remind myself that it's best when you don't have to help at all, when you just walk out to the barn to find new babies on the ground.  But I'm always a little disappointed when I don't get to watch.

Lilo had two healthy little bucklings.  Actually, they were very good size and both are doing well.  We've decided on "Coffee" and "Creamer" for their names.  Creamer had a little trouble getting started nursing but seems to be doing well now.  Again, I have to remind myself to give momma and baby a chance to do it on their own.  All too often our instinct is to help when they don't really need it.  Trust the momma.  Trust the momma.

Lilo's False Labor

So there was some confusion about when Lilo was actually due.  And I think in hindsight, I'd follow the gal who had her when she was bred.  But it really looked like Lilo was in labor.

And she probably was.  She would arch her back, tucking her tailbone under.  She would stand alone and stretch.  She pawed the ground, got down, got up, got down.  But she was faking.  I don't know how we would know she was faking, except that the babies didn't come for another week.  And that's a little too long for a goat to be in labor without any complications.  But she did get a lot of attention out of the whole ordeal...so maybe that was her end-game.