From Baby to Billy

They grow up so fast! I’ve often said that if everyone knew how cute goat kids were, everyone would want one. We raise Boer/Spanish cross goats, and when our first solid brown buckling was born 3 ½ years ago, we knew we’d keep him. This is MJ at one day old, full of energy and ready to be freed from the kidding pen.

Fast forward to the 2011 kidding season. MJ had grown up to become the most senior billy at our farm. We hoped to gain several solid brown doelings to add to our crew. Well, we did have 10 solid brown babies, but there were 9 boys and just 1 girl! Here is a grown up MJ with his lone daughter, and her mom in the background.

We try to keep a healthy respect for any billies on the farm. While it’s hard to imagine that the little guy we raised could ever cause harm, the reality is that his brain is very small and memory very short.

We follow a modified health care program for billies. It’s a “no frills” plan that provides for just the basic health care needs. We follow the FAMACHA guide to deworming, so goats aren’t wormed until necessary. Perhaps because their bodies aren’t faced with the stresses of kidding and kid raising, billies don’t seem to require worming quite as frequently. We generally deworm with Copasure COWP boluses and Dectomax (both off-label) at the time of spring vaccination for C D & T overeating disease/tetanus. They are dewormed again in the fall or as dictated by the FAMACHA guide. Supplementation with goat mineral is a good practice throughout the year. Additional selenium may be advisable if your area is deficient. Instead of the routine hoof trimming that other goats receive, MJ’s hooves are allowed to grow until he really warrants a trim. This is a good time to break in a very new, very sharp pair of hoof trimmers.

In general, we’ve found it a good practice to keep the handling of billies to a minimum, while still providing care that will ensure herd health. Lori H