Dr. Beth Johnson, Office of State Veterinarian, Kentucky Department of Agriculture The key to any successful business is to produce as much product as efficiently as possible with minimal financial input. As all goat producers know, the major goal of a meat goat producer is to get as many pounds of a sellable product out of a single doe as possible. To achieve this goal we must have live kids born that survive to weaning or later depending on the producers plans for their kid

by Dr. Jessie Lay, DVM Udder with mastitis Mastitis is very common in domestic livestock and can lead to many economic losses for producers. Losses may come through not only decreased production, but also loss of breeding stock, lower weaning weight of offspring or decreased milk quality for dairy animals. Mastitis is a term that refers to an inflammation or infection of the mammary glands (udder). It may be caused by many different types of bacteria or caused by certain viru

by Dr. Beth Johnson, DVM Every year sheep and goat producers must raise lambs or kids on supplemental milk because of multiple births (i.e. triplets), death of the dam, weak newborns, or rejected offspring. At times we really question whether it is worth the effort involving time, energy, emotional trauma and cost into raising these orphans. How do we raise these little ones so that they turn out to be a productive animal? It is extremely important that we start them off on

By Jessy Shanks Lambing and kidding is a special event throughout the winter and spring season for most small ruminant producers. Up until this point, a lot of time and money has been invested in selecting suitable rams and bucks, breeding your females, and ensuring that they get adequate nutrition and care until their lambing/kidding date. We invest so much money as small ruminant producers, it makes sense to follow this process through until the very end. However, a female’

by Morgan Wemmer When close to kidding, does should be kept in a clean and dry environment. This will help decrease the risk of injury or infection for the dam and kids. If you are kidding in cold weather, make sure the heat lamps are in proper working order and placed safely away from straw and hay to reduce the risk of fire. It is recommended to build your “kidding kit” prior to kidding so that everything is in one place and you are ready for your

By Dr. Donald G. Ely (University of Kentucky), Beth Johnson (Kentucky Department of Agriculture), and Shaylyn Burton (University of Kentucky) Five months ago, identified females were assigned to mate with males to produce the next kids/lambs. Now, it is time to deliver the anticipated crop. What needs to be done to ensure that everything is ready? What is normal kidding/lambing? What problems can be encountered? How can losses be minimized? The objective of this article

by Beth Johnson, DVM You planned your breeding just perfect, and now the time has come to reap your rewards at kidding or lambing. There are several steps that should be taken to insure that these young offspring get off to the best start possible. Management efforts made towards adequate housing and monitoring after birth can increase the survivability of offspring. ADEQUATE HOUSING Prior to the start of kidding/lambing, a clean, dry, draft free area should be designed for