I recently purchased a nubian doeling at a flea market. The guy said

she was one year old but she looks much smaller. The next day she got

a cold. We gave her penicillin for four days and now it seems like it

has returned. She's outside protected from the wind. We live in Ohio

and the nights have been 25. Should we be giving her milk and if

so what kind? Also, is she too small to be outside like that? I have

not a clue about taking care of goats and we wanted our children to

experience this as a 4-H type project. Any help would be extremely

grateful. I just want to do the right thing. I have read some posts

but haven't found my answer yet. Please help!

-- Wendy Hodorowski (wendy@express-graphics.com), April 05, 2002

Answers

by looking at her teeth you can tell how old she is , heres a link to a tooth/age site http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/ndd/goat/TEETH.html or http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles/age.htm

also , at one year old goats ARE NOT fully grown , take a tape measure and right behind her front legs , measure her heart girth , instructions on how... are on this site http://www.saanendoah.com/weighchart.html she should be around 28 inches or so ,

i would also suggest you spend some time wandering goat sites, saanendoah is a great site, goat world is good as well, also go visit the dairy goat forum on this server :)

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), April 05, 2002.

If your doe is a year of age she does not need milk. Assuming she is not bred a nice grass hay would be adequate and a small amount of grain would be okay if she needed to put some weight on. I would have the vet run a fecal to check for worms and/or cocci. Cocci can stunt their growth and also bring down the immune system that can lead to colds, etc that you are experiencing. I would give her some probois and vit B. If she doesn't have a temp. and is just coughing or the nasal discharge is clear I would wait it out versus treating. As long as she is protected from the wind, etc. the cold will not bother her at this age.

-- Leslie in W. WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), April 05, 2002.