CONT ENT S

I n tr o d u c t i on:
My Pat h t o Goats a nd t he H o listic Appro ach 1
A Foundation in Health and Healing • About This Book • Holistic Goat
Care in Practice

PA RT 1
Starting Out Right
C h ap te r 1: Und e r sta nd i ng Go ats 7
The World’s First Farm Animal • The Development of Diversity • Goats Gone Wild
• The Goat Psyche • The Job Demands of Working Goats

C h ap te r 2: Bu i ld i ng a S tro ng H erd 21
Making a Case for Organic and Extensive • Evaluating Your Land and Resources
• Managing Herd Dynamics • Starting with Healthy Animals • Choosing and
Working with Breeders • Evaluating a Goat’s Job Suitability • More Ways to
Evaluate Herd Quality

PA RT 2
On the Farm
C h ap te r 3: Fa r m Ma na ge m ent 45
Goat Handling • Fencing • Paddocks and Pastures • Barns and Shelters • Flooring
and Bedding • Feeders • Water and Mineral Stations • Identification Options •
Protection from Predators • Manure Management • Mortality Management

C h ap te r 4: Und e r sta nd i ng Nutritio nal Needs 71

Understanding the Ruminant • Energy: The Primary Nutritional Need •
The Importance of Minerals • Vitamins • Water

C h ap te r 5: F e e d C h oi c e s fo r H ealth and Vitality 95

Dining Out • Dining In • Putting It All Together
 PA RT 3
Managing Herd Health
C h ap te r 6: F u nd a me nta l Sk ills and Knowledg e
f o r G oat C a r e 117
Top Priority: Finding a Good Veterinarian • A Primer on Complementary Therapies
• Reading the Signs • The Remedy and Treatment Cabinet • Basic Medical Skills •
Treatment Suggestions • Maintenance Practices • Biosecurity and Zoonoses

C h ap te r 7 : A dva nc e d S ki lls, Pro cedures,

an d Ma na ge me nt 161
Fecal Testing • Drawing Blood • Calculating Medication Dosages Accurately •
Pain Management • Rumen Transfaunation • Scur or Horn Control • Euthanasia •
Field Necropsy and Liver Sampling

PA RT 4
The Productive Herd—Making Babies and Milk
C h ap te r 8: Br e e d i ng, P r e g nancy, and Delivery 181
Deciding When to Breed • Selecting the Right Match • Preparing the Buck and
Doe for Breeding • Understanding Mating • Verifying Pregnancy • Caring for the
Pregnant Doe • Dealing with Abortion • Delivery Time • Postpartum Baby Care •
Postpartum Doe Care • Training a Doe to Be Milked

C h ap te r 9: O ffspr i ng Ma nag ement 219

Kid-Rearing Realities and Philosophies • Kid ID and Tracking • Disbudding and
Dehorning • Castration • Vaccination • Feeding Kids—Newborn to Weaning •
Feeding After Weaning

PA RT 5
Solving Goat Health Problems
C h ap te r 10: T h e D i ge st i v e and M etabo lic Systems 247
Acidosis • Bloat • Blue Tongue • Choke • Coccidiosis • Cryptosporidiosis •
Enterotoxemia (Overeating Disease, Pulpy Kidney) • Floppy Kid Syndrome •
Gastrointestinal Parasites • Hypocalcemia (Milk Fever) • Intestinal Torsion (Colic) •
Ketosis (Toxemia) • Liver Flukes • Paratuberculosis (Johne’s Disease) • Salmonellosis

C h ap te r 11: T h e R e spi r at ory System 271

Parasitic Pneumonia (Lungworms) • Pneumonia • Upper Respiratory Infection
(Rhinitis, Runny Nose)
C h ap te r 12: T h e C a r d i ovascular and Lymph Systems 275
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) • Heart Failure • Heart Murmur

C h ap te r 13: T h e Musc u loskeletal System and Sk in 279

Bacterial Foot Infections (Foot Scald, Foot Rot, Foot Abscess) • Bacterial
Polyarthritis (Joint Ill, Navel Ill) • Bacterial Skin Problems • CAE Arthritis
• Contagious Ecthyma (Contagious Pustular Dermatitis, Soremouth, Orf ) •
Epiphysitis • External Parasites • Foot and Mouth • Laminitis (Founder) •
Mycoplasma Arthritis • Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy (White Muscle Disease)
• Nutrition-Related Skin Problems • Rickets • Ringworm • Wattle Cyst

C h ap te r 14: T h e Vi si on a nd Nervo us Systems 295

Anencephaly • Botulism • Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) • Conjunctivitis
(Pink Eye) • Copper Deficiency in Kids (Swayback, Enzootic Ataxia) • Listeriosis
Encephalitis • Polioencephalomalacia (PEM, Goat Polio, Stargazing) • Rabies •
Scrapie • Tetanus (Lockjaw)

C h ap te r 15: T h e Ma mma ry System 30 3

Blocked Teat • Edema • Gynecomastia • Mastitis • Milkstones • Precocious Udder
• Warts • Weeping Teat and Teat Wall Cysts • Witch’s Milk

C h ap te r 16: T h e R e pr od uctive System 311

Abortion • Cryptorchidism • Intersex • Retained Placenta • Uterine Prolapse •
Uterine Torsion (Twisted Uterus) • Vaginal Prolapse

C h ap te r 17 : T h e Ur i na ry System 321
Caprine Herpes Virus • Cystitis (Bladder Infection) • Posthitis (Pizzle Rot) •
Urine Scald • Urolithiasis (Urinary Stones)

Ack now le d gme nts 325

A p p e nd i x A: Sa mple P e d i g rees 327

A p p e nd i x B: 150- Day Goat G estatio n Chart 330
A p p e nd i x C: K i d T r a c ki ng Charts 332
A p p e nd i x D: R e sou r c e s 333

No te s 339
G l o s sa ry 341
I n d ex 345