Goats are a new experience for me. I've always been a bit curious about them, and with my interest in heirloom and rare breeds, Tennessee Fainting goats were particularly intriguing. You can go to http://www.albc-usa.org/ for more information on rare breed conservation and to http://www.faintinggoat.com/ and http://www.myotonicgoatregistry.net/ for information on Fainting goats. If you aren't familiar with heirloom breeds, pop over to the website. There are many domestic livestock breeds in danger of dying out, and with them goes their unique genes.
Fainting goats are very docile and much less likely to climb on things or escape. Additionally, the goats prefer to eat herbaceous plants (not grasses) including poison ivy, weeds, brush and multiflora rose. I'm hoping they won't compete with the horses for pasture and will keep the weeds from taking over. The picture above is Mimosa on the right with her boyfriend Sundance. We got Mimosa and Guy from Driftwood Farms, and Mimosa was bred to Sundance there before we picked her up. http://driftwoodfarms.tripod.com/index.htm
(Above is Guy, the whether who keeps Mimosa company) So far, I've decided to feed Guy and Mimosa corn, oats, barley, and black oil sunflower seeds for their grain. Mimosa get 3 cups daily. Guy, the whether (neutered male) only gets a tiny handful because whethers are prone to urinary tract stones which can kill them. The goats also get as much timothy and orchardgrass hay as they can eat.
I am supplementing them with several Dynamite supplements: DynaPro probiotic, Dynamite Plus multivitamin/mineral, and 1-1 and 2-1 free choice calcium-phophorus supplements. They also get Izmine (natural minerals) free choice, and NTM salt. The NTM salt is unbleached, not iodized and has no flow enhancers. I sometimes use a pinch of Izmine in their grain instead of the Dynamite Plus, depending on what I have on hand.
I also leave baking soda out for them to nibble, as I read it helps them balance their gut pH. (The picture on the left is Mimosa as a baby)
They have been on this new feeding program for a couple months now. It takes 120 days for the blood to be completely replaced with new blood cells, so I'm looking forward to see what kind of changes take place in the next 2 months.
Once the goats are settled in on their new feeding program, I'm also going to address any heavy metals or environmental toxins that built up. I use Waiora Natural Cellular Defense for that.
A really fantastic resource that I found online is http://www.fiascofarm.com/ She has tremendous information about goat husbandry, and follows a holistic approach.
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