Nifty's first rat in 2016 (not my usual hunting attire!) If you have a rodent problem you’ve probably tried every trap made – and then some (Google it, and you’ll find some interesting homemade contraptions) and then watched as after a few mortalities, the rats quickly learned to avoid or even disable the traps. (After … Continue reading Training a Rat Terrier to Hunt: A novice’s approach that worked
Animal Care and Health
DIY – Goat Decks
How to Build Sectional Raised, Slatted Flooring for Goats Lounging on the deck Hands down, raised, slatted flooring for goat housing wins the prize for ease of maintenance, cost over time, and, best of all, goats love it! I call this type of flooring “goat decks”. Goat decks allow the manure to fall through the … Continue reading DIY – Goat Decks
Encounters with Enterotoxemia
You never learn a lesson quite so well as when personal experience is involved. My goat keep giving me these learning opportunities, whether I want them or not. A few weeks ago I had my first up close experience with the disease process called enterotoxemia. Vaccine for two types of Enterotoxemia and tetanusWhat is Enterotoxemia? … Continue reading Encounters with Enterotoxemia
Philosophy of a Vegetarian Butcher
I’m a vegetarian. Lacto-ovo. For almost a quarter century. I also harvest (as it’s so appealingly called these days) meat for my omnivore family. In addition I’ve found it gratifying to teach others how to respectfully take the life of a gentle beast and convert its life into sources of life for others. I don’t … Continue reading Philosophy of a Vegetarian Butcher
The Importance of Monitoring Somatic Cell Counts
Awhile back the FDA raised the maximum number of somatic cells that Grade A goat milk can contain from the former limit of 1,000,000 to 1,500,000. Our state (Oregon) followed suit just this year and adopted the new limit for goat milk and also lowered the cow level from the FDA level of 750,000 to … Continue reading The Importance of Monitoring Somatic Cell Counts
Making Yogurt to Feed Kids and Calves
Yogurt not only provides valuable probiotic bacteria to the young ruminant, but it is easy to digest and can remain at room temperature in free choice bucket feeders without fear of growing unwanted pathogens. Making yogurt for kids and calves is a simple and inexpensive process. At Pholia Farm, we feed pasteurized goat milk and … Continue reading Making Yogurt to Feed Kids and Calves
Feeding Kids with the Free-Choice, Cool Milk Method- Peace in the Barn!
A few years ago we attempted to raise our Nigerian Dwarf kids on the "cool milk, free-choice" method. This way of feeding kids involves providing full time access to a bucket feeder, or other mechanical nursing unit, stocked with cold or cool milk. The idea behind the method is twofold. First-that kids will not overeat … Continue reading Feeding Kids with the Free-Choice, Cool Milk Method- Peace in the Barn!
The De-Horning Dilemma
The De-Horning Dilemma A few weeks ago I was bumming around on Amazon.com, reading a few of the reviews that readers can post after reading (hopefully thoroughly) someone’s book. The particular author in whose reviews I was snooping around is a favorite of mine. His book on life with goats is particularly poetic and at … Continue reading The De-Horning Dilemma
Doing your own Plate Counts
I finally plugged in the little petri-film incubator we purchased from Nelson Jameson and I am, at the moment, cooking our first anaerobic plate counts. It took me a long time to get around to this, but I think it will go a long way toward making sure our milk is super clean, as well … Continue reading Doing your own Plate Counts
Mycoplasma, The Lurking Menace
Every few weeks I receive a phone call, email, or a FAX from someone in the US with a goat kid (dead or alive) with a diagnosed case of mycoplasma. They find me through finding online an article I wrote in 2008 about our experiences with the disease. I am sharing the article again here … Continue reading Mycoplasma, The Lurking Menace
Gianaclis Caldwell 