Please read below to understand what goes into our goat management and why we raise the level of expectation and care for all goat herds.
An entire year of planning and process went into the goat kid you are considering today. When we select a breeding Buck for a Doe, we are always looking to improve upon that Doe’s conformation and characteristics. Experience and ADGA Linear Appraisal scores give us the knowledge base to pick the best matches. Bucks are prepped 30 days prior to servicing any doe to ensure healthy sperm. While we rotate 3 loose vitamin and mineral (Manna Pro, Sweetlix, Back in Balance) options at all times, a dose of Replamin gel and vitamin E/selenium paste guarantee sperm are active. Copper Boluses are given as needed. Fecal testing under a microscope can help us determine what deworming needs are as well. Does receive the same level of care as the Bucks. Each Doe is scored and assessed based on genetics and LA scores. We rotate the 3 loose mineral options and copper bolus as needed throughout the year alongside replamin gel doses. Does are ultrasounded at 35-45 days after breeding to count eggs and plan accordingly.
Cleanliness is the best preventative care you can offer your goats. Our goats dry lots are cleaned twice weekly during spring, summer and fall. Dry lots are comprised of play structures and houses and the base is 75% sand making it very easy to blow out pellets using a leaf blower. No animal should have to stand in their own waste or lay in their own waste. Our in fence feeders allow them to eat in a tray that can never hold fecal matter. As a result, we see less parasite transfer. We offer to both our Bucks and Does 24/7 -2nd and 3rd cutting alfalfa and grass mix, 50/50, in hay bags in Priefert hay feeders. Keeping hay off the ground and up, again, ensures lower parasite transfer. We even wash and sanitize our hay bags couple times a year. Clean water is also a must on our farm. Our buckets are not only always full but drained and scrubbed daily to promote ample water intake. No animal should have to choose between dehydration and algae ridden water. These preventative measures should make you feel assured that your next future Doeling or Buckling is started in the right direction.
We do pasture our goats when seasons allow. We have several small pastures we can rotate our goats through. Fresh pasture is always a goats best option as well as brush, weeds and trees. We do find the need to grain our goats daily as well. Our grain mixture is a custom mix and made on our farm. 50% Dumor grain and the remainder a mix of Black oil sunflower seeds, oats, corn, raw in shell peanuts, Hemp seed pellets, Split peas, beet pulp, and dehydrated carrots. We also top dress the grain with “Stocked Up” a ground flax seed product made by Outlaw Feeds. As you can imagine, this grain mix is not some cheap all stock feed. It is very costly but we want to output the healthiest goats possible. When you think about it, the internal organs of your next Doeling or Buckling are created in the womb of its Dam long before you consider adding him or her to your breeding program. As breeders we owe it to our animals to always provide the best because we expect the best.
When it is close to a doe kidding, she is brought in our heated garage and has an individual stall that is monitored with wifi cameras. We control the breeding dates to have some control over the kidding date. Human assistance can be the difference between life and death during most kiddings. Does and kids are monitored for a time together and then put in one of our larger stalls in our barn with wifi cameras and heat barrels. Minnesota weather is very unpredictable and kids need an additional heat source till outside temps are consistently above 50*. Kids are evaluated and priced based on genetics, conformation, personality and lastly, flash.
We blood test for CAE, CL and Johne’s diseases. Something we also will start in 2023 is fecal testing for Johne’s. We have not had a test come back positive in all our years of breeding.
Breeding goats here at Min E Acres is taken seriously. We take health and care to a level that many other breeders wouldn’t consider. It costs money and time to ensure your next potential Doeling or Buckling from us has the best health to help achieve your herd goals.
If you have any questions at any time, please feel free to contact me. I will do my best to help in any situation. Customer or not.
Minn E Acres Farm 