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Kids: Coccidia

Coccidia are a protozoan internal parasite, that most goats have, in small numbers. In adults, this is generally not a problem, but if kids get an overload of coccidia, it can cause diarrhea, intestinal scarring, and ultimately death, if not treated.  The first line of prevention for coccidia in kids is to keep their areas clean. This may seem like an unreasonable expectation--it's a barn, for all love--but what this means is essentially making sure the kids have minimal access to poop--they pick up coccidia from mouthing poop, soiled straw, etc. This can mean cleaning out the pen every day, or it can mean adding a new layer of straw once or twice a day, or even both. A good criteria (picked up from Deborah at the Thrifty Homesteader) is that you should be willing to sit down in the stall. Then, it's clean enough for kids. If you're not willing to sit down (while wearing "barn" pants. Not wearing a fancy dress, for instance) it's not clean enough for kids.  In...
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Breeding: Communication

 So you've figured out (more or less) who you want to breed to. How do we make that a reality? There's a few steps.

1. Email the breeder as soon as you've ironed out who you want to breed to. If we already know the farm, this should simply be a heads up that we're hoping to use one of their bucks (Legolas, I may send this email this coming year, just to introduce you to the farmers). 
This email should include:
-A greeting
-Which buck we're hoping to breed to
-When we're hoping to breed
-Something along the lines of "We're going to be doing disease testing at the end of September/this fall as usual". 
-A check-in on fees (this gives them a gracious way to let you know if the stud fee has changed, rather than saying, day-of, "Um, yeah, that'll be x amount extra")
-A thank you

If you don't know the farmers, the email should
-Introduce our farm
-Ask if they offer stud service, and if so, at what price
-Ask if they have disease testing requirements
-Ask at what times they would be available.

If, after this, they respond positively and say they do offer stud service, send another email with
-A thank-you
-The buck we're hoping to breed to
-When we're hoping to breed
-Ask for their phone number or the best way to contact them day-of

In general, when we're working with a farm we don't know, you should sign the email like so:

Legolas Greenleaf
Three Angels Farm

to establish that they're working with an actual farm and not a "rookie" who just wants to breed her grade doe. 

2. (Optional) When you've figured out approximately when the doe in question has been coming in to heat, you can email the breeder a heads-up with an approximate window on when the doe will be ready to be bred. Please give a week window, rather than a couple of days!

3. On the day the doe goes into heat, contact the breeder via the best way of contacting them (usually text) too coordinate on timing. Generally just state that the doe is in heat, and ask what the best time would be to bring her up. Mention any time constraints you have, if there are any.

4. Head up and get the doe bred! Make sure to be polite. Goat breeders are generally a lot of fun to hang out with during breeding sessions. Also, they like to be paid by check, in general, so have Mom bring her checkbook. (Or write one beforehand).

5. While you're there, ask them about their Service Memo policy. A Service Memo is a piece of ADGA paperwork that's necessary for registering kids. Some farms will email it to you right away, and some only after the kids are born.

6. Be sure to say thank-you, and let them know if/when the doe gets pregnant!

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