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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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About Me

Hi, I'm Sam, aka Samantha, or Sam Gamgee. This blog is primarily to teach my sister, "Legolas", about how to take care of our goats when I'm at college. But I hope that you, whoever you are who is reading this, might find this interesting, as well. Please let me know if you do!

If you're not Legolas, a little background:
My family runs a small urban farm in a big city--we have ducks, chickens, goats, bees, and rabbits. It's great fun! I'm the primary caretaker of the goats and bees, and I'm hoping to pass the reins to Legolas and/or my other siblings (Eomer, Galadriel, and Gandalf) when I leave for college. In addition to taking care of farm animals, I enjoy photography, writing, reading, quilting, singing, and being Catholic. :) 

About the goats:
We have two Nigerian Dwarves currently, Dora and Cassie, who I will be referring to often on here. 
Dora (the black-and-white one) is a two-year-old, who will be freshening for the first time in March 2021, God willing. She is a complete snuggle-bug, and the daughter of one of our previous goats, Misty, who I will be explaining in a moment. She's rather large for a Nigeran, but has great body capacity and dairy character anyway. 

Cassie (the broken chamoisee, aka brown, black, and white, one) is a four-year-old, who will be freshening for the third time in March 2021, again, God willing. :) We call her the introvert goat--she doesn't really like hanging out with other goats, besides her kids, but she's a great mom, and a great milker. 

I may refer to some goats we've previously owned; here's a key:
Misty: Cassie's age, Dora's mom, very strong and strong-minded. 
Cammi: One of Misty's 2019 kids, we kept her until she was a yearling. Very sweet, but also large. 
Mr. Tumnus, JJ: Misty's two other 2019 kids, both wethers
Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, Mr. Bingley: Cassie's 2019 kids, all wethers
Mira, Hamilton, Frost: Dora's littermates from 2018, Misty's quadruplets.
Noelani, Nebula: Cassie's 2018 kids

Enjoy the blog, and please let me know if you have questions! 

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