Rules for animals on Ag Day
All animals will be health checked, the health and safety of the animals are always our priority. After your animal is health checked, tie it up and go to the registration tent to register and get your number.Please read the rules below carefully, so you know what the expectations are on the day:
All animals will be health checked, the health and safety of the animals are always our priority. After your animal is health checked, tie it up and go to the registration tent to register and get your number.Please read the rules below carefully, so you know what the expectations are on the day:
- Any animals considered unwell, under age or underweight by the Ag Day committee will NOT be allowed to compete due to animal welfare.
- Children must be feeding their own animals/chicken, they must not be still raised on their mother.
- Pets and plants do not count when giving out Ag Day trophies.
- CALVES may be washed and groomed, but not clipped or oiled.
- KIDS may be washed and brushed and feet clipped if necessary.
- There are no parents allowed in the rings. Judges, stewards, children and animals only.
- There is no bottle feeding of animals while the judging is in progress.
- Children must stay with their animals and pets or they will miss out.
- No chickens allowed in the parade.
- The Agriculture Day Committee reserves the right at any time during the day, to disqualify any animal, if the rules are broken or if animals or considered to be at risk.
Chickens
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So you have decided to raise and care for a Chicken — CONGRATULATIONS
Chickens are small, and require lots of care in the beginning of their lives, they need friends so think about the conditions that they will be living in.
Raising Baby Chicks
Chicks should be left in the incubator for about 24 hours to dry and fluff up. There is no harm leaving them in the incubator for up to 48 hours as just before they hatched the remaining yolk would have been drawn inside them and they can happily live off that for a day or two.
As soon as they are ready, they can be moved into a box with sides at least two feet high. Cardboard boxes are sufficient and should be kept in a draft free area out of direct sunlight.
Try to eliminate sharp corners of the boxes by placing and taping curved cardboard in the corners. If chicks get frightened they will huddle together in a corner and sometimes can be smothered and die, it is harder to do this if there are no true corners.
The heat lamp should have been turned on a day or two prior to moving the chicks in, making sure to check the temperature and adjusting the heat lamp accordingly. The temperature needs to be about the same as the temperature used in incubation, so about 37°C. The chicks will soon let you know if the temperature is too hot by moving away from the heat lamp or too cold by huddling under it. As the chicks get older the heat lamp can be moved further away from them.
For the first few days it is best to line the box with paper towels or similar as the chicks are still learning what food is and what food isn't. Litter or sawdust will be pecked at, sometimes consumed and can be deadly. Don't line the floor with anything slippery as the chick's legs won't be strong enough at first and this can cause complications such as straddle legs which is where their legs grow sideways and make it impossible to walk.
When moving the chicks to the box some people like to gently dip the chick's beaks into the water so they learn faster where the water is.
You can purchase starter crumbles from rural supply stores, farming stores and feed stores, which is sufficient for starting the chicks off. It is a good idea to put the feed directly on the paper towels for the first day or two as chicks will peck at anything by their feet, just until they have learned what food is and then start using shallow dishes. Never let the food get wet or damp. Fungus can grow rapidly in these warm conditions and could poison the chicks.
Make sure they have 24 hour access to food and clean water and that the water is not deep enough for a chick to drown in. Using a shallow container with marbles in it is often a preferred choice as chicks have tendencies and urges to jump into liquid. This is presumed to come from the chicks spending their first 21 days of life in liquid.
Chicken Judging on Agriculture Day
Perching: the chicken that perches fastest, stays there and is the most relaxed. (no clipped wings)
Type: best conformation - a good looking chicken. Having a well fed bird will influence the birds conformation.
Care and Attention (rearing): how well the chicken has been cared for, e.g. in good condition, no lice, good clean healthy looking feathers, clean bottom. The judge will speak to each child to find out how much they know about their chicken.
The judge will generally be looking for a good bond between the child and the chicken throughout the judging.
Chickens are small, and require lots of care in the beginning of their lives, they need friends so think about the conditions that they will be living in.
Raising Baby Chicks
Chicks should be left in the incubator for about 24 hours to dry and fluff up. There is no harm leaving them in the incubator for up to 48 hours as just before they hatched the remaining yolk would have been drawn inside them and they can happily live off that for a day or two.
As soon as they are ready, they can be moved into a box with sides at least two feet high. Cardboard boxes are sufficient and should be kept in a draft free area out of direct sunlight.
Try to eliminate sharp corners of the boxes by placing and taping curved cardboard in the corners. If chicks get frightened they will huddle together in a corner and sometimes can be smothered and die, it is harder to do this if there are no true corners.
The heat lamp should have been turned on a day or two prior to moving the chicks in, making sure to check the temperature and adjusting the heat lamp accordingly. The temperature needs to be about the same as the temperature used in incubation, so about 37°C. The chicks will soon let you know if the temperature is too hot by moving away from the heat lamp or too cold by huddling under it. As the chicks get older the heat lamp can be moved further away from them.
For the first few days it is best to line the box with paper towels or similar as the chicks are still learning what food is and what food isn't. Litter or sawdust will be pecked at, sometimes consumed and can be deadly. Don't line the floor with anything slippery as the chick's legs won't be strong enough at first and this can cause complications such as straddle legs which is where their legs grow sideways and make it impossible to walk.
When moving the chicks to the box some people like to gently dip the chick's beaks into the water so they learn faster where the water is.
You can purchase starter crumbles from rural supply stores, farming stores and feed stores, which is sufficient for starting the chicks off. It is a good idea to put the feed directly on the paper towels for the first day or two as chicks will peck at anything by their feet, just until they have learned what food is and then start using shallow dishes. Never let the food get wet or damp. Fungus can grow rapidly in these warm conditions and could poison the chicks.
Make sure they have 24 hour access to food and clean water and that the water is not deep enough for a chick to drown in. Using a shallow container with marbles in it is often a preferred choice as chicks have tendencies and urges to jump into liquid. This is presumed to come from the chicks spending their first 21 days of life in liquid.
Chicken Judging on Agriculture Day
Perching: the chicken that perches fastest, stays there and is the most relaxed. (no clipped wings)
Type: best conformation - a good looking chicken. Having a well fed bird will influence the birds conformation.
Care and Attention (rearing): how well the chicken has been cared for, e.g. in good condition, no lice, good clean healthy looking feathers, clean bottom. The judge will speak to each child to find out how much they know about their chicken.
The judge will generally be looking for a good bond between the child and the chicken throughout the judging.
Lambs
So you have decided to raise and care for a Lamb — CONGRATULATIONS
Lambs are playful and full of energy, they need shelter and space, think about whether this is the right Ag Day animal for you.
If your child decides to have a lamb, the first thing you need is a small fenced area, and a roomy, waterproof wooden box. A lamb can be easily raised on a small section in town, and makes a delightful pet. If you have roving dogs in your area, it is wise to shut your pet up at night.
Where possible, try to select a healthy female lamb. More often than not it’s a matter of taking ‘pot luck”, as most farmers will only part with the orphans. If possible, find out what breed the animal is - as with sheep, this is quite important in determining a meat or wool breed.
You will need:
A small soft drink bottle which must be kept clean, a lambs teat, a bag of lamb milk powder, and a small collar and lead. Before you collect your pet, make sure you have it’s accommodation organised. Initially you will need a small bottle and a lamb’s teat. Most farming outlets will stock these, along with bags of lamb powdered milk. Follow the directions on the bag carefully when mixing the milk. With these pets, the feeding rules are “a little, often”.
Suggested feeding times: 8 am, 12 noon, 4 pm, 8 pm. For very young lambs 4 hourly is best. See feeding schedule overleaf. Initially they will only drink about 1/2 of a small soft drink bottle. Increase this amount gradually. Once the pet starts nibbling grass, decrease the number of feeds to 3 a day, and then to 2 a day.
Lambs can be real little “guzzlers” - they often don’t know when they’ve had enough. Never give them more because they’re pestering after the bottle. After feeding, their tummies should be nicely rounded, NOT bulging! Like calves, you can over-feed these pets.
Healthy pet lambs often die for no apparent reason - it is wise to inject them for Pulpy Kidney, as this is a major killer of young lambs. Good housing is essential. Young animals tend to chew plants indiscriminately and as a result there’s many a Daphne bush and Rhododendron that’s met an untimely end, as has the lamb that ate it! Both these common shrubs are deadly poisonous to your lambs.
LAMBS
Rearing: Alternative Rearing Method
Feeding Schedule - use a baby’s bottle or small coke bottle for small lambs for the first 2 weeks or so.
Newborn animals should be fed on colostrum for at least 3/4 days.
Age No of feeds daily Amount of feed
1 – 2 days 8 x 2 hourly 100mls
3 – 7 days 4 x 4 hourly 200 mls
1 – 3 weeks 4 250 mls
3 – 6 weeks 2 500 to 600 mls
6 wks to weaning 1 “ “
or follow what is on the bag of milk powder. Feed small or weak lambs little and often.
Weak or scouring lambs – contact your vet for advice and for treatments such as electrolytes or scourban.
As the lambs get older, keep an eye out for worms. Signs are runny motions, scouring or worms in droppings. If your lamb shows any of these symptoms – treat immediately with wormer.
Docking should be done mainly because as the lamb gets older it helps with fly control etc. Docking should be combined with the lamb vaccination.
Training
Your child must train and feed the lamb if they want to be successful at Agriculture Day. It is also good training for your child to accept responsibility for the walking of their pet. Lambs train best when hungry - 10 minutes before feeding is ideal.
Start training at about 1 week old, at least once a day - preferably twice. Tie lamb up daily for a short time to get used to being on a lead. Lamb walks on the child’s right, with its shoulder beside the child’s leg. Lambs like to have their head in front, once the child gets in front of the lamb, it gets stubborn and pulls back. If lamb stops, the child should stop and encourage the lamb to move by talking to it or clicking their tongue.
The lead is held in the child’s right hand firmly, but not so tightly that it pulls on the collar. The lead passes across the front of the body and the excess is coiled in the left hand. Please see the attached sheet on leading course and follow instructions. Encourage your child to talk to lamb while leading, and in training give the stakes a wide berth, so the pet won’t stop and sniff at the stakes.
Calling
As “calling” is an important part of the judging, preparation for this can start as soon as you get your pet. Lambs learn quickly and they respond well to a “reward” system. At feed time, whenever possible, hold the lamb some distance from your child, who holds the bottle. On releasing the lamb the child should call the lamb by name, and “reward” it with its drink, repeat the process two or three times during the early feedings, and soon your lamb will learn to associate the child’s voice with feeding, and will dash to them whenever they call. If you don’t teach your pet to come to you, you can’t expect it to magically co-operate with you on Ag Day.
Sometimes, lambs that have been taught don’t co-operate either on Ag Day, causing frustration to their owners!
Leading
Wait until the lamb is at least a few weeks old before you start to train. Some lambs never adjust to being led, and will vigorously object to this process. Have patience and take it gently - it is easy to damage their fragile little necks by dragging it along! If the lamb has been confined to a small pen during the day they will often enjoy a walk outside before afternoon feed time. Start them off by getting them used to wearing their collar, then introduce the lead. Learn to walk on a pathway or driveway (with sides to the path) , not across an open space. Teach the pet to walk with you at your pace - a trick with this can be to feed them a favourite treat as you walk. Some lambs are particularly partial to raisins, bread or sliced apple, or Dairy ration or similar.
Judging Leading
It is important when teaching a lamb to lead, to be consistent and regular in your practice. Most Ag Days require the lamb to walk around a set course ( a copy is attached). You are judged on how you perform as a team. Your pet should walk freely alongside you, not in front or behind you.
Judging Calling
The child is placed at one end of an enclosure - a Judge’s steward will take the lamb to the other end; when the child calls, the pet is released. The winning pet will dash straight to its owner. The children should use a loud calling voice. It will be penalised if it dashes past the owner, or into the crowd to find “MUM”, who wasn’t supposed to feed it at all, or if it saunters off in another direction. A well trained lamb will recognise a familiar voice and in most circumstances will respond - especially if they’re hungry - so don’t overfeed it before “calling”. Give it a drink after Judging is over.
Judging Type
Fat Lamb e.g. Suffolk, Dorset, Southdown, Texal
Wool Type e.g. Perendale, Romney
Know what breed your pet is so the Judge can make a qualitative assessment of your pet’s development. NEVER shampoo or brush your lamb. Apart from being contrary to the rules of Agricultural Day, it destroys the lanolin in the wool and leaves the animal susceptible to chills that are fatal.
Health
Lambs will need to be drenched for worms. Your vet or farmer will advise you on this. Any changes should always be checked out. Lambs should be docked (tails removed) and injected against “pulpy kidney”.
Most farmers will accept the return of your pet after Ag Day and Group Day and to be fair to both animal and farmer please ensure the animal is old enough to be weaned. It is wise to make these arrangements with the farmer beforehand.
If the mother has not been vaccinated, or if their vaccination status is unknown, the lambs should be
vaccinated with Lamb Vaccine or Pk/Antitet at docking. If the lambs are born to fully vaccinated ewes and have received adequate amounts of colostrum in the first day of life they will have protection for about three months. All lambs should be vaccinated with a 5 in 1 vaccine at weaning at around three months of age. A sensitising dose and a booster dose one month later is required.
Worms
All lambs need to be drenched for worms at approx 6 – 8 weeks. Check with your local vet or farm supplier.
Lambs are playful and full of energy, they need shelter and space, think about whether this is the right Ag Day animal for you.
If your child decides to have a lamb, the first thing you need is a small fenced area, and a roomy, waterproof wooden box. A lamb can be easily raised on a small section in town, and makes a delightful pet. If you have roving dogs in your area, it is wise to shut your pet up at night.
Where possible, try to select a healthy female lamb. More often than not it’s a matter of taking ‘pot luck”, as most farmers will only part with the orphans. If possible, find out what breed the animal is - as with sheep, this is quite important in determining a meat or wool breed.
You will need:
A small soft drink bottle which must be kept clean, a lambs teat, a bag of lamb milk powder, and a small collar and lead. Before you collect your pet, make sure you have it’s accommodation organised. Initially you will need a small bottle and a lamb’s teat. Most farming outlets will stock these, along with bags of lamb powdered milk. Follow the directions on the bag carefully when mixing the milk. With these pets, the feeding rules are “a little, often”.
Suggested feeding times: 8 am, 12 noon, 4 pm, 8 pm. For very young lambs 4 hourly is best. See feeding schedule overleaf. Initially they will only drink about 1/2 of a small soft drink bottle. Increase this amount gradually. Once the pet starts nibbling grass, decrease the number of feeds to 3 a day, and then to 2 a day.
Lambs can be real little “guzzlers” - they often don’t know when they’ve had enough. Never give them more because they’re pestering after the bottle. After feeding, their tummies should be nicely rounded, NOT bulging! Like calves, you can over-feed these pets.
Healthy pet lambs often die for no apparent reason - it is wise to inject them for Pulpy Kidney, as this is a major killer of young lambs. Good housing is essential. Young animals tend to chew plants indiscriminately and as a result there’s many a Daphne bush and Rhododendron that’s met an untimely end, as has the lamb that ate it! Both these common shrubs are deadly poisonous to your lambs.
LAMBS
Rearing: Alternative Rearing Method
Feeding Schedule - use a baby’s bottle or small coke bottle for small lambs for the first 2 weeks or so.
Newborn animals should be fed on colostrum for at least 3/4 days.
Age No of feeds daily Amount of feed
1 – 2 days 8 x 2 hourly 100mls
3 – 7 days 4 x 4 hourly 200 mls
1 – 3 weeks 4 250 mls
3 – 6 weeks 2 500 to 600 mls
6 wks to weaning 1 “ “
or follow what is on the bag of milk powder. Feed small or weak lambs little and often.
Weak or scouring lambs – contact your vet for advice and for treatments such as electrolytes or scourban.
As the lambs get older, keep an eye out for worms. Signs are runny motions, scouring or worms in droppings. If your lamb shows any of these symptoms – treat immediately with wormer.
Docking should be done mainly because as the lamb gets older it helps with fly control etc. Docking should be combined with the lamb vaccination.
Training
Your child must train and feed the lamb if they want to be successful at Agriculture Day. It is also good training for your child to accept responsibility for the walking of their pet. Lambs train best when hungry - 10 minutes before feeding is ideal.
Start training at about 1 week old, at least once a day - preferably twice. Tie lamb up daily for a short time to get used to being on a lead. Lamb walks on the child’s right, with its shoulder beside the child’s leg. Lambs like to have their head in front, once the child gets in front of the lamb, it gets stubborn and pulls back. If lamb stops, the child should stop and encourage the lamb to move by talking to it or clicking their tongue.
The lead is held in the child’s right hand firmly, but not so tightly that it pulls on the collar. The lead passes across the front of the body and the excess is coiled in the left hand. Please see the attached sheet on leading course and follow instructions. Encourage your child to talk to lamb while leading, and in training give the stakes a wide berth, so the pet won’t stop and sniff at the stakes.
Calling
As “calling” is an important part of the judging, preparation for this can start as soon as you get your pet. Lambs learn quickly and they respond well to a “reward” system. At feed time, whenever possible, hold the lamb some distance from your child, who holds the bottle. On releasing the lamb the child should call the lamb by name, and “reward” it with its drink, repeat the process two or three times during the early feedings, and soon your lamb will learn to associate the child’s voice with feeding, and will dash to them whenever they call. If you don’t teach your pet to come to you, you can’t expect it to magically co-operate with you on Ag Day.
Sometimes, lambs that have been taught don’t co-operate either on Ag Day, causing frustration to their owners!
Leading
Wait until the lamb is at least a few weeks old before you start to train. Some lambs never adjust to being led, and will vigorously object to this process. Have patience and take it gently - it is easy to damage their fragile little necks by dragging it along! If the lamb has been confined to a small pen during the day they will often enjoy a walk outside before afternoon feed time. Start them off by getting them used to wearing their collar, then introduce the lead. Learn to walk on a pathway or driveway (with sides to the path) , not across an open space. Teach the pet to walk with you at your pace - a trick with this can be to feed them a favourite treat as you walk. Some lambs are particularly partial to raisins, bread or sliced apple, or Dairy ration or similar.
Judging Leading
It is important when teaching a lamb to lead, to be consistent and regular in your practice. Most Ag Days require the lamb to walk around a set course ( a copy is attached). You are judged on how you perform as a team. Your pet should walk freely alongside you, not in front or behind you.
Judging Calling
The child is placed at one end of an enclosure - a Judge’s steward will take the lamb to the other end; when the child calls, the pet is released. The winning pet will dash straight to its owner. The children should use a loud calling voice. It will be penalised if it dashes past the owner, or into the crowd to find “MUM”, who wasn’t supposed to feed it at all, or if it saunters off in another direction. A well trained lamb will recognise a familiar voice and in most circumstances will respond - especially if they’re hungry - so don’t overfeed it before “calling”. Give it a drink after Judging is over.
Judging Type
Fat Lamb e.g. Suffolk, Dorset, Southdown, Texal
Wool Type e.g. Perendale, Romney
Know what breed your pet is so the Judge can make a qualitative assessment of your pet’s development. NEVER shampoo or brush your lamb. Apart from being contrary to the rules of Agricultural Day, it destroys the lanolin in the wool and leaves the animal susceptible to chills that are fatal.
Health
Lambs will need to be drenched for worms. Your vet or farmer will advise you on this. Any changes should always be checked out. Lambs should be docked (tails removed) and injected against “pulpy kidney”.
Most farmers will accept the return of your pet after Ag Day and Group Day and to be fair to both animal and farmer please ensure the animal is old enough to be weaned. It is wise to make these arrangements with the farmer beforehand.
If the mother has not been vaccinated, or if their vaccination status is unknown, the lambs should be
vaccinated with Lamb Vaccine or Pk/Antitet at docking. If the lambs are born to fully vaccinated ewes and have received adequate amounts of colostrum in the first day of life they will have protection for about three months. All lambs should be vaccinated with a 5 in 1 vaccine at weaning at around three months of age. A sensitising dose and a booster dose one month later is required.
Worms
All lambs need to be drenched for worms at approx 6 – 8 weeks. Check with your local vet or farm supplier.
Kid Goats
So you have decided to raise and care for a Kid — CONGRATULATIONS
They are one of the most playful, cute and intelligent pets and will grow up to be loyal companions, like a dog. They can live for around 10 years.
You will need:
Your kid should spend his first week at least inside (depending on the weather) — maybe the laundry, cosy garage, barn or somewhere secure that is also dry, warm and sheltered. He should not get wet or cold or he may die. He will need several feeds a day at first — we feed our orphans about 5 feeds a day for the first week and slowly drop them back to 3 feeds a day, depending on the family routine and common sense. You want your kid to be well fed to grow well.
You can start training your kid in the first week. Put the little collar on and let him get used to the feel of it for a day or so. Then begin short lessons with the lead attached. Using lots of kindness and patience, help your kid to walk with you (You should be at his left shoulder) by gently pushing his bottom forward and walking forward at the same time — use a simple command such as ‘walk on’ and be consistent with this. Kids are intelligent and will quickly work out what you are trying to do. Mum or Dad can give you a hand here while you get started together. As he walks beside you later, lead him over small logs on the ground and around other obstacles — you will meet these later in the show ring in the LEADING SECTION of your School Agriculture Day.
Now for calling... every time you feed your kid you should call his name — he will soon respond to this and by the time you get to the ring, he should run up to you when you call... thinking that you will have the bottle ready. Do not let anyone else in your family call and feed your kid (except for Mum and Dad who may have to feed the baby at lunchtime while you are at school).
Care and rearing class
The judge will ask you questions about your kid, its breed, how you have fed and cared for it and what you know about its fleece, etc. The judge will also compare your kid to the others in the class to see who has the most healthy and well-cared for kid.
Your kid will enjoy picking at grass after the first couple of weeks - they also like meal and especially hay. Don’t forget, goats are BROWSERS, not GRAZERS — and are different from sheep in that they must have long grass not short. They are prone to internal worms and should be wormed at around 10 weeks and regularly after that. An oral sheep drench may be purchased from farming outlets or your vet can supply you with a single dose if you have just the one animal.
Their fast growing hooves should be trimmed every 6 weeks — remember they originally come from dry rocky countries where their hooves are kept naturally short. On soft pasture, we need to trim the excess growth — sharp garden secateurs are good or ask a farmer.
Dangers:
Never leave your kid alone with the family dog, whatever its size or breed. ‘Playing together’ may result in the kids death. Don’t let your kid wander into your flower or vege garden — some domestic plants are poisonous and very toxic to goats, eg potatoes, tomatoes, azaleas, rhododendrons, lillies, to name a few. Kids do not have their mother to show them what to avoid and if poisoned, they generally die. Further information can be found at your library.
Enjoy your kid — have fun
They are one of the most playful, cute and intelligent pets and will grow up to be loyal companions, like a dog. They can live for around 10 years.
You will need:
- A cardboard box lined with clean newspaper ( you can replace this as necessary).
- Plastic soft drink bottle with screw lid.
- Two lamb teats — one is a spare — this should screw neatly onto the bottle. Denkavit lamb and kid milk powder — instructions for mixing are on the pack.
- The teats and milk powder can be purchased from any farming business such as Coastal Engineering in Clevedon, Takanini Racing and Stockfeeds in Ardmore and Profàrm in Papakura.
- You will also need a small neat collar and lead.
Your kid should spend his first week at least inside (depending on the weather) — maybe the laundry, cosy garage, barn or somewhere secure that is also dry, warm and sheltered. He should not get wet or cold or he may die. He will need several feeds a day at first — we feed our orphans about 5 feeds a day for the first week and slowly drop them back to 3 feeds a day, depending on the family routine and common sense. You want your kid to be well fed to grow well.
You can start training your kid in the first week. Put the little collar on and let him get used to the feel of it for a day or so. Then begin short lessons with the lead attached. Using lots of kindness and patience, help your kid to walk with you (You should be at his left shoulder) by gently pushing his bottom forward and walking forward at the same time — use a simple command such as ‘walk on’ and be consistent with this. Kids are intelligent and will quickly work out what you are trying to do. Mum or Dad can give you a hand here while you get started together. As he walks beside you later, lead him over small logs on the ground and around other obstacles — you will meet these later in the show ring in the LEADING SECTION of your School Agriculture Day.
Now for calling... every time you feed your kid you should call his name — he will soon respond to this and by the time you get to the ring, he should run up to you when you call... thinking that you will have the bottle ready. Do not let anyone else in your family call and feed your kid (except for Mum and Dad who may have to feed the baby at lunchtime while you are at school).
Care and rearing class
The judge will ask you questions about your kid, its breed, how you have fed and cared for it and what you know about its fleece, etc. The judge will also compare your kid to the others in the class to see who has the most healthy and well-cared for kid.
Your kid will enjoy picking at grass after the first couple of weeks - they also like meal and especially hay. Don’t forget, goats are BROWSERS, not GRAZERS — and are different from sheep in that they must have long grass not short. They are prone to internal worms and should be wormed at around 10 weeks and regularly after that. An oral sheep drench may be purchased from farming outlets or your vet can supply you with a single dose if you have just the one animal.
Their fast growing hooves should be trimmed every 6 weeks — remember they originally come from dry rocky countries where their hooves are kept naturally short. On soft pasture, we need to trim the excess growth — sharp garden secateurs are good or ask a farmer.
Dangers:
Never leave your kid alone with the family dog, whatever its size or breed. ‘Playing together’ may result in the kids death. Don’t let your kid wander into your flower or vege garden — some domestic plants are poisonous and very toxic to goats, eg potatoes, tomatoes, azaleas, rhododendrons, lillies, to name a few. Kids do not have their mother to show them what to avoid and if poisoned, they generally die. Further information can be found at your library.
Enjoy your kid — have fun
