Veerman Acres Herd Health Program
At Veerman Acres we are thankful for the wisdom and assistance of a fantastic veterinary team, as well as a nutritionist to help us formulate and implement our Herd Health Program. We have a strict culling protocol for animals that do not fit our program. We aim to keep a quality and healthy herd and strive to create an environment that provides our livestock with the ability to thrive. We have put together the following program that we implement on our ranch to help us achieve our goals in maintaining a vigorous and low maintenance herd with optimal performance.
Grazing Management
We practice rotational grazing at Veerman Acres, utilizing portable electric nets with a solar powered energizer. Rotational grazing involves frequently rotating livestock to different areas of a pasture (we move every 3 days or so depending on stocking rate in each group and size of pasture area). Rotational grazing has many benefits:
Improves soil with carbon sequestration
Reduces emissions
Prevents overgrazing
Keeps parasite loads low in the herd
Improves forage quality and regrowth
Rotational grazing is management intensive but as a producer we reap the benefits!
Compost Bedding Pack Barn
At our farm, we utilize a compost bedding pack system in our well ventilated barn during colder months/off-pasture season. This offers many benefits to our herd including improved comfort and maximized udder and foot health. Compost is a source of natural heat which dries the bedding material and provides a soft and dry place to rest. We clean out the pack on average once or twice a year. This also saves us bedding costs, and labor!
Hoof Trimming
Hooves are trimmed as needed. When the animals are on pasture they wear them down so they do not required trimming as often.
Body Condition Scoring (BCS)
Body condition score (BCS) represents the amount of body reserves an animal has and is an assessment of the amount of muscle and fat covering the body. Most commonly assessed on a 5-point scale, it is an important indicator of animal health and welfare giving a goat producer the ability to identify animals that are either under or over body condition earlier preventing further complications.
For more information on BCS for goats click here.
Purchased Stock Protocol
We quarantine new animals and monitor for signs of disease as well as external and internal parasites before introducing them to our herd.
Copper Bolus
We routinely give our herd copper boluses to prevent deficiency. Early signs of copper deficiency are a faded coat, fish tail (balding tail tip), and losing hair on the face, especially around the eyes or the bridge of the nose. Later potential effects of severe copper deficiency include anemia, fertility issues, bowed legs and death.
Feed, Supplements and Nutrition
We were thankful to have the help of a great nutritionist assist us with our herd nutrition plan. When our animals are not in a rotational grazing pasture system (off-pasture season), we feed free choice hay and free choice loose minerals the are goat specific.
Parasite Control
We only de-worm as absolutely necessary to minimize dewormer resistance in our herd. We use the Famacha scoring chart as our assessment tool of choice. We practice frequent rotational grazing for our herd and try to keep the grass from being grazed below 3 inches tall in each paddock. This minimizes the potential to contract parasites from the soil.
Common Diseases in Goats
Johnes Disease (Paratuberculosis)
We last tested our herd (goats > 18 months old as it will not be detected in younger animals) for Johnes in December 2022. All came back negative. The test for Johne's disease is only 60-70% accurate. A negative blood test for Johnes means the goats tested are 60% to 70% negative, however, a positive test usually means they are most likely positive.
Due to the costly fees that come with testing and the large size of our herd, we will no longer be testing new animals or our current herd annually as a preventative biosecurity measure. We currently manage over 100 head in our herd, and from a cost standpoint it no longer is viable for us as producers to test the whole herd annually as a preventative biosecurity measure. This would cost thousands. We will continue to monitor for signs of disease and if an animal was ever suspected of having an issue, would be tested as an individual and culled if we ever had a positive come up.
For more information here is a link:
CAE (Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis)
We last tested our herd for CAE in December 2022 (all came back negative for CAE). Due to the costly fees that come with testing and the large size of our herd, we will no longer be testing new animals or our current herd annually as a preventative biosecurity measure. We currently manage over 100 head in our herd, and from a cost standpoint it no longer is viable for us as producers to test the whole herd annually as a preventative biosecurity measure. This would cost thousands. We will continue to monitor for signs of disease and if an animal was ever suspected of having an issue, would be tested as an individual and culled if we ever had a positive come up.
Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis is a disease that can be a silent money grabber the symptoms of the disease can be very obvious or not visual at all. Animals can have CAE and never show symptoms of the disease or can be completely disabled by it. It is a wasting disease that causes hard udders, big knees, arthritis, and chronic pneumonia. It is transmitted mainly through the mothers milk but can be passed by blood or bodily fluids. There is no treatment for CAE.
Here is a link on Caprine arthritis and encephalitis (CAE) for more information on this disease.
CL (Caseous Lymphadenitis)
Caseous Lymphadenitis: Has two forms: (1) External abscesses (more common in goats) usually found around the neck, throat or behind the ear, and (2) Internal abscesses (more common in sheep) in the lungs, liver and kidneys, but, is found in goats as well. CL abscesses are a cheesy greenish-yellow to off-white odorless pus encased in a capsule. It starts out as a lump under the skin and gradually become larger until it is ready to open. The surface becomes bald and softer. If you absolutely must deal with an abscess wear gloves and keep all the contents from contaminating other surfaces or objects. Do not have any CL abscess open on your farm.
Here is a link to more information about Caseous Lymphadenitis and the different types of bacteria that cause abscesses. Many are not contagious or dangerous but still should be treated as such. With out a lab culture test there is no way of knowing what type of bacteria it is.