About the Author
Karen Kopf
Articles by Karen Kopf
Are You Feeding Straw or Hay for Goats?
If you dread choosing hay for goats, you are not alone … there is much to know about what to feed goats.
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Listeriosis in Goats: Dangers of Feeding Moldy Hay
Circling Disease and Silage Sickness are other names for listeriosis in goats, commonly associated with feeding moldy hay.
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Goat Care During Fire Season
When raising goats, prepare for many seasons: breeding season, kidding season, show season, winter — and for many in the western states, FIRE season.
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Geissebei Trekkinggeissen
Wandering in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by goats, is a dream that has filled my head since I was a little girl listening to the story of Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Imagine …
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Boy Bands are Back! Banding Goats 101
Banding goats … it is how we castrate males that will not be used as bucks. Using a tool called an elastrator, a thick rubber band (green Cheerio) is placed on the scrotum above the testes, eliminating blood flow, so that the testicles stop developing, shrivel, and fall off.
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Listeriosis in Goats
Listeriosis, also called Circling Disease and Silage sickness, is a life-threatening disease caused by bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria
ivanovii. Listeria is zoonotic and can be transferred to humans. It thrives in aerobic conditions and can withstand temperatures from 34-113 degrees F. It persists almost anywhere, including soil, manure piles, gastrointestinal tracts, the top layer of silage, and moldy hay or feed. It is also commonly found in the feces of infected birds, animals, fish, and insects as well as sewage.
The Doe Code
Oh, the game is strong with this experienced one… She knows the Doe Code all too well! Contractions about a minute apart. Why is our goat in labor tonight? Dutchess came to …
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Goat Lice: Are Your Goats Lousy?
Goat lice are very common in winter months, and finding them does not mean you are a bad herdsman. If you don’t see them, it doesn’t mean they are not there.
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Deep Freeze! How to Keep Goats Warm in Cold Weather
How cold is too cold for a goat? Temperature can be the least of challenges when determining how to keep goats warm in cold weather. I’ve lived in cold climates …
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Goat with The Flow – Enthusiasts Rescue Goats From a Volcano
This is the courageous story of volunteers donning respirators and donating land and equipment to rescue goats and other livestock from the 2018 Kilauea eruption. And it all started with …
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