About the Author
Karen Kopf
Articles by Karen Kopf
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.
Read More
The Fear of Fescue
Red bag, abortions, thickened placentas, founder, necrosis, failure to freshen — all are symptoms of fescue toxicity … and yet tall fescue is one of the most common forages for livestock in both pasture and baled grass hay.
Read More
Avoid Goat Scams
Scammers are going out of their way to steal people’s money. Goat scams are becoming more common.
How can you be sure you are working with a legitimate seller?
The Dangers of Imprinting
Sometimes, circumstances make artificially raising a kid goat best for the kid or the dam. It is essential that when we raise a baby of another species, we consider the risk of imprinting.
Read More
Goat Prolapses and Placentas
There are things we expect to come out of a doe at kidding — and things we expect to stay in. Sometimes the unexpected occurs. Like a goat prolapse.
Read More
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.
Read More
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?
Read More
Kidding Oddities
Why do goat birth defects happen? Unexpected outcomes range from unusual to unsustainable deformities in rare cases.
Read More
Goats, Vaccinations, and Injectables
How to vaccinate your goat begins long before the injection, with proper means of storing and disposing of vaccines and syringes.
Read More
Goats and The Law
Goats can easily get themselves — and you — in trouble. You will be liable for the behavior of your kids. Liability can be addressed in three ways: 1. Reasonable Measures; 2. Insurance Coverage; and 3. Business Formation.
Read More