What can you do with vinegar? Article on page 46. Feeding goats vinegar to get rid of lice. how much do you feed them ? do you mix it in water?? can a milking goat receive it too? will it make the milk taste like vinegar? Can the kidds have it also?? lots of questions wrapped into one. Hope someone has an answer. sure would appreciate it. I have pygmy goats and nubian. Thanks. Star

-- Star Irvin (irvinco@vbe.com), June 29, 1999

Answers

Feed small amounts of vinegar free choice. I have used it to deter flies from horses but hadn't tried it on the Nubians yet. Vinegar may also prevent unbalanced rumen as does baking soda. White vinegar is manufactured, not fermented from food, you may want to reserve that for cleaning windows etc. Use your vinegar and milk to make Queso Blanco.

-- Kendy Sawyer (sweetfire@grove.net), July 23, 1999.

We use apple cider vinegar. You can spread 1 oz over individual feedings. You can add 2 tsp/gal or more to drinking water. Increases milk production and general health with no adverse effects. Milk flavor not affected in Nubians. Aids in digestion. Good for kids and pregnant does. Makes healthy goats with shiny coats. Lots of information in apple cider books. Excellent for humans too. Prisca

-- Prisca Wooster (kerryw@hctc.net), August 24, 1999.

Agreed with Prisca; I used to mix a small amount of apple cider vinegar in my goats feed once a day. It does help with general overall health. Plus, they love it. The milk is not effected by it if given judiciously to my knowledge.

-- Jim Roberts (jroberts1@cas.org), October 13, 1999.

Not really an answer but more of a question. Can sheep and llamas have it if it is being fed to the goats. The goats like it but don't want to mess up the others.

-- Cindy Holloway (hollo@bitwisesystems.com), November 02, 1999.

Hi!! I add vinegar to water to deter flies in the summer, it also increases milk production and supposduly will result in doe kids so I've been told. Hope this helps.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 23, 2000.

hi star, i have used apple cider vinegar for years. don't use the white stuff, it is the apple cider vinegar that works. it won't hurt other animals or fowl either, some humans take some every day for various ills like arthritis. it does help with more doe kids too by slightly changing the Ph of the vaginal lining. a little like drinking cranberry juice to help with a bladder infection. a goat rasing friend of mine was cynical about the doe kid part but was having 95% bucks. she fed free=chioce baking soda to ^butterfat. but she finally took away the soda for a month and gave them vinegar in their water every day and voila doe kids!!! 8-10 oz. of vinegar to 5 gal of milk is what i use. hope this helps karen

-- KAREN MAUK (DAIRYGOATMAMA@AOL.COM), January 26, 2000.

Aplle cider vinegar is good for general health....any living animal, including humans. It is said to increase the % of females at birth. The main use is in goats to prevent urinary calculi in males.

-- Barbara C. Fischer (cen12205@centurytel.net), August 15, 2000.

HI, I'VE BEEN TAKING APPLE CIDER VINEGAR FOR YEARS. SINCE THE LATE 70'S. I GIVE IT APPLE CIDER ONLY , THE DOGS AND CATS. IT MAKES THE F;EAS JUMP OFF THEM. ALSO IT'S GOOD FOR THE ANIMALS. ONLY 1 OR 2 TSP. OVER THERE FEED. WERE INTO FOLK MEDICINE AND IT WORKS.APPLE CIDER IS GOOD FOR WEIGHT CONTROL ALSO.

-- MRS PRISCILLA WILLIAMS (GP83196@AOL.COM), August 15, 2000.

I put a glug of vinegar in the plastic water barrels to keep them from turning green quite so fast during the summer, no we don't have all does born :) Remember one fact when dealing with ruminents. When a ruminet drinks they cock their neck and this opens another valve (if you will) that lets the water bypass the rumen and go straight into the 3rd stomach. So vinegar would have no effect on the rumen. Baking soda obviously does and we do feed it to our does in high production early spring. We also don't see any difference in our milk taste during this time. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), August 16, 2000.

It could improve the quality of goat meat. I am still doing the study right now with my undergraduate thesis. And if ever anyone has any article that could help me with my study, please contact me through my email add.

-- Ivy Alvarez (Ivy_Alvarez@yahoo.com), June 28, 2001.