We also discussed the diet for the wethers. A wethered goat is at risk of Urinary Calculi. Commonly called "Water Belly," Urinary Calculi is a urinary-tract blockage in goats. It is caused by feeding too much goat mix which leads to the formation of calculi (stones) that block the urinary tract and so prevent urination. It is a problem for wethers especially as the act of castration leaves them with an under-developed urinary tract which is more prone to blockages. The issue with the goat mix is that the phosphorous to calcium ratio is often off balance and it is the phosphorus that helps form the stones. Phosphorus is usually recycled through saliva and excreted via the poo. However eating too much mix decreases the formation of saliva which in turn 'increases' the amount of phosphorus excreted in the urine.
Up to weaning, many goat owners allow their wethers to eat the mix with their mums but after that the kids should have their mix reduced and eventually stopped. It can be replaced with grass nuts or feeds where the phosphorous to calcium ratio is better. It is also possible to put ammonia chloride into the feed to acidify it as this will help prevent the formation of the stones.
It is safe to say that feeding our five goats gets ever more complicated and gone are the days of putting one type of feed into several truggs and leaving them all to get on with it!!! Fortunately one thing they can all still do together is browse on veg like this (cast offs from our greenhouse) which as you can see, they all thoroughly enjoyed!!!