Pat Coleby's Methods Part #1

Pat Coleby's Methods

I have had numerous emails from people about caring for my goats using Pat Coleby's Methods.  I belong to a lot of Yahoo Groups and on these groups natural goat care and Pat Coleby's methods come up a lot. I hear a lot of bad comments on her methods. I hear time and time again how she is not from the USA but Australia so her methods could not possibly work here in the US. I also hear others even veterinarians who say her methods will kill your goats. Then others who say they have tried her methods and experienced horrible results.

I am writing this to help anyone looking to care for their goats naturally as her methods suggest.  I also am writing this for there is very little information out there on caring for your goats Pat Coleby's way. I went hunting and searching for information and help. I looked in groups, forums, any place I could find that would have any information on raising my goats by her methods. I found very little information and no one out there who successfully could tell me how to care for my goats as she suggested.  I do think that her books need to be revised for those of us in the USA. She mentions feed and other things by different names than we call them here in the states. Some of the things she suggests are also not readily available here. I believe If someone would rewrite her book for those of us living in the USA it would be a huge success.  Her book even though extremely valuable needs to be read and reread over and over to learn all their is to goat care. It was not easy to follow and interpreting her methods and words to fit what we have here was a real learning curve.

The other problem I had was to find where to get all the minerals and feed she recommends. That in itself was a learning process and took a lot of research and learning. I am going to explain how I care for my herd and how I try to incorporate all of her methods. I believe the bottom line should be that each person has to find what works not only for their goats but also for them.  Raising goats is a lot of work and no matter which route you take. It is costly, both with time and financially.  I have found raising goats to be one of the most rewarding experiences and they are a pure joy to have.

In my methods I do not use any chemicals, antibiotics or synthetic medicine unless I absolutely have to. I do believe in modern medicine and it does have its place, but I do believe as Pat Coleby states, if your goats are fed properly and they are getting the right minerals then your goats should always be healthy. So far in the four years I have had goats I have found this to be true.
What I feed my Goats
In Pat Coleby's book she suggests feed that in my area I could not find or it was not available. For me I did not want to feed my goats anything that was all ready premixed, or anything that had variables that could harm my goats or their health. I looked up all the feed choices that were available in my area and investigated what they were and their nutritional content. I do not use distillers grain, corn or roasted soybeans because of their nutritional value and how it can vary. I choose not to use any of these in my grain mix.  My feed mixture is:
50 lbs. Oats
50 lbs. Barley
25 lbs. Alfalfa Pellets
8 lbs. 3 oz. Wheat Bran or Beet pulp (do not use Wheat Midds, they end up at the bottom of the pan as dust and the goats hate it)
3 lbs. 3 oz. Black Oiled Sunflower seeds (BOSS)
5.3 oz Diamond V Yeast
The protein content is between 13% to 13.5%

I buy all of this at our local grain elevators and mix it up myself then store it in trash cans with lids. The grain elevators will only mix it up for me if I buy in huge quantities and my herd is not big enough yet for that. I also buy Redman's Salt. I use to leave this out for them free choice but now I just add a little in to their grain mix. They waisted it when I left it out for them.

Here is my Lick Recipe:
5 lbs. Dolomite ( can use Min-Ad)
12.8 oz. Yellow Sulfur
12.8 oz. Copper Sulfate
12.8 oz. Sea Kelp (Thorvin Kelp same thing)

I purchase all of these things at our local grain elevators. I use different grain elevators because not all of then will work in small amounts or have exactly what I need. Luckily I live in a huge farming industry so for me all of these supplies are easy to get. For those who do not have grain elevators, I would suggest researching online, going to Walmart, garden centers, look in the garden dept for the sulfur. It is used for roses, farm stores or any where that sells feed for livestock or chemicals for lawns. It is much cheaper when you can buy these at these places. If you look hard enough and do research you will find a lot of places sell these. You can also try horse feed stores.  If you can not find all of the supplies you need locally you can order online from different chemical companies or other places. I know the Jolly German  ( http://www.jollygerman.com/products/goats/)  carries all of these minerals but their prices in my opinion are highway robbery. If I had to buy all my supplies from them I could not afford to care for my goats as I do. I use to order my Dolomite and Sea Kelp from Hoeggers Goat Supply (http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php) While looking for Yellow Sulfur and Copper Sulfate, I did find several chemical stores online that sell it. http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=sulfur&affiliate_pro_tracking_id=17:31:,  http://scienceforyou.net/pyrotechnic-supplies/pyrotechnic-chemicals/sulfur-elemental-sulfur.html ,   http://www.nextag.com/copper-sulfate/stores-html , I also found some of the things online at pottery stores. They use Dolomite for clays.

In my next article I write I will tell you exactly how I feed and care for my goats as I try to implement Pat Coleby's Methods.

Website Finally Completed

Wow, what a learning experience. I am so thankful to see answers to my prayers fulfilled in such simple ways. I pray for success and often times success is measured by the amount of money that you have. Not so in a lot of areas. To me success is learning new skills and implementing those skills to benefit you and others.


In building a website, I learned In some areas I have no patients and in other areas what interests me. I now have a grave respect for those who do this as a living. I am learning SEO (search engine optimization) skills and thoroughly love this. I could do this for a living. To me it is like researching, dissecting and finding out new data. What is Greek to others makes perfect sense to me. It is like a light bulb went off and firecrackers exploded. Yeah this is fun!!!!

I also learned that not everybody claiming to build websites or claiming they do SEO knows what they are doing. Some even have no honesty or integrity. I know someone, I will not mention who, who just had a website built for them. I looked into their site and checked out their SEO. I could not believe what I found out. They had no keywords even relevant to their web page or business, they had no meta tags, title tag, nothing that would help them to rank in anything even on their site,

When I commented to them on this and they got a hold of their webmaster, she lied to them and said that she did SEO and continues to do it on a regular basis. Oh that is one of the things I hate the most is someone who lies. It would have been perfectly fine if she would have admitted that she knows nothing of SEO. She could have stated that she tried her best but it is not a strong point for her. To have her say she does it and does it on a regular basis when it is clear, that she does not know what she is doing, That is totally uncalled for! She also charges a monthly fee to update their site every month and keep up the SEO. Wow are they ever getting ripped off.

It reminds me of the woman who takes their car to a shop and the shop person clearly takes advantage of them and charges them for parts and work that they really do not need. Ok enough ranting and raving. IMO people need to run their business with honesty and integrity. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Until next time, Take care and God bless.

Learning new skills.

I have been learning to build my own website. I am just at the beginning but finding it very interesting and I am learning a lot. I learned that I had a few SEO (search Engine Optimization) skills and did not even know that I had them. It is awesome to me to find out that all along some of my prayers were answered and I never even realized it.

I had prayed for wisdom, knowledge and understanding for so long concerning building a website. I also asked for the same thing to help build my business of nigerian dwarf goats and goat milk soap. All  made from the milk of my goats. I had no idea that all the things that I was doing and learning were called SEO. Who knew?

I took a class and was so shocked to find out that everything the instructor was teaching I was already doing. I never knew what it was called. Now that is truly God's wisdom. He fills us with our hearts desires then all of the sudden pulls the blinders off.  Wow, now we can see that all along he was there leading us and guiding us from the very moment we asked. I am just at the start but cannot wait to increase in the knowledge of everything I am learning. To me learning is so much fun.

How to Buy A Goat Questionnaire

On my journey to find a Nigerian Goat, I came across some very good and qualified breeders. Not all breeders of goats attain the standards of herdsmanship that I feel are important. I actually wrote a Goat Questionnaire, which I will share with all of you.

I will go into detail on how to buy a goat. Many new goat enthusiasts do not know what to look for or what to ask, when purchasing a goat.

The very first thing in determining your search for a goat, is to know why you are getting a goat. What will be the main function of the goat? Will it be for clearing brush, as pack animals, to eat, to use their fiber, for milking, taking them to shows or just as a pet. All of these factors are important in the breed and quality of animal you are looking for. As I found out, a goat is not just a goat…

Once you know the reasons for wanting a goat, determining the breed will be a lot easier. What I want to focus on is what to look for and ask when buying a goat. Below is a questionnaire that I wrote up. It has most of your basic questions, i found useful when i was looking to buy my first goats.


Buying a Goat Questionnaire

1. Are your baby goats bottle-fed or dam raised?

2. Has your herd been tested for CAE, Johnnes, TB, Brucellosis, and CL? If so, can I see the test results?

3. Are they disbudded?

4. Do you give vaccines? If not why? 

5. Are they wormed and checked for worms on a regular basis?

6. Do you have health certificates and health records for all of your goats that you sell?

7. Do any of your goats get Bo-Se Injections?

8. Are the goats registered with the AGS, NDGA or ADGA?

9. Are the goats purebreds?

10. Are they tattooed already? If not are you willing to explain to me how to do this properly?

11. Do you have the original registration papers for any goats that you are selling me?

12. Do you have bill of sales and a transfer slip for all goats?

13. Are there any noticeable or not so noticeable disfiguring defects or abnormalities?

14. When the goat was born was there any complications before, during or after delivery?

15. Has the mother had multiple births.

16. What vet do you use? In addition, would he give you a positive reference?

17. Are you willing to show me what your herd eats, and how to mix the feed for proper nutrition?

18. If I have any problems or have any questions, can I call you after I purchase a goat from you?

This sums up the goat questionnaire. I know to some this may seem extreme or very extensive but when buying any animal I feel you should be as thorough as possible.

Why Nigerian Dwarf Goats?

My Grand Daughter and our two little goats.

I started out as I stated, making soaps for me and my husband. On several occasions I would use goats milk which I bought at the store for a very costly price. Wait, "I thought to myself," I have the land, I have an old barn, Why not get a goat? That way I would not have to purchase the milk at the store anymore.

So began my search into the different breeds of goats. My personality is of one who researches everything about a subject. I analyze every aspect and area until I have all the facts. I do not just jump into anything without counting the cost.
I was so amazed by all the different breeds of goats. I always thought a goat is a goat..... Oh not true......

I quickly found out that I definitely needed a dairy goat. Now what kind of dairy goat was I looking for. I looked at all the pictures of the breeds and weighed the pros and cons. I then started calling around and talking to breeders about there goats. I feel so sorry for all of the breeders. I had so many questions that some were really put off by me. Some even told me I was beginning to ask to personal of questions all because I wanted to know what got them interested in goats in the first place. I am a lover of peoples lives and histories. It amazes me how people choose the paths that they choose and why. I love details.......OK, so back to the goats.....

It came down to one breed the Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat. I choose this breed mainly for their size and their ability to be excellent milkers. Who would have thought that you could actually milk something so small. I was impressed!

I have very small grand children and I did not want regular size goats that would knock them over. I also want my grand children to be very involved with the goats, because of their size a child can easily handle them. Nigerians are also easy to handle in the milk stand as well.

Now to find one. That in itself is a whole other story. There are no breeders within a two and a half  hour radius of me. So here is where I will end. I will continue My Quest for a Nigerian Goat next time....