Natural Selection

Try one of these herbal remedies for goats.

- BY JEREME ZIMMERMAN Jereme Zimmerman is a writer and traditional brewing revivalist who lives in Berea, Kentucky.

The key to maintaining a happy, healthy goat herd is prevention.

With the proper diet and environment, goats are low-maintenance animals and will need little intervention. That said, even the most vigilant goat farmer finds that there are times when their goats need help to stay healthy and strong. The good news is that the old-time remedies still work. With a bit of understanding about how and when to use herbs and other natural products, you can keep your herd healthy using items you may already have in your house, garden or barn.

HOW HERBS WORK DIFFERENTLY

The first step in your journey should be no different than your first step toward using herbs for you and your family. If you’ve already taken that step, you’re halfway there. For humans and animals, herbal care is the antithesis to modern Western medicine. Western medical intervention and pharmaceuticals are often designed with a sole purpose: to address a specific problem and resolve that problem quickly. Where there are sometimes emergencies when these treatments can save lives, this approach can quickly become a pricey cat-and-mouse game and is good for neither our health nor the environment.

Holistic, preventative treatments, on the other hand, are slow-working and seek to balance the health of the entire organism, making emergency interventions less necessary. Even when they’re needed, if you’ve taken the steps to strengthen the immune systems of your goats, an extra dose of herbal care can often bring their systems back into balance when problems arise.