Natural Goat and Alpaca Care, Second Ed. [Paperback]

Pat Coleby (Author), Pat Coleby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

This comprehensive and easily understood book is intended to help goat and alpaca farmers. It covers all aspects of farming, whether it be for two or two hundred animals. The book provides a good deal of technical information presented in simple terms. It should be studied at the outset of any operation, not just kept until an animal is ill. The husbandry consists of non-invasive, drug-free remedies that are as natural as possible. To this is added basic land care.

The book covers:

Land, housing and farming methods
Husbandry
Acquiring stock
Breeds
Nutritional requirements
Psychological needs of goats
Management of kids and goatlings
Minerals and vitamins
Health problems
Natural remedies
Breeding and selection for desirable characteristics
Goats for milk, meat and skins
Alpacas and llamas: management, nutrition, conformation
Fleeces, diseases and breeding

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: CSIRO Publishing; 2nd edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0643065253
• ISBN-13: 978-0643065253
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,808,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very comprehensive, September 21, 2005

By 

ann gillespie "miss ann" (woodbine, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natural Goat and Alpaca Care, Second Ed. (Paperback)

This is an excellent reference for anyone with goats. It covers all aspects of goat selection, farming and health. Less area is given to topics where you can get lots of inforamation such as breeds. Almost half of the book (minus the chapter on llamas and alpacas)deals with feeding, nutrition (over 50 pages)and health (almost 100 pages). The importance of, interaction of and where to find it naturally are given for almost every nutrient, along with its drawbacks. The experience speaks primarily from an Australian background but is applicable anywhere. The chapter on llamas and alpacas is a good primer. I personally am not attracted to the writing style of the author but this book and it's content are a testament to her knowledge and dedication to the subject.

1.0 out of 5 stars Homespun remedies, July 19, 2009

By 

L. Roberts (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural Goat and Alpaca Care, Second Ed. (Paperback)

Natural Goat and Alpaca care was described to me as the goat owner's 'bible'. I had high expectations of this book, however high expectations are often followed by disappointments and this book was no exception.

There is a lack of science and an over reliance on homespun remedies. References quoted were vague and ranged from unnamed butchers to conversations with fellow attendees at conferences. The tone of the book varied from a folksy chatty style to the authoritarian. Words like 'never' and 'must' appeared with monotonus regularity.

The most important thing someone like me needs to know from an animal husbandy book is what is normal, and when to call a vet. But in this book, vets don't exist and sick animals are soley the result of a lack of remineralised soil.

For an exprienced, conventional farmer who knows animal husbandry well and who would like to try some natural therapies, this book may well be useful. However, for a beginner like me, it has limited use.