Goat Breeds, Feeding and Management

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Goat Breeds, Feeding and Management

• Chapter 36

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Goat Terminology

• Nanny or Doe Female goat
• Billy or Buck Intact male goat
• Wether Castrated male goat
• Kid Baby goat or to give birth
• Doeling Young female goat
• Buckling Young male goat

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Goat Breeds

• Classes of goat breeds
• Dairy
• Production of milk
• Angora
• Production of mohair
• Meat
• Production of meat
• Cashmere
• Cashmere fibers (clothing)
• Pygmy
• Laboratory small ruminant animal or a pet

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Dairy Goat Breeds

• Alpine
• Originated in the French Alps
• Hardy and adaptable
• No set breed color standards
• Short, erect ears
• Mature size varies
• Males should weigh at least 170 lb
• Females should weigh at least 135 lb

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Dairy Goat Breeds

• Nubian
• Developed in England
• Considered to be an all-purpose breed
• High butter fat averages
• Very adaptable to hot temperatures
• Solid or multi-colored
• Black, red, tan
• Long ears
• Roman Nose

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Angora Goat Breeds

• Angora
• Originated in Asia
• Production of mohair
• 5.3 lb of mohair per sheering (2x per year)
• Small frame size
• Horned
• Ringlet-like hair
• Good for foraging

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Meat Goat Breeds

• Boer
• Originated in South Africa
• Most popular meat breed in US
• Low maintenance breed
• Good kidding rate
• Great performance
• Rate of gain
• Carcass merit
• 3 kidding every 2 years

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Meat Goat Breeds

• Spanish
• Brought from Spain as a meat source
• Feral or brush goats
• Various sizes

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Cashmere Goat Breeds

• American Cashmere
• Originated in Australia and New Zealand
• Low maintenance
• Produce fiber
• Cashmere
• Sheared once per year
• 2.5 lb of cashmere

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Pygmy Goat Breeds

• Pygmy
• Dwarf goat
• Originated in Africa
• Can be bearded
• Various colors

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Why should I care about goats?

• Produce milk, meat, hides, and hair
• Shown that 65 of the world consumes goat meat
• In the US
• Increasing demand for goat production
• Meat and milk
• Increasing production
• Moving progressively from the South US to the
  Northern states
• Why do you think this is???

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Milk Goat Management

• Dairy cow and dairy goat are about equal in
  efficiency of converting feed into
• Goat produces more milk than a dairy cow in
  relation to body weight

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Milk Goat Management
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Milk Goat Management

• Require simple housing
• Good production requires pasture
• Rotational grazing
• Good fences!
• Woven-wire
• 1 or 2 electric wires on top of and below
  woven-wire
• Equipment
• Tattoo set, hoof trimmers, hoof knife,
  emasculator, balling gun
• Producers may think about using animals that are
  polled

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Milk Goat Management

• Feet should be trimmed
• Footrot should be treated immediately
• Animals with footrot should be isolated
• Kids should be tattooed
• Castration
• Use an emasculator
• Select females with good udders
• Teat placement and attachment

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Milk Goat Management

• Breeding
• Heat is in 15 to 18 d intervals
• Heat lasts for 1 to 3 d
• Young does can bred at 85 to 95 lb
• Goal 1st kidding at 1 yr of age
• Gestation 6 months (150 d)
• Seasonal Breeding
• Sept to Nov
• Lactation is 7 to 10 m
• Estrus stimulation
• Long dark periods in the spring and summer can
  cause does to come into estrus earlier
• Twins and Triplets are common
• Kid weighs 5 to 8 lb

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Milk Goat Management

• Kidding
• Provide a laxative in the feed
• Kid should be presented head an front feet first
• Kid arrival
• Clean mouth and nostrils
• Use a heat lamp
• Colostrum

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Milk Goat Management

• Feeding
• Goats can digest low-quality forages
• Concentrates can be feed if needed
• Lactating Does
• Ad libitum high-quality forage
• Concentrates
• Pregnant Does
• Provide adequate feed to gain weight
• Do not want to over feed
• Grains
• Oats, corn, barley, milo
• Be aware of mineral deficiencies

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Milk Goat Management

• Feeding
• Young breeding stock needs more energy than
  mature
• Kids
• Allowed to nurse for 3 d
• After 3 d, given milk replacer
• 2 -3 wk of age, leafy forage and concentrates
  should be made avaliable
• Multi-species grazing
• Do not allow rams to be with goats
• Do not allow buck goats to be with ewes

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Diseases and Parasites

• Johnes disease
• Signs unthrifty, emaciated, unproductive
• Enterotoxemia
• Caused by C. perfingens
• Overeating disease
• Avoid feeding excess milk or grain
• Tetanus
• Infects wounds
• Causes death
• Treatment 2 injections of toxoid

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Diseases and Parasites

• Mastitis
• If detected early, can be treated with an
  antibiotic
• Cull animals with late stages
• Footrot
• Very contagious
• Ketosis
• Pregnancy disease
• Exercise goats, prevent does from becoming over
  fat, provide clean fresh water
• Milk fever
• External and Internal Parasites

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• Chapter 36 Goat Breeds, Management, and Feeding
• What are the 5 classes of goat breeds?
• What are the different classes known for?
• Be able to give an example of each class.
• What are some important management practices for
  raising goats?
• What can be done to initiate an earlier onset of
  estrus in does?
• Be able to explain how the does need for feed and
  forage changes throughout her life cycle.
• Be able to discuss some of the major diseases in
  goats.