Goats. Small-Scale Herding For Pleasure & Profit (Sue Weaver)

WEAVER
Agriculture/Home Reference
GOATS
Jump on the bandwagon with one of the hottest-growing food sources. Goats is an in-depth guide
to small-scale goat keeping—for pleasure and profit! The author delivers essential information on
choosing, breeding, and tending goats while also offering fascinating and fun facts. Comprehensive
discussions, full-color photos, and easy-to-use charts will ensure your success.
From cashmere to milk and meat!

• Select the right breed for your farm
• Learn common goat herd behavior
• Keep goats healthy with a nutritious diet
• Spot symptoms of common goat diseases
• Breed, deliver, and care for does and bucks
• Market and sell fresh goat milk
• Explore goat resources and Web sites
Plus many other helpful tips!
GOATS
“This book is an excellent resource for all goat owners or prospective goat owners. Ms. Weaver
presents an interesting and detailed history of goats, full descriptions of individual breeds and
their purposes, and a synopsis of goat medical care. Best of all, she has prepared an extensive list
of online sources of more detailed goat information and of goat equipment and books.”
—Lorrie Boldrick, DVM, coauthor of Pygmy Goats: Management and Veterinary Care and
the Illustrated Standard of the Pygmy Goat
“I was blown away with Sue Weaver’s new book, Goats. I was expecting an ordinary read but found
it to be the best small book on goats I have ever encountered. I can’t wait until it is published so I can
give them to my customers to ensure they are prepared to take care of their new goats.”
—Claudia Gurn, Breeder of Show South African Boer Goats
About the Hobby Farms® series

Whether you’re a weekend gardener or a dedicated small farmer, you’ll gather a bushel of essen-
tial information from the Hobby Farms® series. Hobby Farm and its companion editions will help
both experienced and novice hobby farmers realize their own dreams of life on the farm—for
pleasure and profit.
Look for other essential Hobby Farms® series titles, including Chickens, Sheep, Beef Cattle, Ducks,
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Goats
Goats
Small-Scale Herding
BY SUE WEAVER
®
An Imprint of BowTie Press®
Irvine, California
Jarelle S. Stein, Editor

Kendra Strey, Assistant Editor
Jill Dupont, Production
Lisa Barfield, Book Design Concept
Michael Vincent Capozzi, Book Design and Layout
Indexed by Rachel Rice
Reprint staff:
June Kikuchi, Vice President Chief Content Officer
Karen Julian, Publishing Coordinator
Tracy Burns, Production Coordinator
Jessica Jaensch, Production Coordinator
Cindy Kassebaum, Cover design
Copyright © 2006 by BowTie Press ®

Photographs © 2006 John and Sue Weaver
Additional images courtesy of: front cover (center) Tim Belyk, Acreage Media Solutions,
(left) Theresa Esterline, (right) Terry Wild Stock, Inc.; pp. 22, 52, 62, 91, 100 Maureen Blaney
Flietner; p. 103 Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture; p.
106 Photodisc, Inc.; p. 109 Julie Walker; p. 113 Cherie Langlois
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or oth-
erwise, without the prior written permission of BowTie Press®, except for the inclusion of brief
quotations in an acknowledged review.
The Library of Congress has cataloged an earlier printing as follows:
Weaver, Sue
Goats: small-scale herding for pleasure and profit / by Sue Weaver
p. cm.—(Hobby farms)
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-931993-67-8
ISBN-10: 1-931993-67-X
1. Goats. 2. Goats—United States. I. Title. II. Series.
SF383.W34 2006
636.39—dc22
2005032283
BowTie Press ®
3 Burroughs
Irvine, California 92618
Printed and bound in China

14 13 12 11 10 8 9 10
This work is dedicated to Karen Keb Acevedo, my sister in goats, and to Simone,
Charlotte, and Albert, Pygmy goats extraordinaire.
Table of Contents
Introduction Why Goats?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter One Goats: A Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter Two A Buyer’s Guide to Goats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter Three Housing and Feeding Your Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter Four Goat Behavior and You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter Five Goat Health, Maladies, and Hooves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter Six Bringing Kids into the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter Seven Making Money with Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Appendix: Goat Diseases at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

INTRODUCTION
Why Goats?
G oats were humanity’s first domesticated livestock; we’ve had ten thousand
years to get things right. Today’s goats provide tasty milk, delicious meat,
attractive pelts, and two kinds of renewable fiber. They clear pasture for other live-
stock by grazing and destroying weeds and brush, they pull carts (goats are amaz-
ingly strong), and they pack along the tents and grub when folks go camping. It
costs little to buy and maintain goats, and only a modest land plot is required to
raise them. Goats are naturals for today’s hobby farms.
The world’s goat population leapt from 281 million in 1950 to 768 million in
2003; more than 2.5 million of those goats dwell in the United States. The most
lucrative livestock venture of the new millennium is raising meat goats—demand
by far exceeds supply, and it will for decades to come. Other profitable hobby farm
goat ventures include marketing goat’s milk and value-added dairy products;
mohair and the hides of Angora goats; cashmere; and meat, fiber, and dairy goat
breeding stock.
Curious, intelligent, agile, and friendly, goats provide hours of entertainment
for their keepers. Everyone who has goats loves them. Whether you want to turn a
profit with goats or keep a few for fun, we’re here to show you how to get started.
CHAPTER ONE
Goats:
A Primer
H ow long have goats been around? Where did the first ones come from? Are
there many different kinds? What are they like? Who raises goats? Before get-
ting into choosing, purchasing, housing, breeding, and other essential subjects,
here’s a brief look at goats through history and a glance at types, breeds, and traits.
FROM THE BEGINNING

Goats were domesticated around 8000 BC by the people of Ganj Dareh, a Neolithic
village nestled in the Kermanshah Valley of the Zagros Mountains in the highlands
of western Iran. According to archaeologists, goat meat had graced the human
menu for more than forty thousand years prior to this. The earlier bones gathered
from area caves, however, were discards from mature bucks (male goats), the
favorites of hunters who needed to bag something big enough to feed a crowd. Toe
bones recovered from Ganj Dareh middens are the remains of young bucks, the
ones not needed for breeding purposes, and some aged does, females too old to
have kids. The change tells us that people had begun keeping goats, rather than just
hunting them.
After a one hundred to two hundred–year occupation, the good people of Ganj
Dareh packed up their families and possessions, including their goats, and traveled
south into the arid Irani lowlands. They resettled away from the wild goat’s natural
range at a place called Ali Kosh. With a movable food supply—goats and two newly
domesticated cereal grains, wheat and barley—humans could abandon their long-
time roles as hunter-gatherers and take up the mantle of nomadic herders and
tillers of the soil. Archaeological excavations at Jericho unearthed mounds of
domestic goat bones carbon-dated to cow,” thriving in mountain and moorland

7000–6000 BC. crofters’ fields and folds, from which
Early domestic goats served their they sometimes escaped. Their feral
human masters exceedingly well. They descendants still thrive in remote and
provided a portable and readily accessi- isolated pockets along the west coast of
ble milk and meat supply, fiber for tent Ireland, on Snowdonia in Wales, on
covers and clothing, skins for leather, Lundy Island and the Isle of Rum, in the
hair-on pelts for robes and rugs, and Mull of Kintyre, Galloway, and Loch
kids to sacrifice to the gods. Goats Lomond in Scotland.
packed belongings on their backs and During the 1500s, goats came to the
drew travois-type sledges. They were Americas with Spanish conquistadors,
friendly and small, thus easily handled, settlers, and sailors. The Spaniards, like
and required minimal care. Best in arid, other seafarers of the day, carried
semitropical, and mountainous coun- aboard their sailing ships this tasty, ani-
tries, goats survived on browse from mated meat supply. It was their custom
trees, brush, and scrub, under condi- to salt uninhabited islands with breeding
tions in which horses, sheep, or cattle stock, allowing them to harvest future
would starve. meals on subsequent trips. Historians
Goats spread east from the Fertile believe the Pilgrims carried goats on the
Crescent across continental Europe and Mayflower’s 1620 maiden journey to the
thence to Great Britain. As elsewhere, New World. Plymouth Colony certainly
goats there became “the poor man’s had them by 1627, when a resident
Domestic goats were a ready source of milk and meat for early settlers.
12 • Goats
praised the settlement’s goats because imported to South Carolina. (Fleece-

“they yeeld commodities with their bearing goats were commonplace in
Flesh, their Milk, their Cheese, the parts of Asia Minor as early as 600 BC.)
Skinnes, and the Hayre.” The Pilgrims One of North America’s few purely
considered goat’s milk a restorative native breeds first made an appearance
medicine as well. In the coming cen- in the 1880s. An itinerant stranger
turies, goats accompanied settlers as named John Tinsley came to Marshall
they pushed westward across North County, Tennessee, accompanied by
America. By browsing as the party trav- four slightly peculiar goats. When they
eled, goats furnished their own eats were startled, their muscles would seize,
while providing meat and milk on causing the animals to freeze and some-
demand. times fall over. From these four goats,
By the mid-nineteenth century, many believe, emerged the Myotonic
generic Spanish goats (also called scrub, goat, a heavy rump breed—with a ten-
brush, hill, briar, and woods goats) could dency to topple—popular for meat pro-
be found in most southeastern states duction and ease of handling.
and throughout the Southwest and The 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis,
California. The year 1849 saw the arrival Missouri, heralded a further turning
of North America’s first purebred goats: point in goat history when it sponsored
seven Angora does and two bucks the first North American dairy goat
A team of goats stands ready to transport supplies across Alaska in earlier days. As a source of
strength and fiber as well as food, the goat played an important role in the settlement of the
United States and Canada.
Goats: A Primer • 13
This horned, cou blanc–colored (French, “white neck”) French Alpine doe is typical of her breed.
show. The Missouri Historical Review milk refused to give it to their children.
noted, “This first provision made at a During the early 1900s, the first Anglo-
World’s Fair for a display of milch goats Nubians (now simply called Nubians)
brought to the Exposition some choice were shipped from Britain to North
and home bred specimens.” At the same America. Between 1893 and 1941, 190
World’s Fair, Hagenbeck’s Wild Animal Toggenburg dairy goats were imported;
Paradise imported two striking between 1904 and 1922, 160 Saanen.
Schwartzwald Alpine does and displayed During 1922, the first documented pure-
them in a lavish diorama depicting the bred French Alpines, twenty-one in a sin-
Alps. This same year the United States gle importation, arrived by ship,
formed its first goat registry, the followed in 1936 by five Oberhasli (then
American Milk Goat Record, now the called Swiss Alpines). The first docu-
American Dairy Goat Association mented modern Pygmy goats arrived in
(ADGA). North America during the 1950s, origi-
In 1906, Mrs. Edward Roby crossed nally as novelties to be displayed in zoos.
Swiss dairy goats with common stock to In 1993, the first purebred Boer meat
develop the American Goat. With them, goats, developed in South Africa in the
she strove to supply tuberculosis-free early 1900s, set foot (or hoof) on
milk to the children of Chicago at a time American soil. Boers took America by
when many cows were infected. storm, as did Kiko meat goats developed
Although she was moderately success- in New Zealand and imported at about
ful, parents who had never tasted goats’ the same time.
14 • Goats
Classic Goats
In Words and Images

Goats are mentioned many hundreds of horns and hooves. Fairies and other spirits
times in sacred books such as the Bible, with goaty features include Greek satyr,
the Torah, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Italian faun, Russian ljeschie, Polish polevik,
Gita, often in the guise of sacrifices and as Basque lamiñak, Welsh gwyllion, and the
tribute. Goats are pictured on the walls of Scottish glastig and urisk. Hindu deities
the oldest known Egyptian tombs and on Agni and Kali both rode goats, as did
coins of many ancient realms. A child’s toy Aphrodite (Greece), Befana (Italy), and
goat is one of the finest artifacts excavated Joulupukki (Finland).
at India’s Harappa ruins, dating to Named goats figure in Norse eddas
3000–1500 BC. In 1184 BC, Homer and mythology. The great doe Heidrun
described wonderful goat and sheep milk gives mead, not milk, for the gods and
cheeses—among them forerunners of heroes in Valhalla. Thor’s chariot team,
today’s feta—aged in mountain caves in Tanngrisnir and Tanngnostr, who pulled his
what is now Greece. chariot across the sky, could be slaugh-
Goats were so important to ancient tered for supper at day’s end, then
man that some of his deities, spirits, and restored overnight. They were ready to
fairies were assigned goatlike features. head out again at daybreak—a neat trick
Gods Dionysus, Pan, and Silenus had even for hardy goats!
GOATS AT A G LANCE two dozen are available in North

Domestic goats belong to the Bovidae America. The world’s estimated 768 mil-
family, along with other hollow-horned, lion goats have many traits in common,
cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, including social structure, flocking
thence to the Caprinae subfamily, in the instincts, and breeding traits.
company of their cousins, the sheep.
Goats are further classified by their GOAT CLASSIFICATIONS
genus, Capra, and fall into one of six For the goat keeper, goats fall into three
species: Capra hircus (today’s domestic basic categories—dairy goats, meat goats,
goat), Capra aegagrus (the wild Bezoar and goats raised for fiber. Subcategories
goat, ancestor of Capra hircus), Capra and crossovers certainly exist. Goats are
ibex (the wild ibex), Capra falconeri (the sometimes used to pull carts and pack
markhor of central Asia), Capra pyre- supplies recreationally and to clear land.
naica (the wild Spanish goat of the Dairy Goats
Pyrenees), and Capra cylindricornis (the Dairy goats are lithe, elegant creatures
Dagestan tur of the Caucasus moun- developed for giving lots of luscious
tains). (Some scientists divide goats into milk. However, excess kids (bucklings
as many as ten species.) not needed for breeding) are often mar-
Roughly one hundred breeds and keted as cabrito (the meat of young
documented varieties of domestic goats kids). Some dairies routinely breed their
exist in the world today, but fewer than does to Boer and Kiko bucks to produce
Nubians (called Anglo-Nubians in their native Britain) give less milk than the Swiss dairy breeds
produce, but their milk is higher in butterfat. Nubians come in a wide range of colors, and this
girl’s a knockout with her spotted pattern!
16 • Goats
a meatier product. Recreational goat afi- Meat Goats

cionados claim dairy goat wethers, par- Primary purebred meat goat breeds are
ticularly Saanens and Alpines, make the the immensely popular Boer from South
best harness and pack goats bar none. Africa; all-American Myotonics (also
Dairy breeds readily available known as fainting goats) and their
throughout North America include the selectively improved counterparts,
Swiss breeds (Saanens, Sables, Tennessee Meat Goats; and the New
Oberhaslis, Toggenburgs, and Alpines), Zealand Kiko goat. Several exciting com-
the LaMancha (a distinctly American bination breeds such as the TexMaster
breed), the Nubian (known in its British (Boer/Tennessee Meat Goat) and
homeland as the Anglo-Nubian), and the GeneMaster (Boer/Kiko) are being
pint-size Nigerian Dwarf from West developed, while generic Spanish meat
Africa. Scaled-down miniature versions of goats form the nucleus of many com-
all but Nigerian Dwarfs are out there, too. mercial herds. All are bred for muscle
An uncommon midsize combination mass, hardiness, adaptability, and excep-
dairy and meat breed, the Kinder goat, tional feed-to-flesh conversion ratio.
was developed by crossing full-size Pygmies are meat goats, too.
Nubian does with meaty Pygmy bucks. Fiber Goats
Although Pygmy goats are primarily The backbone of North America’s fiber
raised for pets, the does give a surprising goat industry is the traditional white
volume of high butterfat-content milk. mohair–producing Angora goat, but the
These muscular MAC Goat full-blood does are shining examples of their breed. Boer goats revolu-
tionized the meat goat industry.
fleece of scarcer-colored Angoras is in but does, too, can work in harness or

high demand for hand spinning, too. A under packing gear. A bonus: a lactating
more diminutive fiber producer is the pack doe provides fresh, whole milk on
midsize Pygora goat, developed by the trail. Recreational goat equipment—
crossing Angoras and Pygmies. pack saddles and panniers, carts and dri-
Cashmere goats are the Rolls-Royces of ving harnesses—is readily available for
the fiber goat industry, and while goats of all sizes.
uncommon, the American cashmere Brush Goats
goat population is growing rapidly. Because goats willingly browse weeds
Recreational Goats and saplings other animals won’t
Goats have frequently been driven in touch—and nourish themselves in the
harness, sometimes as serious work ani- bargain—many people keep them for
mals but frequently for recreation. clearing land of scrub and brush.
Shortly after their father’s presidential Dairy does can do the job, but because
inauguration in 1861, Willie and Tad of potential damage to their large
Lincoln were presented with cart goats udders, goat keepers prefer not to use
named Nanny and Nanko. On one occa- them for this particular task. Improved
sion, Tad harnessed Nanko to a rocking meat goats do well but will usually
chair and drove at breakneck speed require supplementar y feed. The
through a White House reception, caus- hands-down champions are hardy
ing many a dignified gent and hoop- generic Spanish goats. They aren’t
skirted lady to leap to safety. Most called brush, scrub, and briar goats for
recreational goat buffs prefer wethers, nothing.
Eamon, wearing a custom-crafted leather harness, stands ready for cart-pulling duty.
18 • Goats
This goat herd moves out under the leadership of the herd queen.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Goats maintained under herd conditions Separating the Sheep
are protected by a single large, strong from the Goats
alpha buck whose role is to breed his
choice of does, to maintain discipline, • Unless she’s ill or frightened, a goat
carries her tail up and flipped
and to guard the group from predators.
forward over her back; sheep’s tails
When the herd moves, members pro- invariably hang down.
ceed, usually single file. In times of per-
ceived danger the alpha buck protects • A goat’s horns sweep back from the
skull, then upward and sometimes
the rear. out; most sheep’s horns curl back,
Though other intact males may be then down and around into spirals.
part of the herd’s hierarchy, these under-
lings are not permitted to sire offspring. • Goats travel widely, gleaning 60
percent of their daily fare from
Younger bucks periodically challenge trees and bushes, 40 percent from
the alpha buck’s position. When he’s grass and herbs. Sheep tend to stay
usurped, removed from the herd, or closer to home, ingesting 90
percent of daily fare through
killed through predation, the group
grazing grass and herbs.
readily accepts a new alpha buck.
Not so the herd’s true leader, a wise • Goats are a lying-out species: does
old alpha female, the herd queen. When hide their newborns in the grass or
brush as shelter from predators,
she moves, all, including the alpha buck, returning five or six times a day to
follow. When she halts to browse, every- feed them. Newborn lambs shadow
one eats. Once established, she is herd their dams within hours of birth.
queen until she’s too infirm to do her job
Advice from the Farm
Welcome to the Goat World meat, you may get very attached and
The experts offer some words of wisdom end up with pets.
to new goat keepers. “I have Nubians and Myotonic (faint-
ing) goats and I love them both, though
I think the fainters are my favorite.
Myotonics are meat goats, but I have
the small ‘pet’ size. I have never eaten
one.
“Congrats on the new goats you will
be getting! Remember that once you
start, you will always make room for
‘just one more.’ ”
—Michelle Wilfong
A Lot of Work!
“Dairy goats are a lot of work when
they’re lactating because they have to
be milked twice a day if they’re not rais-
ing their own kids, and you can’t just
A Very Friendly Place milk a goat when you feel like it. It must
“Goats are great, and you will find the be done on a regular schedule. I’ve had
goat world is a very friendly place. Nubian dairy goats, and while they’re
Figure out what you’re looking for in a my favorite breed, I just don’t have the
goat, then find a breed (or mix) that time to milk.
best matches what you want. If you are “Angora and cashmere goats require
looking for milkers, choosing older ani- shearing—twice a year in the case of
mals is wise as they have been milked a the Angora—and then what do you
few years and are most likely pretty with the fleeces? If you’re a hand spin-
used to it. They will stand better for ner or if you want to market mohair or
you, and you don’t have to train them. cashmere on a commercial basis, that’s
Have someone give you a milking les- good, but otherwise it’s a lot of work!
son. You also need to be careful of the type
“If you are looking for any old goats, of pasture you have for fiber goats
see if there is a rescue near you. Farm because it’s very easy for them to pick
animal rescues can be hard to find, but up grass seeds and burrs that will
they do get very nice goats that the old downgrade the quality of their fiber.
owners just couldn’t keep anymore. “I have pasture-run meat goats of no
They also take in abused animals, so specific breed. They’re relatively easy to
talk to the rescue to see which would take care of. These goats would make
be the best match for you. good pets if you don’t like the idea of
“You can get meat goats as kids, you selling your goats to the butcher or eat-
don’t need much training with them, ing them yourself.”
but if you’re new to raising your own —Glenda Plog
or dies. Confusion reigns until members

select a new herd queen—often one of Biological Traits*
the former queen’s daughters.
Rectal temperature: 101.5–104.5
A typical day goes something like degrees Fahrenheit
this: Come daybreak, the herd rises and Pulse: 60–80 beats per minute*
Respiration: 12–25 breaths per
sets out to browse, its two stalwart rulers minute*
in the lead. Herd queen spies a tasty Ruminal Movements: 1–1.5 per minute
stand of blackberry brambles. She stops Blood Capacity: half to third of body
weight
to nibble leaves. The rest of the herd Natural Life Span: 10–12 years (well-
crowds around and feeds, too. Herd king maintained goats have lived 20
eats but remains alert. When herd queen years or more)
Sight: Goats have relatively poor
feels it’s time to move along, she gives depth perception but otherwise
herd king a long, hard look. When he keen sight. They distinguish certain
notices, he heads out with his queen, and colors and unless fleece obstructs
their vision, they take in a 280- to
the herd follows. When it’s time to stop 320-degree visual field.
and digest, queen gives king another Taste: Goats distinguish between bit-
ter, sweet, salty, and sour tastes.
look. He leads them to a sheltered area Their high tolerance for bitter fla-
where herd queen picks a cushy spot, vors allows them to savor vegeta-
and they all lie down and ruminate. tion species that other ruminants
won’t eat.
Older goats boss younger ones, big Hearing: Goats have very acute hear-
goats lord it over smaller peers. Horns ing, encompassing a full sound
account for a lot. A female goat with spectrum from high to very low
pitch.
horns generally ranks higher than her Teeth: Mature goats sport four pairs of
hornless sisters, and alpha bucks with incisors on the lower jaw (a hard
structure call a dental palate or
impressive horns are challenged less .
dental pad takes the place of upper
incisors), plus three premolars and
BREEDING TRAITS three molars on each side of the
upper and lower jaws.
Depending on breed and condition, * parameters run slightly higher for kids
bucks reach sexual maturity at three to
ten months. Does require six months to as Boers and Kikos can cycle (come into
a year. Because occasional precocious heat or estrus) and conceive year-round.
kids mature faster than the norm, goat Goats cycle every eighteen to twenty-
keepers separate the sexes by twelve to two days and remain receptive to the
fourteen weeks. One mature buck can buck for twelve to thirty-six hours; ovula-
impregnate as many as fifty does in a tion generally occurs during the last
sixty-day breeding season. hours of standing heat. Depending on
Most goats breed seasonally from age and breed, gestation ranges from
early fall through late winter, though 148 to 156 days and leads to the birth of
breeds developed in hot climates, such one to four (or more) kids.
CHAPTER TWO
A Buyer’s Guide
to Goats
D on’t rush out to buy some goats. It’s a bad idea when purchasing any type of
livestock but especially risky when getting into goats. Though goats aren’t
hothouse flowers, neither are they the happy-go-lucky, can-noshing species of
movies and cartoons. Goats require specialized handling and feeding—and keeping
goats contained in fences is never a lark. Goats are cute, personable, charming, and
imminently entertaining. They can be profitable, particularly in a hobby farm set-
ting. But goats are also destructive (picture a four-legged, cloven-hoofed, tap dancer
auditioning on the hood of your truck), mischievous, sometimes ornery, and often
exasperating. Be certain you know what you’re getting into before you commit.
Find yourself a mentor. Most experienced goat producers are happy to teach
new owners the ropes. To track down a mentor, ask your county extension agent for
the names of owners in your locale, join a state or regional goat club, or subscribe to
goat-oriented magazines and e-mail groups to find goat-savvy folks in your area. A
mentor or extension agent can talk with you about which breed will meet your
needs and what to look for when buying your goats and what happens once you do.
You need to educate yourself as well. Here are the issues you should consider and
the basic information you should have on goat-buying transactions.
CHOOSING THE B REEDS

Before going goat shopping, know precisely what you want. Make a list of the quali-
ties you’re looking for, star the ones you feel are essential, and note which ones
you’re willing to forgo. Some breeds fare better than others in certain climates.
Certain breeds are flighty. Some make dandy cart goats, whereas others are too
small for harness work unless you plan profile shows, or to sell breeding stock to
to drive a team. If you want a goat who other people, you probably do. If you
milks a gallon a day, a Pygmy doe won’t want a pack wether, a 4-H show goat, or a
do. However, if you’re looking for a nice nice doe to provide household dairy prod-
caprine friend and you don’t want to ucts, registration papers aren’t essential.
make cheese or yogurt, a Pygmy doe A registration certificate is an official
(or two) could prove the perfect choice. document proving that the animal in
(See box “Common Goat Breeds in question is duly recorded in the herd-
Brief.”) Consider availability as well in book of an appropriate registry associa-
your choice—whether you’re willing to tion. Depending on which registry issues
go farther afield to get exactly the breed the certificate, the document will provide
you want. a host of pertinent details, including the
goat’s registered name and identification
P U R E B R E D , E X P E R I M E N TA L , specifics—such as its birth date, its
GRADE, OR AMERICAN? breeder, its current and former owners,
Registered goats generally cost more to and its pedigree. Dairy breed papers also
buy than do grade (unregistered) goats, document milk production records in
but you might not need to spring for reg- great detail. You can contact the ADGA
istered stock. It depends on your goals. with any questions you may have about
If you plan to exhibit your animals at high- the latter.
Wee baby Salem, just three weeks old, is three-fourths Boer and one-fourth Nubian, a popular
type of percentage Boer goat. His famous sire is the MAC Goats champion buck Hoss.
24 • Goats
The four categories of dairy goats in

terms of registration are purebred,
experimental, grade, and Americans.
Purebreds are registered goats that come
from registered parents of the same
breed and have no unknowns in their
pedigrees. Experimentals are registered
goats that come from registered parents
but of two different breeds. A goat of
unknown ancestry is considered a grade.
However, several generations of breed-
ing grade does to ADGA-registered
bucks (always of the same breed) and
listing the offspring with ADGA as
recorded grades eventually results in fully
registerable American offspring. For
example, seven-eighths Alpine and one-
This is Morgan, our sweet Sable baby bred by
eighth grade doe is an American Alpine;
Christie’s Caprines. Saanens have occasionally
a fifteen-sixteenths Nubian and one- produced colored offspring, called Sables, which
sixteenth grade buck is an American recently have come to be recognized as a
separate breed.
Nubian. However, ADGA terminology
doesn’t apply to meat goats. and percentages (50 and 75 percent New
To qualify as a registered full-blood Zealand Kiko genetics). To avoid mak-
in the American Boer Goat Association ing costly mistakes, learn your breed’s
herdbook, all of a goat’s ancestors must registration lingo before you buy!
be full-blood Boer goats. Registered per- Pets, cart and pack goats, brush
centage does are 50 to 88 percent full- clearers, and low-production household
blood Boer genetics; percentage bucks dairy goats needn’t be of any specific
are 50 to 95 percent Boer. Beyond that breed. Mixed-blood goats cost less to
(94 percent for does, 97 percent for buy and no more to maintain than fancy
bucks), they become purebred Boers. registered stock and may be precisely
Purebreds never achieve full-blood status. the animals you need.
The International Kiko Goat
Association registers New Zealand full- AVAILABILITY
bloods (from 100 percent imported New If you’re seeking Nubians, Pygmies, or
Zealand bloodlines), American premier Boers, you’ll probably find a plentiful
full-bloods (of 99.44 percent or greater supply of good ones close to home. Less
New Zealand genetics), purebreds (87.5 common breeds, such as Sables, Kinder
to 99.44 percent New Zealand genetics), goats, and colored Angoras, may be a
A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 25

Goat auctions and buying stations such as this one are marketing mainstays for commercial meat
goat producers.
different story. If you don’t want to travel and smaller goats can be inexpensively
long distances to buy foundation or and safely shipped by air.
replacement stock, pick a common If you’re buying close to home, you
breed or at least one popular in your can locate breeders via classified ads
locale. Conversely, though it takes more (free-distribution classifieds are espe-
effort to start with something out of the cially rich picking), through notices on
ordinary, it also assures a market for bulletin boards (watch for them at the
your goats—other seekers don’t want to vet’s office and feed stores), and by word
range afar, either. of mouth (your county extension agent
Purchasing goats from a distance or vet can usually put you in touch with
has its pitfalls because you may not be local goat owners). Or place “want to
able to visit the sellers and inspect poten- buy” ads and notices of your own.
tial purchases in person. If this is the To get a feel for breeders and to
case, buy only from breeders whose learn what sort of goats they have for
sterling reputations (and guarantees) sale, visit breed association Web sites or
take some of the gamble out of long- subscribe to print and online goat peri-
distance transactions. The transporta- odicals. Peruse the ads and breeders
tion of distant purchases is also an issue, directories, and sign up for goat-oriented
but it needn’t be a major one. Livestock e-mail groups.
haulers and some horse transporters Goats auctioned through upscale
carry goats cross-country for a fee. Kids production sales and consignment sales
26 • Goats
hosted by bona fide goat organizations and the healthiest foundation stock you
are generally the cream of the caprine can afford.
crop. Never buy goats at generic live-
stock sale barns. Run-of-the-mill live- CONFORMATION
stock auctions are the goat farmer’s Acceptable conformation—defined as
dumping ground. Most animals run the way an animal is put together—
through these sales are culls or sick, and varies among dairy, meat, and fiber
the ones who aren’t will be stressed and goats. It’s important to study a copy of
exposed to disease. A single livestock your breed’s standard of excellence,
sale bargain can bring nasties the likes available from whichever registry issues
of foot rot, sore mouth, and caseous lym- its registration papers, before you buy.
phadenitis (CL) home to roost, some- Don’t discount the importance of good
times to the tune of thousands of dollars conformation; you’ll pay more for a cor-
in vet bills and losses. Buy your goats rect foundation goat, but he’s worth it.
through high-profile goat auctions or Even if you never show your goats, buy-
from private individuals. ers will pay higher prices for your stock.
SELECTING THE G OATS HEALTH

The cardinal rule when buying goats: Never knowingly buy a sick goat!
start with good ones. Choose the best Carefully evaluate potential purchases
The discharge from Morgan’s eyes suggests early stages of pinkeye. When buying, beware of
goats with runny eyes; there could be a serious health issue. Fortunately, Morgan’s problem was sim-
ply dust irritation and was easily treated with saline solution and antibiotic eye ointment.

before bringing them home. A healthy hire a vet to take a look, and consider it
goat is alert. He’s sociable; even semi- money well spent.
wild goats show interest in new faces. A
goat standing off by himself, head down, HORNS
disinterested in what’s going on is proba- If you don’t like horned goats, don’t buy
bly sick or soon will be. a goat that has them; you can’t simply
A healthy goat is neither tubby nor saw them off. The cores inside a goat’s
scrawny. He shows interest in food if it’s horns are rich in nerves and blood ves-
offered, and when resting, he chews his sels. Dehorning, even done by a veteri-
cud. His skin is soft and supple; his coat narian and under anesthesia, is a grisly,
is shiny. His eyes are bright and clear. dangerous, and ultimately painful proce-
Runny eyes and a snotty nose are red dure that leaves gaping holes in an ani-
flags, as are wheezing, coughing, and mal’s skull. With dedicated follow-up
diarrhea (a healthy goat’s droppings are care these holes will eventually close,
dry and firm). Unexplained lumps, stiff but why expose an animal to this kind
joints, swellings, and bare patches in the of torment?
coat spell trouble. Avoid a limping goat; Dairy goat kids are routinely dis-
he could have foot rot (or worse). budded when they’re a few days to a
If in doubt and you really want a par- week or so old. This is accomplished by
ticular animal, ask the seller if you can destroying a kid’s emerging horn buds,
burning them with a disbudding iron.
Though it’s painful and not a procedure
best performed by beginning goat keep-
ers, disbudding is far more humane than
exposing a goat to full-scale dehorning
later on.
Meat and fiber goat producers and
recreational goat owners are far less
likely to eschew horns, but all goats
exhibited in 4-H shows—even the ones
that are shown in 4-H meat goat, fiber
goat, driving, and packing classes—
must be hornless or shown with
blunted horns.
Should horns be a problem? It
depends. You probably don’t want them
if you confine your goats (they’ll butt one
Morgan is a polled Sable, meaning he was born
without horn buds. The lumps on his forehead another, probably causing injuries); if
show where his horns would have been. they’ll be expected to use stanchions or
28 • Goats
milking stands; if you have small chil-

dren who might get poked, or if you’d
prefer not to be poked yourself; if your
other goats are polled (naturally horn-
less) or disbudded. However, science
theorizes that horns act as thermal cool-
ing devices, so if you have working pack
or harness goats or you live where it’s
hot, they’re a boon.
TEETH
A goat has front teeth only in the lower
jaw. In lieu of upper incisors, there is a
tough, hard pad of tissue called a dental
palate. For maximum browsing effi-
ciency, the lower incisors must align
with the leading edge of the dental
palate, neither protruding beyond it (a Note the enlarged left teat of this goat. Lopsided
udders are undesirable.
condition called monkey mouth or sow
mouth) nor meeting appreciatively round, with good attachments front and
behind the dental palate’s forward edge rear. The two sides should be symmetri-
(parrot mouth). cal. Avoid lopsided, pendulous udders
Beginning at about age five, a goat’s with enormous sausage teats, especially
permanent teeth begin to spread wider in dairy goats, and reject goats with
apart at the gum line, then break off, and extremely hot, hard, or lumpy udders—
eventually fall out. A goat with missing these being telltale signs of mastitis
teeth is said to be broken-mouthed. involvement.
When his last tooth is shed (around age Dairy goats should have two func-
ten), he’s a gummer. Aged goats with tioning teats with one orifice apiece.
broken teeth have difficulty browsing, Deviations from the norm are serious
so unless you’re willing to feed soft hay faults and are rare. Dairy kids are some-
or concentrates, check those teeth times born with additional vestigial teats,
before you buy. but they’re usually removed when doel-
ings are disbudded.
SEX-SPECIFIC FACTORS Meat goats, especially Boers, are
No matter what class of stock you often graced with more than two teats.
raise—be they dairy, meat, or fiber In Boers, up to two adequately spaced,
goats—buy does with good udders. A functional teats per side are acceptable.
goat’s udder should be soft, wide, and However, nubs (small, knoblike lumps

daughters with bad udders. Bucks with

more than two separated teats per side
generally can’t be shown.
Bucks must have two large, sym-
metrical testicles. When palpated, the
testicles should feel smooth, resilient,
and free of lumps. An excessive split sep-
arating the testicles at the apex of the
scrotum (more than an inch in most
breeds) is unacceptable. When choosing
a buck, size matters. The greater his
scrotal circumference, the higher his
libido and the more semen he’ll likely
produce. A mature buck of most full-size
breeds should tape 10 inches or more,
measured around the widest part of his
scrotum. Boer bucks must tape at least
This Oberhasli’s scrotum is just right. When 11.5 inches (American Boer Goat
buying a buck, size counts; large testicles equate Association) or 12 inches (International
with fertility and breeding vigor.
Boer Goat Association) by maturity at
that lack orifices), fishtail teats (two teats two years of age.
with a single stem), antler teats (a single When buying a wether, ask when
teat with several branches), clusters the goat was castrated. Since castration
(several small teats bunched together), abruptly halts the development of a
and kalbas or gourd teats (larger young male’s urinary tract and affects
roundish lumps that have orifices) fre- adult penis size, early castration predis-
quently occur. A blind teat (one lacking poses male goats to water belly, also
an orifice) can be dangerous if newborns known as urinary calculi. In this condi-
consistently suckle on it in lieu of a function, mineral crystals in his urine block
tional one; the kids will literally starve. his underdeveloped urethra and cause
Most of these irregularities disqualify a his bladder to burst; death occurs within
doe from showing. a few days. Castration of pet and recre-
Male goats have tiny teats, too; ational goats is best postponed until the
they’re situated just in front of the scro- animal is at least one month old (later is
tum on a buck. Although they aren’t better).
important in and of themselves, check Whichever sex you’re considering,
for the same irregularities in breeding be aware of one of the peculiarities of
bucks as you would in does. Bucks with goat breeding: breeding polled goats to
unacceptable teat structure may sire one another sometimes results in her-
30 • Goats
Matt Gurn shows a field of friendly MAC Goats Boers to visiting buyers. Goats are curious; these
crowd around to see what’s going on.
maphrodite offspring (displaying both of droppings? Evaluate the seller, too.

male and female sexual organs). It pays Does he or she seem knowledgeable,
to check, keeping in mind that male honest, and sincere?
goats always have teats, so you don’t end Ask to see prospective purchases’
up with one these unusual goats. health, worming, and breeding produc-
tion records (and milk production
THE SALE records for dairy goats). Virtually all
You’ve done your homework, and you’re responsible goat breeders and dairy
ready to buy. Based on your research, operators keep meticulous records. If
contact sellers who produce the sort of the seller can’t produce them, be
goats you want. Make appointments to suspicious.
visit and view their animals. Goat pro- Carefully inspect paperwork when
ducers and goat dairy farmers are busy buying registered goats. Have registra-
folks, so keep your appointments or call tion certificates been transferred into the
to cancel. It never hurts to ask for a seller’s name? (He can’t legally transfer
seller’s references in advance, especially them into your ownership unless he’s
when buying expensive goats. Be sure the certified owner of record.) Does the
to check them out before your visit. description on the papers match the
When you arrive, look around. goat? Check ID numbers tattooed inside
Though fancy facilities are never a must, ears (and sometimes the underside of
goats should be kept in clean, safe, com- their tails) against numbers printed on
fortable surroundings. Do the goats registration papers, ditto numbers
appear healthy? Are they friendly? Are embossed on any ear tags. Sometimes a
their hooves neatly trimmed? Their seller has “misplaced the papers” and
drinking water clean, their feeders free will “mail them to you when they turn

Common Goat Breeds in Brief
Here’s a brief look at the different breeds Miniature Dairy Goats

of goats you can choose from depending The Miniature Dairy Goat Association
on whether you want dairy, fiber, or meat registers scaled-down (20–25 inches
goats, or pets. tall, weight varies by breed) versions of
all standard dairy goat breeds, among
Dairy Goats them Mini-Alpines, Mini-LaManchas
Alpine (also called French Alpine) (MiniManchas), Mini-Nubians, Mini-
Oberhaslis, Mini-Saanens, and Mini-
Alpine goats originated in the French
Toggenburgs. Miniatures have the same
Alps. They are medium to large goats—
standards of perfection as those of full-
does at least 30 inches tall and 135
size counterpart breeds.
pounds, and bucks 34 inches and 170
pounds. Friendly, inquisitive Alpines
come in a range of colors and shadings. Nigerian Dwarf
Because of their productivity and good Nigerian Dwarfs are perfectly propor-
natures, Alpines are popular in com- tioned miniature dairy goats, capable of
mercial dairy settings. milking three to four pounds of 6–10
percent butterfat per day. Gentle, per-
LaMancha sonable Nigerians can be any color.
They breed year-round; multiple births
The almost-earless LaMancha (at least
are common. (Four per litter is the aver-
28 inches and 130 pounds) is an all-
age; though there have been births of
American goat developed in Oregon
as many as seven.) Does are typically
during the 1930s. Goat fanciers claim
17–19 inches tall, bucks 19–20 inches;
LaManchas are the friendliest of the
75 pounds for both sexes.
dairy goat breeds. They can be any
color. Two types of ears occur among
them: gopher (1 inch or less in length, Nubian (also called Anglo-Nubian)
with little or no cartilage) and elf (2 Nubians were developed in nineteenth-
inches or less in length, with cartilage). century England by crossing British does
LaManchas produce copious amounts with bucks of African and Indian ori-
of high-butterfat milk. gins. A noisy, active, medium- to large-
size dairy goat (does at least 30 inches
and 135 pounds, bucks 35 inches and
175 pounds), Nubians are known for
their high-butterfat milk production,
sturdy build, long floppy ears, and aris-
tocratic Roman-nosed faces. All colors
and patterns are equally valued.
Oberhasli
Alert and active, Swiss Oberhaslis are
medium-size goats (minimum for does
is 28 inches and 120 pounds, for bucks
32 • Goats
30 inches and 150 pounds). They are their skin is pigmented, they don’t sun
always light to reddish brown accented burn as Saanens sometimes do.
with two black stripes down the face, a
black muzzle, a black dorsal stripe from Toggenburg
forehead to tail, a black belly and udder, Toggs are smaller than the other Swiss
and black legs below the knees and dairy breeds. They are some shade of
hocks. brown with white markings (white ears
with a dark spot in middle of each, two
Saanen white stripes down the face, hind legs
These big (30–35 inches and 130–170 white from hocks to hooves, forelegs
pounds) solid white, pink-skinned dairy white from knees down).
goats from Switzerland are friendly, out-
going heavy milkers, with long lacta- Fiber Goats
tions. They are popular commercial Angora
dairy goats, often called “the Holsteins
The quintessential fiber goats, Angoras
of the goat world.”
produce long, silky, white or colored
mohair. Angoras are medium-size goats
(does are 70–110 pounds, bucks
180–225; height varies). They aren’t as
hardy as most other breeds. Twinning is
relatively uncommon. Angoras must be
shorn at least once a year.
Cashmere
Cashmere goats are a type, not a breed.
Goats of all breeds, except Angoras
(and one class of Pygoras), produce
cashmere undercoats in varied quanti-
ties and qualities. High-quality, volume
producers are considered cashmere
goats.
Pygora
Pygoras were developed by crossing
registered Angora and Pygmy goats.
They’re small (does at least 18 inches
tall and 65–75 pounds; bucks and
Sable wethers at least 23 inches tall and
Sables are colored Saanens, newly rec- 75–95 pounds), easygoing, and friendly,
ognized as a separate breed. Because and they come in many colors. Some

Common Goat Breeds in Brief
Pygoras produce mohair, some cash- South African stock, most North
mere, and others a combination. American “Kalahari Reds” are simply
solid red Boers.
Meat Goats
Boer Kiko
The word boer means “farmer” in Kiko means “meat” in Maori. Kikos
South Africa, land of the Boer goat’s were developed in New Zealand by the
birth. Big (does weigh 200–225 pounds Goatex Group. Beginning with feral
and bucks 240–300 pounds; height can goat stock, breeders selected for meati-
vary greatly), flop-eared, Roman-nosed, ness, survivability, parasite resistance,
and wrinkled, the Boer is America’s and foraging ability and, in doing so,
favorite meat goat. Boers are prolific, created today’s ultrahardy Kiko goat.
normally producing two to four kids per
kidding, and they breed out of season, Myotonic
making three kiddings in two years pos- Today’s Myotonic goats (also called
sible. Boer colors include traditional fainting goats, fainters, wooden legs,
(white with red head), black traditional Tennessee Peg Legs, and nervous goats)
(white with black head), paint (spotted), are believed to be the descendants of a
red, and black. group of Myotonic goats brought to
Tennessee around 1880. When these
goats are frightened, a genetic fluke
causes their muscles to temporarily
seize up; if they’re off balance when this
happens, they fall down. Myotonic
goats come in all sizes and colors (black
and white is especially common). They
don’t jump well, so they’re easy to con-
tain; and they’re noted for their sunny
GeneMaster dispositions.
GeneMaster goats are three-eighths
Kiko and five-eighths Boer goats devel- Savanna
oped by New Zealand’s Goatex Group Big, white, and wrinkled, South African
company, the folks who pioneered the Savanna goats resemble their Boer
Kiko goat. Pedigree International cur- cousins, but with a twist. South African
rently maintains the North American Savanna breeders used indigenous
GeneMaster herdbook. white goat foundation stock and nat-
ural selection to create a hardier-
Kalahari Red than-Boers breed of heat-tolerant,
Kalahari Reds look like large, dark red drought-and-parasite-resistant,
Boers. Kalahari Reds are a developing extremely fertile meat goats with short,
breed in South Africa. Though a few all-white hair and black skin. Savannas'
American producers are breeding true thick, pliable skin yields an important
34 • Goats
Pedigree International keeps its herd-

book as well.
Other Breeds
Kinder
The Kinder goat (does 20–26 inches,
bucks 28 inches; weight varies) is a
dual-purpose milk and meat breed
developed by crossing Nubian does
secondary cash crop: their pelts are with Pygmy goat bucks. Prolific (most
favorites in the leather trade. Fewer does produce three to five kids per lit-
than a score of North American breed- ter) and easygoing, Kinders make ideal
ers offer full-blood Savanna breeding hobby farm milk goats and pets.
stock, but interest in the breed is sky-
rocketing. Pedigree International main-
tains the official Savanna herdbook. Pygmy
Nowadays, Pygmy goats (does are
16–22 inches, bucks 16–23; weight
Spanish
varies) are usually kept as pets, but they
Spanish goat is a catchall term for brush developed in West Africa as dual-pur-
goats of unknown ancestry, so no pose meat and milk goats. Pygmies are
breed standard exists. Spanish goats short, squat, and sweet natured.
can be any color, although solid white is Lactating does give up to two quarts of
most common; both sexes have huge, rich, high-butterfat milk per day, mak-
outspreading horns. ing Pygmies respectable small-family
milk goats.
Tennessee Meat Goat
Suzanne W. Gasparotto of Onion Creek ALBC Conservation Priority List Breeds
Ranch developed the spectacular The American Livestock Breed
Tennessee Meat Goat by selectively Conservancy (ALBC) includes six goat
breeding full-blood Myotonic goats for breeds on its Conservation Priority List.
muscle mass and size. Pedigree Two require immediate help: the criti-
International maintains the Tennessee cally endangered San Clemente of rela-
Meat Goat registry. tively pure Spanish stock, and the
threatened Tennessee Fainting (also
TexMaster Meat Goat called the Myotonic goat or fainting
The TexMaster Meat Goat, another goat). Listed also: Spanish (under the
Onion Creek Ranch development, was Watch category), Nigerian Dwarf and
originally engineered by crossing Oberhasli (Recovering), and another dis-
Myotonic and Tennessee Meat Goat tinctly American product, the scarce,
bucks with full-blood and percentage island-bred Arapaw goat (Study). (See
Boer does (meaning they are a only cer- the Resources section for ALBC contact
tain percent Boer, not 100 percent). information.)

Sometimes you can get a decent animal

if you know what you’re looking for,
you know the people who consigned
the animal, and you’re lucky. The peo-
ple that own the sale barn near me do
not like goats, so they’re all put into the
same pen: bucks, does (very pregnant
or dry), little kids, big goats, and little
goats—then they’re exposed to all sorts
of diseases (pinkeye, snotty noses,
abscesses, and so on). If you do buy a
goat at a sale barn, don’t put it with
your others until it’s been in quarantine
for at least two weeks.”
—Pat Smith
Don’t Take Any Lumps

“Although I raise five breeds of pet and
show goats and two of sheep, I look for
many of the same qualities I’d look for if
Let the Buyer Beware I were buying meat or dairy goats. I
Our experts share tips about goat want healthy goats. I look for clear eyes,
buying. moist noses, shining coats, strong
straight backs with level toplines. I also
Hit the Books look for strong, straight legs that don’t
“Get some books on goat health. have spun hocks or knobby knees.
These are great references. They will Seeing an animal run helps assure me it
scare you because they’ll list everything has healthy legs. I look at goats’ berries
that can go wrong. But until you’ve to see if their color and formation show
been raising goats for thirty or forty good internal health. I’m also looking
years, you won’t see even half of those for lumps, abscess, crooked jaws, herni-
things and even then, you’ll still be ated navels, or cleft palates.”
learning things about goats.” —Bobbie Milsom
—Rikke D. Giles
Go for the Goat!
Beware the Bargains “I have a milk cow and milk goats. You
“Before you get a goat, read all you can only need two goats for them to be
about goats and talk to people who happy and content, and you can keep
have them. Start with an older doe or seven head of goats per one cow. Plus,
wether and then get a kid. And don’t goats are more intelligent, friendlier,
buy goats at sale barns. Animals are and safer.”
usually sold at auction for a reason. —Samantha Kennedy
36 • Goats
Goats mustn’t be stressed in transit;

Did You Know? stress equates with serious, sometimes
fatal, digestive upsets. Keep everything
According to United Nations statis-
tics, the world’s goat population low-key. Avoid crowding. Provide hay to
grew from 281 million in 1950 to nibble en route, stop frequently to offer
768 million in 2003. The world’s top clean drinking water, and dose your
ten goat-producing countries are
goats with a rumen-friendly probiotic
China (172.9 million), India (124.5
million), Pakistan (52.8 million), paste or gel such as Probios or Fast
Sudan (40 million), Bangladesh (34.5 Track before departure and after you
million), Nigeria (27 million), Iran (26 reach your destination.
million), Indonesia (13.2 million),
Tanzania (12.5 million), and Mali Have facilities ready to receive your
(11.4 million). goats, and feed them the same sort of
hay and concentrates to which they’re
up.” Don’t buy the story. Without an up- accustomed. Many sellers will provide a
to-date registration certificate in your few days’ feed for departing goats if you
hand, you’re paying registered price for ask. Begin mixing the old feed with the
a goat that may be grade. new feed to help the goats gradually
Judgments based on intuition aren’t make the change. You won’t want to fur-
always accurate, but if you feel uncom- ther stress newcomers by immediately
fortable with any part of a seller’s pre- switching feeds.
sentation, seek elsewhere. Isolate newcomers from established
goats or sheep (goats and sheep share
AFTER THE S ALE many diseases) for at least three weeks.
Sellers will often deliver your goats for a Deworm them on arrival, and if their
modest fee; it’s the easiest way to get vaccination history is uncertain, revacci-
your purchases home. You can, of nate as soon as you can.
course, fetch them yourself if you prefer
or if the seller doesn’t deliver. Diminutive
goats such as kids and adults of some
miniature breeds are easily transported
in high-impact plastic airline-style dog
crates stowed in the bed of a truck
(secured directly behind the cab to block
wind), in a van, or in an SUV. Horse trail-
ers, stock trailers, pipe racks, and topper-
clad truck beds all suffice. Whatever you
use, bed the conveyance deeply for the Kari Trampas's LaMancha buck is a sterling exam-
ple of his breed, famous for sunny dispositions and
animals’ comfort, and use tarps to keep high butterfat milk. They originated in California,
goats out of direct wind and drafts. making them America's own dairy goat breed.

CHAPTER THREE
Housing
and Feeding
Your Goats
B uild your goats a showplace barn, and they’ll love it. Or hammer together a
three-sided shanty built of recycled lumber and secondhand corrugated roof-
ing—and they’ll love it. Given a cozy, dry place to sleep in a draft-free shelter, goats
are content. They’re the essence of simplicity to house. Feeding is easy, too, once
you’ve learned the basic rules. It’s important, though, not to make common mis-
takes, and we’ll show you how to avoid them.
THE RIGHT HOUSING

Goats hate being wet. Trees and hedges can provide sufficient shade from light
showers, but goats in rainy and snowy climates need access to weather-resistant,
man-made structures, too. In most climates, a three-sided structure (sometimes
called a loafing shed or a field shelter), with its open side facing away from prevail-
ing winds, makes an ideal, inexpensive goat shelter. Other basic shelters include
movable A-frames crafted of plywood; commercial calf hutches; hoop structures
designed for hogs; straw buildings; and even large, prefabricated doghouses. Bucks
are hard on housing; they bash, butt, climb and scratch their surroundings. Build
buck shelters, pens, and fences out of stout, sturdy materials.
If you breed goats, you’ll need enclosed housing. Close-to-term does, does with
newborn kids, and delicate bottle kids require dry, draft-free housing, especially
during the harsh winter months. Dairy goat owners also need covered, weather-
resistant areas in which to set up their milking stands. If need (or preference) dic-
tates keeping your goats in confinement housing, you’ll probably want to house
them in a barn.
Bucks, such as this young Savanna intent on demolishing his fence, can be terribly destructive.
Construct bull-proof buck enclosures!
Goats like to see one another. best means for containing and protect-
Consider making interior pens out of ing your charges.
pipe or heavy-duty welded wire panels in
lieu of solid walls. Goats also love to THE STRUCTURAL BASICS
climb. Elevated sleeping platforms make Whether fashioning quarters to house a
for happy campers, as do playgrounds single 4-H goat or a vast herd of meat
built of recycled telephone cable spools, goats, allow at least 15 square feet of
slanted walk-upon climbing planks, and bedded floor space per goat. Make cer-
elevated perches. Provide getaways tain drainage is adequate, and slope the
where kids or low-ranking herd mem- roof away from the shelter’s open side so
bers can escape aggressors; airline-style rain and snow cascade off the rear,
dog crates are effective hideouts for rather than the front, of the structure.
your little ones, and pens with narrow When building field shelters for
openings will provide refuge from big, small numbers of animals, keep the roof
bad bullies. height as low as you can. Five to 6 feet in
No matter what type of housing you front, 3 to 4 feet in back is just about
construct, you have to consider the right. Low-slung roofs hold body heat at
basics necessary to ensure health and dozing-goat level, essential in colder
comfort: space, drainage, ventilation, northern climates. The disadvantage:
flooring, and bedding. You also need to squat buildings are harder to clean,
ensure that your herd has the right feed- especially if you do the chore by hand.
ing and drinking accommodations. Last No matter a structure’s size, goat
but not least, you must determine the housing must be adequately ventilated.
40 • Goats
Saanen and Sable kids at Christie’s Caprines find shelter in a shade house made of cast-off pallets.
During the heat of summer, goats need shade.
Goats housed in damp, poorly vented simple to maintain. Whatever material

barns are prone to serious respiratory you use, you’ll need to find a responsible
ailments, as are goats (especially kids) way to dispose of it when it becomes
exposed to drafts. soiled. Compost it, give it away, sell it,
In most climates, packed dirt or clay but especially on nonagricultural, zoned
floors are better than cold, hard con- properties, don’t let it pile up.
crete. In arid climates, wooden floors If you keep your goats confined,
work well, too, but eventually they’ll rot, they’ll need a safely fenced, communal
necessitating replacement. Whatever exercise area, one allowing at least 30
the flooring, bed the structure with 4 to 6 square feet of space per goat. Mixing
inches of absorbent material, such as horned and hornless goats in a pasture
straw, discarded hay, wood shavings or setting can work, but not in close quar-
sawdust, peanut hulls, ground corncobs, ters where considerably more jostling
or sand. Although some goat owners and sparring occurs. Whenever possi-
clean and rebed indoor stalls daily, many ble, horned and disbudded or polled
prefer deep-litter bedding. With deep- goats should be housed and penned
litter bedding, you continually add just separately.
enough bedding to keep floors dry, only
periodically (a few times a year is usually TROUGHS AND F EEDERS
adequate) cleaning everything out, Goats require copious supplies of fresh,
down to floor level. This system is both clean water, kept reasonably cool in the
comfortable and warm and is extremely summertime and liquid when tempera-
Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 41

Salem sips out of a reused cattle lick tub. Used mineral lick tubs make primo water troughs.
tures dip below freezing. Install running proof hayracks and feeders, which must
water and electricity in your barn or be installed higher than your tallest
shelter, or locate the structure within goat’s tail or at least be easily cleaned, be
easy garden hose and extension cord difficult for kids to climb up into, and be
reach of existing utilities. If you do have designed so goats can reach their feed
electrical wiring, it must be protected but not get their heads stuck while doing
with conduit and kept well out of curious so. You’ll find lots of easy and effective
goats’ reach. Any glass windows should feeder construction plans free on the
be protected by screens. Internet. (Since sheep feeders work well
Provide multiple watering troughs for polled and disbudded goats, search
or buckets in lieu of a single big one. It’s for plans for goat hay feeders and sheep
infinitely easier to dump, scrub, and dis- hay feeders.)
infect several smaller containers than it Don’t store feed where goats can
is a full-size trough. If one water source help themselves. Overeating, especially
becomes contaminated with nanny of grain or of rich legume hay, can quickly
berries, there will be others for your kill the toughest goat. Store grain in goat-
goats to choose from. proof covered containers with snug lids.
Goats fed on the ground are prone (Fifty-five-gallon food-grade plastic or
to disease and excessive internal para- metal drums and decommissioned freez-
site infestation, and they just plain waste ers work well.) Secure the feed room
a lot of feed by trampling on it and soil- door with a goat-proof lock; opening
ing it. (Goats won’t touch soiled feed.) hook and eye closures are child’s play to
Buy commercial goat feeders or build a nimble-lipped goat. You may need to
your own. Prime requisites are poop- add a padlock or something similar.
42 • Goats
pen fencing and can be used to render

wooded fences goat tight.
Woven wire fencing consists of
smooth, horizontal wires held apart by
vertical wires called stays. It’s sold in
regular galvanized, high-tensile, and col-
ored polymer-coated high-tensile ver-
sions; with verticals placed at 6- to
12-inch spacings (wider verticals prevent
horned goats and sheep from getting
their horns caught), in 26- to 52-inch
heights. Horizontal wire spacing gener-
ally increases as the fence gets taller.
When buying woven wire, check the
numbers: 8/32/9 fencing has 8 horizon-
tal wires, it’s 32 inches tall, and it has ver-
A neighbor’s doe is caught in a woven wire
fence. Horned goats often put their heads places tical stays every 9 inches.
they shouldn’t. Had no one come along to free Disadvantages of woven wire are its
her, this doe might have starved or been killed by cost and the time and effort required to
a predator.
install it. The advantages are it’s safe, it
FENCES looks good, and it requires very little
The cardinal rule of goat keeping, espe- upkeep once it’s properly installed. Most
cially if you plan to pasture your animals: goat producers use 32-inch woven wire
don’t buy goats until you’ve erected and stretch several strands of barbed or
stout, goat-resistant fences. Goats are electrified high-tensile smooth wire
curious, mischievous creatures. When above it for extra height. An offset elec-
the urge to wander strikes them, your tric wire installed inside the fence at
goats will do their level best to escape. adult goat shoulder height prevents rub-
They love going walkabout in the coun- bing by itchy goats and helps keep live-
tryside (especially the roads), and they stock guardian dogs inside the fence.
live to clog on your car. Your neighbor’s Ultra-sturdy, welded wire livestock
prize tea roses are as yummy as wild panels can be used instead of woven
ones, and oh, garden veggies taste good! wire, albeit at much greater cost. We like
Goats can squeeze through incredi- it for smaller areas, such as buck runs,
bly small gaps, so standard plank and paddocks, and pens, where its ease of
post fences won’t phase them unless installation and sturdy, no-maintenance
lined with good wire fencing. Woven construction offset installation costs.
wire, also called field fence or field mesh, One caveat: most welded wire panels
makes terrific perimeter, paddock, and have jagged, sharp, snipped-wire edges.

Heavy-welded wire cattle panels are being used here to goat-proof a galvanized farm gate. Such
panels work well as goat fencing.
To prevent tearing your clothes (and ing, although a goat-resistant fence

your goats’ eyes and hides), use a heavy- charger will set you back some bucks.
duty rasp to smooth them. Farm stores stock electric wire of
Barbed wire, the traditional farm numerous types and gauges, but for the
fencing, can be effective when built long haul, high-tensile versions work
using eight to ten strands of evenly best. To make it work for goats, you’ll
spaced, tightly stretched 15-gauge or need to install stout braces and end
better wire, preferably augmented by posts and use six to nine strands of wire.
add-on twisted wire stays installed Train your goats to respect the electric
between posts. Installing barbed wire is fence by luring them to it with grain until
not for the faint of heart, and when run they get zapped. High-tensile versions
into, it can cause catastrophic injuries to should not be used to fence pastures
man and beast. (It should never be used shared with horses.
where horses are pastured or ridden.) Other types of electric fencing
Yet it’s relatively inexpensive and is often worth investigating are electrified string-
used to upgrade existing farm fences to net, polywire, polytape, and rope fences
goat-resistant status. It’s marketed in gal- designed to be used with step-in posts.
vanized, high-tensile, and polymer- Since they’re the essence of simplicity to
coated versions in various gauges, move, they’re ideal for dividing pastures
distances between barbs, and barb and for temporary grazing settings, and
lengths. It’s available at all farm stores. most styles are remarkably goat-proof.
Smooth, electrified wire fencing One serious drawback: goats, especially
makes inexpensive, effective goat fenc- horned goats, can become tangled in
44 • Goats
RUMINATE ON T HIS
Goats are ruminants, as are sheep, cat-
tle, and deer; their digestive systems are
very unlike those of simple-stomached
species such as horses, carnivores, and
humans. In lieu of a single stomach,
every goat has a rumen, reticulum, oma-
sum, and abomasum. Each compart-
ment has a specialized job to perform.
In newborn kids, only the aboma-
sum is functional. When a kid raises her
head to nurse, a band of tissue called the
esophageal groove closes and shunts
milk directly from her esophagus to her
abomasum. That’s why it’s important for
bottle kids to be fed at doe-teat height
(see chapter 6). As a kid suckles her
dam’s udder and begins nibbling plants,
dirt, and the rest of her environment,
she ingests the microbes she needs to
Pretty, petite, Alpine baby Atticus nibbles on a
tasty blade of hay. Before Building
net-style temporary electric fencing, Anything!
panic, and struggle until they die. Before building goat structures (or ren-
Another disadvantage is that if you live ovating existing facilities) and before
in hard, rocky terrain, using step-in posts installing goat fencing, scope out applic-
able zoning laws and touch base with
is probably not an option. your county extension agent. Your
agent will understand your needs and
GOATS DON’T EAT TIN CANS can provide housing bulletins and plans
Feeding goats is a complex subject best specific to your climate and location.
You can also visit the housing and fenc-
discussed with your county extension ing pages at University of Maryland
agent or a livestock nutritionist who can Cooperative Extension’s Maryland Small
suggest forage, concentrates, and sup- Ruminant Web site. Anyone installing
wire fences should also peruse the
plements based on your goats’ ages and
University of Missouri Extension Service’s
breeds, on whether they’re pregnant or online bulletin, “Selecting Wire Fencing
lactating, and on the types of feedstuffs Materials.” See the Resources section
available in your locale. However, certain for Web sites and other helpful sources
before buying fence material and
truths apply no matter where you live or supplies.
what sorts of goats you have to feed.

Our goats love this fine-stemmed Bermuda grass This bale’s solid yellow color tells a tale: it was
hay. Good forage should be the mainstay of probably rained on after it was mown. Not a
every caprine diet. good choice for goat munchies.
kick-start rumen function. At three to six rumen “rumbles” every forty-five to

weeks of age, she’s functioning like a sixty seconds, depending on time of day
grown-up goat. and what the animal has eaten. Listen to
The rumen, located on the goat’s goats in every situation—goats who are
left side, is the largest (and first) of the healthy and those who are sick, goats
four stomach compartments. The who have recently eaten and those who
rumen does not secrete digestive have not. Note how much their left sides
enzymes—it’s essentially a fermentation bulge. Then you’ll know when trouble is
vat housing the vast horde of friendly brewing and be in a position to help.
microorganisms that convert cellulose When a healthy goat eats, she
into digestible proteins. quickly tanks up on whatever looks
As author Suzanne W. Gasparotto of tasty, then retires to “chew her cud.” She
Onion Creek Ranch succinctly puts it, burps up semimacerated material from
“You are not raising goats, you are rais- her rumen, rechews it, then swallows it
ing rumens.” When rumen microbes again. She continues the process until
stop processing cellulose for their host, her ruminal microbes have digested the
she will sicken and sometimes die. So food enough for it to pass into and
it’s important to learn to assess rumen through the reticulum (where certain
health. Check to see if a goat is chewing nutrients are absorbed) and on to the
her cud. Use a stethoscope to listen at omasum. The omasum decreases the
the goat’s bulging left side. A healthy size of food particles and removes
46 • Goats
Poisonous Plants
Goats, (Don’t) Pick Your Poison

Though goats safely process most plants, there are some that they simply ought not to
ingest. These plants range from being mildly toxic, meaning they must be eaten over a
period of time to cause problems, to killing with a single mouthful. These are some to
watch out for.
Amaryllis * Death Camas * Mistletoe *

Apricot (wilted leaves) Dieffenbachia * Monkshood *
Avocado (leaves, fruit) Dogbane * Mountain Laurel *
Azalea * Dutchman’s-Breeches * Narcissus *
Baneberry * Elephant Ear * Nightshade *
Bindweed * English Ivy * Oleander *
Bitterweed * English Laurel * Peach (wilted leaves)
Black Henbane * Flax * Plum (wilted leaves)
Black Locust (bark, Foxglove * Poison Hemlock *
seeds, new growth) Horse Nettle * Pokeweed (seeds)
Black Snakeroot * Horsetail * Potato (leaves, stems)
Black Walnut * Hyacinth * Privet (berries)
Bleeding Heart * Hydrangea * Rattlebox *
Bloodroot * Iris * Red Maple (leaves)
Bracken Fern * Jimsonweed * Rhododendron *
Buckeye * Johnsongrass * Rhubarb (leaves)
Buttercup * Jonquil * Scotch Broom *
Caladium * Lantana * Sneezeweed *
Calla Lily * Larkspur * Tomato (leaves, stems)
Cherry (all varieties, Lily-of-the-Valley * Water Hemlock *
wilted leaves) Lobelia * White Snakeroot *
Clematis * Locoweed * Wisteria (seeds and
Crocus * Lupine * pods)
Crow Poison * Mayapple * Yellow Jessamine *
Daffodil * Milkweed (leaves) Yew *
Daphne *
* All parts of these plants are toxic or poisonous
Symptoms of plant poisoning include dilated pupils, teeth grinding, vomiting, labored breath-
ing, cries of pain, racing or weak pulse, bloating, scours, muscular weakness or tremors, stag-
gering gait, hyperexcitability, and convulsions.
If you suspect plant poisoning, remove your goat’s feed and make her comfortable, supply
her with lots of clean drinking water, and get her to a vet as soon as possible, taking along
samples of any suspected poisons.
Ask your county extension agent which poisonous plants grow in your locale or visit the
“Poisonous Plants and Other Plant Toxins” page at the University of Maryland Cooperative
Extension’s Maryland Small Ruminant Web site (http://sheepandgoat.com/poison.html) for links
to bulletins covering your state or region.

excess fluid from the mix. Finally, the pregnant does). Goats tolerate (and
material moves to the abomasum, where even savor) a weedier mix than many
body enzymes effect final digestion. species do, but all hay must be green,
sweet smelling, and absolutely dust and
LET THEM EAT FORAGE mold free.
The millions of microbes (bacteria, pro-
tozoa, and other microorganisms) that
populate your goats’ rumens and digest
whatever they eat require mainly cellu-
lose fiber, meaning forage (browse, hay,
or grass), to survive. Concentrates such
as commercial goat feeds, corn, and
other grains ferment more rapidly than
does forage, producing excess acid that
can readily kill both the beneficial
microbes and your goat. The bulk of all
goats’ diets must be forage, supple-
mented by concentrates only when the
goats truly need them.
The best dr y forage is long-fiber
grass hay. High-protein hays, such as
alfalfa, clover, and lespedeza, cause the
same serious problems as high-protein This easy-to-build, homemade mineral feeder is
constructed of PVC pipe and fittings. After see-
concentrates: urinary calculi, acidosis, ing this one at MAC Goats, we built some for our
bloat, founder, milk fever, and ketosis (in goats and sheep.
A salt lick pan keeps this salt block out of the dirt. Goats need daily access to salt and minerals.
48 • Goats
Dairy does, late gestation and nurs- To supplement the diet, provide a
ing does of all breeds, and most fast- high-quality mineral mix or lick formu-
growing young stock require grain. lated for your type of goats and your
Choose clean, mold-free, commercial locale. Place licks and mixes where
goat or horse mixes and cracked or goats won’t inadvertently poop on them.
whole cereal grains, and store them Goat products generally include copper
(and hay) where birds, cats, and wildlife in quantities that are toxic to sheep, so if
won’t contaminate the feed with disease- you keep both, it’s vitally important that
carrying droppings. you choose a dual-species (low copper)
mix or place goat minerals where your
Did You Know? sheep can’t reach them.
Goats are extremely selective
The forage and feed that a dairy
doe eats and inhales can flavor the eaters. Given the option, they’ll nibble
milk she gives you. According to the choice bits of hay and dump less-savory
University of California Cooperative morsels onto the floor or ground, where
Extension’s bulletin “Milk Quality
and Flavor,” 80 percent of the off- they’ll eventually poop and pee on them.
flavors in goat’s milk are feed Most goats would starve before eating
related. soiled hay, so plan on feeding from
The best way to avoid objection- waste-resistant feeders and using dis-
able flavors is to eliminate moldy
hay and grain, grub suspected plants carded hay for bedding or feeding goat
from your pastures, and remove cer- discards to less-picky species, such as
tain feedstuffs at least five hours cattle and horses.
prior to milking.
Plants known to flavor milk
include bitterweed, buckthorn, but- DOS AND D ON ’ TS
tercups, wild carrot, chamomile, Dietary changes must be made over a
cocklebur, cress, daisies, fennel, flax, period of time—no exceptions. Abrupt
wild garlic and onions, horseradish,
wild lettuce, marigold, mustards, changes trigger serious digestive upsets
pepperwort, ragweed, sneezeweed, that will kill your goats. You must
and yarrow. Feeds best put out at establish a routine, and stick to it. Don’t
least five hours before milking stress your goats by skipping or delay-
include alfalfa, soybeans, rye, rape,
turnips, cabbage and kale, and ing their feedings.
clover. Allow enough hayrack and feeder
Toxins from certain poisonous space for all goats in a group to eat at the
plants, when ingested by cattle or
same time (12–16 inches of feeder space
goats, end up in your milk supply
and can be a threat to you and your per goat is usually sufficient), and keep
family. Abraham Lincoln’s mother feeders clean. Goats won’t (and, for
died after drinking white snake- health reasons, shouldn’t) eat or drink
root–tainted cow’s milk. It can hap-
pen today, so be careful. from fouled hayracks, feeders, and water
sources. Make certain each goat is eat-

This herd of commercial meat goats waters from a typical Ozark stock pond. Goats require access
to plentiful supplies of cool, clean water.
ing. Goats who refuse their usual feed
are probably ill. Did You Know?
Do not allow your goats to get fat.
It’s not healthy. Goats don’t marble fat When humans hear the word pas-
throughout their bodies the way most ture, they visualize meadows of lush,
waving grasses. Not so our friend
species do; it’s deposited around their
the goat. Like their cousins the deer,
internal organs, where, in large quanti- goats prefer twigs and leaves and
ties, it can inhibit vital function. Learn to wildflowers and weeds—with per-
assess body condition, keeping in mind haps a spot of grass to round out
the menu. They thrive on brush-
that there will be individuals who are studded rough and rocky land.
leaner or chunkier than the norm. Furthermore, since they prefer
different plants, goats can be pas-
tured with livestock such as horses
PURE, CLEAR WATER and cattle. Goats not only avoid the
The cheapest, most essential nutrient of grasses these other animals require
all is water. Goats won’t thrive without but also grub out invasive weeds,
24-7 access to lots of sparkling clean, briars, saplings, and brush, clearing
land for grassland pasture.
good-tasting water. They need it to main-
Property owners appreciate
tain digestive health. Lactating does goats’ taste for such hard-to-rout
require water to make milk, and without nasties as purple knapweed, wild
it males form urinary calculi. Don’t blackberry, leafy spurge, purple
loosestrife, musk thistle, and multi-
skimp. Keep those tanks and buckets flora rose. Some entrepreneurs rent
filled and clean. Consider installing an goats to landowners specifically to
automatic watering fixture. Your goats grub out brush and weeds.
are sure to love you if you do.
50 • Goats
Keeping Them Happy, Healthy, won’t go into the barn. She has to shut
and Warm off the air conditioner. Then they’ll go
Our experts share housing and fencing in, but they don’t spend much time
observations. because it’s enclosed, and without air-
conditioning it gets so hot.
“Goats hate change. I decided to put
a fan in my milking parlor to cool it
down. Boy, that was a huge mistake.
My does wouldn’t come into the parlor
for four days. I had to chase my nice,
gentle milk goats down and drag them
into it. They got used to it, but now I
have to make sure it is going before
they step foot into the barn or they
freak out because they can’t hear it run-
ning. Goats!
“Just remember the number one
thing: goats hate getting wet. Make
sure the building you put up is water-
proof.”
Goats Don’t Care About Fancy —Samantha Kennedy
“I have one large and two small goat
structures, and my goats never use the Simple—But Convenient
small ones since they like to stick “Housing can be a very basic structure
together. In the summer, they some- depending on where you live. A three-
times lounge in the shade of the build- sided shed would be fine if you don’t
ings if it gets over 100 degrees and they get bad winters. In colder climates, it’s
are full. But most of the time, no matter nice to be able to shut the door and
how hot it gets, they lie along the ditch windows in really bad weather. As long
bank since it provides them with a as the goats have enough room to get
higher place from which to survey the in and not be crowded, it doesn’t need
world. to be huge.
“I chuckle when I see people put up “Don’t store your feed where they can
big, fancy goat houses as they always get into it. A separate building (or, if you
end up telling me, ‘Well gosh, it was a have a larger barn, a separate room) is
waste of money, I should have just put best.
up a lean-to.’ “It’s nice to be able to feed goats with-
“A friend of mine just moved to Texas out having to go in with them. If you
and bought a nice little ranch with an have a half wall, or a walkway they can
air-conditioned barn. She thought her stick their heads into, you can feed
goats would be in heaven, but they are without being run over.”
terrified of the slight noise it makes and —Michelle Wilfong

CHAPTER FOUR
Goat Behavior
and You
G oats are intelligent creatures. Exactly how intelligent is uncertain. Goats (like
cats) spurn IQ tests devised by humans and test much lower than they
should. In fact, a goat usually prefers to do things his own way. Consider the inter-
esting similarity between the words caprine (relating to goats) and caprice. The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines capricious as “charac-
terized by or subject to whim; impulsive and unpredictable.” That, in just a few
words, describes goats.
The same goat on different days and under different circumstances can seem
as smart as a whiz kid or as dense as a box of brick. He may lope down the driveway
behind your truck screaming in anguish because you’re leaving him or crouch
silently under the feed shed when he senses you want to give him a shot.
Goats are at all times nimble and curious, a combination that means trouble
unless you (and your neighbors) have goat-proof fences and finely tuned senses of
humor. Goats do get out. Goats fandango on truck hoods, clamor up slanted roofs,
and unlatch complex locks securing gates. Sashaying down the highway at 2 a.m. is
quite the goatish thing, as is raiding your neighbor’s lush garden.
FOLLOW THE LEADERS

Instinct plays a major role in the lives and loves of goats. Ten thousand years after
they were domesticated, they still possess intrinsic knowledge of the ways of the
wild goat herd.
As discussed in chapter 1, like most species, goats maintain a pecking order.
Top goat eats or sleeps whenever and wherever he or she pleases. Second-ranking
This doe spits out a plant she has just sampled. The herd queen utilizes this technique for showing
the rest of the gang what not to eat—though she makes a bigger production of it for emphasis.
goat defers to top goat, but lords it over production of spitting, sputtering, and
the rest of his herd mates. And so it wiping her mouth on the earth.
goes, down to the goat at the bottom of A certain amount of jostling for posi-
the heap, who eats last, gets the worst tion in the herd inevitably takes place,
place to sleep, and has to jump when any especially among newcomers and bach-
other goat says boo. In the wild, each elor males. Fighting is a one-on-one
flock is led by a herd king and a herd proposition; goats don’t gang up on a sin-
queen. On the farm, you will probably gle opponent, although they may figura-
have only the latter. tively stand in line for their chances to
The herd queen, a wise old doe, will trounce a newcomer. Aggression occurs
lead until she dies or becomes too infirm between both sexes, including wethers
to carry out her duties. She’s respected (castrated males), and consists of star-
by all; underlings rarely jostle for her ing; fluffing of the coat (as the hackles
position. At her passing, confusion rise), particularly along the spine; front
reigns until a new herd queen (fre- foot stomping; pushing; rushing; horn
quently a daughter of the old queen) threats (chin down with horns jutting
takes her place. forward); and outright warfare. Goats
The herd queen shows the others don’t back up, then charge head-down
what and what not to eat. No one sam- as rams do. An aggressive, annoyed goat
ples a plant before the queen. If she eats, positions himself or herself at a right
they eat the same thing. If she tastes angle to the opponent’s body with head
something nasty, she makes a grand facing the adversary. When ready, the
54 • Goats
This broken chamois–colored Alpine doe (“broken” meaning her coat is splashed with white) races
across the field at Pat Smith's Anvil Acres. Goats run fast, a fact verifiable by anyone who has ever
attempted to catch a runaway goat.
attacker rears onto hind legs and pivots, Goats lack the keen flocking instinct that
swooping forward and down, usually causes frightened sheep to mob
smashing into the opponent’s flank, together and move as a single mass. A
neck, or head. startled group of goats scatters,
Spend some time with your goats. although individuals may whirl to face
You can easily tell which doe is your what spooked them. If still alarmed, they
group’s herd queen. You must kindly bolt, calling on their speed and agility to
but firmly make it clear that she must outmaneuver perceived danger. Goats
defer to you so she’ll accept you as her are a herding dog’s worst nightmare.
better. As acting herd queen (no matter Goats dislike entering or crossing
your sex), you can get your goats to fol- water or areas of deep shadow, they
low wherever you lead them. resist passing through narrow openings,
and only with great reluctance will they
GET A HANDLE attempt to navigate slippery surfaces.
When moving goats or handling them They readily move forward out of dark-
for procedures such as worming and ness toward light, from confinement
inoculations, it’s important to under- toward open spaces, and into the wind
stand how your goats are likely to react rather than downwind, and they’ll more
and why. Being your goats’ herd queen readily go uphill than down.
can be essential here because it’s all but Loud noises and sudden move-
impossible to drive a herd of goats. ments frighten them. Startled or dis-
Goat Behavior and You • 55

The collar this Toggenburg cross is wearing allows her owner to easily lead and restrain her with-
out resorting to grabbing those magnificent horns.
gruntled individuals are apt to lie down understand what you’re asking before
to avoid being driven or handled. They you react; patience goes a long way in
also aggressively butt and shove at the the goat yard.
animals around them. Don’t underestimate the power of a
Most goats resist if you haul them goat. When handling seldom-handled
around by their horns. It’s better to lead goats or when working with goats in
or restrain a tame goat (even a horned close quarters, wear long-sleeved shirts,
one) by his collar or to temporarily long pants, and boots or steel-toed
immobilize him by cupping a hand shoes. Keep small children out of the
under his chin and lifting his head. If you action altogether when working around
do handle a goat by the horns, avoid fractious goats.
snapping off a tip (which will bleed like Goats are smart and have long
crazy) by grasping the horns down by memories. Depending on the actions
the bases. you take today, things will be better (or a
Harried goats are easily stressed. whole lot worse) the next time you han-
Since stress invariably leads to serious dle your goats.
health problems, avoid stressing them
as much as you can. Keep things low CAN YOU READ ME NOW?
key when dealing with goats, and don’t Goats communicate mainly through
lose your temper. Give goats a chance to body language, but sometimes they
56 • Goats
This spotted beauty is Kari Trampas’s Nubian buck. The bucks at her Seymour, Missouri, farm share
a single pen.
vocalize as well. An alarmed goat stands kids, and goats scream in terror and in
rigid, poised to run but with legs firmly pain. Some breeds call more than others
planted, his tail curled over his back, his do. Nubians are the noisiest of all.
head held high and ears pricked for-
ward at perceived danger. He may stamp THE BIRDS AND THE BEES
one forefoot or snort to alert the herd. AND B EHAVIOR K EYS
His alarm snort resembles a loud, high- Breeding season brings a new set of
pitched sneeze. To assert their authority, behaviors to the goat yard, some of them
dominant individuals glare at, crowd, peculiar by anyone’s standards.
bite, and butt underlings. High-ranking,
assertive individuals may try this with IT’S A G UY T HING
you. Nip aggression in the bud. You As breeding time approaches (see chap-
always need to be top goat in your herd. ter 6), a buck goes into rut. He hopes to
Although goat vocalization tradition- attract the ladies, and what better way
ally has been called bleating, the sounds than by liberally dousing himself with
goats make are increasingly being “perfume”? Unless he’s been descented,
referred to as calls. Goats call in greeting the glands on his forehead begin exud-
(to their human caretakers and to other ing a pungent, earthy musk. He adds to
goats), to demand food, and to locate his allure by spritzing his face, beard,
their kids and other herd members. chest, and belly with thin jets of urine.
Does murmur tenderly to their newborn He also grasps his penis in his mouth

Two rare Savanna does enjoy the rugged terrain of Carl and Shirley Langle’s Diamond L Ranch in
Viola, Arkansas.
(yes, he is that agile) and sometimes uri- bunt in the butt. A big buck can knock
nates, whereupon he curls his lips in a you over and seriously hurt you; so can a
grimacelike response (a behavior for- little one if he happens to clip you behind
mally called flehmen). both knees.
And this before he meets a doe in Bucks penned apart from the ladies
heat! practice their techniques among them-
When he’s turned out with the selves. Some bucks, especially bottle-
ladies, he’ll add new tricks to his reper- raised and pet bucks, may court their
toire. He’ll trail a prospective girlfriend, favorite humans. This isn’t much of a
sniffing her sides and under her tail, problem when a 40-pound Nigerian
sometimes pawing her with a stick-rigid Dwarf wants to rub his forehead glands
front leg, all the while flapping his on your leg, but it’s a serious one when a
tongue and making bizarre vocalizations 300-pound Boer wants to mount your
called blubbering. When she pees, he twelve-year-old daughter. It’s important
samples it and flehmens. When she to stay alert when working around
stops running from him and stands to be bucks in rut. Children and vulnerable
bred, he mounts her. As he ejaculates, adults shouldn’t handle them at all.
he flings back his head, then recuper-
ates for a heartbeat before dismounting. DOES JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN
During rut, bucks become more Does have their own set of unique
pugnacious, even toward humans. Being breeding behaviors, although some
rammed by a buck is more than a playful overlap with those of bucks. Females
58 • Goats
Goat Antics
Our experts give you the inside scoop on The Ego Check
goat behavior. “Just about the time you think you
understand goats, why they behave in
such a manner or what is needed to
keep them healthy, one will come along
to blow your theories out of the water.
Just like in psychology class, ‘Is it nature
or nurture?’ and in nursing school, ‘Not
everyone reacts the same to a drug.’
They have a knack for keeping your ego
in check (just like my own kids did). The
only thing that I can vouch for is that I
continue to learn something new with
each goat. When I stop enjoying the
learning process it will be time to do
something different.”
—Mona Enderli
The Storm Trooper Bounce

“You may be able to ‘potty train’ a
goat for the house, but boy when mine
get in, which they manage to do some-
The LaMancha Death Glare times through the pet door, they are
“I have a LaBoer (LaMancha/Boer) goat wild! They get on the desk, the TV, up
named Olive, who is extremely aggres- in the chairs, just nutso! They come
sive toward women. She doesn’t love bouncing in like storm troopers! It takes
women; she sees us as competition. an act of Congress to get them gath-
She stands on her hind legs and paws ered up and back out, and there are
at me and has the LaMancha Death only three of them.
Glare going on; she is quite intimidat- “Outdoors, they are all over my car,
ing. I actually have to catch her up and they have boards to walk on and
when other women come to look at concrete blocks to climb on. I had a 7-
the goats. She really loves my husband foot ladder leaning against the house,
and boys, but boy, does she get jealous and yesterday one of them climbed
of me! If they are out with me, she runs partway up and it fell over and knocked
the fence bawling until they go over the window out of the front door! They
and pet her; then she is fine. If she are exasperating! I don’t know if I can
didn’t give me such gorgeous kids, I wait till fall or not to get the fencing
would eat her!” done.”
—Samantha Kennedy —Donna Haas

Eamon stands quietly attached to a hitching rail, licking his mouth in contentment. The use of
treats for training is very effective with goats.
don’t pee on themselves, but tongue flap-

(Because you’ll probably keep them in
ping, blubbering, and mounting female separate quarters part of the year and
herd mates (and their human caretak- handle them more often than you handle
ers) are not uncommon. This is referredyour does, it’s always a good idea to edu-
to as “being bucky.” cate bucks.) If you call them while rat-
Other signs of estrus (heat) include
tling a bucket, they’ll stampede to your
allowing other does to mount them, fre-handling facilities. That may be enough
quent urination, decreased appetite, training for your purposes. However, if
clear mucous discharge from the vulva, you keep a few pet, 4-H, or recreational
tail-wagging (flagging), a great deal of
goats, you’ll at least want to teach them
strident calling, and mood changes. Theto lead and tie (remain quietly attached
super-sweet doe may intentionally kick to a hitching rail). Whatever your train-
over the milk pail or attack her underling
ing goals, there are some points to keep
herd mates, while old Picklepuss wants in mind.
to love you to death. A lactating doe’s Goats work their hearts out for food,
milk production takes a dramatic dive making them ideal candidates for clicker
while she’s in heat, too. training. Clicker training, also known as
operant conditioning, is widely used to
TRAIN THEM UP train sea mammals, horses, and dogs.
If you’re a large-scale meat producer, Horse training methods can be easily tai-
you probably don’t need to train your lored for schooling goats. If you’ve never
goats, except possibly for the bucks. tried clicker training before, we recom-
60 • Goats
To encourage a goat to enter the ring with his young exhibitor, the owner gives him a quick shove
on the rump. This is the most effective method to use when a goat falls behind or stops.
mend starting by reading one of the means you’re actually rewarding the
clicker training books listed in the goat for misbehaving.
Resources section. Although you proba- Goats can be led using a halter or a
bly won’t want to teach your goat to fetch collar. A halter tends to give you more
a soda from the fridge (then again, you control. Walk with your goat’s shoulder at
might), most of the training routines your right hip; until he understands, ask
common with other pets work excep- someone to follow and urge him along
tionally well with goats. when he falls back or stops. A well-timed,
Reward-based training always brief shove on his rump works better
works best, but when you need to thwart than pushing him or swatting him with a
undesirable behavior immediately, reach switch. Reward him when he does well.
for a high-powered water gun or a He’ll learn much faster if he’s having fun.
household pump sprayer with a long, For safety’s sake, never use choke-
strong jet. Goats despise water, espe- type collars or slip-style halters to tie up
cially when it’s squirted in their faces. A your goat. Use a slipknot in your rope so
loud “No!” coupled with a blast or two of you can untie him quickly if he pulls
water tends to grab the most errant back or somehow gets tangled. Don’t go
goat’s attention. Don’t just yell and wave off and leave a semitrained goat tied up.
your arms and chase your goat away. To You need to be Johnny-on-the-spot to
goats, chasing is play behavior; that save him if he panics.

CHAPTER FIVE
Goat Health,
Maladies, and
Hooves
Goats are prone to a host of serious ailments, and that’s a fact. However, it’s just as
true that properly managed goats rarely get sick.
We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: don’t buy trouble; choose healthy
foundation stock and take basic steps to watch over the health of your charges.
Certain problems will still be inevitable. Anyone who raises kids eventually battles
coccidiosis. Pneumonia tends to rear its head from time to time. Nutritional mal-
adies such as bloat, pregnancy ketosis, and goat polio aren’t uncommon, especially
while newbie goat keepers learn to properly feed their caprine charges. However,
it’s easy to avoid major nasties such as hoofrot, CAE (caprine arthritis encephalitis),
CLA (caseous lymphadenitis), CE (contagious ecthyma, also called sore mouth and
orf), and Johne’s disease by buying from disease-free herds. At the very least, avoid
poor risk purchases from livestock auctions or poorly managed herds of thin, limp-
ing, abscess-ridden sheep or goats. (Sheep and goats contract many of the same dis-
eases and parasites.)
Once you have purchased your goats, you should have relatively few health
concerns to contend with if you do the following: feed and handle your goats prop-
erly, worm them when needed, vaccinate according to your vet’s recommendations,
monitor their health every day, and don’t allow them contact with anyone else’s
goats or sheep.
Anytime you take your goats where other goats or sheep are present, you’re
exposing them to a host of communicable diseases. If the risk is necessary or
unavoidable, at least hedge your bets against introducing sickness into your herd
by quarantining incoming goats—be they newly purchased or home from an out-
Most major feed companies market nutritionally balanced, bagged goat concentrates and pel-
leted dewormers such as these.
ing—for at least three weeks. To prevent this book, you’ll find the most important
accidental contamination, don’t feed and ones in “Goat Diseases at a Glance” in
handle quarantined goats until after the Appendix. Before identifying what
you’ve seen to your main herd, and don’t ails your goat, you need to be able to rec-
let visitors, pets, or poultry move freely ognize when there’s something wrong.
between your quarantine area and your The chart at right will help you know
primary goat housing. what to look for.
It’s important to recognize illnesses
and start treatment right away, so you’ll ASSEMBLING YOUR
have to learn to tell when a goat is feel- RESOURCES
ing out of round. Stroll among your So you think you have a sick goat.
goats at least twice a day, watching for You’ve isolated the animal, but you’re not
signs of illness, and remove suspect indi-
quite sure what’s wrong. Call your vet
viduals to your quarantine area without immediately. Time is of the essence
delay. If only one goat is ailing, reducewhen treating problems such as coc-
stress (which takes a heavy toll on cidiosis, pneumonia, pregnancy, and tox-
already compromised individuals) by emia, as well as a host of other serious
moving a second goat to the quarantine caprine complaints.
area and penning her a distance from, Sometimes, however, a goat-savvy
but within sight of, the sick goat. vet is temporarily out of pocket. You
need to have other people and resources
RECOGNIZING MALADIES to consult about the situation. Start
Although discussing all the maladies (before trouble arises) by finding a men-
that befall goats is beyond the scope of tor, an experienced, local goat owner
64 • Goats
Know the Signs
A Healthy Goat A Sick Goat
Alert, lively, and curious about surroundings. Little or no interest in surroundings; stands or lies
alone, away from the other goats.
Tail is carried gaily, level with (most dairy breeds) Head and tail droop.
or up and over (Boers and most other meat
breeds) the back.
Normal interest in food; actively chews cud. Nibbles or refuses food, and may not chew cud.
Bright, clear eyes, free of discharge; nose cool Eyes dull, often squinting; thick yellow or green-
and dry; no thick nasal discharge (scant amount ish discharge oozes from eyes or nose. Grinds
of thin, clear discharge usually all right). teeth (indicating pain).
Regular, unlabored breathing. Labored breathing and coughing (congestion);

rapid, shallow breathing (more than 20–25
breaths per minute in adults). Slobbers; unusually
sweet-smelling breath (ketosis).
Calls in usual timbre and tone. Call tone and timbre unusual; grumbling or cry-
ing out in pain.
Wide, well-developed barrel, indicating well- Slab-sided (poor rumen development); barrel
developed rumen. Body neither blubbery fat nor painfully distended (bloat).
snake thin; “just right” for breed or type.
Coat clean and glossy; no obvious knots or Coat dull and unthrifty; scabs, abscesses, and
abscesses anywhere on body. bare patches. Continually rubbing, scratching, or
biting self. Ruffles coat, with spine hackles
standing on end.
Doe’s udder reasonably symmetrical; warm and Unusually hot or cold, swollen, or painful udder
soft, not hard and icy cold or fiery hot. producing thick, nasty-smelling, or clotted milk
(mastitis).
Most males urinate relatively infrequently; when Male goat cries while frequently attempting to
they do, they urinate effortlessly and in a steady urinate; produces only a dribble or nothing (likely
stream. urinary calculi—requires immediate treatment).
Droppings firm and pelleted. Droppings extremely smelly, in liquid form tinged
with blood or mucus; any change in color or
consistency is suspect.
Movement fluid; no unusual hitches or limps; no Moves poorly or not at all; hunched over, limp-
abnormally swollen joints; no rank-smelling dis- ing; grossly swollen joints; knee-walking in front
charge from hooves. (CAE or more likely, hoofrot).
Rectal temperature—101.5ºF to 105.5ºF. Rectal temperature lower or higher than norm.
Goat Health, Maladies, and Hooves • 65

Is it caseous lymphadenitis? It's best to have suspect abscesses drained and their contents checked
by a qualified vet.
who is willing to come by and help you access vital information with just a few
when the chips are down. Locate a men- quick clicks of the mouse.
tor (or two or three) via goat clubs, direc- It’s important to keep a first aid kit
tories, and e-mail groups, and establish a handy not only for those inevitable emer-
working relationship before you need gencies but also for day-to-day treatment
help (see the Resources section at the of cuts, scrapes, and dings. Keep the kit
back of the book). where you can readily find it, and
Assemble a caprine medical library replace each item as it’s used. Three or
and a well-stocked first aid kit. See the four times a year, thoroughly inspect
Resources section to read about our your first aid kit and discard any expired
favorite veterinary manuals, and cruise products.
government, university extension, and
private goat Web sites for useful mater- VACCINATING
ial, which you can print out. Arrange You can vaccinate for everything from
your printouts by subject matter, and file caseous lymphadenitis to fibrosis, but
them in handy three-ring binders. don’t stock up and systematically inocu-
Laminate important pieces such as kid- late your herd. Goats don’t need every-
ding diagrams and keep them in your thing in the books. For example, when
first aid or kidding kit. Still another you unnecessarily inoculate using conta-
option: download PDF files and store gious ecthyma vaccine, goats shed their
them on Zip disk or CD-ROM so you can vaccination scabs and contaminate your
66 • Goats
First Aid Kit
Meet with your vet and decide which Other Items

emergencies you can face by yourself. If • Probios probiotic paste
minor ones are all you care to tackle, a • Goat Nutra-Drench
bare bones kit is enough. However, if • Banamine
you’re an experienced livestock keeper or • Injectable vitamin B1
live far from your vet, he’ll probably sug- • Sterile water for flushing wounds
gest prescription drugs to keep on hand.
This is what we keep in our kit. In the Emergency Bucket
We store our first aid kits in 5-gallon food-
service buckets with snug lids. Since we
also have a horse first aid kit stored in the
same location, each is clearly marked with
permanent marker. We use permanent
marker as well to clearly indicate the con-
tents of bagged items.
• A lead rope and halters in several sizes

• Scissors, several disposable scalpels, and
a sharp folding knife (store together in
plastic zipper bag)
• A powerful flashlight and extra batteries
and bulbs (store together)
• Cotton-tipped swabs, stretch gauze,
In the ’Fridge sterile pads, adhesive tape, two rolls of
Keep these items in the same box so self-stick 4-inch bandage (we prefer
they’re easily accessible. If you have chil- Vetrap), and a digital thermometer
dren, use a lockable tackle box. (store together)
• Small containers of Kaopectate, milk of
Antibiotics magnesia, Tagamet, and baby aspirin
• Biomycin-200 (we use it in lieu of LA- (store together)
200; they are equally effective, but LA- • An assortment of 18- and 20-gauge,
200 stings on injection) 3/4" disposable needles and 1-cc, 3-cc,
• Penicillin and 6-cc disposable syringes (store
• Tylan-200 together)
• Latex gloves
Vaccines • Four-inch-wide duct tape
• C/D T toxoid • Betadine scrub to clean wounds
• C/D antitoxin • Schriener’s Herbal Solution and emu oil,
• Tetanus antitoxin our favorite topical wound treatments
• Epinephrine for treating anaphylactic • Nitrofurazone salve to protect summer-
shock time wounds from fly-strike
• Blood-stop powder: never be without it!

To give a subcutaneous shot, pinch up a tent of skin and inject the vaccine or medication directly
under it, taking care not to poke through to the other side.
property with the virus, something you stores, and by mail order from farm sup-
definitely don’t want to happen! ply and biological warehouses. It’s best
Overvaccinating wastes money and to ask your veterinarian or an experi-
stresses goats. Always vaccinate your enced goat breeder to show you how
goats with C/D T combination vaccine, and where to give injections, even if you
an over-the-counter, combination prod- routinely vaccinate other farm animals
uct that protects them from Clostridium or horses. See “Vaccinating Your Goats”
perfringens types C & D and tetanus. box for tips.
They need it no matter where you live.
But discuss additional local and herd- PARASITES
specific needs with your vet or county Like all other warm-blooded creatures
extension agent before heading for the (and some that aren’t), goats are
farm store’s vaccine cooler. plagued by parasites. Some are external
Most goat keepers learn to inocu- parasites and others are internal para-
late their own goats. It’s cost effective, sites. Below are descriptions of both.
and veterinarians are generally pleased
to make fewer farm calls. But you must FLIES, LICE, MITES
consult with your vet to formulate a vac- In addition to everyday, in-your-face sta-
cination program specific to your area ble and biting horseflies, two specialized
and to your herd. Needs vary. types of flies plague our goats: keds and
You can buy vaccines from your vet- botflies. Keds primarily infect sheep, but
erinarian, at many feed stores and farm they do prey on goats as well. They’re
68 • Goats
Vaccinating Your Goats
Use disposable syringes and needles, and the rubber stopper. Depress the plunger to
when you’re through, dispose of them in inject air and avoid the creation of a vac-
a responsible manner. uum. Pull back a little farther than the
Use a clean, new syringe for every ses- dose requires, then gently press the excess
sion. It’s best to use a new needle for each back into the bottle, removing any bub-
animal. Sharp needles cause less pain and bles you may have created.
work better. It pays to stay sharp (only Always use a clean needle to with-
about 30 cents a needle). draw vaccine from the bottle. A used nee-
Choose 16- or 18-gauge needles in dle contaminates the remaining contents.
1/2-, 5/8-, or 3/4-inch lengths. Longer nee- If you don’t wish to use a new needle for
dles easily bend or break. Shorter ones are each goat (though that’s always best),
perfect for giving subcutaneous (injected insert a new needle into the bottle’s rub-
under a pinch of skin) shots, and goat vac- ber cap and leave it there. Attach your
cines are administered via that route. syringe to it to withdraw vaccine (as
Swirl a vaccine bottle’s contents to mix above), detach the filled syringe, and
it. Don’t shake; you want to avoid making attach your used needle. Voilá, you’re
bubbles. ready to shoot!
Pull back on the syringe’s plunger a lit- Give injections into clean, dry skin.
tle farther than the volume of the shot Some vets recommend swabbing the area
you’ll be giving. While holding the bottle first with alcohol.
upside down, poke the needle through To give a subcutaneous injection,
pinch up a fold of skin and slide the nee-
dle under it, parallel to the animal’s body.
Slowly depress the plunger, withdraw the
needle, then rub the injection site to help
distribute the vaccine. They can be given in
the neck, over the ribs, or into the hairless
area behind and below the armpit.
Intramuscular shots are trickier, but
you’ll rarely have to give one except to
administer certain antibiotics. Ask some-
one to restrain the goat, then quickly but
smoothly thrust the needle deep into mus-
cle. The side of the neck is our preferred
injection site. Always aspirate (pull back on
the plunger about 1/4 inch) before you
inject the contents. If blood sucks into the
syringe, the needle pierced a vein. You
must pull it out and try again.
Store leftover vaccines and antibiotics
in your refrigerator, following the instruc-
tions on their labels. Discard leftovers after
their expiration dates pass.

John gives Morgan a dose of ivermectin paste dewormer. Morgan isn't certain he approves.
wrinkly, brown, wingless flies that look coats, and hair loss. Lice are species-
like ticks and feed on blood. Botflies are specific: goats can’t pick up lice from
fuzzy, yellowish-brown insects that poultry or birds.
resemble honeybees. They hover Mites burrow into skin or feed on its
around a goat’s nostrils where they surface, creating a fluid discharge and
deposit newly hatched larvae. The lar- scaly, inflamed, denuded patches of skin
vae migrate up the goat’s nasal passages, called mange, scabies, or scab.
feeding on mucus, until they reach the Infestations are highly contagious and
goat’s sinuses. This naturally annoys the require aggressive treatment. One type,
goat and can trigger severe inflamma- psoroptic mange (scabies), is a federal
tion and bacterial infections. After a time, quarantine disease, so if you suspect
larvae work their way back down the your goats are infected, contact your vet
nasal passages, drop to the ground, without delay!
pupate, and emerge as adult flies. Two
generations in a single summer are not WORMS
uncommon. Goats are extremely susceptible to stom-
Several sorts of lice also live on ach and intestinal parasite infestation.
goats. Some feed on skin and hair; oth- Chronically wormy goats are scrawny,
ers suck blood. Louse infestations cause rough-coated, depressed, and anemic.
extreme itchiness, skin irritations, rough They frequently suffer from diarrhea
70 • Goats
and usually die. Goats must be

dewormed using the correct anathemat-
ics (worm-killing products) for the type
or types of worms involved. Choosing
dewormers at random simply won’t
work. No one dewormer kills every type
of worm. You’re throwing money away
and endangering your goats by not
using the right product for your herd’s
precise needs. Deworming is a complex
subject to be discussed with your vet
and your county extension agent, but in
the meanwhile, keep the following
points in mind.
The only way to know which vermi-
cide to use is to take fresh manure sam-
After weighing himself, John steps back onto
ples for fecal analysis. When collecting the scale, goat in arms. Afterward, we’ll do
samples, follow your goats with a sand- the math and have an accurate weight for our
wich baggie and collect “berries” as they little goat.
fall (preferably, select nuggets that didn’t bathroom scale to weigh small goats.
come in direct contact with the ground). First weigh yourself, then pick up the
Take the samples to the vet, who will goat and step back onto the scale; sub-
prepare smears and examine them tract your individual weight from the
under the microscope, searching for combined weight of you and the goat, and
worm eggs. Depending on types and you have the animal’s individual weight.
quantities, he can recommend a product Before using any dewormer, read
based on your herd’s exact needs. Or if the instructions. Not all are labeled for
you choose, buy a microscope and a par- goats, so if your vet recommends an off-
asitology reference book and learn to label dewormer, ask about cautions and
run fecals yourself. restrictions. Follow instructions exactly.
Goats must be dosed according to Finally, if you choose homeopathic,
weight. Underdosing is ineffective and herbal, or other organic dewormers,
leads to chemical resistance; overdosing have fecals run on an ongoing basis.
can, depending on the product, kill your These products work well in some
goats. So make sure you know your instances and fail miserably in others.
goat’s weight. Though using livestock Don’t assume they’re doing the job; for
scales works best, they’re prohibitively your goats’ sake and yours, be certain.
expensive for most hobby farm breeders. The milk from newly dewormed dairy
With a little effort, you can use a standard goats must not be used for human con-

The bottom of this well-trimmed hoof runs parallel to the coronary band.
sumption; withdrawal periods vary from nippers, a hoof knife, and a rasp works
product to product. Ask your vet, or look well, too. It’s a matter of taste, experi-
it up online. ence, and convenience: people tend to
use familiar tools they have on hand.
HOOVES Safely tie your goat to a secure
Soil moisture and type, time of year, object using a sturdy lead rope attached
and breed influences how fast hooves to her halter or collar. Squat beside the
grow. Trimming protects the integrity of goat, perch on an overturned bucket, or
your goats’ hooves. In general, plan on stand and lean over to trim.
giving pedicures at least two or three Start trimming at the heel and work
times a year, timing them to coincide forward. Trim the heel even with the
with other labor-intensive procedures, frog (the soft, central portion of each
such as worming and vaccinating. toe), then trim the walls level to match. If
However, avoid trimming hooves during the frog is especially ragged, you can
high-stress intervals such as extreme touch it up with a knife, taking paper-thin
weather conditions, late pregnancy, or at slices until you reach a hint of pink; the
weaning time. Hooves are easier to trim frog is a sensitive structure, so go no far-
when they’re moist. ther. When you’re finished, the hoof
should be flat on the bottom and parallel
TRIMMING to the coronary band (the area where
You’ll need proper tools for hoof trim- hoof and hair intersect).
ming. Most folks use standard hoof When trimming a goat who has foot
shears, but trimming with horse hoof disease, trim her infected hooves last in
72 • Goats
With an inexpensive set of hoof clippers, John has no trouble trimming our goats’ hooves.
order to prevent spreading disease to found on virtually every farm where live-
healthy tissue. When you’re finished, stock is kept. It causes thrush in horses
disinfect your tools to prevent infecting and contributes to foot rot in cattle. It’s
your other goats. an anaerobic organism (which means it
Not every lame goat has hoofrot. To can grow only in the absence of oxy-
evaluate a gimpy goat, watch her from gen), so when animals are kept in dry,
afar. Which foot or feet is she favoring? sanitary conditions, F. necrophorum
How badly is she limping? Scan for for- poses no threat to them.
eign objects lodged in or between toes. However, when hooves are continu-
Then carefully trim all four hooves. As ally immersed in warm mud and muck,
you do, watch for signs of disease. bacteria invade the foot, often via a
minor scratch or ding, causing foot
DEALING WITH F OOT R OT scald, a moist, raw infection of the tissue
Foot rot and foot scald are closely between the sufferer’s toes. Foot scald
related. In fact, they share a causative usually affects only one of the front feet.
agent, the bacterium Fusobacterium It’s nasty and painful, and it frequently
necrophorum. leads to full-blown foot rot.
F. necrophorum is a common, hardy Foot rot occurs when F. necropho-
bacterium that dwells in soil and manure rum is joined by Bacteroides nodusus,

The Best Medicine

Those in the know talk about a few treat- are high in thiamine, the roughage is
ments for your ailing goat. good for the rumen, and the oils in the
seeds are good for the coat.”
—Bobbie Milsom
Sealer for a Sore Head

“Goats can break their horns, especially
bucks who like to bash into things or
aggressively head-butt their pen mates.
If a horn is broken completely off and it
isn’t hemorrhaging or badly contami-
nated with dirt and debris, I’ve had
good results from simply spraying the
area with an aerosol antiseptic/sealer
Magic Syrup such as BluKote, keeping the animal
isolated so that others will not bump
“Like lots of goat owners, we swear by
the very sore head, and watching for
Magic (a homemade blend of 1 part
any signs of infection.
molasses, 1 part corn oil, 2 parts Karo
“If the horn is broken at or near the
syrup). We use it to put final finish on
base but is still reasonably well
an animal or provide quick weight gain
attached, the same approach works. As
to get ready for a show. We give a 50-
long as the soft tissue core of the horn
pound plus animal 50–60 cc every other
is alive, new horn will grow and mend
day or so. It works, we use it often—it is
the break.”
part of our weight gain routine.
—Melody Hale
“We also use it on does in the early
stages of toxemia, anemic goats, and A Spark for Life
goats who are sick and not eating as a “Getting them in the house is a thing
support treatment to keep them eating with me. I always bring them in and a
and drinking. Vets here in Texas who lot of times lay them on the bed with
have been doing sheep and goat me. It seems to give them that little
research for the last thirty years think it extra spark, that small will to live. I don’t
is a great thing to give them when they have one shred of evidence or scientific
are down or off feed. It’s a really handy support to back that up, but I know
thing to have around.” that it works a lot of times. When
—Robin L. Walters there’s something here that is in dire
straits, I spend every minute with that
Seeds for Prevention animal. When they open their eyes,
“A handful of German black sunflower they see me or feel my hand caressing
seeds added to your goats’ diet each them. It does matter to them.”
day will prevent goat polio. These seeds —Donna Haas
74 • Goats
Well cared for goats age gracefully, as evidenced by this lovely old Anvil Acres Alpine, dam of our
weanling wethers, Atticus and Arch.
another anaerobic bacterium that thrives bring it home in the first place. If your
in the hooves of domestic goats. It gains goats don’t already have it, they can’t get
access via foot scald lesions and other it without coming into contact with B.
injuries. When F. necrophorum is pre- nodusus bacteria.
sent, B. nodusus sets up house in the To prevent its introduction, trim
deeper layers of the skin, where it pro- new goats’ hooves on arrival, and quar-
duces an enzyme that liquefies the tissue antine them well away from your main
that surrounds it. herd for at least three weeks. Do the
You can’t miss foot rot; affected same with returning 4-H and show
goats are very lame. Infected tissue is goats, goats who have boarded at your
sleazy, slimy, and stinky. Infection veterinarian’s facility, or any other goat
beneath the wall and sole of the hoof who leaves your farm and returns.
causes the horny walls to partially We can’t say it enough: don’t buy
detach. More than one hoof may be goats at livestock sales. Many producers
involved. knowingly dump infected stock at farm
Foot rot is treatable, but it’s a long, auctions. Even if the one you buy isn’t
costly, time-intensive process, and in infected, she’s probably been exposed to
most herds, not an entirely successful infected goats and held in pens where B.
one. The key to foot rot control is don’t nodusus thrives.

CHAPTER SIX
Bringing Kids
into the World
Whether you breed to get your dairy does in milk, you want to bottle raise a pet or
packing wether, or you raise kids for the ethnic meat market, learn all you can about
the breeding process before you begin.
CHOOSING BREEDING STOCK

If you buy a $30 scrub goat at a farm sale and breed her to your neighbor’s mixed
breed buck, you’ll get a single cute, $30 scrub kid. If your aim is to clear the woods
of brambles and saplings, that may be enough. But if you want to raise quality ani-
mals, start with the best foundation stock you can afford.
Do your homework: know what types and breeds produce the kind of kids you
want to raise. Review chapter 2, then skip ahead to the Resources section and visit
Web sites listed under your fields of interest. Don’t limit yourself. By breeding dairy
or Angora does to high-quality meat breed bucks, many breeders produce mar-
ketable meat kids while pursuing their primary goals of producing mohair fiber or
dairy products.
Don’t buy a Pygora or Pygmy in a poke. Buy breeding stock from producers
who keep detailed health, pedigree, production, and in the case of dairy breeds,
milking records. Ask to see verification when buying from purportedly certified
disease-free herds.
Choose mature animals who have already sired or produced quality kids. When
choosing dairy goats, even bucks, try to see a prospective purchase’s dam and, if
possible, his or her sire’s dam, too. Udder quality is highly hereditary—as is a ten-
dency toward multiple birthing. Choose goats (especially bucks) from twin, triplet,
Boer kids mature quickly, reaching breeding age within a few months.
or quadruplet births to maximize their Most responsible producers breed

chances of also having multiple births. doelings at eight to twelve months old;
Top-quality older goats can be best dairy breeders often say to breed them
buys for entry-level and hobby farm goat when they reach 80 pounds. In either
producers. Large-scale breeders often case, doelings should be well grown and
cull at six to eight years of age, but with a healthy, and they should be bred to
little extra attention, goats in this age bucks who (at maturity) are of the same
group have years of productivity ahead size or smaller.
of them. They already know the ropes, Most dairy goats are seasonal
especially at kidding time, a definite breeders. Their breeding season is trig-
boon when their newbie owners don’t. gered by decreasing daylight and runs
from roughly late August through
SEX IN THE G OAT H ERD January. Some breeds, especially those
Goats reach puberty at surprisingly originating in warmer climates, such as
early ages. Five to six months is the the West African Pygmy, South African
norm for most full-size breeds, but two- Boer, and New Zealand Kiko, breed
and-a-half-month-old bucklings have suc- year-round.
cessfully impregnated their dams and Does cycle (come in heat) every
sisters. To prevent unplanned pregnan- eighteen to twenty-one days and remain
cies, wether males not destined for in heat from eight hours to three days,
breeding and separate bucklings from ovulation occurring near the end of that
the rest of the herd by the time they’re period. Each doe’s heat cycles differ
twelve weeks old. from those of her herd mates, but her
78 • Goats
A big Boer buck surveys his lovely harem. Boers with massive hindquarters such as these are said
to be “hog butted.”
cycle generally follows a pattern. If In addition, if you’re establishing a

Tinkerbelle comes in heat every nine- CAE- or Johne’s-free herd, you must be
teen to twenty days and stays in heat present to remove newborn kids before
about forty-eight hours, unless illness or they can nurse their dams. Many other
stress throws off her biological rhythms, goat owners (myself included) simply
you can count on her following this pat- want to be there when kids are born to
tern most of her life. Goats don’t experi- assist if needed. If you don’t know when
ence menopause, which means a doe each doe was bred, you could miss the
will continue cycling until she dies. big event; so you don’t want a buck run-
Many does kid into their mid-teens, but ning with your herd.
geriatric does experience more preg- However, when a buck lives with his
nancy-related problems than do younger ladies, he has time and opportunity to
does, so it’s best to retire them at ten to properly court them. He’s more likely to
twelve years of age. breed them as they ovulate, so concep-
We discussed goat breeding behav- tion occurs. Does are more likely to con-
ior in chapter 4, but we didn’t touch on ceive with 24-7 exposure to a buck,
one important question: Should your which is why pasture breeding is the
buck live in the herd with your does? If norm in meat-goat production.
you milk your does and your buck is in If your buck doesn’t run in the herd,
rut, definitely not. Does kept with you’ll “hand breed” him. That is, you’ll
bucks tend to give strong, off-flavored lead him to the doe or vice versa and
milk. It’s hard to market “bucky- leave them in a pen together until the
tasting” product. deed is done (several times, in fact).
Bringing Kids into the World • 79

You’ll repeat this performance every day tions, trim their hooves, and worm them.
until she rejects his advances. (Read the labels before introducing new
If you don’t own a buck, you can products or foods to pregnant does. For
breed to someone else’s by paying board example, Valbazen, an especially effec-
and a stud fee. Or consider artificial tive white wormer, triggers abortion in
insemination (AI). In addition to avoid- pregnant sheep and goats.) At the same
ing the cost and hassle of maintaining time, begin supplementing the does’
your own males, with AI you can choose diets with concentrates, based on type,
top-quality bucks who complement each breed, and body condition. Consult your
of your does. Goats can be inseminated county extension agent or local mentor
using fresh cooled or frozen semen, gen- for specific advice.
erally resulting in a 60–65 percent con- If your property (or the land where
ception rate. Many large-scale breeders your feed and hay are grown) is sele-
and AI companies, such as BIO-Genics, nium deficient, give each doe a Bo-Se
Ltd. (see the Resources section), offer (selenium/vitamin E) injection at four or
semen and insemination services. Or five weeks predelivery. If you don’t
check with your county extension agent know, ask your county extension agent
or breed club for local contacts. or your vet.
Once does settle (become preg- If your does succumb to ketosis, it
nant), they’ll stop coming in heat. A vet will happen during the month before or
can confirm pregnancy via ultrasound, the month after kidding. Monitor does’
or you can simply assume noncycling weight, make certain they exercise, and
does have conceived. keep treatment materials at hand.
At least ten days before the first
THE WAITING GAME doe’s due date, assemble a kidding kit or
Approximately 145–155 days after their update the one you already have (see
last breeding date, depending on their “Build a Better Kidding Kit” box). If you
breed, age, and previous production use jugs (individual mothering pens)
record, your pregnant does usually birth instead of allowing your does to kid out
one to five kids. on pasture, clean and disinfect existing
It’s wise to dry off lactating dairy pens or set up new ones in a well-venti-
does (take them out of production and lated, draft-free area in a shed or barn.
allow them to stop producing milk) two Allow 25–35 square feet for each doe and
or three months before kidding. This her kids. Where drafts might pose a
gives them time to rest and recuperate problem, opt for solid wooden walls. Bed
before their kids arrive and a new milk- with dust-free material (sawdust can trig-
ing cycle begins. ger respiratory problems in newborns),
Five or six weeks before kidding, and fit each pen with an elevated waterer
boost pregnant does’ C/D T vaccina- and feeder. Don’t use 5-gallon food ser-
80 • Goats
vice buckets or other large water con- cheek of her butt)—become more elas-
tainers in which tiny kids can drown. tic as delivery approaches. Check them
A week before a doe’s due date, clip twice a day. They’ll change from hard to
her udder, escutcheon (the area soft to mushy feeling. At the mushy
between her rear udder attachment and stage, she’s roughly twelve hours from
her privates), vulva, and tail, especially if delivery. (See the Resources section for
you keep dairy, fiber, or other long- Web sites with how-to photos on check-
haired goats. ing the ligaments.)
Throughout kidding time, keep A day or two before kidding, many
your fingernails clipped short and filed does drift away from the main group,
in case you need to internally reposition sometimes taking along a grown daugh-
a kid. Review your educational material, ter or a friend. A doe may seem intro-
be it books or bulletins from the univer- spective or preoccupied and wander
sity sites in our Resources section, and around as though looking for some-
know in advance how to recognize prob- thing. During the same period, a long
lems and correct them. Post your vet’s clear string of mucus may trail from the
number by the barn phone, and add it to doe’s vulva.
your auto-dial. From a day to just minutes before
giving birth, does usually begin nest-
DELIVERY DAY ing—pawing the ground, turning
A week or so before the first expected around, lying down, and getting up
delivery day, start monitoring those again, over and over and over. A doe
does! Does tend to exhibit the same set may stretch a lot or yawn or even mur-
of prekidding signals from year to year, mur to her in utero babies in a soft, sub-
but each is an individual and no two fol- dued voice.
low exactly the same routine. When a doe gets down to business
Most first-timers begin building an and starts pushing hard, stay calm.
udder (their udders start developing) Don’t help unless she needs it, but be
four to six weeks prior to kidding. The ready to act quickly and definitively if
average veteran doe bags up (her udder she does. Does can deliver standing or
begins filling with milk) beginning ten lying down; either is normal.
days before and continuing up to the The first thing to appear at her vulva
very day she delivers. When delivery is is a translucent bubble: the amnion,
imminent, does’ udders are full and filled with amniotic fluid (this bubble can
feel tight. safely rupture at any time). As it
A doe’s tail ligaments—the ones emerges, you’ll see first one and then
stretching from just above the spot another hoof, and eventually a little nose
where her tail joins her spine to her pin will appear. Once his shoulders are deliv-
bones (those bony protrusions on either ered, the kid usually plops right out.

Build a Better Kidding Kit
Kidding is the most rewarding part of the • Betadine scrub to swab a doe or ewe’s
goat keeper’s year. Usually the process vulva before repositioning babies.
goes without a hitch, but glitches can
occur, so the goat keeper should assemble • Shoulder-length OB gloves—sterile,
a kidding kit to field possible emergencies. individually packaged ones. They’re harder
Here’s how we do it on our farm. to find than nonsterile gloves, but they’re
We pack our lambing and kidding worth the search.
supplies in two containers. The one we
take to the barn is a hard plastic step stool • A sharp pocketknife, so we don’t have
with a storage compartment inside. It is to use our umbilical cord scissors for rou-
sturdy and tip resistant and holds a lot of tine cutting chores.
gear, and on cold, wet nights, it sure beats
sitting on the ground. It contains: • A digital thermometer, the kind that
beeps.
• Sharp scissors to trim the umbilical
cord to an inch or so in length. We disin- • A bulb syringe designed for human
fect them after each birthing and slip infants. It can’t be beat for sucking mucus
them in a plastic zipper bag (we use a lot out of tiny nostrils.
of plastic zipper bags in our kit) to keep
them clean. • An adjustable, rubber kid and lamb
puller. This, the thermometer, the knife,
• A hemostat to temporarily clamp on the gloves, and other small items are
the umbilical cord if it continues bleeding stowed together in a single plastic zipper
(disinfected and kept with the scissors). bag. We’d add a paint stick designed for
livestock or other ID marker to the mix if
• 7 percent iodine to dip the cord into we had more animals, but our herd is so
after trimming. Some folks squirt iodine on small that telling which babies go with
the navel while the lamb or kid is lying which mom isn’t a problem.
down, but it’s much cleaner to dip the navel
into a shot glass while the baby is standing. • Nutri-Drench (one labeled for goats) for
weak newborns and exhausted moms,
• Dental floss to tie off bleeding umbilical including a catheter-tip syringe with which
cords if needed. to give the stuff.
• Two flashlights—we like packing a • An adjustable halter and lead, with

backup in case the first light malfunctions. which it’s easier to move most moms than
We tuck them in another plastic zipper it is without one.
bag to keep them dry.
• A lamb and kid sling— a back saver!
• Lots of lubricant for repositioning
babies. We like Suberlube and keep two • Towels—soft, old, cleanup toweling is
squeeze containers in our kit. stuffed into any remaining space.
82 • Goats
John gives Eamon several ounces of Goat Nutra-Drench from a standard dose syringe.
Having once scrubbed spilled lube out of a • A 16-ounce measuring cup, so we

kidding kit, we make certain the iodine, the don’t have to dig through the cupboards
lube, and the Nutri-Drench are individually to find one when we need it; it’s also great
double-bagged. to store the spare Pritchard teats in. It’s a
Our other container is a lidded 5-gallon big one, so it can double as a milking
pail. It stays in the house, and its function is to receptacle.
keep our other lambing and kidding supplies
centrally located. It houses the following items.
• A small whisk for mixing milk replacer.
All feeding supplies, including the measur-
• Milk replacers (specifically for kids)—we ing cup, are stored in a second plastic zip-
repackage them in plastic zipper bags and per bag.
store 3 to 4 pounds in the birthing supplies
container, the rest in tightly sealed tins. • Syringes and needles go into another
bag, along with an elastrator and
• A plastic calibrated nursing bottle with the rings.
a Pritchard teat and several spare teats.
Other folks add different items to their
• A flexible plastic feeding tube, a felt- kits. What you need depends somewhat
tip marker, and a 60-cc syringe for tube- on your goat’s breed and on where
feeding weak newborns. you live.

Four little Boers snooze in the sun. Multiple births are the norm in most breeds.
Strip excess fluid from his nose by run- After her ordeal, your doe will be
ning your fingers from below his eyes to tired and thirsty. Bring her a bucket of
his nostrils, or use a human infant–type lukewarm water (perhaps adding a dol-
bulb syringe to suck it out. Place him in lop of molasses as a pick-me-up), and
front of his dam so she can begin clean- give her a nice feed of hay. It’s important
ing him. This is important: this is when to leave the new mom alone with her
she bonds with her kids. kids so that they can bond, but you have
If more babies are imminent, she’ll a few more tasks before you go.
repeat the process until they’re all deliv-
ered. Never leave until you’re sure the CARING FOR THE N EW K IDS
last has arrived! Move each one to the Make sure your kids get the right start
side immediately so he doesn’t get in life so they’ll be healthy. That means
stepped on. This is a good time to trim ensuring they get the proper nutrients,
the kid’s umbilical cord if it’s more than keep warm, and are protected from dis-
2 inches long. Hold a shot glass or simi- ease. Bottle-fed kids have their own spe-
lar container full of 7 percent iodine to cial needs. You must also make a
the kid’s navel area for several seconds. decision about whether to castrate and
Make certain the cord is totally satu- disbud and when.
rated, and use fresh iodine for each kid.
Don’t omit this step. FOOD, SHELTER, HEALTH
If the cord doesn’t stop bleeding, When the babies have arrived, milk a
apply a commercial navel clamp about stream of fluid from each of the doe’s
an inch below the kid’s belly, or tie the teats to clear any wax plugs. This first
cord’s end off with clean dental floss. milk, a thick, yellowish fluid called
84 • Goats
Training a Bottle Kid
Training a bottle kid is fun, yet frustrating. empties, you’ll add more tilt. With your
We use this method and feeding schedule left hand on his throat, you can easily tell if
developed by veteran California Red sheep he’s swallowing. This is important—you
breeder Lyn Brown. It works just as well want milk in his tummy, not in his lungs.
for kids. Make certain you don’t overfeed.
Sit on the floor with your legs crossed. “Most people kill their first bottle baby
Place the kid in your lap facing away from with kindness,” Brown explains. “They
you, sitting on his butt with his legs overfeed it because the baby cries and
straight out in front of him. Cup his jaw they think it must be hungry. I know I did.
with your left hand, open his mouth and Now I follow this feeding schedule, no
insert the nipple, then steady the nipple exceptions. If our lambs [kids in this case]
using the fingers of your left hand. This cry between feeds, we give them Pedialyte
keeps the nipple aligned with his jaw and or Gatorade. That won’t hurt them as far
his head in a natural nursing position, as enterotoxemia goes while filling the
essential to keep milk from spilling into his void for them.” The following amounts
rumen. He’ll do his best to avoid the nip- are calculated for full-size sheep or
ple, but persevere. medium-size goats.
Elevate the bottle just enough to keep
the nipple filled with milk; as the bottle • Days 1–2: two to three oz, 6x/day
(colostrum or formula with colostrum
replacer powder)
• Days 3–4: three to five oz, 6x/day

(gradually changing over to species-
specific milk replacer)
• Days 5–14: four to six oz, 4x/day
• Days 15–21: six to eight oz, 4x/day
• Days 22–35: gradually work up to

sixteen oz, 3x/day
“At about 6 weeks,” Brown contin-

ues, “I begin slowly decreasing the morn-
ing and evening feedings and leave the
middle feeding 16 oz, until I eliminate the
morning and evening bottle entirely
(remember, they are eating their share of
hay or pasture by now). I continue with
the one 16-oz bottle for about two weeks,
then eliminate the bottle feedings
entirely.”

A Boergora (half Boer, half Angora) doe feeds her twins, who nurse from a kneeling position with
their heads thrown back. This causes a band of tissue in the esophagus to close, allowing milk to
bypass the nonfunctioning rumen and flow directly into the abomasum.
colostrum, is packed with nutrients and doghouse or airline-style dog crate with
antibodies essential to the kids’ survival. an old blanket or two draped over the
The antibodies in colostrum are present top makes a dandy addition to bottle
for only about twenty-four hours after babies’ quarters. Or install a bottle kid
kidding. A newborn should ingest his pen in your home. Lift-top wire dog
first meal of colostrum within two hours; crates and puppy exercise pens with
every kid should nurse before you leave. tarps spread beneath them make fine
If kids don’t nurse on their own, milk the kid housing. Bedded with old, frequently
doe and bottle- or tube-feed them the laundered blankets, indoor kids produce
first meal. Once they’ve tasted this elixir little odor. They can even don human
of life, most kids will eagerly seek the diapers and frolic through the house.
lunch bar for themselves. Our boys spent their infancy in our
Young kids must be kept reasonably living room!
warm. Some people install heat lamps Kids are susceptible to conditions as
above jugs and bottle kids’ pens, but diverse as constipation and scours, pneu-
because these lamps often cause barn monia, acidosis, enterotoxemia, floppy
fires, their use is risky. A solid-sided jug kid syndrome, coccidiosis, tetanus, goat
or pen in a draft-free section of the barn, polio, and white muscle disease. Learn
when deeply bedded with long-stem hay all you can about these problems before
or straw, is warm enough in all but the kidding time; the Resources and our
coldest climates. A comfy, well-bedded Appendix will point the way. Weak kids
86 • Goats
Bottle -Feeding Equipment
You’ll need proper equipment to feed for a few days, toss it into the recyclables,
your kids. We prefer the Pritchard teat: an and substitute a new one. Easy-flow
oddly shaped, soft, red nipple with a yel- human infant bottles and nipples also
low plastic base incorporating a flutter work well, as do the other soft nipples
valve to regulate airflow. Pritchard teats sold by goat and sheep supply outlets.
can be screwed onto calibrated lamb and You’ll also need a measuring cup and,
kid feeding bottles or onto any type of if you are feeding milk replacer, a mixing
household bottle with a 28mm neck (20- bowl and a wire whisk. Keep all feeding
ounce plastic soda bottles are ideal). The supplies squeaky clean! Wash and rinse
first time we use a soda bottle, we mea- them after each use, and once a day,
sure out an individual feeding, pour it into briefly soak everything except the nipples
the bottle, then mark the fluid level with a in a weak bleach solution (1 part bleach,
felt-tip permanent marker. We use a bottle 10 parts water).
Morgan chugs his noon feeding from a 20-oz plastic soda bottle fitted with a Pritchard teat.

Eight-year-old Alyssa Rockers of Carthage, Missouri, cuddles bottle kids while visiting MAC Goats.
must be tube-fed until they’re strong If you have room, two kids are bet-
enough to stand and suckle. This sounds ter than one. They’ll entertain one
scarier than it is. Ask your vet or mentor another when you’re gone, and if you
to show you how to pass a stomach tube feed milk replacer, you’ll save by buying
and have one ready in case you need it. in larger volume. Kids can be fed individ-
ually or in groups, using a rack-type bot-
BOTTLE KIDS tle holder or multiple-nipple feeder.
Unless they are fostered on another will- The kids you accept should have fed
ing doe, orphan and rejected kids must on colostrum for at least the first twenty-
be bottle-fed—and what’s more fun than four hours of their lives. If you’re called
raising a bottle kid or two? To bottle to come pick up newborns and they
kids, you’re Mom, herd queen, and best haven’t gotten any, ask if you can buy
friend all rolled into one. They will carry colostrum from the breeder. If fresh or
that attitude into adulthood. In fact, frozen goat colostrum isn’t available,
recreational goat owners routinely cow or sheep colostrum will do. Other
bottle-feed for precisely this reason. alternatives include CL-Nanny Replacer
Many producers haven’t time to bot- Colostrum or CL-Ewe Replacer
tle-feed orphans and rejects, so they give Colostrum (available from Mid-States
away or sell the kids cheaply to those Wool Growers Cooperative Association)
who do. If you’d like one, put out the or Goat Serum Concentrate fed with
word. Contact local breeders, and post to Goat Colostrum Replacer (sold by
regional goat-oriented e-mail lists. Tell Hoegger Goat Supply; both are listed in
local vets and your county agent. You’re the Resources section). Don’t rely on
bound to find a likely kid or two. colostrum “boosters” of any sort; they
88 • Goats
Kidding Time
Kidding tips from our panel of experts.
All Signs Are a Go have to wet it down to soften it enough

“The doe should be sunk in by the tail to release. Once it’s off, you can apply
head, and her udder should be a shiny Vaseline or something that will keep it
pinkish. Sometimes the udder doesn’t from sticking again.”
engorge before labor, but usually it’s —Rikke D. Giles
huge. There will be a vaginal discharge
and the doe will dig at the ground, lie Bringing Up Baby
down, and strain. If she’s not doing any “We have our barn (keep in mind it
of these, she’s not in labor. If the kid used to be a stable) arranged so that
is laying wrong, the doe doesn’t go every stall has a baby access door to
into hard labor, but you’ll see signs.” the center runway. That gives kids an
—Pat Smith escape from mom or a doe from hell
and gets them socialized with the
Out of His System other kids they will be penning with
“Once a kid has gotten the black meco- later. We also have baby-height feed-
nium (first manure) out of its system ers in the runway so they can eat with-
and has had enough milk make it out having to fight to get to the food.
through, then the poop will appear yel- It also gets them used to seeing and
low. If it makes a blob that sticks, then it being around me. A good 90 percent
has to be removed or the kid won’t be of my kids are friendly enough to pet
able to poop and that will cause severe all the time; the other 10 percent of
infection and death. them are usually the ones who prefer
“Just slip on a pair of those disposable to stay close to mama.”
gloves and carefully pull it off. You may —Rikke D. Giles

Most goat producers who castrate young goats do so with an elastrator tool and elastrator rings
such as these.
simply aren’t enough to do the trick. If species, and one-type-fits-all-species milk

your kids don’t ingest real colostrum or replacers absolutely will not do. If you
a viable alternative during those critical use a milk replacer, read the label care-
first twenty-four hours (forty-eight hours fully and measure ingredients every
are better), they’ll lack vital immunity to time. Slap-dash mixing leads to poten-
disease. Many such kids do survive, but tially serious upsets such as bloat, diar-
you must be especially vigilant and get rhea, and enterotoxemia. Mix only
them to a vet at the first sign of illness enough replacer for a day. Keep it in the
because they won’t have the where- refrigerator, and don’t return unused
withal to fight it on their own. portions to the jug. Buy enough of the
What do you feed bottle kids after same brand to last your kids through
colostrum? Goat’s milk always works weaning, as switching products leads
best, but these mixtures using store- to gastric upsets. If you must switch, do
bought cow’s milk work well, too: it gradually over the course of at least
• 1 part dairy half-and-half; 5 parts ten days.
whole milk
• 1 gallon whole milk; 1 cup butter- CASTRATING AND D ISBUDDING
milk; 12 ounces of evaporated milk If you castrate male kids, the easiest and
If you use commercial powdered least expensive way to do it is to band
milk replacers, always buy high-quality them before they’re two weeks old. A
milk-based products designed specifi- pliers-like tool called an elastrator is used
cally for kids. Soy-based replacers, prod- to stretch thick, strong, rubber bands
ucts designed for the young of other wide enough to slip over a kid’s testicles.
90 • Goats
Breeders may choose to leave horns intact, but if the goat will be handled much, it’s safer to
remove them.

GoatsInterior_7R.qxd 5/3/10 10:57 AM Page 92
Bottle Brigade
Tips for the bottle brigade from those who Serum every three weeks; it works.”
have been there. —Robin L. Walters
Not Too Much Not Too Hot

“There is nothing wrong with feeding “Whatever kind of milk you are feeding,
kids milk replacer, just make sure that be sure that it’s warm enough, but not
you find one designed for goats and too hot. Body temperature. Use a soft
made out of milk protein and not out nipple because kids don’t like hard ones.
of soy. However, milk replacer seems to Force the nipple in the kid’s mouth and
be more unforgiving than real goat’s hold it until he drinks. Be careful you
milk. don’t drown him. He’ll catch on.”
“I am not going to waste my money —Pat Smith
on feeding goats store-bought milk, so I
try to keep a dairy goat fresh, and milk To Bottle or Not?
in the freezer; goat’s milk is a lot easier “Kids don’t have to be bottle raised to
than mixing up replacer. be friendly. I have a 300-pound Boer
“Make sure you stick to a schedule buck that was dam raised and pasture
when bottle feeding. An over-hungry bred. When I got him at eighteen
kid is going to eat too fast. In general, months, the only time anyone had put a
bottle kids, given a chance, drink too hand on him was to worm or vaccinate
much and too fast, and this can lead him. He is a big baby, and as sweet as
to bloat. In order to help prevent bloat can be. He’ll even come up to me and
and other digestive problems, I give duck his head for me to scratch him.”
my bottle kids C/D antitoxin and Poly- —Robin L. Walters
92 • Goats
Salem scrubs his forehead on a water tub. Kids rub on everything when their horns are emerging.
Lack of circulation causes the scrotum to selling 40–60 pound kids to ethnic mar-
wither and slough off in four to eight kets needn’t castrate at all. In fact, some
weeks. If you use this method, give each ethnic communities pay premium prices
kid a shot of tetanus antitoxin (not for bucklings.
tetanus toxoid) when you band him; If you don’t want horned goats, kids
never omit this step! However, since penis should be disbudded when they’re three
development ceases when a kid is cas- to fourteen days old. Disbudding is
trated, authorities believe early-banded accomplished by destroying emerging
wethers are more likely to develop uri- horn buds with a red-hot iron; it’s not a
nary calculi than are late-castrates and job for the squeamish or uninformed.
bucks. Many recreational and pet own- Ask a vet or your goat mentor to show
ers delay the procedure until kids are at you how it’s done, then buy the proper
least three months old, then have a vet- tools before doing the job yourself. Or
erinarian castrate them under sedation have your vet disbud kids using a local
and local anesthesia. Meat producers anesthetic.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Making Money
with Goats
There are three avenues for making money with your goats: meat, dairy, and fiber.
Each has advantages and disadvantages, so carefully weigh all the factors before
deciding which avenue will work best for you.
MEAT GOATS: THE MORTGAGE LIFTERS

Farmers and ranchers across the United States and Canada are calling meat goats
“the mortgage lifters” of the new millennium. Easy-to-handle, easy-to-raise meat
goats are selling at all-time high prices, yet more goats and more goat producers are
needed to supply North America’s burgeoning goat meat market with market goats
and the breeding stock needed to produce them. Experts have characterized meat
goat production as the fastest growing animal enterprise in the country.
Thirty years ago, few Americans ate goat meat. Most North American goats
were dairy goats, Angora goats sheared for their mohair fleece, and Spanish scrub
goats used for brush control. The scrub goats were sometimes used for meat, most
of which was sold on the hoof and shipped to Mexico. New U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) statistics tell a completely different story. According to the
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s first annual goat survey, on January
1, 2005, the U.S. goat inventory totaled 2.5 million. Breeding goats totaled 2.1 mil-
lion and market goats 0.4 million. Milk goats numbered 283,500 head, Angora goats
274,000, meat and all other goats 1,970,000.
Consider this: the USDA estimates that roughly 50–60 percent of America’s
meat goats are processed at USDA-inspected abattoirs. The first year goat slaughter
statistics were kept was in 1977, when 35,000 goats were tallied. By 1985, the figure
Commercial meat goat producers routinely breed Spanish does (like this handsome white one)
and Boer and Kiko bucks to produce meaty, highly marketable kids.
had grown to 124,000. Only eight years older kids and mature goats) are favorite
later, 320,000 goats were accounted for, fare in Hispanic households. The U.S.
amounting to more than a 900 percent Census Bureau projects that between
growth in only sixteen years. In 2000, 1995 and 2050, Hispanics will account for
federally inspected slaughterhouses 57 percent of the immigration into the
processed 549,000 goats. United States and that Hispanics will
account for 25 percent of the U.S. popu-
WHY THE D EMAND ? lation by 2050.
The reason for this unprecedented Kid goat is the traditional mainstay
industry growth is simple: 65–70 percent of Muslim feasts served before
of all red meat consumed globally is Ramadan, at ’Id al-Fitr and at ’Id al-Adha.
goat meat, and America’s expanding The Muslim population in the United
ethnic population is willing to pay States, though not a large percentage of
premium prices to buy it. Families of the population, is a significant and grow-
Mediterranean, southern European, ing segment. The Muslim converts of
Middle Eastern, African, Southeast non–Middle Eastern origin compose a
Asian, South American, Central substantial fraction of the total, and they
American, and the West Indies extrac- are said to be particularly observant of
tion all favor goat. traditional Muslim dietary preferences.
Cabrito (the flesh of 10–15 pound A second, smaller segment of
milk-fed kids) and chevon (the meat of America’s population is clamoring for
96 • Goats
The Healthy Meat
Goat Meat Versus Other Meats
Meat (per 3 oz roasted) Calories Grams of Total Fat Grams of Protein
Goat 122 2.5 23

Beef 245 16 23
Chicken 120 3.5 21
Lamb 235 16 22
Pork 310 24 21
goat meat. Health-conscious individuals demand for goat meat far exceeds the
turn to naturally lean goat meat for its domestic supply means a ready, estab-
health-giving qualities. Compared with lished market for new goat producers.
beef, pork, and lamb, it’s lower in calo- Other appealing aspects: goat pro-
ries and fat and equal or higher in producers can choose from a number of
tein. Although chicken is slightly lower viable business options, depending on
in calories than goat, it is also lower in what best fits their interests and circum-
protein and higher in fat. People are stances. Start-up costs are relatively low,
also discovering just how great goat business can be expanded rapidly, and
meat tastes. land is not usually a problem.
Finally, goats are intelligent, friendly,
WHY ARE FARMERS FLOCKING and just plain fun to have around. Except
TO G OATS ? for the occasional ornery buck, they’re
At present, goat producers cannot sup- nonaggressive and easy to handle, even
ply enough market goats to meet North by children and seniors. Almost without
America’s skyrocketing demand for goat exception, the goat producers I’ve talked
meat. An astounding amount of product to say the best part of farming goats is
has to be imported. For instance, in the goats.
2003–2004, Australia exported 16,097
metric tons of goat meat, 48.6 percent of Business Options
it to the United States. The value of this Most commercial producers maintain
goat meat was slightly over $28 million large herds of unregistered and cross-
Australian (approximately, $21.5 million bred goats. Their objective is to produce
U.S. dollars). The fact that America’s fast-maturing, low-cost kids for slaughter.
Making Money with Goats • 97

A junior showman confidently displays his equally young goat. General ease of handling, even by
youngsters, is one of the reasons farmers like keeping goats.
Commercial producers market live meat bloodlines to other breeders whose goal
goats (usually by the pound) directly is herd improvement, rather than show
from their farms, through livestock auc- ring victories. Such goats currently fetch
tions, or to buyers and brokers. prices in the $500–$2,000 range, with
Slaughter goat prices today range quality bucks selling higher than does.
$0.65–$2.00+ per pound depending on A second group produces quality
age, grade, and availability. percentage (partbred) stock of the popu-
Registered show goat breeders lar breeds—usually Boer or Kiko—by
maintain fewer, but far more costly, reg- breeding top-flight bucks to lower per-
istered animals. Their goal is to use pop- centage does. They market does and
ular genetics to produce goats capable of bucks to other breeders, high-quality
winning in stiff competition at major goat wether kids as 4-H/FFA show stock, and
shows. Goats in this group are each cur- low-quality and excess bucks for slaugh-
rently selling in the $1,500–$20,000 ter. Percentage breeding stock currently
price range. costs $150–$500; 4-H/FFA wethers,
One group of breeding stock pro- $90–$500.
ducers markets high-quality, fast-matur- Many goat dairies, large and small,
ing registered goats of popular are entering the commercial meat mar-
98 • Goats
Some breeders like the beauty of paint Boers such as this rich red paint MAC Goat doeling.
ket by breeding their milking does to equate with rapid opportunities for
purebred or high percentage Boer or herd expansion.
Kiko bucks. Meat kids are raised on It doesn’t take a lot of land to raise
excess goat’s milk or on milk replacer, goats. Many registered breeding stock
while their mothers continue working producers—who don’t need a lot of
the milk line. goats to show a handsome profit—oper-
ate from small farms.
Costs, Expansion, Land Pastured goats, cattle, and horses
Compared with other livestock ventures, prefer different plant species and can be
start-up costs are unusually low, espe- pastured together or in rotational graz-
cially for entry-level commercial meat ing programs. Measured in amount of
goat producers. Good quality commer- lean product per unit of input, goats
cial breeding stock is inexpensive and maintained on lush pasture or in a feed-
readily available. Although new goat lot scenario can’t compete with cattle,
fencing can be costly, in most cases sheep, or hogs. However, pastured on
existing fencing, housing, and handling brushy, weedy, rocky browse, goats top
facilities are easily and inexpensively the others hands down. A further advan-
converted for goats. tage: seven to eight goats flourish on the
It’s possible to start small and dry feed that a single beef cow would
expand rapidly by retaining doelings and consume.
marketing only male kids for slaughter. Goats prefer rough browse. With
Routine multiple births (two kids are the minimal supplementation, they produce
norm, but up to four not uncommon) marketable kids on land that would

A group of Toggenburg goats and a bay horse make congenial pasture mates on this small farm
in Wisconsin.
starve beef cattle. They clear land of S TARTING R IGHT WITH M EAT
brush, kudzu, leafy spurge, purple knap- GOATS
weed, wild blackberry, and multiflora Don’t rush blindly into raising meat
rose, producing marketable meat while goats. Settle on a niche (commercial
improving woodlots and destroying nox- meat kids? show wethers? registered
ious weeds. breeding stock?), then do your home-
With goats, location barely matters. work. You must have a viable market for
Meat goats can be marketed live from your product, no matter what type of
the farm, at livestock auctions, or to bro- meat goat enterprise you choose.
kers who truck large numbers of live Talk with your county extension
goats to goat slaughtering facilities. agent. Ask about local marketing oppor-
Although the majority of federally tunities. Contact others in your region
inspected goat-slaughtering facilities are who are successfully engaged in the
located in Pennsylvania, Missouri, business you choose. Tell them what
Texas, Delaware-Maryland, and Illinois, you have in mind and ask for their feed-
in most areas producers have formed back. Ask lots of questions. They are
marketing organizations to cooperatively your number one source for local goat
ship their own goats to slaughter, thus business information.
eliminating the middleman and earning Subscribe to meat goat periodicals;
additional profits for themselves. buy back issues if you can. Spend time
100 • Goats
Commercial meat goats come in all shapes and colors.
online perusing sites and services listed livestock brokers, you’ll need to raise
in our Resources section; a tremendous kids who meet the needs of your buyers.
amount of meat goat material is available For instance, Muslim buyers prefer lean,
for free on the Internet. Join e-mail lists dressed goat carcasses in the 35–40
and discussion groups such as pound range and only consume halal
chevontalk and BoerGoats in the Yahoo meat (halal means “permitted”; in this
online network. Attend meat goat semi- case, meat from goats slaughtered
nars sponsored by goat organizations according to Islamic law). Hispanic buy-
and universities or private seminars ers buy cabrito or meat from older kids,
such as Suzanne Gasparotto’s Goat and Caribbean buyers tend to prefer
Camp throughout the United States (see mature goats.
Resources). The following chart is adapted from
Meat goats are hot, hot, hot. If you a University of Illinois Extension bul-
can raise them economically and find a letin, “MarketMaker Chicago Ethnic
steady market, you’re almost sure to Markets: Goats” (http://www.market-
show a profit. And it’ll be a long time maker.uiuc.edu/PDF/ethnicgoat.pdf). If
before supply exceeds demand. you plan to market goat meat to ethnic
buyers, you’d be wise to download and
HONING IN ON ETHNIC MARKETS read it. Once you’ve targeted an ethnic
If you want to become a commercial pro- community, learn more about its goat
ducer, whether you plan to sell direct meat needs via the Internet and other
from your farm, at livestock sales, or to sources.

Ethnic Groups
Carcass Preference by Ethnic Group
Group Preferences Comments

(dressed weights)
Asian (e.g., Chinese, Korean, High-quality 60–70 lb goats Prefer a headless carcass, feet off,
Thai, Vietnamese) with scalded and scraped skin.
Greek 30–40 lb kids
Hispanic Milk-fed cabrito (5–12 lb), high- Sold to retailers head on, feet off,
quality 15–25 lb kids skinless; retailers sell ribs, whole
legs, stew meat.
Italian 20–25 lb young kids
Jewish 20–40 lb high-quality kids, newly

weaned, milk-fed
Muslim Fairly lean, less than one year old; Goat and lamb are served at tra-
35–40 lb ditional holiday feasts; also served
at special occasions such as wed-
dings and birth celebrations;
retailers sell whole, half, and
quarter goats as well as various
cuts; heads, tongues, liver, brains,
and kidneys are sold as well.
West African/Caribbean Lower-quality mature goats; Caribbean outlets sell goat legs,
intact males preferred ribcages, and stew meat; African
groceries carry whole goat legs,
quarters, shoulders, and stew
meat. Some carry carcasses with
the skin left on.
102 • Goats
In the Han Ah Reum International Supermarket in Virginia, an Asian shopper considers a variety of
meat selections.
It’s also important to learn when your target group’s religious holidays occur.
For example:
Muslim Religious Observances*
’Id al-Adha December 31, 2007 Fairly lean, unblemished kids

December 20, 2008 (wethers are unacceptable) less
December 9, 2009 than one year old, 35–40 lb
November 28, 2010 dressed weight.
Ramadan (start) September 24, 2006 Kids less than one year old, fairly
September 13, 2007 lean, 33–40 lb dressed weight.
September 2, 2008
August 22, 2009
August 11, 2010
’Id al-Fitr October 24, 2006 Kids less than one year old, fairly
October 13, 2007 lean, 33–40 lb dressed weight.
October 2, 2008
September 21, 2009
September 10, 2010
* Dates are approximate; they’re based on the Islamic lunar calendar and are subject to the
first sighting of the moon.

DAIRY GOATS: GOT MILK— states enforce strict regulations govern-

OR C HEESE ? ing the sale of fluid milk. Before setting
According to Dairy Goats: Sustainable up a business, be it milking ten goats or
Production, a livestock production guide two hundred, you must contact the
issued by Appropriate Technology agency responsible for dairy regulation
Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), in in your state and procure a license.
1994 there were 1 million dairy goats in Agencies vary from state to state. In
the United States. These goats produced
600,000 tons of milk, which was Organic Goat Meat
marketed by three hundred dairy goat
businesses and by at least thirty-five Health-conscious buyers are willing
to pay a pretty penny for premium,
commercial goat cheese makers. Yet
“natural” meat. Organic chevon
another 650 tons of goat cheese were generally fetches the highest
imported from France alone. prices—but in most locales it’s next
Goat’s milk and goat’s milk prod- to impossible to produce.
Why? In a word: parasites. Goat
ucts are in huge demand. If you have worms are legion, and goat produc-
what it takes to succeed in the business, ers must rely on chemical deworm-
it’s likely you can turn a profit milking ers to keep them in line. But to
market organic chevon, you must
dairy goats—but you have know what
be enrolled in the USDA’s Certified
you’re doing from the get-go. Organic Program, to which chemi-
Dairy businesses are labor inten- cal dewormers are strictly verboten.
sive. It may be difficult to find reliable Antibiotics and chemical-based med-
ications (with a few exceptions) are
help at wages you can afford. If you
as well. It’s hard to raise goats organ-
can’t, can you carry the operation by ically, so thoroughly investigate cer-
yourself? With your family’s help? Is tification before you commit—and
your family willing to help? Goats must research hardy breeds such as the
Kiko, developed specifically for
be milked twice a day, at precisely the enhanced parasite resistance.
same hours, seven days a week—they A better approach is marketing
never take holidays or weekends off. “natural” or “grass-fed” chevon.
Such kids are raised without growth
And milking is only part of the dairy
hormones or stimulants. They can
worker’s day. Goats must be fed and consume browse, grass, and hay but
cleaned up after and doctored when sick not concentrates. Goats are naturals
or injured. Feed and bedding must be for this type of meat production.
Keep in mind, however, that
bought and stored. The milk room and
unless you’re licensed to sell
milking equipment must be sanitized processed meat, you must sell
twice a day. One person shouldering the organic, natural, and grass-fed goats
load can burn out fast. direct to your customers (alive) or
delivered to a USDA-approved
Don’t assume you can simply sell slaughterhouse.
milk from your own back door. Most
104 • Goats
This Saanen doe exhibits excellent dairy character (physical traits that suggest high milking abil-
ity). Dairy goats seem bony to the uninitiated but they're meant to be more angular than meat goats.
Arkansas, the Milk and Dairy Products rate milk room, regulation equipment,
division of the Department of Health is and on-site waste system. The milking
in charge; in Idaho, it’s the Bureau of parlor must have a concrete floor (or one
Dairying, part of the Idaho Department made of another impervious material);
of Agriculture; in Colorado, it’s the smooth, painted, or finished walls and
Consumer Protection division of the dust-tight ceilings; approved lighting and
Department of Public Health and ventilation; and metal or other non-
Environment. If you don’t know where wooden milking stands. The floor must
to look, ask your county extension agent slope away from the milk room.
or log on to the American Dairy Goat There must be a separate milk room
Association’s Web site (see Resources), to house your bulk tank and cleanup
where you’ll find up-to-date contact infor- area, and it must have a tight-fitting, self-
mation for every state and several for- closing door leading to the milking par-
eign countries. lor. The milk room must incorporate the
You’ll discover that in most states, to requisite ventilation, lighting, floors, and
sell dairy products for human consump- walls. A regulation hose port must be
tion (and especially raw milk), you’ll installed in one wall to transfer milk from
have to set up a class A dairy. For this your bulk tank to the milk transporter’s
you will need: a milking parlor, a sepa- tank, and your bulk tank must be

installed according to strict agency spec-

ifications. A two-compartment wash sink
with hot water under pressure is a must.
All milking equipment and the bulk
tank must meet strict 3-A manufacturing
standards. An approved on-site toilet and
a dairy waste management system are
also mandatory. For an in-depth look at
typical equipment and operating require-
ments, visit “Grade A Dairy Goat
Requirements” at Langston University’s
E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat
Research (see Resources).
SELLING MILK
If you plan to sell fluid milk in bulk,
investigate prospective buyers before
you commit. In many locales, no such Goat’s milk, usually indistinguishable from cow’s
buyer exists. If you find one, contact a milk in appearance, is in high demand for drink-
ing and for making cheese.
representative and ask if he or she needs
additional suppliers. If so, how much Pigs, calves, and meat goat kids thrive
milk will the buyer purchase from you? on goat’s milk, and all are readily mar-
What is the payment? How much is ketable as meat. Or market your milk as
charged for hauling? Are you expected value-added products such as yummy,
to supply milk year-round? Request the high-quality goat cheese.
names of existing suppliers, and contact
all of them. Ask a lot of questions. Make ARTISAN GOAT CHEESE
sure the buyer is reliable before you buy In the United States, more than 250 spe-
goats (and expensive equipment!). cialty cheesemakers handcrafted mil-
Before you sell milk or other dairy lions of pounds of artisan cheese in 2002.
products direct from your farm, make Sales of specialty cheese topped $2.5 bil-
absolutely certain it’s legal. In most lion in 2000, up 4 percent from 1999, and
states, it’s OK to sell to individuals who they’re expected to rise an additional 4
use the milk for animal food but not to percent per annum through 2005. The
individuals who use the milk for human best part: much of that cheese is made
consumption. Be careful. Fines for pedal- all or in part from goat’s milk.
ing illegal milk are often very steep. When most people think of goat
Another legal way to market your cheese, they visualize chevre, the tasty,
good goat’s milk is through livestock. tart, earthy goat cheese from France.
106 • Goats
Milk
How Much Milk Do Milk Goats Give?
Does in Milk for Number Milk Range Butterfat

275–305 Days of Does (lb/average) (lb) % lb
Alpine 699 2,254 840–5,300 3.5 78

LaMancha 216 2,097 1,050–3,510 3.9 81
Nubian 445 1,746 640–3,670 4.8 84
Oberhasli 68 2,062 990–3,629 3.7 76
Saanen 432 2,468 970–5,630 3.4 84
Toggenburg 184 2,015 860–4,480 3.2 64
ADGA Averages for 2002 Lactations
Adapted from Dairy Goats: Sustainable Production (ATTRA)
But goat cheese runs the gamut from tailored specifically for your needs. Don’t
spoonable, silky fromage blanc to mold- overlook this resource! If you’d rather
coated, Brielike chevrita, to cheddarlike peruse ATTRA handbooks online,
firm, ripened cheeses. check out Goats; Sustainable Production
You won’t learn to make quality arti- Overview, Dairy Goats: Sustainable
san goat cheeses overnight; you need to Production, and Value-Added Dairy
apprentice to an established cheese- Options among ATTRA’s many value-
maker, attend seminars, or take courses. added marketing, pasture management,
By doing so, you can learn to produce an and organic production bulletins and
imminently salable, in-demand product booklets.
marketable at farmer’s markets, to You’ll also want to download the
restaurants, through retailers, or from Small Dairy Resource Book from the
home via mail-order or online sales. Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Before undertaking any goat-related Education (SARE) Web site (see
enterprise, contact ATTRA (Appropriate Resources). Simply click on Publications
Technology Transfer for Rural Areas; and scroll down to the title. It covers
see Resources). Although you can read essential topics on processing and mar-
and download many of their bulletins keting of dairy products.
and handbooks online, if you call and In addition, visit the Maryland Small
speak with an ATTRA adviser, he or she Ruminant Page’s Web site, where
will compile a free information packet dozens of links lead you to resources as

Household Dairy Goats—

Are They for You?
If you don’t want to sell dairy products but show you how to milk the doe. Although
you’d like to stop buying them at the you can buy milking machines set up for
store, get a goat! A few goats can keep a one or two goats (costing $1,300–$1,400
four-person family in milk, cheese, and from most dairy equipment suppliers),
yogurt year-round. Dairy goats are rela- hand milking a gentle doe can be very
tively inexpensive and simple to milk and relaxing. If you haven’t milked before, start
to maintain. with trained goats. Goats are smart and
Though dairy breeds were developed wily, so you’ll want to avoid dealing with a
for milk production, any type of goat— doe who doesn’t want to be milked.
even meat and fiber does—will give deli- Milk must be handled properly to elim-
cious milk, just not as much. Many owners inate off-flavors. You’ll spend time quick
swear by the rich, creamy milk produced cooling, filtering, and probably pasteuriz-
by Pygmy and Nigerian Dwarf goats. ing your goat’s milk; to do it, you’ll need
What the little girls lack in quantity they the right equipment. Send for free cata-
make up for in lip-smacking goodness. logs from Hoegger Goat Supply and
Whatever the type, buy your goat from a Caprine Supply (see Resources) to see
responsible, knowledgeable breeder or what milking entails. It’s not difficult, but it
dairy. Ask for copies of her production does take some time and effort. Is it worth
records, and insist on seeing her milked it? We think so, but educate yourself, then
before you buy. In fact, ask the seller to you can decide.
Two young Norwegian girls milk the family goat in bygone days. Dairy farmers wanting to sell
goat’s milk for human consumption today must forgo this casual approach and brisk outdoor set-
ting for a strictly regulated milking parlor.
108 • Goats
diverse as the French CIRVAL resource

center for dairy sheep and goats,
University of Vermont’s Small Ruminant
Dairy Project (subscribe to their free
newsletter), the American Cheese
Society, and the resource-rich small
dairy.com cheese makers network.
Finally, consider subscribing to
YahooGroups dairy goat- and small
dairying-interest lists to learn firsthand
from hundreds of folks already involved
in the dairy goat business (see
Resources). After digesting these
resources and doing the math, you’ll
have a clear idea of what it takes to suc-
ceed in the goat dairy biz and if it’s right
for you.
F IBER G OATS : T HE C HOSEN

ONES
Two types of fiber are harvested from
goats: mohair and cashmere. Angora
goats produce mohair, as do some pint- Belying their names, Angora goats produce
size Pygoras, and almost any breed or mohair, not angora (check with your local rabbits
for the latter).
type can yield cashmere. Let’s take a
peek at both kinds. Middle Eastern mohair industry
evolved. Mohair became so important to
MOHAIR the Turkish economy that none of its
It stands to reason that Angora fiber precious goats was sold abroad until the
would be clipped from Angora goats— sixteenth century AD, when Charles V
but it isn’t. Angora is the hair of Angora of Spain brought the first pair of Angoras
rabbits. Angora goats produce mohair, a to Europe. America’s first Angoras
word derived from the Arabic word arrived in 1849, a gift from the sultan of
mukhaya, meaning “the chosen.” Turkey to a Dr. James B. Davis of South
Sumerian tablets and biblical references Carolina. Since then, Angora numbers
set the breed’s development sometime have skyrocketed.
between the fifteenth and twelfth cen- Angoras’ manageable size and calm
turies BC. Its name, Angora, is derived dispositions make them easy to handle.
from Ankara, a Turkish city where the Adult does weigh 70–110 pounds; bucks

average 120–185 pounds. Both sexes fleece of colored Angora goats. These
grow slowly, rarely maturing until prices are for unwashed but judiciously
they’re three to five years old. Angoras trimmed, clean Angora goat fleeces.
breed seasonally. They produce longer Since mohair becomes coarser as goats
than other breeds do; nine to fourteen age, highest prices are for kid fleeces
years is not unusual (well cared for (generally $12–$20 per pound). The
Angora goats can live to eighteen years trick to greater profits is keeping hand-
of age). Compared with other breeds, spinner-quality fleeces free of muck,
lower birthing rates are the norm. manure, dirt, and bits of organic matter
According to the Mohair Council of such as hay chaff, twigs, and burrs; it’s
America, 60–70 percent is average for almost impossible in a huge flock set-
large commercial herds. In well-man- ting, but manageable for the hobby
aged hobby farm settings, 100–120 per- farmer with only thirty goats. Fleece can
cent is possible. Most does who carry a be damaged by external parasites, espe-
pregnancy to term produce a single kid, cially lice. Like most breeds, Angoras are
although twins aren’t uncommon. highly susceptible to internal parasites.
According to the National Agri- Angoras come in pure white and col-
culture Statistics Service, as of Janu- ored versions. Colored Angoras are cur-
ary 1, 2005, there were 274,000 Angora rently the rage. The big-industry fiber
goats in the United States, most located buying co-ops won’t buy colored fiber,
in Texas (210,000, in fact; 90 percent of
these located within a 150-mile radius of
San Angelo). Texas is the long-time Why Mohair?
heart of the American mohair industry Why Cashmere?
and home of the Mohair Council of
• The chemical composition of
America. Furthermore, in 2005, some mohair and cashmere is similar to
269,500 Angora goats were shorn, that of wool, but they have much
producing an average per clip of 7.2 smoother surfaces, so they lack the
pounds. Commercial-class mohair aver- felting properties of wool.
aged $1.97 a pound, for a total of 3.8 • White cashmere and white mohair
million dollars. accept dye exceptionally well.
However, conscientious hobby farm- • Soft, strong, lustrous, and elastic
ers can earn considerably higher mohair yarn is woven into garments
of all sorts. The world’s finest teddy
income by producing Angora goat
bears and similar stuffed animal toys
fleeces for the burgeoning handspin-
are crafted of mohair fabric,
ner’s market. Handspinning is taking the whereas dolls’ hair and the like are
country by storm. Handspinners are often made of natural, flowing locks
paying $3–$15 a pound for white mohair of mohair.
fleece, and $6–$20 per pound for the
110 • Goats
The abundant curly white hair of this photogenic goat, who patiently poses with tiny driver and pas-
senger, leaves no doubt that you’re viewing an Angora goat. Using an Angora as a harness animal
probably isn’t a good idea if you want to sell that fleece for a good price.
but handspinners prefer it. Colored clipper-head units) fitted with a twenty-
breeding stock costs more than white tooth goat comb. They are shorn twice a
does, but all things equal, colored fiber year, generally in March (prior to kid-
sells at a higher price per pound. Angoras ding) and again in the fall, yielding 5–10
must be fed a nutritious diet to produce pounds of 4–6 inch, wavy locks per clip. A
quality fleece. Angoras are excellent well-managed Angora annually yields
browsers and brushers, but they defi- 20–25 percent of its body weight in
nitely require supplemental feeding. mohair, making it the most efficient fiber
Angoras aren’t as winter hardy as animal in the world. They’re also popular
other breeds are; they do best in semi- as pets and as 4-H/FFA project goats.
arid regions such as Texas. Angoras can
be raised as far north as Minnesota, PYGORA FIBER
Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and New Pygoras are cute, scaled-down fiber
England, but suitable winter shelters are goats developed by Oregon goat
an absolute must, especially at kidding breeder Katherine Johnson, who bred
time and after shearing. Pygmy goats to full-size Angoras. Pygora
These goats must be clipped, prefer- does weigh 65–75 pounds and stand at
ably twice a year. Scissors and manual least 19 inches tall; bucks and wethers
sheep shears can be used to clip small tip the scale at 75–95 pounds and are 23
flocks, but larger operators use electric inches or taller. They come in all Pygmy
sheep shears (not horse- and cattle-style goat colors and their dilutions, plus

white. Each Pygora produces fleece of ounces of guard hair–free cashmere

one of three types: fiber. Clean cashmere fiber more than
• Type A (Angora type)—lustrous, 1.25 inches in length and of finest
curly fiber up to 6 inches long. These micron count currently fetches about
animals must be shorn. $30 per pound; shorter cashmere,
• Type B (blend type)—a blend of roughly $7–$10 per pound.
Pygmy goat undercoat (cashmere) and Most cashmere fiber is produced in
3–6 inches Angora mohair. These goats China, 3,000 tons annually; Mongolia
shed and can be shorn, plucked, or produces another 2,000 tons. America’s
combed. cashmere industry is emerging as breed-
• Type C (cashmere type)—very ers realize that Spanish goats, dairy and
fine 1–3 inches fiber with no luster. meat breeds, and even some Boers pro-
These goats shed and may be shorn or duce cashmere worth shearing, making
combed. cashmere a money-making secondary
cash crop. About 150 American produc-
CASHMERE ers are currently harvesting two thou-
Cashmere goats are not a breed. sand head of goats. It’s a start!
Cashmere is the winter undercoat
(down) produced by nearly every breed
of goat. Cashmere goats are simply Did You Know?
goats who produce a bountiful supply of Because of their cushy softness, ele-
undercoat, especially undercoat in the gant drape, and hefty price tags,
cashmere garments have always
acceptable micron range.
appealed to affluent buyers. Louis
Fiber diameter is measured in Bonaparte presented the first Indian
microns; a micron is one-millionth of a pashmina cashmere shawl in France
meter. Mohair measures 20–50 microns; to Madame Bourienne in 1799. He
started a trend. Emperor Napoleon
Merino sheep wool, the finest wool of all, Bonaparte later gifted Empress
18–25 microns; alpaca, 15–35 microns; Eugenie with a total of seventeen
and cashmere, just 12–19 microns, mak- pashmina shawls. Queen Victoria
ing cashmere one of the cushiest animal loved these shawls, too; her wear-
ing them made pashmina shawls
fibers on earth. popular throughout Great Britain.
Undercoat growth begins about Early nineteenth-century English
midsummer and stops around the win- dandy Beau Brummel was famous
for his white cashmere waistcoats.
ter solstice. Cashmere-producing goats
The “original sweater girl,” Lana
can be sheared prior to their natural Turner, wore a tight cashmere
shedding time (the undercoat is sepa- sweater in a 1937 film called They
rated from guard hair by a commercial Won’t Forget; due to her influence,
cashmere sweaters remained pop-
dehairing machine) or combed as the ular through the 1950s.
animals shed. A productive goat yields 4
112 • Goats
Whether you own only a few goats or a large herd, goat keeping can be both a profitable
and a rewarding venture.

Acknowledgments
Thanks again to the good folks who contributed “Advice from the Farm” tips
and words of wisdom and photographs.
Jerry and Lyn Brown raise registered made up of kids from surrounding
California Red Sheep on their Shear counties who compete on the market
Perfection Ranch in the La Plata Valley goat show circuit. Both are AMGA-certi-
of the Four Corners area of New fied meat goat judges. Contact
Mexico. Visit the Shear Perfection the Enderlis at 281-421-8073 or
Web site at http://www.nmredsheep. enderlifarms@hotmail.com, and visit
meridian1.net, and contact Lyn at their Web site at http://www.enderli-
info@nmredsheep.meridian1.net. farms.net.
Carl Langle is one of only fourteen Donna Haas is a nice lady from Missouri
American breeders of full-blood Savanna who loves all animals, especially her
goats. Contact the Langles at 1658 home-raised part-Boer goats.
Liberty Street, Viola, AR 72583, 870-458-
2140. Rikke Giles and her husband raise pure-
bred Nigerian Dwarf goats, farm fresh
Mona Enderli and her husband, Joey, vegetables, herbs, and flowers on
live near Baytown, Texas, where they FoxDog Farm in Kingston, Washington.
breed full-blood and percentage Boer Visit their Web site at http://www.fox-
show wethers. They created and spon- dogfarm.com, and contact Rikke at
sor the “Extreme Show Goat Team” rgiles@centurytel.net.
Matt Gurn and his wife, Claudia Marcus- Maricopa, Arizona. Visit her Arizona
Gurn, live near Winona, Missouri. They Pygmy Goats Web site at http://
raise show-quality Boer goats and easy- www.arizonapygmygoats.com and her
gaited horses. Visit their information- Arizona’s Little Cudchewers site at
packed MAC Goats Web site at http://littlecudchewers.tripod.com, or
http://members.psyber.com/macgoats, send e-mail to Bobbie at cudchewers@
and contact them at 417-778-1904 or at peoplepc.com.
macgoats@ortrackm.missouri.org.
Glenda Plog lives in Queensland,
Melody Hale raises Nubian goats, Jacob Australia. She has owned Angora,
sheep, and assorted poultry at Cashmere, and Anglo Nubian breeds
CritterLand Farm in central Oregon. and now works with meat goats because
She is interested in the preservation of they're less work. She has an applied sci-
endangered breeds of domestic live- ence degree in rural technology and is
stock and heritage poultry, and she is a working on a master’s in animal studies,
member of the American Livestock majoring in caprine helminths and the
Breeds Conservancy. Contact her at selection of parasite resistant animals for
critterland@bendcable.com. breeding stock. Contact Glenda at
Glenjoy@uq.net.au.
Samantha Kennedy lives on the 4TS
Ranch in Delta, Colorado, with her hus- Alyssa Rockers lives near Carthage,
band, Todd, and their three sons, Ty, Missouri. She raises and shows full-
Tanner, and Tegan. The Kennedys raise blood and percentage Boer goats.
full-blood, purebred, and percentage Contact her at Rocky Acres Boer Goats
Boer goats and a few special 417-358-1778 or drockers@joplin.com.
LaManchas. They sell breeding stock,
butcher stock, and show wethers. Visit Dave and Dixie Rockers raise full-blood
their Web site at http://www. and percentage Boer goats near
webspawner.com/users/4tsboer Carthage, Missouri. Contact the
goats/index.html, and contact Rockers at Rocky Acres Boer Goats
Samantha at 970-874-8056. 417- 358-1778 or drockers@joplin.com.
Six years ago, while Bobbie Milsom was Lisa Shumack lives in northeastern
recovering from intricate surgery Pennsylvania. She and her family raise
required to mend her broken neck, and show Sable and Saanen dairy goats
Bobbie’s daughter presented her with and use their excess milk to raise pigs
her first Pygmy goat. Nowadays she and a calf for home consumption. Lisa is
raises six breeds of goats and two currently learning to craft goat cheese
breeds of sheep on her ranch near and goat milk soaps.
116 • Acknowledgments
Pat Smith has had Alpine dairy goats Robin Walters lives near Seguin, Texas,
since 1965; she joined the ADGA that where she raises Boer meat goats
same year. Pat lives in Hebron, Indiana. and operates Bar None Web Site Design
Contact her at andvell@webtv.net. and Management—no wonder her
Bar None Meat Goats site (http://
Kari Trampas lives near Seymour, www.barnonemeatgoats.com) is one
Missouri, where as Christie's Dairy of the best online! Contact Robin at
Goats, she and her daughter milk, raise, 830-401-5867 or barnone@gvec.net.
and show Saanens, Sables, LaManchas,
and Nubians. As Cedar Hills Farm Michelle Wilfong lives in western
Boers, they breed percentage Boer Pennsylvania. She raises Nubian dairy
goats, including paints, blacks, and reds. goats and Myotonic (Fainting) goats.
Visit their Web site at http:// You can visit Michelle’s Web site at
karitrampas.tripod.com or contact Kari http://www.Griffin HillFarm.com, or
at 417-935-2553 or saanens@fidnet.com. call her at 724-513-398.
Acknowledgments • 117
Appendix:
Goat Diseases
at a Glance
ABORTION
• Enzootic abortion (EAE) of does is goat feed and water with her drop-
a chlamydial disease transmitted from pings. There is no vaccination or treat-
aborting goats and fetal tissues to ment for toxoplasmosis.
other does. Infected does abort dur-
ing the last month of pregnancy or • When a doe aborts her kid, the
give birth to stillborn or weak kids fetus and tissues should be submitted
who soon die. An effective vaccine is to a laboratory for diagnosis; you can’t
available. (The second E in the abbre- treat the rest of the herd unless you
viation stands for “ewes,” but this is a positively know what’s wrong. Your
problem for goats as well.) vet can tell you where to send the
specimens. The material must be
• Vibrosis is caused by the bacterium fresh, so store it in sturdy plastic bags,
Campylobacter fetus, subspecies in- pack the bags in a Styrofoam box and
testinalis. When one or two does surround them with chill packs, then
affected by vibrosis abort, they can rush the package to the lab.
trigger an “abortion storm.” Vibriosis
vaccine is available, often in combina- BLOAT
tion with EAE vaccine. • Bloat is a buildup of frothy gas in
the rumen.
• Toxoplasmosis, which is caused by
the coccidium Toxoplasma gondii, is • Bloat is usually triggered when a
spread when a host cat contaminates goat tanks up on an unaccustomed
abundance of grain, rich grass, or birth and then artificially rearing

legume hay. them either on pasteurized milk or on
milk replacer.
• Bloated goats can quickly die of
the condition, so if you suspect that • CAE testing of individual goats is
your goat has bloat, call your vet possible, but as these tests aren’t 100
posthaste. percent accurate, it’s best to buy from
certified CAE-free herds.
CAPRINE ARTHRITIS
ENCEPHALITIS (CAE) CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS
• Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CLA)
(CAE) is an incurable viral infection • Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) is a
caused by a retrovirus similar to the chronic, contagious disease of sheep
one that causes HIV in humans. CAE and goats caused by the bacterium
infects only goats. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.
The bacterium breaches a goat’s body
• A relatively uncommon juvenile- through mucous membranes or via
onset, neurological form of CAE cuts and abrasions. The animal’s
causes encephalitic seizures and immune system valiantly tries to local-
paralysis in kids, but CAE is pri- ize the infection by surrounding it in
marily a wasting disease of adult one or more cysts. If the ploy is unsuc-
goats. Early symptoms of infection cessful, he will die.
include swollen knees, unexplained
weight loss, and congested lungs. • CLA presents as lumps near the
Sufferers eventually die of chronic jaw, in front of the shoulder, and
progressive pneumonia. where a doe’s udder attaches to her
body. Some goats develop internal
• Initially associated mostly with cysts, too.
dairy goats, CAE is spreading due to
the widespread practice of crossing COCCIDIOSIS (COCCI)
meat breed bucks with dairy and part • Coccidiosis is a very common,
dairy percentage does to produce potentially fatal yet easily prevented,
commercial meat goats. easily treated disease of young kids.
It’s caused by uncontrolled prolifera-
• Since CAE is spread from infected tion of single-cell protozoal parasites
does to her kids via body fluids, called coccidia, found in barnyard soil.
colostrum, and milk, producers are Cocci is species-specific, meaning
breaking the cycle by removing kids goats aren’t bothered by poultry,
from their dams at the moment of canine, or sheep coccidia.
120 • Appendix: Goat Diseases at a Glance

• Suspect cocci when kids more • Because sore mouth is easily

than two weeks old experience severe transmissible to humans, wear rubber
abdominal pain (evinced by crying gloves when handling stricken
or reluctance to lie down) coupled kids. Keep children away from all
with dark, watery, foul-smelling diar- infected goats!
rhea streaked with mucus or blood.
Take a stool sample to your vet for • An effective live vaccine is available,
fecal diagnosis. but you mustn’t use it unless you
already have sore mouth on your
• Although rehydration with elec- property. Goats will shed their
trolyte solutions and administration of vaccinations scabs, which will contam-
antidiarrheal medications along with inate your property and almost
sulfa drugs, amprolium, or tetracy- certainly spread the disease to the
cline usually effect a cure, it’s easier to rest of your herd.
prevent cocci than it is to cure it.
Many producers choose to give their ENTEROTOXEMIA
goats feeds laced with anticoccidial • There are two types of enterotox-
drugs called coccidiostats, whereas emia in goats caused by Clostridium
others add them to the goat’s perfringens: Types C and D.
drinking water. Horse owners, take
note: one such feed additive, • Type C is a disease of young kids
Rumensin (monensin), is extremely caused by an anaerobic bacterium
toxic to horses. found in manure and soil. It enters via
newborn kids’ mouths when they
CONTAGIOUS ECTHYMA encounter dirty conditions while seek-
(CE) ing their mothers’ udders. Bacteria
• Commonly known as sore mouth, produce a toxin that causes rapid
also known as scabby mouth or orf, death. Treatment is usually ineffec-
contagious ecthyma (CE) is a conta- tive; death usually occurs within two
gious poxlike virus that causes the hours of the onset of symptoms,
formation of blisters and pustules which include seizures and frothing
on the lips and inside the mouths of at the mouth. However, kids from
young kids, as well as on the teats does vaccinated for enterotoxemia
of the infected kids’ mothers. The during late pregnancy develop
blisters pop, causing scabbing and immunity to the disease via their
pain so intense that occasionally a mothers’ colostrum.
kid will starve rather than eat. Most
kids recover in one to three weeks • Type D is also present in the soil
without treatment. and manure. It attacks rapidly grow-
Appendix: Goat Diseases at a Glance • 121

ing, slightly older kids who ingest the • The bacterium that causes Johne’s,
bacterium while investigating their Mycobacterium avium, subsp. paratu-
environment. It, too, causes rapid berculosis, is closely related to the one
death and with it tremors, convul- that causes tuberculosis in humans.
sions, and a host of strange neurologi- Infected goats are dull, depressed,
cal behaviors. A vaccine is available and thin. Johne’s disease, also known
alone or in combination with type C or as paratuberculosis, is incurable.
as a C/D and tetanus vaccine.
KETOSIS
FLOPPY KID SYNDROME • Ketosis is a relatively common
(FKS) metabolic condition associated with
• Floppy kid syndrome (FKS) is a rel- pre- and postpartum does, especially
atively new malady that affects kids overweight and underexercised does
between three and ten days old. Its pregnant with more than one kid.
precise cause is still uncertain.
• Prepartum ketosis is also called
• Kids autopsied as part of a study pregnancy toxemia; it occurs within a
conducted by Texas A&M University month before birth. The rumen of a
had very distended abomasums full of fat doe carrying multiple kids is
acidic-smelling, coagulated milk. scarcely able to hold enough nourish-
Scientists speculate that overcon- ment to meet the nutritional needs of
sumption of rich milk triggers an her late-term kids, so her body begins
overgrowth of certain microorgan- burning her own fat reserves to pro-
isms in the digestive tract, resulting in vide energy.
systemic, often deadly, acidosis.
• Postpartum ketosis, also called lac-
• Afflicted kids show muscular weak- tational ketosis, occurs when the high
ness and depression, progressing to energy demand on a doe nursing mul-
flaccid paralysis, and often death. In tiples (especially triplets, quads, and
all cases, their abdomens are dis- quints) causes excessive weight
tended, and if gently shaken, they loss—she simply can’t consume
may “slosh.” enough feed to meet their needs, so
she dips into her own reserves.
JOHNE’S DISEASE
• Johne’s (YO-neez) is a deadly, con- • In both scenarios, ketones pro-
tagious, slow-developing, antibiotic- duced by this process make the doe
resistant disease affecting the quite ill. Without intervention she’ll
intestinal tracts of domestic and wild die. Early symptoms include listless-
ruminants, including goats. ness, poor appetite, and possibly

labored breathing, progressing to cir- stargazing, and stumbling; lack of

cling, stargazing, stumbling, and teeth appetite, depression, and fever are
grinding. She’ll eventually collapse other common symptoms. Listeriosis
and, without aggressive treatment, can be passed to humans via the milk
lapse into a coma and die. of sick or carrier goats. Without
aggressive antibiotic treatment,
• To prevent life-threatening ketosis, afflicted goats die.
does should be fed a high-quality,
balanced diet throughout their preg- • Goat polio is a deficiency of vitamin
nancies and monitored closely the B1/thiamine, most commonly en-
month before and the month after countered in weanling and yearling
giving birth. goats. Ingesting excess amounts of
grain, stress, prolonged or excessive
LISTERIOSIS AND GOAT use of antibiotics, or changes in feed
POLIO drastically lower rumen pH, and bene-
• Listeriosis (also known as circling ficial microorganisms die off. This, in
disease) and goat polio (also called turn, decreases thiamine production.
polioencephalomalacia and cerebro- Thiamine is necessary to metabolize
cortical necrosis) are serious meta- glucose. Without glucose to feed
bolic diseases with similar causes and them, brain cells die and neurological
similar symptoms. Both of these dis- symptoms such as hyperexcitability,
eases occur mainly among confine- staggering or weaving, circling, blind-
ment-kept goats who are fed relatively ness, and tremors appear. Un-treated
high-concentrate, low-fiber diets, and goats develop convulsions and usually
both of these diseases can be trig- die in one to three days; promptly
gered by abrupt changes in feed and injected with thiamine (best given
by moldy grain or moldy forage intravenously by a vet), goats usually
(especially silage). recover.
• Listeriosis is caused by the common MASTITIS

bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. One • Mastitis is a serious infection of the
type of listeriosis causes abortions; mammary system. Substandard milk-
the other type, which is more coming hygiene, delayed milking, and
mon, causes encephalitis. Both types injuries are common causes.
are usually seen in adult goats. Symptoms include decreased milk
Encephalitic listeriosis triggers inflam- production; clumps, strings, or blood
mation of the brain stem and death in milk; and pain, inflammation, and
(necrosis) of brain tissue, resulting in swelling in the udder. Usually only
one-sided facial paralysis, drooling, one side is affected.

• Does must be milked in sanitary • Goats residing on properties where

surroundings, and hands and udders sheep are also present must be identi-
must be thoroughly cleansed before fied through the USDA’s mandatory
and after milking. Milk gently. Milk at scrapie eradication program. At press
scheduled intervals. Use home-based time, provisions were rapidly chang-
mastitis test kits to check for mastitis ing, so contact your state Animal and
at weekly intervals. Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) representative for up-to-date
• If mastitis is suspected, seek profes- information.
sional treatment. Untreated mastitis
swiftly leads to permanent udder • Scrapie appears to be caused by an
damage—one type leads to gangrene infectious agent, but genetics also play
and death. a part. The disease was recognized in
Britain and western Europe at least
PNEUMONIA two hundred years ago, and it came to
• Pneumonia is caused when one of a the United States in 1947 with British
wide variety of opportunistic bacteria goats. Scrapie is a global scourge:
and viruses mix with stressed goats. only Australia and New Zealand are
scrapie free.
• Typical symptoms include depres-
sion, fever, coughing, and labored • Scrapie is a slow, progressive dis-
breathing. Because so many bac- ease that systematically destroys the
teria and viruses may be involved, central nervous system. It is far more
accurate identification of the infec- prevalent in sheep than it is in goats.
tious agent is an essential part of Symptoms typically appear two to five
successful treatment. years after contraction and include
weight loss, hypersensitivity, tremors,
SCRAPIE stumbling, blindness, excess saliva-
• Scrapie is a transmissible spongi- tion, lip smacking, and intense itchi-
form encephalopathy (TSE) of sheep ness. Between one and six months
and goats similar to bovine spongi- after symptoms appear, infected
form encephalopathy (BSE, or mad animals die.
cow disease) and to chronic wasting
disease (CWD, which affects deer URINARY CALCULI
and elk). No human has ever • Urinary calculi are tiny stones or
contracted scrapie (or either of crystals that form in the urinary tracts
the human equivalents, kuru and of sheep and goats. Does get stones,
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from but they pass through the larger
sheep or goats. female urethra (the tube that empties

urine from the bladder) without diffi- drink lots of water. Make it
culty. A buck or wether with a blocked more appealing by keeping water
urethra is in trouble, however; his sources readily available, full, and
bladder is apt to rupture, and he’ll sparkling clean.
probably die.
WHITE MUSCLE DISEASE
• When bucklings are castrated, • White muscle disease is caused by
penis growth stops, so wethers cas- selenium deficiency.
trated at an early age are especially
troubled by calculi; their much tinier • Does grazing on selenium-poor
penises and urethras are easily land or those eating hay that was
blocked. A workable solution: don’t raised in such depleted conditions
castrate male kids younger than four require selenium/vitamin D supple-
to six weeks old. mentation during the last two months
of pregnancy. Otherwise, their
• A calcium-phosphorus ratio of 2:1 affected kids will have problems
in the diet helps prevent calculi rising and walking. Some kids will
formation, as do small, measured even become paralyzed. Prevention
amounts of ammonium chloride is the key to eliminating white
added to feed. Male goats should muscle disease.

Glossary
Abomasum—the fourth compartment Body condition score—a rating from

of the ruminant stomach 1 (very thin) to 5 (obese) used to esti-
Accredited herd—one annually tested mate the condition of goats
for tuberculosis and certified TB-free Bolus—a large, oval pill
Afterbirth—fetal membranes expelled Breech birth or breech delivery—
after the birth of kids one in which a kid’s hind feet come first
AI—artificial insemination Broken mouth—an old goat with miss-
American—in American Dairy Goat ing or broken teeth
Association terminology, a fifteen- Browse—(noun) edible woody plants
sixteenths purebred buck or a seven- such as twigs or saplings and wild
eighths purebred doe (e.g., American berry canes; (verb) the act of eating
Saanen) browse
Artificial rearing—raising kids on milk Buck—an uncastrated male goat
or milk replacer Buckling—an uncastrated male kid
Band—(noun) a strong rubber band Buck rag—a cloth that is rubbed on a
used to castrate kids; (verb) the act of buck’s scent glands, then kept in a
using an elastrator to apply one of these closed jar to hold the scent, and later
bands presented to a doe to determine if she is
Billy—an outdated word denoting an in heat
uncastrated male goat; today’s goat Burdizzo—a tool used to castrate
fanciers and breeders strongly discour- bucks and bucklings by severing the
age the use of this term cord without breaking the skin of
Blind teat—a nonfunctional teat the scrotum
Butt—(verb) to bash another goat, a area in lieu of keeping them on pasture

human, or an object with the forehead Conformation—an animal’s physical
or horns characteristics
Cabrito—(Spanish, “little goat”) the Creep—a feeder designed to allow kids
meat of pink-fleshed, milk-fed kids to enter and eat while keeping larger
Capretto—(Italian, “little goat”) same as goats out
cabrito; sometimes used in international Crossbred—an animal with parents of
goat recipes two different breeds
California mastitis test (CMT)—an Cud—a glob of regurgitated food that’s
easy, do-it-yourself home mastitis test rechewed and swallowed again
Caprine—having to do with goats Cull—(verb) the act of removing unde-
Caprine Ar thritis Encephalitis sirable goats from a herd; (noun) a goat
(CAE)—see the Appendix removed as part of the culling process
Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL)—see Dairy Herd Improvement Association
the Appendix (DHIA)—a milk testing program
cc (cubic centimeter)—a unit of administered at state levels, under the
fluid medication measure equal to jurisdiction of the USDA
one milliliter Dairy Herd Improvement Registry
Certified herd—one annually tested (DHIR)—a milk testing program
for brucellosis and certified free of spe- administered by dairy goat registries in
cific serious diseases cooperation with the USDA
Chevon—(French, “goat meat”) any Dam—an animal’s female parent
type of goat meat, especially that of fairly Dehorning—the grisly removal of
mature goats horns from an adult goat
Chevre—soft French cheese crafted of Dental palate (dental pad)—a goat’s
goat’s milk firm upper palate
Club kid—a kid raised as part of a 4-H Disbud—to destroy a very young kid’s
or an FFA project horn buttons by burning them with a
Coccidiosis (Cocci)—see the Appendix hot iron
Colostrum—a doe’s first milk; it con- Disbudding iron—the electric or fire-
tains antibodies that protect her kids heated tool used to disbud young kids
through their first few months of life, at Dish face—a concave profile common
which point they develop disease resis- in Pygmy goats and Swiss dairy breeds
tance of their own Doe—a female goat
Concentrates—the nonforage portion Doeling—a female kid
of a goat’s diet; particularly grains, Drench—(noun) liquid medicine given
meals, and commercial goat feed orally; (verb) to administer a drench
Confinement housing—the act of Dry doe—a doe between lactations
confining goats to a barn and exercise Dry off—to cease milking a doe
128 • Glossary
Dual-purpose breeds—breeds devel- ear that is free of cartilage and is 1 inch

oped for both milk and meat production or less in length
(Nubians are dual-purpose goats) Graft—the act of persuading a doe to
Elastrator—a tool used to apply thick adopt another doe’s kid or kids
rubber bands to bucks’ or bucklings’ Guard dog (llama, donkey)—an ani-
scrotums for castration mal who bonds with and stays with
Elf ear—a type of LaMancha goat ear goats to guard them from predators
that is up to 2 inches long such as coyotes, wolves, bears, cougars,
Emasculator—a tool used for docking and eagles
and castrating bucks and bucklings; it Gummer—an old goat with no teeth
has a crushing effect, which helps Halter—headgear used to lead or tie
reduce bleeding an animal
Ennobled—an honors classification Handle—how fleece feels to a spinner
attainable by registered Boer goats Heat—estrus; the period when a doe is
Enterotoxemia—see the Appendix receptive to a buck and can conceive
Estrus—heat; the period during which Hermaphrodite—a sterile goat hav-
a doe is receptive and can conceive ing both male and female reproduc-
Fleece—raw fiber, usually in one piece, tive organs
as shorn from a single fiber goat Hog butt—the heavily muscled
Flushing—increasing a doe’s nutri- hindquarters of well-conformed meat
tional level prior to breeding season breed bucks
Fly-strike—a condition caused when Horn buds—two small forehead lumps
blowflies lay eggs in wounds or wet, from which kids’ horns emerge
filthy fleece; maggots develop and con- Hybrid vigor—the extra strength,
sume the host’s flesh hardiness, and productivity exhibited
Footbath—a chemical mixture that by animals whose parents are of two
goats walk through or stand in, designed different breeds
to prevent or treat hoof disease Intramuscular injection (IM)—an
Forage—fibrous animal feeds such as injection inserted into muscle
browse, grass, and hay Intravenous injection (IV)—an injec-
Free choice—method of feeding when tion inserted into a vein
food is made available 24-7 In kid—pregnant with kids
Freshen—to give birth and come In milk—lactating, giving milk
into milk Johne’s Disease—see the Appendix
Gestation—the period of pregnancy Jug—a cozy mothering pen used by a
beginning at conception and ending single doe to bond with and watch over
at birth her newborn kids in peace
Goatling—(British) an older kid Keds—bloodsucking, wingless flies
Gopher ear—a type of LaMancha goat sometimes called sheep ticks
Glossary • 129
Ketones—compounds found in the breeders strongly discourage the use of

blood of pregnant does suffering from this term
pregnancy disease (ketosis) Nose bots—larvae of the botfly living in
Kid—a baby goat of either sex the nasal passages of a goat
Kidding—giving birth to kids Omasum—the third compartment of
Lactation—the period during which a the ruminant stomach
doe produces milk On test—enrolled in the DHIA milk
Let down—release of milk by the mam- testing program
mary glands prior to milking Open doe—a doe who isn’t pregnant
Linebreeding—the breeding of closely Orifice—the opening to a teat
related goats; used to fix the type Ovulation—the period when an egg
and intensify the characteristics of is released from an ovary and a doe
shared ancestors can conceive
Liver flukes—tiny leaf-shaped parasites Oxytocin—the hormone that controls
that dwell in bile ducts and liver tissue milk letdown; oxytocin shots are some-
Livestock guardian dog (LGD)—a times given to help does expel after-
dog of specific livestock guardian breed birth tissue
background that lives with goats and Papered—registered
protects them from predation Papers—registration certificates
Lungworms—parasites that infest the Pasture kidding—the act of allowing
respiratory tract and lung tissue does to give birth at pasture instead of in
Mastitis—serious inflammation of a barn
the udder Pedigree—an animal’s “family tree”
Mating capacity—the number of does Pelt—a hair-on, tanned goat hide
a buck can impregnate in a season Percentage—crossbred; a term used
Meconium—the first manure passed among breeders of meat goats to denote
by a newborn kid how much Boer, Kiko, or other breed
Metritis—inflammation of the uterus appears in a crossbred’s pedigree
Microorganisms—microscopic crea- Placenta—afterbirth; fetal tissue
tures; bacteria, protozoa, and the like expelled after a kid is delivered
Milking stand—an elevated platform Polled—naturally hornless
fitted with a head stanchion, upon which Precocious milker—a doe who pro-
a doe or dairy ewe stands to be milked duces milk without being bred
Milking through—milking a doe for Probiotics—oral gels and powders
more than one year (such as Probios and Fast Track) fed to
ml (milliliter)—a unit of fluid medica- goats to help repopulate their rumens
tion measure equal to one cc with beneficial bacteria that were lost due
Nanny—an outdated word denoting a to antibiotic therapy, disease, or stress
female goat; today’s goat fanciers and Progeny—offspring
130 • Glossary
Purebred—an animal whose ancestors Silent heat—being in heat without

for a set number of generations were showing outward signs
registered and all of the same breed Sire—an animal’s male parent
Recorded goat—a partbred or cross- Stanchion—a head restraint used to
bred dairy goat whose pedigree and par- contain does while milking them
ticulars are recorded in a dairy goat Standing heat—the period during
registry’s official herdbook which does are receptive to the buck
Registered goat—a purebred goat Stocking rate—the number of animals
whose pedigree and particulars are grazed on an acre of land
registered in a registry’s offi- Subcutaneous injection (SQ or
cial herdbook SubQ)—an injection inserted directly
Rennet—an enzyme used to set curds under the skin
for cheese making Tag—(noun) a dreadlock of manure-
Reticulum—the second segment of the laden fiber; (verb) the act of clipping tags
ruminant stomach from a fiber goat’s fleece
Roman nose—the arched profile typi- Tapeworms—long, ribbonlike flat-
cal of Nubian, Boer, and Savanna goats worms dwelling in the gastrointesti-
Rumen—the large first stomach com- nal tract
partment of a ruminant where feed is Tubing—the act of passing a tube
broken down into usable elements through a goat’s esophagus to deliver
Ruminant—a cud-chewing animal with milk or liquid medicine directly into the
a four-compartment stomach digestive tract
Ruminate—the act of chewing cud Udder—the female mammary system
S/T/Tr—shorthand for single, twin, Unrecorded grade—a goat, often of
and triplet births unknown ancestry, whose pedigree has
Scours—diarrhea not been recorded
Scrapie—a serious, transmissible Urinary calculi—stones formed in the
spongiform encephalopathy malady urinary tract
much like mad cow disease Vaginal prolapse—protrusion of part
Scrub goat—goat of mixed ancestry or all of the vagina in late-gestation does
commonly used for land clearing; also Wether—(noun) a castrated male goat
called a brush goat of any age; (verb) the act of castrating a
Scur—a misshapen horn caused by male goat
improper or failed disbudding Whey—liquid left after removing curds
Septicemia—an infection of the blood- from curdled milk
stream that affects the entire body Wisconsin mastitis test (WMT)—an
Settle—to get pregnant easy, do-it-yourself home mastitis test
Shearing—the act of removing fiber Yearling—a goat of either sex between
from Angora and Pygora goats one and two years of age
Glossary • 131
Resources
ONLINE RESOURCES suppliers pages; and a comprehen-

The Internet is a goat keeper’s best sive list of goat registries and goat
friend. Whatever information you associations.
seek, if you know where to look, it’s
out there. Here’s a guide to some of DMOZ Open Directory Project
the best goat Web sites in the http://dmoz.org/Business/Agriculture
world. _and_Forestry/Livestock/Goats
The Open Director y Project is the
BREEDERS DIRECTORIES largest human-edited director y
Most breed-specific sites offer direc- on the World W ide Web. More
tories, as do many of the all-purpose than one thousand sites are
goat sites listed under Other Useful cataloged in their goat resources
Web Sites. director y. Visit to locate associa-
tions, breeders, supplies and equip-
Breeders’ World Goat ment, recipes, and educational
Directory sites galore.
http://www.breedersworld.com
Breeders’ World bills itself “The D AIRY G OAT O RGANIZATIONS
First Complete Online Livestock Alpines International Breed
Breeders’ Director y.” Click on the Club
Goat Director y link to access the http://www.alpinesinternationalclub.com
director y, chat rooms, and a breed- Established in 1958, the Alpines
ers for um; equipment and book International Breed Club seeks “to
develop, preserve, and promote the administers many of the same type
French and American Alpine Dairy of programs.
Goat.” The organization sponsors Alpine
specialty shows and offers production International Dairy Goat
awards for Alpine dairy goats. Registry (IDGR)
http://www.goat-idgr.com
American Dairy Goat The IDGR registers dairy and rare
Association (ADGA) goat breeds.
http://www.adga.org
As of early 2005, the ADGA had regis- International Nubian
tered 1,708,378 goats of eight breeds Breeders Association (INBA)
(Alpine, LaMancha, Nigerian Dwarf, http://www.i-n-b-a.org
Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, Sable, and Visit the INBA Web site to read about
Toggenburg); sanctioned 56,183 shows; breed history, to find Nubian breeders in
and assigned 20,419 herd names. Access your locale, or to buy a nifty INBA T-shirt!
a comprehensive breeders directory
and scores of helpful resources at the International Sable Breeder’s
excellent ADGA Web site. Association (ISBA)
http://www.sabledairygoats.com
American Goat Society (AGS) Visit the ISBA Web site to view Sable-
http://www.americangoatsociety.com related articles, photo albums, and show
The AGS’ purebred dairy goat registry results as well as dozens of archived
was incorporated in 1936. It registers issues of the Sable Journal (excellent
Alpines, LaManchas, Nigerian Dwarfs newsletters!), a directory of members and
(it’s this breed’s primar y registr y), breeders, and a Sable pedigree database.
Nubians, Oberhaslis, Pygmies,
Saanens, Sables, and Toggenburgs. Kinder Goat Breeders
Several excellent brochures, including Association (KGBA)
“Beginners’ Guide to Dairy Goats” and http://members.aol.com/kgbassn/
“ABC’s of Milk Testing” are download- index.htm
able as PDF files via the AGS Web site. Articles about Kinder goat history and
Click on Affiliate Organizations to find standards, a breeders directory, and a
an AGS-affiliated dairy goat club in or slew of other goat resources await you at
near your locale. the KGBA Web site.
Canadian Goat Society (CGS) Miniature Dairy Goat

http://www.goats.ca Association (MDGA)
The CGS registers the same breeds as http://www.angelfir e.com/nm/
its American counterpart does and mdgahome
134 • Resources
Visit the MDGA Web site to learn about own a wether you’d like to donate? Then
MiniLaManchas (Mini-Manchas), scope out The Wether Channel. You’ll also
MiniAlpines, MiniNubians, Mini-Ober- find a members directory, breed news, a
haslis, MiniSaanens, and MiniToggen- gestation calculator, and lots of interest-
berg dairy goats. ing articles at this comprehensive site.
National MiniNubian Oberhasli Breeders

Breeders Club (NMBC) International (OBI)
http://www.mininubians.com http://www.oberhasli.org
Find a breeder, research a pedigree, or In addition to an Oberhasli breeders
buy MiniNubian merchandise at the directory and breed information, you’ll
NMBC Web site. find oodles of helpful dairy goat breed-
ers’ tools at the OBI Web site. Click on
National Saanen Breeders Oberhasli Breeder’s Toolbox to access arti-
Association (NSBA) cles on linear appraisal, genetics and
http://nationalsaanenbreeders.com breeding programs, artificial insemina-
The NSBA Web site boasts a huge tion, health, and more.
breeders directory, informative articles,
and the latest news about these hand- Ontario Goat Milk Producers’
some Swiss goats and the people who Association (OGMPA)
love them. http://www.ontariogoatmilk.org
OGMPA’s Web site is a treasure trove of
National Toggenburg Club resources for dairy goat aficionados,
(NTC) especially commercial producers. Don’t
http://nationaltoggclub.org miss it!
Visit the NTC Web site to view spe-
cialty show information as well as the D AIRY G OAT W EB S ITES
latest list of Toggenburg Bell Ringer Fias Co Farm
award winners. http://fiascofarm.com/goats
The Fias Co Farm goat pages are infi-
Nigerian Dwarf Goat nitely rich sources of goat keeping infor-
Association (NDGA) mation and recipes. Though slanted for
http://www.ndga.org dairy goat keepers, most of the material
If you fancy dairy goats, you’ll love the applies to goats of every kind.
NDGA Web site. Want to learn how to
judge dairy goats? Click on Virtual Goat Saanendoah—Dairy Goat
Judging and have at it! Are you a young Information of the Serious Kind
person who’d love to have a Nigerian h t t p : / / w w w. s a a n e n d o a h . c o m /
Dwarf wether to take in 4-H, or do you goatss. html
Resources • 135
No matter what type of goats you own, ducer, American mohair entrepreneurs
don’t miss the Saanendoah Web site. will greatly benefit from information con-
Floppy kid syndrome, CAE, copper defi- tained in the scores of bulletins (most
ciency, caseous lymphadenitis, Johne’s, downloadable in PDF format) available
colostrum supplementation, and do-it- at the MAO Web site. To access this
yourself fecal testing are some of the valuable material, click on Introduction,
serious topics explored in full. Beginners Pack, Husbandry Hints, and
Additionally, take time to click on The Serious Information.
Liter Side of Goats (we bet it will make
you smile). Mohair Council of America
(MCA)
FIBER GOAT ORGANIZATIONS http://www.mohairusa.com
American Angora Goat The MCA calls itself, “a one-of-a-kind
Breeders Association organization exclusively dedicated to a
(AAGBA) one-of-a-kind commodity—mohair—the
The AAGBA does not maintain an online luxuriant fleece of the Angora Goat.”
presence. Contact the registry at PO Visit the MCA Web site to learn about
Box 195, Rocksprings, Tex. 78880-0185; Angora goats, fiber care, and the
830-683-4483. American mohair industry.
Colored Angora Goat Pygora Breeders Association

Breeders Association (PBA)
(CAGBA) http://www.pygoragoats.org
http://www.cagba.org Find a breeder or a 4-H fiber club in your
The CAGBA Web site is a perfect first area, subscribe to a Pygora e-mail list, or
stop for anyone contemplating Angora access the registry’s online herdbook
goat ownership. Learn how and where via the handsome PBA Web site.
to buy Angora goats, how to breed for
color (the genetics resources are out- F IBER G OAT W EB S ITES
standing), and all about Angora goats for Angora Goat Barn
4-H or FFA. Be sure to download a free http://www.tredd.com/angoragoat
copy of “Handspinner’s Guide to The Angora Barn provides links galore,
Mohair” while you’re there (it’s under including one to join the Angora Goat
About Mohair). Barn online discussion group.
Mohair Australia Online Angora Goats and Mohair

(MAO) http://www.angoragoat.com
http://www.mohair.org.au What a terrific site! Visit for an outstand-
Though written for the Australian pro- ing introduction to fabulous fiber goats,
136 • Resources
including Colored Angora Lingo, a glos- classified ads—you’ll find them (and
sary you’ll find nowhere else. more!) at this Web site.
Capricorn Cashmere American Meat Goat

http://www.capcas.com Association (AMGA)
Capricorn Cashmere hosts the best http://www.meatgoats.com
cashmere resource on the Web. Be sure If you produce meat goats, don’t over-
to click on 4-H Center and read “50 Ways look this site. Access hundreds of
to Kill a Goat”—it just might save your informative articles, a comprehensive
animals’ lives. breeders directory, and links to the
equipment and resources you’ll need to
Goat Fiber Information break into the meat goat business.
http://textilelinks.com/spin/goatinfo.html
Follow these links to everything you want Boer Goat Breeders’
to know about mohair and cashmere. Association of South Africa
(BGBASA)
Joy of Handspinning—Types http://studbook.co.za/Society/B.Goat/
of Mohair index.html
http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/ Interested in Boer goats? Be sure to visit
mohair.html this informative registry Web site gener-
Visit this Web site for a great explanation ated in the land of the Boer’s birth.
of mohair and its uses and to view a short
video featuring handsome Angora goats. Canadian Boer Goat
Association (CBGA)
MEAT GOAT ORGANIZATIONS http://www.canadianboergoat.com
American Boer Goat The CBGA Web site features a directory
Association (ABGA) of Canadian Boer goat breeders, an
http://www.abga.org array of useful goat bulletins (click
Visit the ABGA Web site to find Boer Resources in the left-hand menu),
breeders or a Boer goat show in your Canadian show results, and up-to-
area, to locate goats or semen for sale, date news of the Canadian meat
or to simply peruse a huge supply of goat industry.
interesting Boer goat material.
Empire State Meat Goat
American Kiko Goat Producers Association
Association (AKGA) (ESMPGA)
http://www.kikogoats.com http://www.esmgpa.org
Great Kiko goat articles, an AKGA Mouse over topics in the menu to access
breeders directory, registry news, and hundreds of resources, not only for meat
Resources • 137
producers, but also for goat fanciers in MEAT GOAT WEB SITES
general. A best bet: find Links, then Bar None Meat Goats
scroll to Files to Download and take your http://www.barnonemeatgoats.com
pick of more than seventy free goat- This highly informative site is the Web
related downloads available in PDF for- home of Robin Walters, contributor of
mat. Don’t miss “Basic Medications many of the great Advice From the
and Equipment for Dairy Goats”—it’s Farm tips in this book. Don’t miss
a honey! Raising Market Goats and Goat
Information Page—they are outstanding!
International Boer Goat
Association, Inc. (IBGA) Boer & Meat Goat
http://www.intlboergoat.org Information Center
Check out the breeders directory, read http://www.boergoats.com
classified ads, subscribe to the Boer Articles galore, USDA livestock reports,
Breeder bimonthly magazine, or buy show results, shipping regulations, pro-
handsome IBGA logo merchandise ducers directories, even a photo contest:
such as personalized gate signs, T-shirts, find ’em at the Boer & Meat Goat
and caps. Information Center Web site.
International Kiko Goat MAC Goats

Association, Inc. (IKGA) http://members.psyber.com/macgoats
http://www.theikga.org Scroll down Matt and Claudia Marcus-
The IKGA registers and promotes Kiko Gurn’s home page and click on
goats. Download their free brochure— Education to access a huge collection of
it’s a good one! Prospective meat goat educational goodies. Although some
producers, no matter their favorite articles will interest mainly meat goat
breed, will benefit from the IKGA’s fif- producers, most will appeal to owners of
teen-page PDF bulletin, “Hints for the other types and breeds as well. Scope
Inexperienced Goat Farmer.” Click on out the beautiful show buck, Downen
Publications to download it. R33 Hoss, while you’re there—he’s
Salem and Shiloh’s famous daddy!
United States Boer Goat
Association (USBGA) Jack & Anita Mauldin’s Boar
http://www.usbga.org Goats
Read the latest news, peruse the classi- http://www.jackmauldin.com
fieds, download past issues of the Interested in raising Boer Goats? Click
USBGA magazine in PDF format, or on Quick Start to learn all the particu-
look up a USBGA pedigree online (use lars, then Industry Info for the rest of the
of the database is free). story. All goat owners will appreciate the
138 • Resources
articles archived under Goat Health breeders, and affiliated clubs through
Information and Management Informa- the NPGA Web site. While you’re there,
tion. The Related Goat Sites links page check out the many outstanding goat
is outstanding! articles that are accessible by clicking
Goat Resources.
Onion Creek Ranch Tennessee
Meat Goats Pedigree International LC
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com http://www.pedigreeinternational.com
Author Suzanne W. Gasparotto’s site is Pedigree International LC provides
simply fantastic! Click on Articles to herdbooks and breeders directories for
access oodles of valuable items. Don’t producers of rare and composite live-
miss these three: “Do Your Own Fecals,” stock breeds; among them Kiko,
“Supplies Every Goat Rancher Needs,” GeneMaster, Myotonic, Tennessee
and “Goat Medications and How to Meat Goats, Savannah, Spanish,
Use Them.” TexMaster, and Cashmere goats.
OTHER BREED ORGANIZATIONS NORTH AMERICAN HERITAGE

GoatWorld Goat Registry LIVESTOCK BREED
http://www.goatregistry.com CONSERVANCIES
If your pet or packgoat isn’t eligible American Livestock Breeds
for registration in the mainline herd- Conservancy (ALBC)
books, but you’d like to have papers for
http://www.albc-usa.org
identification purposes, the GoatWorld
The ALBC promotes and helps preserve
Goat Registry will register your
nearly one hundred breeds of heritage
caprine sidekick. cattle, goats, horses, asses, sheep, swine,
and poultry. Visit the site to see how you
International Fainting Goat can help.
Association (IFGA)
http://www.faintinggoat.com Heritage Breeds Conservancy
The IFGA registers all types of Myotonic (HBC)
(fainting) goats. Visit the IFGA Web site
http://www.nehbc.org
to learn about these interesting, Ameri-
The HBC works to preserve historic and
can Livestock Breeds Conservancy– endangered breeds of livestock and
listed heritage goats. poultry. Conservators from the United
States and Canada are listed in the HBC
National Pygmy Goat Directory. An online forum, classified
Association (NPGA) ads, and nice selection of conservation-
http://www.npga-pygmy.com related links round out this informative
Locate the many Pygmy goat shows, Web site.
Resources • 139
Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) site maintained by supporters of the

http://www.rarebreedscanada.ca British Feral Goat.
Like its American cousin, the American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy, RBC British Goat Society (BGS)
preserves and promotes heritage live- http://www.allgoats.com
stock, including goats. Founded in 1879, the BGS brings you
scores of great goat-keeping features.
OTHER USEFUL WEB SITES Don’t miss their international goat
There are hundreds, perhaps thou- links page.
sands, of privately hosted goat informa-
tion sites on the Internet. We apologize Cyber Goats
to the owners of other exceptional sites http://www.cybergoat.com
we’ve visited—we wish we had room for Classified ads and auctions, links to
them all! breeders and resources, breed info and
links to breed-specific e-groups, and a
American Harness Goat helpful guide to caprine veterinarians—
Association (AHGA) that’s Cyber Goats.
http://www.goattracksmagazine.com/
harness.html Goat Connection—The Whole
AHGA publishes a quarterly newsletter Goat Catalog Online
and holds training clinics in several http://goatconnection.com
Northwestern states. Its “Harness Use the pull-down menu at the Goat
Goat” column appears in Goat FAQ Database to read scores of great
Tracks magazine. articles archived at Goat Connection,
peruse its “Name That Goat” feature to
Biology of the Goat name your new kids, mail a goat-themed
http://www.imagecyte.com/goats.html e-card, or shop for goat-goody gifts.
Karin Christensen’s animations make
understanding goat biology a relative Goat Kingdom—Home of
breeze. Visit to view sample animations Duh Goat Man
and download her animated goat gesta- http://duhgoatman.tripod.com
tion calculator. Her Biology of the Goat Visit Duh Goat Man for a mind-boggling
CD is fantastic! collection of links to breeders, informa-
tion resources, supplies, periodicals, and
British Feral Goat Research everything else to do with goats.
Group
http://britishferalgoat.freeservers.com Goat Wisdom
Interested in caprine history and preser- http://www.goatwisdom.com
vation efforts? Scope out this interesting Goat Wisdom is a virtual one-stop infor-
140 • Resources
mation center for goat owners. Check it Maryland Small Ruminant

out. We think you’ll agree! Page
http://www.sheepandgoat.com/organ.
GoatWorld html
http://www.goatworld.com Visit the Maryland Small Ruminant
Visit GoatWorld to access the most Page in order to locate additional
extensive collection of goat articles on organizations including scores of state
the World Wide Web. It also hosts and regional dairy, meat, and fiber
Goat911, where you can contact goat goat associations.
experts 24-7 via telephone or e-mail to
request free assistance with your sick or North American Pack Goat
injured goat. Simply click the Emergency Association (NAPgA)
911 logo and follow the prompts, or go http://www.napga.org
directly to http://www.goatworld.com/ The NAPgA promotes wilderness pack-
911/911.html. ing with packgoats. Click on NAPgA
Informational Items to download a pack-
High Uinta Pack Goats goat brochure in PDF format and to join
http://www.highuintapackgoats.com the NAPgA e-mail list via the Web site.
High Uinta Pack Goats brings you pack
goat selection, training, and mainte- YahooGroups Goat-Oriented
nance articles, tips, and FAQs. Don’t E-Mail Lists
miss this site—it’s a good one! http://groups.yahoo.com
The easiest to use and access goat list-
International Goat servs on the Internet are those hosted
Association (IGA) by YahooGroups. As this book goes to
http://www.iga-goatworld.org press, YahooGroups hosts at least eight
IGA is an international organization of sci- hundred goat-related e-mail groups.
entists, educators, goat producers, veteri- Find them by typing goats in the search
narians, and others involved in promoting box, then by scrolling through the
sustainable goat management and the results to select the ones you like. Or
sale of goat products to improve human narrow the search by using multiple-
nutrition and social welfare. Download word searches such as Saanen goats,
excellent newsletters in PDF format, and goats Minnesota, Livestock Guardian
access the IGA’s comprehensive world Dogs, or meat goats. Some YahooGroups
directory of goat organizations by click- we’ve sampled and enjoyed are
ing on IGA Projects/Documentation, then GoatBiology, practical-goats, goats_101,
The Directory of Goat Organizations packgoat, AlpineTalk, the_boer_goat,
Around the World, then An Access to the chevontalk, homedairygoats, and
Directory (at the bottom of the page). MissouriMeatGoats.
Resources • 141
HERD GUARDIANS Brought to you by the Texas De-

FLOCKGUARD—THE partment of Agriculture, this bulletin is
FLOCK&FAMILY GUARDIAN the Internet’s best guide to choosing and
NETWORK using donkeys as herd guardians for
http://www.flockguard.org your goats.
A must-visit guardian dog site is the
Flock&Family Guardian Network. Access RECIPES
e-mail lists and free newsletters, links to CAPRINE COOKBOOK AT GOAT
guardian breed rescue sites, and livestock CONNECTION
guardian dog photo galleries; and read http://www.goatconnection.com/
interesting articles about guardian dog cgi-bin/cookbook/recipe.cgi
breeds. Lots of links to other guardian For the greatest selection of goat recipes
dog sites are icing on the cake. on the Web, visit the fabulous “Caprine
Cookbook at Goat Connection” for hun-
LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS dreds of recipes incorporating chevon and
(LGDS) cabrito and various goat’s milk products.
http://www.lgd.org
Here you’ll find everything you need to CHEVON
know about livestock guardian dogs. h t t p : / / w w w. m e a t g o a t s . c o m /
Subscribe to the LGD-Lovers (LGD-L) e- cookbook.pdf
mail list; browse the list’s LGD FAQs; and This downloadable nine-page cookbook
click on Library to peruse hundreds of offered by the American Meat Goat
informative articles. This site is brought Association ably describes the selection
to you by the Livestock Guardian Dog and preparation of cabrito and chevon
Association—don’t miss it, it’s great! and provides thirty delicious, easy-to-
prepare recipes sure to tickle any carni-
LLAMAORG vore’s palate.
http://www.llama.org
Put a llama in your life! Surf this compre- COOKING WITH GOAT
hensive site to learn everything you need (CHEVON AND CABRITO)
to know before buying llamas. Scroll down
http://www.greatgoats.com/cooking.
the home page to “What Do You Do With a
html
Llama” and click on Guarding Livestock for
At this Web site, beginners learn how to
the skinny on llamas as herd guardians.
slaughter a goat and cook dishes featur-
ing chevon and cabrito. Included are
USING DONKEYS TO GUARD eleven mouth-watering recipes for goat
SHEEP AND GOATS stews, chili, roasts, barbecue, kebabs, and
http://www.agr.state.tx.us/pesticide/ curry. A chart compares the nutrients in
brochures/pes_donkeys.htm goat, beef, chicken, horse, and pork.
142 • Resources
GOAT MILK RECIPES FROM THE SUPPLIES

MEYENBERG KITCHEN A MERICAN L IVESTOCK S UPPLY
http://www.meyenberg.com/recipes2. (ALS)
htm http://www.americanlivestock.com
Mmm-mmm, this page features twenty 800-356-0700
tasty recipes for goat’s milk ice creams, ALS stocks a full line of goat (and sheep,
yogurt, whipped cream, fudges, cus- cattle, poultry, swine, etc.) vaccines and
tards, and casseroles. Click on Resources equipment at discount prices. Order
to download the company’s free “Goat online or request a free print catalog.
Milk Gourmet Cookbook.”
CAPRINE SUPPLY
GOAT RECIPES AT FIERY http://www.caprinesupply.com
FOODS 800-646-7736
http://www.fier y-foods.com/dave/ Caprine Supply stocks everything goat.
goat2003.asp Click on Articles to read two dozen excel-
If you crave fiery food, you’ll love Stoba lent articles about goat management and
di Cabrito (Curaçao-Style Kid Stew), dairying, and call or fill out an online
Trinidadian Coconut-Curried Goat, form to request Caprine Supply’s great
Southwestern Cabrito, and several more free catalog.
tongue-sizzling recipes at this page.
HOEGGER GOAT SUPPLY
JACK & ANITA MAULDIN’S http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com
GOAT RECIPES 800-221-4628
http://www.jackmauldin.com/goat_ Hoeggers’ carries a fantastic array of
recipes.htm goat supplies. Click on Useful Goat
The Mauldin’s outstanding meat goat Information to access a slew of helpful
information site brings you twenty-eight articles, and call or fill out the online
yummy goat recipes, from Texas Ranch catalog request form to receive
Style Gumbo to Jamaican Curried Goat, your copy of Hoeggers’ free eighty-
along with suggestions for goat stews, page catalog.
sausage, stir fries, and cabrito loaf.
JEFFERS LIVESTOCK SUPPLY
RECIPES AT F IAS C O FARM http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc
http://fiascofarm.com/recipes/index. 800-533-3377
html Jeffers offers the same wide selection of
Visit the nice folks at Fias Co Farm and livestock equipment and pharmaceuti-
learn to make eight cheeses includ- cals as American Livestock Supply,
ing feta, mozzarella, chevre, and at competitive prices. Jeffers’ catalogs
queso blanco. are free.
Resources • 143
MID-STATES WOOL GROWERS goat keepers with fencing, handling

COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION supplies, clippers and shearers, ear tags,
http://www.midstateswoolgrowers.com and expert advice for more than twenty-
East of the Mississippi: 800-841-9665 five years. Shop Premier’s comprehen-
West of the Mississippi: 800-835-9665 sive online store or request the free
Click on Sheep Supplies then Goat catalog that’s packed with information
Supplies to access the Mid-States Wool on sheep and goat products, fencing,
Growers Cooperative Association’s out- and clipper and shearing machines.
standing selection of goat essentials,
including hard-to-find items such as QUALITY LLAMA PRODUCTS, INC.
CL-Nanny Replacer Colostrum and http://www.llamaproducts.com
adorable Kid Jammies. 800-638-4689
In addition to llama and alpaca supplies,
NEW ENGLAND Quality Llama Products, Inc., carries a
CHEESEMAKING SUPPLY treasure trove of equipment and books
COMPANY for fanciers of miniature donkeys, minia-
http://www.cheesemaking.com ture horses, reindeer, and goats. You’ll
New England Cheesemaking Supply find information on topics such as hal-
Company markets books, failure-resis- ters, harnesses, carts, goat bits, and goat
tant cheese-making kits, and everything packing gear. Their catalog is free.
else you need to make tasty goat cheese.
SULLIVAN SUPPLY
NORTHWEST PACK GOATS & http://www.sullivansupply.com
SUPPLIES Texas warehouse: 800-588-7096
http://www.northwestpackgoats.com Iowa warehouse: 800-475-5902
888-PACKGOAT If you show your goats (or simply spiff
A twenty-eight–page newsprint catalog them up for special occasions), you need
features a nice selection of goat supplies the free Sullivan catalog. Grooming tools
including halters, goat coats, first aid kits, and gadgets, blankets, stands, sham-
goat-themed rubber stamps, books, and poos, and conditioners are but the tip of
a comprehensive selection of pack goat the Sullivan Supply iceberg.
gear. Don’t miss how-to training articles
at the Web site as well as those scattered VALLEY V ET S UPPLY
throughout the free print catalog. http://www.valleyvet.com
800-419-9524
PREMIER 1 SUPPLIES The free Valley Vet Supply catalog fea-
http://www.premier1supplies.com tures a huge selection of livestock
800-282-6631 supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuti-
Premier has provided shepherds and cals at attractively discounted prices.
144 • Resources
UNIVERSITY RESOURCES them, click on Agriculture, then Animal

Most state universities and state exten- Science Extension Programs, then Goat
sion services distribute papers and bul- and Sheep Production.
letins of interest to goat keepers. While
visiting these Web sites, check for useful U NIVERSITY OF A RKANSAS
bulletins under headings such as Farm C OOPERATIVE E XTENSION
Construction, Forage (hay and pasture), S ERVICE
and Poisonous Plants. Keep in mind that http://www.uaex.edu
a lot of the information in sheep bulletins Click on Agriculture, then Livestock and
also applies to goat keeping. To compile Forages, then Publications, then Goats
an up-to-date library of goat materials for and Sheep to access several excellent
free, download appropriate PDF files to downloads for meat goat producers.
save for future reference, print favorite
bulletins and file them, or bind printouts D ELAWARE C OOPERATIVE
to create your own personal goat refer- E XTENSION S ERVICE
ence handbook. http://ag.udel.edu/extension
To access the University of Delaware’s
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING goat bulletins, click on 4-H Youth
RESOURCE CENTER (AGMRC) Development, then on 4-H Projects, and
http://www.agmrc.org then peruse the Goat listings.
AgMRC is composed of marketing
experts from Iowa State University, U NIVERSITY OF G EORGIA
Kansas State University, and the C OLLEGE OF A GRICULTURAL
University of California who work AND E NVIRONMENTAL
together to create and disseminate infor- S CIENCES C OOPERATIVE
mation about value-added agriculture. E XTENSION S ERVICE
Don’t miss this valuable site! Explore http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension
marketing trends and peruse thousands The UGA Cooperative Extension pub-
of valuable print and online resources. lishes thousands of online and PDF-
Access goat resources by clicking on format documents. To locate goat and
Commodities & Products, then on agriculture-related titles, click on
Livestock, then on Goats. Publications, then Subject Listing, and
scroll down to your topics of interest.
ALABAMA COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SYSTEM PURDUE UNIVERSITY SHEEP
http://www.aces.edu EXTENSION GOAT LINKS
The Alabama Cooperative Extension http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/
System is an especially rich source of goatlinks.html
goat management resources. To access Purdue University’s comprehensive goat
Resources • 145
links pages are the best around. Visit M ISSISSIPPI S TATE U NIVERSITY
and see! EXTENSION SERVICE
http://msucares.com
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Click on Publications, and enter the word
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE goat in the search box. Don’t miss
http://www.ca.uky.edu “Market Goat Showmanship,” “Meat
To access the University of Kentucky Goat Selection and Care,” and “4-H Club
College of Agriculture’s useful goat reports Goat Guide”—they’re terrific!
and bulletins, click on Publications, then
Animal and Food Sciences, then Goat. U NIVERSITY OF M ISSOURI
While you’re there, download their excel- E XTENSION
lent “4-H Dairy Goat Project” by clicking on http://muextension.missouri.edu
4-H while you’re at the Animal Sciences Although University of Missouri
page, then scroll down and click on the title. Extension doesn’t offer goat-specific
publications, its agricultural engineering
MARYLAND SMALL (fencing, farm structures, livestock
RUMINANT PAGE equipment) bulletins are outstanding.
http://www.sheepandgoat.com Many of their excellent sheep bulletins
Susan Schoenian, Sheep and Goat will interest goat owners, too. Click on
Specialist for the University of Maryland News and Publications, then on Extension
Cooperative Extension, hosts this amazing Publications, then on Agriculture, and
collection of original documents and links select your topic of choice.
to thousands of additional online resources.
Virtually anything you want to know about U NIVERSITY OF N EBRASKA -
goats can be accessed via this site. LINCOLN EXTENSION
http://ianrpubs.unl.edu
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S From the university’s publications page,
WESTERN MARYLAND RESEARCH click on Animals, General to access
AND EDUCATION CENTER “Angora Goats in the Midwest.” Also
http://www.westernmaryland.umd.edu click on Animal Diseases, then scroll
Here, accessing a huge selection of goat down to General Livestock to access a
resources is simple: click on Sheep & selection of excellent bulletins about
Goats, and there you are! Peruse or antibiotics and vaccines.
download Maryland Sheep and Goat
Producer newsletters, and access the R UTGERS C OOPERATIVE
Maryland Small Ruminant Page, the E XTENSION (N EW J ERSEY )
Northeast Sheep and Goat Marketing http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/extension
Web site, and a lot of other useful goat- To load “My 4-H Goat Project Record
oriented materials via this Web site. Book,” a twenty-nine–page handbook,
146 • Resources
click on Publications, then 4-H Youth on Animal Agriculture, then scroll down
Development, then on Plants and to Featured Links and click on Animal
Animals. Scroll down to and select the Husbandry (beef, sheep, and goats) or on
title, then click on the Download PDF Dairy Extension (dairy cattle and goats),
prompt. These record forms are easily depending on your interests. This site
adaptable for non–4-H record keeping. is a rich source of outstanding meat
goat bulletins.
NEW MEXICO STATE
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LANGSTON UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURE AND HOME RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
ECONOMICS (OKLAHOMA)
http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/ces http://www.luresext.edu
To access goat and general livestock bul- Click on the goat logo to access
letins at this easy-to-navigate site, simply Langston University’s E (Kika) de la
click Agriculture, then on Livestock & Garza Institute for Goat Research, one of
Range or on Dairy, then scroll down to the best goat resources on the World
items of interest. Wide Web.
CORNELL ANIMAL SCIENCE O R E G O N S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

DEPARTMENT (NEW YORK) EXTENSION
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu http://extension.oregonstate.edu
This site is without a doubt one of the To locate goat materials, click on
best university-generated goat resources Publications, then Publications and
on the Internet. Click on Meat Goats to Videos, then Agriculture, and finally
link to the comprehensive Empire State Horses, sheep, goats, and swine. Don’t
Meat Goat Producers Association Web miss “Raising and Training a Livestock-
site; click on 4-H Programs, then Goats to Guarding Dog.” From the Publications
access several excellent goat fact sheets and Videos page, also click on 4-H Youth,
and manuals as PDF files (helpful to chil- then scroll down to Dairy Project to
dren and adults); or click Poisonous Plants download the four-page “4-H Dairy Goat
for a plethora of information on that topic. Project” bulletin.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EXTENSION (SOUTH
AGRICULTURE AND LIFE CAROLINA)
SCIENCES http://www.clemson.edu/extension
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu Download an outstanding thirty-page
Navigate to the terrific goat bulletins and South Carolina 4-H and FFA goat wether
resources by clicking on Extension, then project PDF handbook via this site. Click
Resources • 147
on Publications (at the top of the page), Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy,

then on Digital Publications Only. Next, the American Veterinary Chiropractic
click on Four-H, then Animal Science. Association, and the Veterinary Bo-
There it is! tanical Medicine Association.
TEXAS COOPERATIVE AMERICAN VETERINARY

EXTENSION BOOKSTORE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
http://tcebookstore.org (AVMA)
Meat goat producers of all ages will like http://www.avma.org
Texas A&M’s comprehensive 4-H meat Visit the AVMA to view or download arti-
goat handbook. To download it, click on cles written by veterinarians for the lay-
4-H, then on Projects, then scroll down to man. Scroll to the bottom of the page,
“4-H Meat Goat Guide” and click the and click on NetVet & Electronic Zoo to
View PDF button. access thousands of additional veteri-
nary topic resources.
VETERINARY ASSOCIATIONS
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT RESOURCES
SMALL RUMINANT UNITED STATES
PRACTITIONERS (AASRP) Agricultural Marketing
http://www.aasrp.org Service @ USDA (AMS) and
The AASRP is a professional organi- the National Organic
zation for veterinarians and veteri- Program
nary students interested in small http://www.ams.usda.gov
ruminant medicine. If you’d like to market organic chevon or
cabrito and are seeking the official word
AMERICAN HOLISTIC on organic certification, visit the AMS
VETERINARY MEDICAL Web site. Click on National Organic
ASSOCIATION (AHVMA) Program, then your topic of interest.
http://www.ahvma.org
If you’re among the growing legion of National Institute of Animal
pet and livestock owners who prefer Agriculture (NIAA)
holistic treatment for your animals, shop http://www.animalagriculture.org
the AHVMA referral directory to find The NIAA provides individuals and
licensed holistic veterinarians in your organizations with information, educa-
locale. The AHVMA bookstore carries tion, and solutions for the challenges
hard-to-find print resources. A click on facing animal agriculture. To download
the Links and Resources icon leads you to archived issues of Sheep & Goat
the Web sites of specialty veterinary Health Report, click on the smiling
medical organizations such as the sheep icon.
148 • Resources
USDA Animal and Plant (read them online or download them as

Inspection Services Animal ID PDF files), click on Livestock, then on Hogs,
Program Sheep, and Goats. You’ll find oodles of mar-
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/ keting and record keeping resources, too.
animal_id
In the near future, all goat owners and CANADA
producers will be required to participate British Columbia Ministry of
in the USDA’s Animal ID Program. Agriculture and Lands
Learn about it at this site. http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca
The Government of British Columbia’s
USDA Animal and Plant huge collection of excellent goat bul-
Inspection Services Scrapie letins can be accessed by clicking on
Program Reports & Publications, then on
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/ Publications Available on the BCMAL
scrapie Website—Full Listing, and then on Goats.
In most cases, owners of goats kept on
the same premises as sheep must partic- Ontario Ministry of
ipate in the USDA’s mandatory Scrapie- Agriculture, Food, and Rural
Eradication Program. Since rules seem Affairs
to change at lightning speed, check this http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/moved/
site for the latest skinny. If you’re still staticpage.html
confused, peruse a frequently updated, This site is a rich source of information
reader-friendly explanation, “Goat for goat owners and producers. To
Scrapie Program Information,” at access hundreds of management titles,
http://www.goatworld.com/articles. click on Agriculture, then on Livestock,
then scroll down the page to Goats.
National Sustainable
Agriculture Information Saskatchewan Agriculture
Service (ATTRA) and Food
http://attra.ncat.org http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca
ATTRA, funded by the USDA, is managed Find excellent archived goat documents
by the National Center for Appropriate by clicking on Livestock, then on Sheep
Technology. It provides information and and Goats.
other technical assistance to farmers,
ranchers, extension agents, educators, AUSTRALIA
and others involved in sustainable agricul- New South Wales Department
ture throughout the United States. To of Primary Industries
access ATTRA’s sustainable goat produc- http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/
tion, meat goat, and goat dairying bulletins animals
Resources • 149
To peruse the excellent goat resources, D AIRY G OAT P ERIODICALS

simply click on Goats. Dairy Goat Journal
http://www.dairygoatjournal.com
Queensland Government, Each issue of Dairy Goat Journal fea-
Department of Primary tures timely articles about raising,
Industries and Fisheries breeding, and marketing dairy goats;
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/animals health issues; and recent news of inter-
Navigate to the goat resources page by est to goat owners and the dairy goat
clicking on Sheep & Goats, then on Goats. industry. Click on past issues to view a
plethora of archived articles.
PERIODICALS
GENERAL INTEREST Ruminations
The Goat Farmer h t t p : / / w w w. k a r m a d i l l o . c o m /
http://www.caprine.co.nz ruminations
This fantastic online goat magazine has Ruminations is a well-written, bimonthly
two sections: a free access area and a magazine for Nigerian Dwarf and other
subscribers-only section. Both are Miniature Dairy Goat enthusiasts. A
jam-packed with information of value compendium of articles from back
to goat owners and producers around issues is available through the
the globe. Ruminations Web site.
The Goat Magazine MEAT GOAT PERIODICALS

http://www.goatmagazine.info Goat Rancher
Now incorporating Goat Biz magazine, http://www.goatrancher.com
this bimonthly will appeal to goat An attractive monthly, Goat Rancher
fanciers of every ilk, from backyard pet reports the latest news in the produc-
owners to large-scale dairy producers to tion, health and management, and mar-
meat goat entrepreneurs. keting of meat goats by featuring articles
and timely tips from established produc-
United Caprine News ers of Boer, Kiko, Spanish, and
http://www.unitedcaprinenews.com Tennessee Meat Goats. At the Goat
Printed in newspaper format, United Rancher Web site, click on Markets to
Caprine News is a leading source of up- check up-to-date prices at dozens of goat
to-date information on the care, manage- auctions throughout the United States.
ment, and feeding of goats. Each
monthly issue is loaded with information Meat Goat Monthly News
on all aspects of goat keeping, including http://www.ranchmagazine.com/mgn.
health, feeding, breeding, housing, html
showing, milking, and routine care. Meat Goat Monthly News is a tabloid publi-
150 • Resources
cation bringing readers news and articles Kindsedt, Paul. American Farmstead
pertaining to the U.S. meat goat industry. Cheese: The Complete Guide to Making
and Selling Artisan Cheeses. Chelsea
RECREATIONAL GOAT Green, 2005.
PERIODICALS If you’re an experienced cheese crafter
Goat Tracks who dreams of marketing artisan
http://www.goattracksmagazine.com cheeses, don’t miss this comprehensive,
Goat Tracks is a well-written quarterly 276-page hardcover cheese-making
for owners and admirers of pack and guide. New England Cheesemaking
harness goats. Supply calls it, “The best book we have
seen to date.”
BOOKS
There are many great goat books on the Mowlem, Alan. Goat Farming. 2d ed.
market—more than we can list in this Farming Press, 1992.
brief bibliography. These are our in-print This handy 208-page hardcover guide
favorites, readily available via Hoeggers, covers profitable dairy, meat, and fiber
Caprine Supply, Quality Llama Products, production from a British perspective.
or Amazon (http://www.amazon.com).
But we love older goat books, too; so, for Sinn, Rosalee. Raising Goats for Milk and
a truly well-rounded library, we sug- Meat: A Heifer Project International
gest you look to eBay (http://www. Training Course. Heifer Project Intl.,
eBay.com) for out-of-print; antiquarian; 1992.
and British, Australian, or foreign-lan- This 110-page, spiral-bound handbook
guage goat books neatly describes the basics of goat keep-
ing. Included: thirty-six pages of handy
GENERAL INTEREST record-keeping sheets.
Coleby, Pat. Natural Goat Care. Acres
USA, 2001. DAIRY GOAT AND DAIRY
Pat Coleby explains holistic goat keep- P RODUCT B OOKS
ing from every conceivable angle, in 371 Carroll, Ricki. Home Cheese Making:
fact-filled pages. Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses. 3d ed.
Storey, 2002.
Jaudas, Ulrich. The New Goat Handbook. Authored by Ricki Carroll of the New
Barron’s, 1989. England Cheesemaker’s Supply, this
The author packs an amazing amount of handsome, easy-to-use, 224-page cheese-
information into this slim, ninety- making manual features eighty-five home-
three–page volume. The book’s glorious crafted cheese and dairy product recipes.
illustrations and color photographs John and I made yummy cheese using its
are superb. clear instructions—if we can, so can you!
Resources • 151
Le Jaouen, Jean-Claude. The Fabrication Mitcham, Stephanie, and Allison

of Farmstead Goat Cheese. Cheese- Mitcham. The Angora Goat: Its History,
maker’s Journal, 1990. Management and Diseases. 2d ed. Crane
Written for experienced cheese mak- Creek, 1999.
ers, The Fabrication of Farmstead Every Angora goat keeper needs this
Goat Cheese is the ultimate guide book. Besides covering every aspect of
to crafting ar tisan-quality goat Angora goat management, the
milk cheeses. Mitchams discuss livestock guardian
dogs, herding dogs, and a lot of other
Luttmann, Gail. Raising Milk Goats topics other authors usually miss.
Successfully. Williamson, 1986.
This 176-page softcover manual has M EAT G OAT B OOKS
stayed in print so long because it’s such Bowman, Gail B. Raising Meat Goats for
an outstanding guide to home dairying, Profit. Bowman Communications, 1999.
beloved by beginners and experienced This 256-page treasure is an easy-to-read
goat keepers alike. It’s my favorite dairy introduction to every aspect of profitable
goat guide. meat goat production. Prospective chevon
and cabrito producers: you need it!
Mont-Laurier Benedictine Nuns. Goat
Cheese: Small Scale Production. New Mitcham, Stephanie, and Allison
England Cheesemaking Supply, 1983. Mitcham. Meat Goats: Their History,
This eighty-eight–page paperback Management and Diseases. Crane Creek,
includes directions for making starter 2000.
culture; presents several methods Written by the authors of The Angora
for testing acidity; and includes recipes Goat: Its History, Management and
for crafting goat cheese, butter, Diseases, this comprehensive manual
and yogurt. takes a novel approach to the meat goat
industry by suggesting Angora crosses,
FIBER GOAT BOOKS not Boer crosses make the best-
Drummond, Susan Black. Angora Goats tasting chevon.
the Northern Way. 3rd ed. Stony
Lonesome Farm, 1991. Tomlinson, Sylvia. The Meat Goats of
You’ll find everything you need to know Caston Creek. Redbud, 1999.
to keep Angora goats, to shear them, This charming 181-page book is a laid-
and to market mohair in this compre- back anthology of stories, essays, and
hensive, 239-page softcover book. Both tips on raising meat goats. Included: an
the Mitchams’ book (below) and this interesting, down-home recipe sec-
one are excellent values, but this is my tion titled “Cocinar Chevito” (cooking
favorite of the two. young goat).
152 • Resources
MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS Eddy, Carolyn. Diet for Wethers: Guide to

Boldrick, Lorrie, and Lydia Hale. Pygmy Feeding Your Wether for Health and
Goats: Management and Veterinary Care. Longevity. Eagle Creek Packgoats, 2001.
All Pub, 1996. If you keep wethers for driving or pack-
If you keep Pygmy goats, you absolutely ing or as pets, you’ll definitely want a
need this 237-page softcover manual. copy of this fact-filled 102-page book. It’s
You might also want to buy a copy for the first (and only that we’re aware of)
your Pygmies’ vet, too. Owners of other how-to handbook written specifically for
breeds will also learn a lot from this the wether goat owner.
great book. It’s one of our favorites—
don’t miss it! —. Practical Goatpacking. Eagle Creek
Packgoats, 1999.
Dawydiak, Orysia, and David E. Sims. New and experienced goat packers alike
Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care, will benefit from the wealth of how-to
and Training. Alpine Blue Ribbon material in this 142-page, softcover book.
Books, 2004. The Northwest Pack Goats supply cata-
This paperback is currently the only pro- log calls it “a thorough, nuts-and-bolts
fessionally published all-breed LGD guide to the art and science of goatpack-
book in print. From breed profiles ing. It will answer most of the questions
(including breeds you might not know that arise for the beginning goatpacker
of) to material on selecting a puppy or and goat keeper.” We agree!
older dog and training it as a guard
or family companion—this 224-page Ekarius, Carol. How to Build Animal
book delivers. Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches,
Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders,
Dunn, Peter. The Goatkeeper’s Veterinary Stanchions, and Much More. Storey, 2004.
Book. 3rd ed. Farming Press, 1998. This isn’t a goat book per se, but if you
This 210-page British book is likely keep goats, you need it. In 272 packed
the only caprine veterinar y man- pages, Ekarius explains everything you
ual you’ll ever need. It’s especially need to know to plan and build livestock
strong on preventative medicine, mak- housing and equipment. Beginners and
ing it a must-have for ever y goat experienced builders alike will benefit
keeper’s bookshelf. from this book.
Resources • 153
Index
A bloat, 92
abomasum, 45, 47–48 blood capacity, 21
abscesses, 36 Boer goats, 14, 17, 21, 30, 34, 96
aggression, 54–55, 56, 57 books, 151–153
alpha males/females, 19, 21 bottle feeding, 45, 85, 87, 88, 90, 92
Alpine goats, 14, 17, 32 breathing, 65
American Boer Goat Association, 30 breeding, 57–58
American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA), birth, 19
14, 24, 25, 104–105 delivery, 81, 84
American goats, 14, 25 estrus (heat), 60
American Livestock Breed Conservancy gestation, 80–81
(ALBC), 35 kid care, 84–90
American Milk Goat Record, 14 kidding, 80–84, 89
anemia, 74 kidding kits, 82–83
Anglo-Nubian goats, 14, 17, 32 organizations, 139–140
Angora goats, 13, 17–18, 20, 33, 109–111 overview of, 78–81
antibiotics, 104 polled goats, 30–31
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural reproduction, 21
Areas (ATTRA), 104, 107 stock, 77–78
Arapaw goats, 35 traits, 21
artificial insemination (AI), 80 breeds. See also resources; specific breeds,
auctions, 26–27, 36, 63, 75 e.g. Angora goats
availability of breeds, 25–27 American Livestock Breed Conservancy
(ALBC), 35
B availability of, 25–27
back/topline, 36 breeders directories, 133
Bacteroides nodusus, 73, 75 breed organizations, 139–140
bedding, 41 choosing, 16–20, 23–24, 35
behavior dairy, 16–17, 24, 32–33
aggression, 54–55, 56, 57 endangered, 35
breeding, 58, 60 fiber, 17–18
communication, 56–57 meat goats, 17, 34–35
handling, 55–56 Swiss, 14, 17, 32–33, 35
instinctive, 53 broken-mouth, 29
intimidating, 59 Brown, Jerry, 115
pecking order, 54–55 Brown, Lyn, 85, 115
rut, 58 brush clearing, 18, 50, 100
training, 60–61 bucks, 30
biological traits, 21 bulk milk tanks, 105–106
business options for goat farming, 97–99 dietary changes, 49–50

buying goats early castration, 30
availability of breeds, 25–27 electrical wiring, 42
breed selection, 16–20, 23–24, 35 fencing, 43–45
considerations/advice, 36 heat lamps, 86
foundation stock, 77–78 needles/syringes, 69
health issues, 27–28, 36 overfeeding, 42, 85
registration, 24–25 poisonous plants, 47, 49
resources/support, 23 pregnancy, 80–81
sales/sellers/certificates, 31, 37 transportation, 37
selection/conformation, 27 ventilation/drafts, 41
sex-specific factors, 29–31 dangers (to humans)
teeth (mouth), 21, 29, 36 aggression, 56
transportation/arrival/quarantine, 36 horns, 28–29
buying stations, 26 tainted milk, 49
Davis, James B., 109
C death, causes of, 30
cabrito, 16, 96 dehorning, 28, 90, 93
calls of healthy/sick goats, 65 delivery, 81, 84
Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE), 63, 79 dental palate, 21, 29, 36
cart-pulling goats, 18 diarrhea, 28
Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), 63 dietary changes, 49–50
cashmere goats, 18, 20, 33, 110, 112 digestion, 45–46, 48–50
castration, 30, 90, 93 disbudding, 28, 90, 93
CD/T combination vaccine, 68 diseases/disorders. See also health issues
cheese, 104–106, 106–107, 109 abortion, 119
chevon, 96, 104 abscesses, 36
choosing goats, 20 anemia, 74
classifications of goats, 16–18 bloat, 92, 119–120
clearing land, 18 Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE), 63,
Clostridium perfringens, 68 79, 120
clubs, 23 Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), 63, 120
coat, 28, 65 Coccidiosis (Cocci), 120–121
coats, 36 common to kids, 86
collars/halters, 61 communicable, 63
colostrum, 84, 85, 86, 88, 90 contagious ecthyma (CE), 63, 121
communication among goats, 56–57 coughing, 28
concentrates, 48 digestion problems, 49
conformation, 27 entrotexemia, 121–122
Conservation Priority List (ALBC), 35 floppy kid syndrome (FKS), 122
contagious ecthyma (CE), 63 foot rot, 73, 75
coughing, 28 Johne’s disease, 63, 122
county extension agents, 47, 80 ketosis, 122–123
housing bulletins, 45 Listeriosis, 123
marketing information, 101–103 mastitis, 123–124
milk regulations, 105 parasites, 37, 63, 64, 68, 70–71, 104
resources, 23 parrot mouth, 29
vaccination, 68 pneumonia, 124
cud chewing, 46 polio (goat), 123
scrapie, 124
D symptoms, 64, 65
dairy goats. See also milk treatments, 74
breed characteristics, 32–33 urinary calculi (water belly), 93, 124–125
breed papers, 24 vaccinations, 37, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69
breeds, 16–17 white muscle disease, 125
cheese, 106–107, 109 does, 29–30, 58, 60, 65
licensing/regulation, 104–105 domestication, 11
milking, 108 driving goats, 18
milk production/sales, 104–106 droppings, 65
organizations, 133–135
problems of, 29 E
Web sites, 135–136 ear tags, 31
Dairy Goats: Sustainable Production elastrators, 90, 93
(ATTRA), 104 electric fences, 44
dangers (to goats). See also health issues endangered breeds, 35
collars/tying, 61 Enderli, Joey, 115
156 • Index
Enderli, Mona, 59, 115 pre-purchase health check, 28

equipment, recreational, 18 quarantines, 63, 64
escapes, 43 when buying, 27–28
estrus (heat), 21, 58, 60 hearing, 21
ethnic groups/markets, 101–103 heat cycles, 78–79
ethnic markets, 96 heat (estrus), 21, 58, 60
exercise, 41 heat lamps, 86
experimental goats, 25 herd books, 24
eyes (sight), 21, 27–28, 36, 65 herd kings/queens, 19, 21, 54–55
heredity, 77–78
F hermaphrodites, 30–31
fainting (Myotonic) goats, 13, 17, 34, 35 history of goat domestication, 11–15
feeding goats hooves, 28, 63, 71–73, 75
adding weight, 74 horns, 19, 21, 28–29, 41, 43, 44, 74, 93
bottle feeding, 45, 85, 87, 88, 90, 92 housing
dietary changes, 49–50 basic shelters, 39–40, 51
digestion, 45–46, 48–50 bedding, 41
feeders/waterers, 41–43 feed storage, 42
feeding habits, 19 fencing, 43–45
feed storage, 42 kids, 84–88
forage, 48–50 structural considerations, 40–41
grain, 49 troughs/feeders, 41–43
hay, 42, 48–49
kids, 45, 84–90, 92 I
during pregnancy, 80–81 ID numbers, 31
refusing feed, 49 injections, 69
supplements, 48, 49, 80 International Boer Goat Association, 30
feet, 28, 63, 71–73, 71–75 International Kiko Goat Association, 25
fencing, 43–45 Internet. See resources
fiber goats, 17–18, 20, 33, 109–112, 136–137 Internet resources, 101
first aid kits, 66, 67
fleeces, 110 J
flehman response, 58 Johne’s disease, 79
flies, 68, 70 joints, 28
foot rot, 28, 73, 75
forage, 48–49 K
foundation stock, 77–78 Kalahari Red goats, 34
4-H shows, 28, 98 Kennedy, Samantha, 36, 51, 59, 116
French Alpine goats, 14 kid care, 84–90
Fusobacterium necrophorum, 73 kidding, 80–84, 89, 90
kidding kits, 82–83
G kids
Gasparotto, Suzanne W., 35, 46, 101 care/feeding, 45, 84–90, 92
GeneMaster goats, 17, 34 castrating/disbudding, 90, 93
gestation, 21, 80–81 kidding, 80–84, 89
Giles, Rikke, 36, 89, 115 Kiko goats, 14, 17, 21, 25, 34, 96
glossary, 127–131 Kinder goats, 17, 35
goats compared to sheep, 19
grade goats, 25 L
Gurn, Matt, 116 La Mancha goats, 32
land clearing, 18
H Langle, Carl, 115
Haas, Donna, 59, 74, 115 legal issues, 45, 104–106
Hale, Melody, 20, 74, 116 lice, 70
halters/collars, 61 licensing, 104–105
handling, 55–56 life span, 21
hand milking, 108 limping, 28
harness breeds, 24 literature, goats in, 15
harness goats, 17, 18
hay, 42, 48–49 M
health issues. See also dangers (to goats); MAC Goats, 17, 24, 31, 37
diseases/disorders males, 30, 57–58
evaluating health, 36 Marcus-Gurn, Claudia, 116
first aid kit, 66, 67 mastitis, 29
hooves, 28, 63, 71–73, 75 meat comparisons, 96
kids, 45, 84–93 meat goats
Index • 157
breed characteristics, 34–35 polled goats, 29, 30–31

breeds, 17 population, world goat, 9, 16, 37
business options, 97–99 pregnancy, 80–81
costs/land/expansion, 99–100 prepurchase health check, 28
ethnic markets, 101–103 pulse, 21
marketing/demand/profitability, 26, 95–98, purebred goats, 25
100–103 Pygmy goats, 14, 17, 35
nutritional information, 97 Pygora goats, 18, 33, 111–112
organic, 104
organizations, 137–139 Q
problems of, 29–30 quarantines, 36, 63, 64
start-up costs, 97
Web sites, 138–139 R
medications, 80 Ramadan, 96
milk. See also dairy goats recorded grades, 25
American Milk Goat Record, 14 records/record keeping, 77
milking, 108 recreational (driving/pack) goats, 17, 18, 30
poisonous plants and, 48, 49 rectal temperature, 21
production/sales, 104–106 registration, 24–25, 31, 37
regulations, 105 replacement stock. See buying goats
milking parlors, 105–106 reproduction. See breeding
milk replacer, 88, 90 rescuing goats, 20
Milsom, Bobbie, 36, 74, 116 Research, 106
mineral mix/licks, 49 resources
miniature goats, 17, 32 assembling your, 64, 66
Missouri Historical Review, 14 books, 151–153
mites, 70 breeders directories, 133
mohair, 33, 109–111 dairy goat organizations, 133–135
mouth, 29 dairy goat Web sites, 135–136
mouths (teeth), 21 experts’ addresses/Web sites, 115–116
movement, evaluating, 65 fiber goat organizations, 136–137
multiple births, 77–78 Grade A Dairy Goat Requirements, 106
Myotonic (fainting) goats, 13, 17, 34, 35 Internet, 101
mythology, goats in, 15 meat goat organizations, 137–139
other breed organizations, 139–140
N periodicals, 150–151
New Zealand Kiko goats, 14, 17, 21, 25, 34, 96 University of Illinois Extension bulletin, 101
Nigerian Dwarf goats, 32, 35 Web sites, 107, 109, 140–150
nose, evaluating, 28 Yahoo! groups, 107
Nubian goats, 14, 17, 32 respiration, 21
nursing, 45 reticulum, 45, 46
Roby, Mrs. Edward, 14
O Rockers, Alyssa, 116
Oberhasli goats, 14, 17, 32–33, 35 Rockers, Dave and Dixie, 116
obesity, 50 rumens, 21, 45–46, 48–49
omasum, 45, 48 rutting, 57–58
Onion Creek Ranch, 35
online resources. See resources S
organic goat meat, 104 Saanen goats, 14, 17, 33
organizations, 139–140 Sable goats, 33
ovulation, 21 sale barns, 36
San Clemente goats, 35
P Savanna goats, 34–35
pack goats, 17, 18 Schwartzwald Alpine goats, 14
parasites scrotum, 30
flies, 68, 70 selecting goats. See buying goats
worms, 37, 63, 64, 70–71, 104 sex-specific health issues, 29–31
parrot mouth, 29 sexual maturity, 21
pecking order, 53–55 shearing, 20
Pedigree International, 35 sheep compared to goats, 19
percentage goats, 25 shows, 13–14, 28, 98
periodicals, 150–151 Shumack, Lisa, 116
Plog, Glenda, 20, 116 sight (eyes), 21, 27–28, 65
poisoning, 47 skin, 28, 70
poisonous plants, 47, 48 Small Dairy Resource Book (SARE), 106
polio, goat, 74 Small Ruminant Dairy Project, 109
158 • Index
Smith, Pat, 36, 55, 89, 92, 117 University of Maryland Small Ruminant Web
social structure, 19, 21 site, 45, 47
South African Savanna goats, 34–35 University of Missouri Extension Service, 45
sow mouth, 29 University of Vermont’s Small Ruminant
Spanish goats, 17, 18, 35 Dairy Project, 109
state regulations, 104–106 urinary calculi (water belly), 30, 48, 93,
stock, 77–78 124–125
supplements, 48, 49, 80 urination, 65
Sustainable Agriculture Research and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 95
Education (SARE), 107 U.S. goat inventory, 95
Swiss breeds, 14, 17, 32–33, 35
V
T vaccinations, 37, 63, 67, 69, 80
tails, 19, 65 ventilation/drafts, 39, 40–41
taste, 21 vision, 21, 65
tattoos, 31
taxonomy, 16 W
teats, 29–30 Walters, Robin L., 74, 92, 116
teeth, 21, 29 water, 41–42, 50
temperature, rectal, 21, 65 water belly (urinary calculi), 30, 48, 93,
Tennessee Fainting goats, 13, 17, 34, 35 124–125
Tennessee Meat Goats, 13, 17, 35 Web sites. See resources
testicles, 30 wethers, 30
tetanus antitoxin, 93 wheezing, 28
TexMaster goats, 17, 35 Wilfong, Michelle, 20, 51, 116
Tinsley, John, 13 World’s Fair, 13–14
Toggenburg goats, 14, 33 wormers, 80
toxemia, 74 worms, 37, 63, 64, 70–71, 104
training goats, 20, 60–61, 85 woven wire, 43
traits, 21
transportation, 26, 37 Z
trimming hooves, 72–73 zoning laws/restrictions, 45
troughs, 41–43
U
udders, 29–30, 65, 77, 81
umbilical cord, 84
University of Illinois Extension bulletin, 101
Index • 159
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sue Weaver is author of Sheep: Small-Scale Sheep Keeping for Pleasure and Profit
and Chickens: Tending a Small-Scale Flock for Pleasure and Profit. She also has
written hundreds of articles about animals over the years and is a contributing edi-
tor of Hobby Farms magazine. Sue and her husband, John (who provided most of
the photos for this and her other books), live near Mammoth Spring, Arkansas,
where as the proprietors of Ozark Thunder Boers they raise show-quality full-
blood Boer goats. They also raise double-registered miniature American
Brecknock Hill Cheviot and Keyrrey-Shee sheep, AMHR Miniature Horses of
cob type, and American Curly horses.
160 • About the Author

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WEAVER

From cashmere to milk and meat!

About the Hobby Farms® series

HFGoats_CoverSPREAD.indd 1 7/9/10 2:16:43 PM

Jarelle S. Stein, Editor

Copyright © 2006 by BowTie Press ®

The Library of Congress has cataloged an earlier printing as follows:

Printed and bound in China

Introduction Why Goats?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter One Goats: A Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter Two A Buyer’s Guide to Goats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter Three Housing and Feeding Your Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter Four Goat Behavior and You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter Five Goat Health, Maladies, and Hooves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter Six Bringing Kids into the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter Seven Making Money with Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Appendix: Goat Diseases at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

FROM THE BEGINNING

domestic goat bones carbon-dated to cow,” thriving in mountain and moorland

praised the settlement’s goats because imported to South Carolina. (Fleece-

In Words and Images

GOATS AT A G LANCE two dozen are available in North

a meatier product. Recreational goat afi- Meat Goats

fleece of scarcer-colored Angoras is in but does, too, can work in harness or

Advice from the Farm

or dies. Confusion reigns until members

CHOOSING THE B REEDS

The four categories of dairy goats in

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 25

SELECTING THE G OATS HEALTH

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 27

milking stands; if you have small chil-

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 29

daughters with bad udders. Bucks with

maphrodite offspring (displaying both of droppings? Evaluate the seller, too.

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 31

Common Goat Breeds in Brief

Here’s a brief look at the different breeds Miniature Dairy Goats

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 33

Common Goat Breeds in Brief

Pedigree International keeps its herd-

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 35

Advice from the Farm

Sometimes you can get a decent animal

Don’t Take Any Lumps

Goats mustn’t be stressed in transit;

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats • 37

THE RIGHT HOUSING

Goats housed in damp, poorly vented simple to maintain. Whatever material

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 41

pen fencing and can be used to render

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 43

To prevent tearing your clothes (and ing, although a goat-resistant fence

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 45

kick-start rumen function. At three to six rumen “rumbles” every forty-five to

Goats, (Don’t) Pick Your Poison

Amaryllis * Death Camas * Mistletoe *

* All parts of these plants are toxic or poisonous

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 47

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 49

Advice from the Farm

Housing and Feeding Your Goats • 51