Weaver Goats

Small-scale Herding for Pleasure And Profit
1. Auflage 2006
ISBN: 978-1-935484-80-6
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Hobby Farms GOATS: Small-Scale Herding, written by hobby farmer and prolific author and columnist Sue Weaver, is an essential guide to the wonderful world of goats. This colorful guide discusses goats of all types, including dairy goats, used for milk and cheese; meat goats; fiber goats, prized for their mohair and cashmere; recreational goats, beloved by children for their great personalities and silliness; and brush goats, the lawnmowers of creative hobby farmers and suburbanites. Weaver offers excellent advice on how to purchase a goat: sensible and direct, she advises newcomers that while goats can be profitable, they should not rush in. Before the reader fills his backyard with a herd of goats, the author warns him or her to consider that while goats are 'cute, personable, charming, and imminently entertaining...[they] are also destructive...mischievous, sometimes ornery, and often exasperating.' The book lists the various breeds of goats commonly available as meat and dairy producers, carefully spelling out their advantages and drawbacks. In the chapter on selecting a goat, the author instructs the reader to be aware of the overall health and soundness, and to consider such the animals' horns and teeth. The book also covers general care for a small herd of goats, including outdoor housing and feeding, general health care, and maintenance. For hobby farmers ready to dive into the world of reproducing their goats, there are chapters on breeding, mating, and 'Bringing Kids into the World.' All goat keepers will be enlightened by the information in the chapter on behavior and solving everyday problems with their often capricious caprines. Since the focus of the book is for hobby farmers, Goats also addresses how to make money from the small-scale herd, offering advice on managing, selling, and marketing goat-derived products. The book concludes with an extensive glossary of over 150 terms, an appendix of common goat diseases, and a resource section of useful goat-relevant books, websites, and associations. Fully indexed.

Sue Weaver has written hundreds of articles and ten books about livestock and poultry. She is a contributing editor of Hobby Farms magazine and writes the 'Poultry Profiles' column for Chickens magazine. Sue lives on a small farm in Arkansas, which she shares with her husband, a flock of Classic Cheviot sheep and a mixed herd of goats, horses large and small, a donkey who thinks she's a horse, two llamas, a riding steer, a water buffalo, a pet razorback pig, guinea fowl, and Buckeye chickens.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weaver, Sue

Leseproben

CHAPTER TWO

A Buyer’s Guide to Goats

Don’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 setting. 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 BREEDS

Before going goat shopping, know precisely what you want. Make a list of the qualities 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 to drive a team. If you want a goat who milks a gallon a day, a Pygmy doe won’t do. However, if you’re looking for a nice caprine friend and you don’t want to make cheese or yogurt, a Pygmy doe (or two) could prove the perfect choice. (See box “Common Goat Breeds in Brief.”) Consider availability as well in your choice—whether you’re willing to go farther afield to get exactly the breed you want.

PUREBRED, EXPERIMENTAL, GRADE, OR AMERICAN?

Registered goats generally cost more to buy than do grade (unregistered) goats, but you might not need to spring for registered stock. It depends on your goals. If you plan to exhibit your animals at high-profile shows, or to sell breeding stock to other people, you probably do. If you want a pack wether, a 4-H show goat, or a nice doe to provide household dairy products, registration papers aren’t essential.

A registration certificate is an official document proving that the animal in question is duly recorded in the herdbook of an appropriate registry association. Depending on which registry issues the certificate, the document will provide a host of pertinent details, including the goat’s registered name and identification specifics—such as its birth date, its breeder, its current and former owners, and its pedigree. Dairy breed papers also document milk production records in great detail. You can contact the ADGA with any questions you may have about 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.

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 breeding 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 oneeighth grade doe is an American Alpine; a fifteen-sixteenths Nubian and onesixteenth grade buck is an American Nubian. However, ADGA terminology doesn’t apply to meat goats.

To qualify as a registered full-blood in the American Boer Goat Association herdbook, all of a goat’s ancestors must be full-blood Boer goats. Registered percentage does are 50 to 88 percent full-blood Boer genetics; percentage bucks are 50 to 95 percent Boer. Beyond that (94 percent for does, 97 percent for bucks), they become purebred Boers. Purebreds never achieve full-blood status.

The International Kiko Goat Association registers New Zealand full-bloods (from 100 percent imported New Zealand bloodlines), American premier full-bloods (of 99.44 percent or greater New Zealand genetics), purebreds (87.5 to 99.44 percent New Zealand genetics), and percentages (50 and 75 percent New Zealand Kiko genetics). To avoid making costly mistakes, learn your breed’s registration lingo before you buy!

This is Morgan, our sweet Sable baby bred by Christie’s Caprines. Saanens have occasionally produced colored offspring, called Sables, which recently have come to be recognized as a separate breed.

Pets, cart and pack goats, brush clearers, and low-production household dairy goats needn’t be of any specific breed. Mixed-blood goats cost less to buy and no more to maintain than fancy registered stock and may be precisely the animals you need.

AVAILABILITY

If you’re seeking Nubians, Pygmies, or Boers, you’ll probably find a plentiful supply of good ones close to home. Less common breeds, such as Sables, Kinder goats, and colored Angoras, may be a different story. If you don’t want to travel long distances to buy foundation or replacement stock, pick a common breed or at least one popular in your locale. Conversely, though it takes more effort to start with something out of the ordinary, it also assures a market for your goats—other seekers don’t want to range afar, either.

Goat auctions and buying stations such as this one are marketing mainstays for commercial meat goat producers.

Purchasing goats from a distance has its pitfalls because you may not be able to visit the sellers and inspect potential purchases in person. If this is the case, buy only from breeders whose sterling reputations (and guarantees) take some of the gamble out of longdistance transactions. The transportation of distant purchases is also an issue, but it needn’t be a major one. Livestock haulers and some horse transporters carry goats cross-country for a fee. Kids and smaller goats can be inexpensively and safely shipped by air.

If you’re buying close to home, you can locate breeders via classified ads (free-distribution classifieds are especially rich picking), through notices on bulletin boards (watch for them at the vet’s office and feed stores), and by word of mouth (your county extension agent or vet can usually put you in touch with local goat owners). Or place “want to buy” ads and notices of your own.

To get a feel for breeders and to learn what sort of goats they have for sale, visit breed association Web sites or subscribe to print and online goat periodicals. Peruse the ads and breeders directories, and sign up for goat-oriented e-mail groups.

Goats auctioned through upscale production sales and consignment sales hosted by bona fide goat organizations are generally the cream of the caprine crop. Never buy goats at generic livestock sale barns. Run-of-the-mill livestock auctions are the goat farmer’s dumping ground. Most animals run through these sales are culls or sick, and the ones who aren’t will be stressed and exposed to disease. A single livestock sale bargain can bring nasties the likes of foot rot, sore mouth, and caseous lymphadenitis (CL) home to roost, sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars in vet bills and losses. Buy your goats through high-profile goat auctions or from private individuals.

SELECTING THE GOATS

The cardinal rule when buying goats: start with good ones. Choose the best and the healthiest foundation stock you can afford.

CONFORMATION

Acceptable conformation—defined as the way an animal is put together—varies among dairy, meat, and fiber goats. It’s important to study a copy of your breed’s standard of excellence, available from whichever registry issues its registration papers, before you buy. Don’t discount the importance of good conformation; you’ll pay more for a correct foundation goat, but he’s worth it. Even if you never show your goats, buyers will pay higher prices for your stock.

HEALTH

Never knowingly buy a sick goat! Carefully evaluate potential purchases before bringing them home. A healthy goat is alert. He’s sociable; even semiwild goats show interest in new faces. A goat standing off by himself, head down, disinterested in what’s going on is probably sick or soon will be.

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 simply dust irritation and was easily treated with saline solution and antibiotic eye ointment.

A healthy goat is neither tubby nor scrawny. He shows interest in food if...