We are not convinced that average daily weight gain in goats is really beneficial. The selling point for ADG is the same as cattle. The faster the gain, the more money you make. The larger percentage of daily gain, the better quality animals you are said to have. Maybe, but we're not so sure.
As recently admitted, no one at our farm has an animal science degree and we certainly don't have education in agriculture economics. Our thoughts are not based on formal education, just common sense and life experience.
Average daily gain doesn't reflect the way livestock or any other species increase in size. For example, children have growth spurts where you can't keep clothes on them. These accelerated periods of growth and development are not uniform. In other words, the average gain is an artificial measurement.
In our operation, thirty days usually won't make a significant difference one way or the other in the amount of profit we make. People can argue getting your goats to market one month earlier means they make more money. I suppose if you really want to be technical, it is true. The question becomes, how much more money did they make in one month?
The whole process of measuring daily gain reminds me ot a teacher I had in school. He used to say, "figures don't lie, but liars can figure."
A recognized registered cattle program we heard about perfectly illustrates the point. The breeder kept the calves in a refrigerated, cold storage standing next to all sorts of special weight enhancing feed. Cattle like most animals eat more when they are cold. The breeder supposedly had some of the highest average daily weight gains in the industry. But, if we put his genetics in dry Oklahoma pastures in the hot Summer, I wonder how well those 'super cows' would do.
I suspect goats that do really well in one geographical area may not develop as quickly in a different environment. The biology of goats is contrary to a feed lot operation. According to the available literature goats thrive when browsing larger areas and choosing what they want to eat. The comparison of ADG across the country doesn't reflect the marked differences in forage, weather, and environmental conditions.
As time passes, maybe we will come to see why others in the industry seems to think ADG is significant. Until then, we can't tell you what our goats weigh at birth. They are born in the brush and we just hope to catch them long enough to put on ear tags!
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