Meat Goat Blog

Improving Bad Breeding Stock - Quick Tips

So you purchased some less-than-ideal breeding stock. Now what? When we first entered the goat business, we purchased Boer crosses in a herd dispersal and attempted to 'breed up' using (comparatively) high-dollar Kiko bucks. Unwelcome as this advice may be, after a few years of disappointing results, we determined that breeding up is too much work. It's easier to cull the bad blood and finance better stock.

How Long is a Goat's Gestation Period?

How long after breeding will my goats start kidding? Breeding season is almost upon us again! So, if you're trying to figure out whether to breed now or in a couple months, you may be wondering how much time the goats will be pregnant. Goats have a gestation period of roughly 150 days (about 5 months). As you decide when to breed your goats, be sure to consider the weather conditions, fly population, and predator activity during the time of year that you plan to kid. Be warned - goats are notoriously susceptible to early kidding if bad weather arrives.

Breeding Expected Kidding July December August January September February October March November April December May January June February July March August April September May October June November

Containing Bucks during Breeding Season - Quick Tips

For the last few weeks, the smell as I've walked through the gate to the buck pen has made it obvious - breeding season is almost here! If you want to keep your overly-eager sires from butting through your fence, try reinforcing the fence separating the bucks and does. Life is much easier when you know how to build a good buck pen!

Using Spanish Goats as Boer Recip Does

To quickly increase a pedigreed goat's offspring, show goat ranchers often use embryo transfer to implant artificially fertilized eggs in does with less recognized bloodlines. The recipient, or 'recip', does then carry, birth, and raise the genetically unrelated kid to weaning. While some ranchers may try to use their own 'less showy' stock to rear the kids, many Boer breeders prefer to use Spanish recip does.

Even after paying vet bills and expensive buck fees for the embryo transplants, insufficient mothering can result in poorly developed or even deceased kids. This is why Spanish does make excellent Boer recip does. Spanish does, which owe their genetics to survival of the fittest, have superb mothering abilities from kidding to weaning.

While Boers excel in body mass and aesthetic appeal, Spanish goats are built for raising hardy and healthy kids. With Spanish does, there's no need to worry about kidding. Birthing a Spanish doe is as easy as coming out the next morning to find a happy new kid playing in the barn.

Spanish udders are naturally tight and easy to nurse. Since Spanish does are not registered, commercial ranchers have much less incentive to propagate the genetics of does that do not perform. Therefore, Spanish genetics for mothering and health, on the whole, surpass those of their pedigreed counterparts. Very rarely will you find a Spanish doe that abandons her kid before weaning.

Though I could continue to praise the natural mothering abilities of Spanish goats, many Boer breeders choose Spanish goats for another reason - price. To afford the highest quality Boer bucks and does for the embryo transfer, ranchers need to limit all other expenses as much as possible. Fortunately, Spanish goats are much more economical than pedigreed Boers.

For a fraction of the price of a registered doe, Boer breeders can purchase enough Spanish does to perform their entire embryo transfer. Since the does are self sufficient, the rancher can sleep well at night - no need to worry about pulling kids at 2 o'clock in the morning. Once the kids hit the ground, the excellent instincts of their Spanish surrogate mother will ensure that the kid grows healthy and strong. For more information about Spanish or Spanish/Kiko cross recip does, check out Post Oak Ranch, LLC.

Purchasing Breeding Stock - Quick Tips

When you're buying breeding stock, consider purchasing grown does. Many new ranchers want to buy young doelings to start their herd 'from scratch.' But, they don't realize that their approach has some downsides. Small yearling does are often targets for predators and may not be biologically ready for fall breeding. In our experience, two-year-olds are a safer option for a new herd.

Determining the Parasite Levels in Your Herd - Quick Tips

If you'd like to have an numeric method for determining the parasites in your goats, you might consider using a fecal egg count. Although Famacha eye scores are more convenient for on-ranch observation, by sending a few manure samples to your local veterinarian, you can get a more precise understanding of the parasite load on your pasture and your herd.

Electric Fencing Tips from Zareba Systems

Whether you're learning a new trade or starting a new project, the result will always be better if you get some advice from someone with experience. So, if you're considering electric fence for your goat pen or buck pen, you should check out this information by the fencing experts at Zareba Systems. They have some great advice on chargers, posts, insulators, gate handles, and even a section on how to build electric fence for goats. Even though we don't use electric fence on our ranch right now, I definitely learned a lot from their information in case we ever need any!

Keep Goat Horns Out of Fence - Quick Tips

Ever looked out your back door to see a bunch of weanling kids with their heads stuck in the fence like they've been sentenced to the stocks? Next time you find a goat in the fence, duct tape a light stick to its horns. The duct tape will wear off in a couple months after their horns grow longer. Meanwhile, you won't have to unstick their head from the fence every day!

What Age to Buy Breeding Stock: Kids or Does

We got an e-mail a while back asking what age of goats we recommended a new rancher purchase. Though I often make the case for beginners to purchase proven does instead of kids, the excitement of starting a herd at “ground zero” usually overrides the logic of buying grown stock. So, based on my experience, here is my advice for what age of goats to buy – take it or leave it!

I prefer not to buy does until they are at least a year old – preferably two years. When we purchased our original breeding stock, we tried buying both doelings and grown does. The older goats almost always had a better overall result. The obvious disadvantage of the grown does is that they are that much closer to the end of their usable years (usually around 8-9 years old). However, at two years old, they are just entering their prime.

The disadvantage of doelings is that the first year can be a very difficult one. We lose more does before they reach one year old than any other age (that's why the price goes up after they reach a year). Since they are smaller, they are easier targets for predators. No matter the breeding program, there will be some natural survival of the fittest. That first year is usually a very telling period for which goats are the fittest and which ones aren’t.

Bucks are another consideration when buying young does. When the doelings are 8-9 months old, they are still pretty small. This is why we keep a couple bucklings to breed our kids, instead of our older sires. Once the bucks reach about 2 years old, they are just too big to breed to the little doelings without hurting them. If you do decide to breed any doelings, you will definitely have a better result using a buckling instead of a grown buck. Young bucklings (under a year old) can usually cover 10-15 does per cycle.

But the doelings’ struggles don’t end after breeding. While they’re carrying their kids, the doelings are still very young - and it takes a toll on them to raise that first set while they are still trying to grow themselves. We breed our young doelings almost every year to get their hormones in phase (we usually wait until they are 8-9 months old though) - but we usually don't require much from their first kidding cycle. So the bottom line: this means that you must hold on to these does for almost a year and a half before you start seeing a decent number of kids hit the ground. As long as you understand that buying doelings is a long term investment, any age can be a good choice. But I think most new ranchers would like to see a return on investment a little sooner.

Wire Fencing on Inside of Post - Quick Tips

If you're building non-electric goat fencing, place the panels/wire-mesh on the same side of the post as your goats. When the goats rub against the fence, the post will oppose the pressure. Otherwise the wire clips might not support the weight of all your goats at once. There's nothing worse than chasing a herd of escaped goats across the countryside!