Meat Goat Blog

"Raising Meat Goats in a Commercial Operation" - Advice from an Experienced Rancher

To the 2 to 4 year goat-ranching-veterans who are feeling a bit discouraged:

Maybe your first year didn't go like you planned - but you shrugged it off because you just "needed to get the hang of things." Then you were waylaid by another discouraging season (of course, due to the poor conditions, none of your neighbors did very well either). But last year's lack-luster performance really doused your spirits and you're sick and tired of losing goats for no apparent reason. Well take heart! Maybe it's time to look at your operation through the eyes of someone with a little more experience.

Greg Christiansen, bachelor in Animal Science, has raised goats for over 12 years and he's picked up plenty of experience-based advice along the way. I just finished reading his book, Raising Meat Goats in a Commercial Operation, and, let me tell you, this book would have made life a lot easier if I'd read it a year after we started raising goats on our ranch! So if you're in the same boat I was, maybe some hands-on advice is just what you need to really turn your operation around.

In his book, Greg covers essential 'trouble shooting' tips for struggling ranchers and gives positive solutions to address the underlying causes. To hit the highlights, Raising Meat Goats in a Commercial Operation explains parasite management, kidding, mothering, fencing, predator control, cross-species grazing, nutritional requirements, and marketing. The book is an easy read and covers everything from the perspective of someone who's put in the time to learn what actually works (and doesn't). As you read the book, you realize that Mr. Christiansen makes his management decisions based on economics and logic - not what someone told him was the way he should do it.

From the onset, Greg Christiansen makes his ranching objectives clear: the animals "should be able to take care of themselves for the most part. [...] As long as they have feed and water they should be mostly trouble free." So, with that goal in mind, he explains how to effectively manage a goatherd that is too large (600 head) to babysit.

At the same time, Christiansen, as a full-time rancher, also knows the importance of helping struggling animals regain their health (if only long enough to take them to the sale). According to Mr. Christiansen, you should be active when identifying unhealthy livestock; "[y]ou must be able to spot a sick goat before he spots you." Otherwise the animal's defensive instincts for avoiding predators will spur them to feign good health - only to be dead 5 minutes later.

Despite all the information Raising Meat Goats in a Commercial Operation packs into less than 100 pages, I think my favorite most relatable section was Chapter 7's "Other ways to kill goats." In this section, Christiansen lists some of the ways he has lost or almost lost goats over the years. If you've been in the goat business very long, you know how creative goats can be at getting into trouble. Reading a section like this will allow you to think one step ahead of the goats as you, for instance, build a fence with holes that are big enough for a goat to get their head stuck.

Greg Christiansen's book is chock-full of useful information that would be a lot of help to someone whose operation is struggling. As I'm sure Mr. Christiansen would agree, none of the information in the book is designed to be highly technical or scientific - but you will save a lot of time and money if you listen to his advice.

Goat Parasites

Despite all the emphasis this blog places on parasite resistance, I realized that, until today, we still didn't have a category for goat parasites. So, here's some good news! If you feel like you need to brush up on your understanding of parasites, check out the category on the left marked "Goat Parasites" or click here!

Worming Regularly: A Bad Practice

As responsible livestock managers, we all know that the more time you spend taking care of your animals the better off they will be. But be careful translating logic like this into your worming practices – you might regret taking such good care of you herd!

Like people getting a booster on their flu shot, parasites can become immune to wormers – the more you  worm, the more immune they get. Now you’re probably thinking: “How can they become immune if the wormer is killing them?” Well, it comes down to a numbers game.

In order for a wormer to be considered effective, it must reduce the fecal egg count of the treated animal by 90% - anything less means you’re building immunity. In almost any set of worms, there will be a few that are not affected by the wormer – it doesn’t matter how much you pump through, those worms are gonna stay alive. Wormer is designed to get rid of the other 90%. But if you kill all the worms that are not immune to the wormer (thereby eliminating the "refugia") then, as the parasite population rebuilds, it will be built only on the genetics of the parasites that survived because they were immune.

This is where things get tricky. In order to prevent the worm population from becoming immune to the wormer, you must allow the worms that can be killed to mate with the ones that cannot be killed. By doing this, you allow the genetics from the immune worms to be “corrupted” by the non-immune parasites. But if you worm the entire herd every month, the worm population will very quickly dwindle down until the only worms that are left cannot be affected by wormer – they’re immune.

So don’t worm unless you have to – and even then, remember that 80% of your worms come from 20% of your herd. If you worm the bottom 20%, it will do almost as much to cut back on the parasites as worming every animal on the place – but you’re less likely to build immunity.

Healthy Worming - Quick Tips

While worming your goats can be a good thing, don't over-do it. If you worm your entire herd on regular intervals, you may be developing wormer resistance. It is better to only worm goats that do not pass the Famacha eye score. Remember, 80% of your worms come from 20% of your goats!

Keeping Goat Kids Healthy - Quick Tips

Your goat kids are finally here; they look great, but they may be in danger. Coccidia is a parasite that is probably in their systems already - preparing to strike. We suggest feeding minerals that contain Rumensin for a couple of months before weaning to prevent the little ones in your herd from getting infected!

Checking for Parasites - Quick Tips

If your goats are going to start kidding in a couple months, you may want to do a Famacha eye score to check for parasites. The does may be getting run-down from carrying the babies. This can make them more susceptible to hosting worms and other parasites. In our experience, we've found it's better to worm at least a month before they kid.

Where to Tag a Goat's Ear: Here Come the Kids!

Well, it's that time of year again - babies will be hitting the ground pretty soon, and that means lots of little ears to tag. I know I've given a lot of advice for Kidding Season in the past, but the other day I was thinking back to when we started raising goats (I can't believe it's been over a decade!). I still cringe at some of the silly mistakes we used to make while tagging, but I hope this blog will help you avoid our mistakes.

Tagging kids doesn't seem like it should be that hard. All you do is grab the kid and pinch their ear with the applicator - but if you do it wrong, you'll be kicking yourself for as long as you own the animal. If the tag is too low, it will rip out. If it's too high, it may be hard to see (or even worse, it could damage the ear). So where's the best place to tag a goat's ear?

 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd better use one. As you can see, the tags in this little goat's ears as just about dead center both top to bottom and left to right. In my opinion, this is usually a pretty good way to do it - but it depends on the circumstances. Like people, not all goats are exactly the same.

Some may have big veins running down the center of their ears. If you can miss them, you always want to avoid veins. Not only does it decrease the chance of infection, it also just hurts less when you poke the hole (it seems like the areas without veins have less nerves).

Others goats may have ears that are very thin and prone to ripping. You may want to take this into account by tagging a little bit higher. But don't tag too high - it gets easier to hit a vein the higher you go.

Another problem we've had with goats with short "airplane ears". The little boogers have ears that stick straight out like an airplane. It makes them very cute, but when they get older and the tags are no longer heavy enough to bend their ears down, it makes them hard to read at a distance. With goats like these, you may want to tag a little lower - but not too low, otherwise it might tear out.

Now it may not seem like it could be that hard to get the tag in the center of the ear, but goat kids learn quick. Especially if you're using a system that puts a tag in both ears, you may get off easy with the first tag, but the baby will be ready as you grab their other ear and prepare to "bite" it. Baby goats are very good at shaking their head right before you tag them. The best solution is to grab a second person to help you - that way they can hold the baby's head still. Just ask your helper if they want to come hold some baby goats this afternoon - they'll be dying to come along!

How to Tell if a Goat is Sick

When looking out at your herd, it can be hard to tell whether or not the animals are healthy or not. Sometimes it's obvious, like when they just lay on the ground without moving, but often times, they display symptoms that are less apparent. So here are a few identifying characteristics of goats that are not feeling their best so you'll be able to quickly scan your herd for animals that need some attention.

It may sound kinda funny, but when goats aren't feeling well, they are more prone to having a bad hair day. When they get run down, their coats get scruffy and unkempt. This is often accompanied by a tucked tail, stiff joints, and a low hanging head. These symptoms can be caused by many different issues like worms, extended cold weather, common colds, or bullying from the other goats. You will often find goats that are suffering from these issues lag at the back of the herd.

Once you identify these animals, you may want to catch them to do a Famacha Eye Score and Body Condition Score. If you find them to be wormy, be sure to make a record - that way if they continue to get run down, you can take them the sale barn and get them off your ranch!

Castrating Bucklings - A Good Idea?

For most goat ranchers, one of the yearly rituals at the end of kidding season is to round most or all of the bucklings up and take them to the sale barn. If you don't do something with them, they will breed their little sisters. But the sale isn't the only option. Some ranchers keep the bucklings in a separate pen for a couple months to let them grow. Then, when they take them to the sale, the prices can be much higher - meaning more profit. But what if there isn't enough room for an extra pen? Many people suggest castration.

The idea behind castration is that you can keep the bucklings with the rest of the herd during the 60 to 90 day growth period. This way they cannot breed their little sisters - but this way you don't need a separate pen. Since most of the bucklings sold at the sale are used for slaughter, it doesn't matter whether or not they are intact. But, for some people, this concept has a few flaws.

For starters, the only economical methods of castration are not as safe or effective as you might like. Most ranchers use the banding method. But it can have some major drawbacks. If both testicles are not completely trapped by the band, you can have a "wether" with just enough manhood to really mess things up. While this is not very likely, it only takes one. Infection is another issue that the banding method faces. It doesn't take very many dead goats to destroy your increased profit.

But these are not the only concerns. As many ranchers are aware, much of the meat goat market is driven by ethnic ceremonies. In these ceremonies, many groups prefer to have intact bucks - not wethers. By wethering the bucklings, the potential market for the animals decreases.

All this considered, castration is still not a bad idea. For many people the advantages outweigh the risks. Besides, many of these negatives are also region specific. Certain ethnic groups are more concentrated in various parts of the country; so depending on where you live, wethering may not be an issue. Infection is also much more likely in warmer climates.

But as I often mention, part of the fun in goat ranching is trying new strategies to see if they will work for you. So don't be afraid to experiment. You might even try wethering half of your bucklings and leaving the other half intact. Then by comparing the sale prices you can quickly tell whether or not you want to castrate again next year.

Goat Veterinarians

Occasionally we get calls from exasperated first time goat ranchers who are looking for help finding a 'Goat Veterinarian.' Starting off in agriculture, you wouldn't really think about it - but most vets don't treat goats (or horses, or sheep, or cows etc.). Since most animals that go the vet on a regular basis are either dogs or cats, a lot more DVM's are only interested in 'domestic' species. So where do you go when your animals really need some professional attention?

Well depending on how dire your straits are, most times an experienced fellow livestock owner can tell you just about anything you need to know about general maintenance and care (for questions about feeding, worming, grooming etc.). Otherwise, it's probably best to locate and contact a veterinarian whose practice is focused on commercial livestock. A lot of times they can be kind of hard to find - so don't be afraid to ask around! (and remember, you want to know who to call before you need to call them) So look around. Go to the local feed store. Just don't wait until it's an emergency!