Meat Goat Blog

Hornless Goats are Hard to Handle - Quick Tips

If you're trying to decide whether to purchase horned or polled goats, consider this: goat horns make great handles. When you're trying to move a hornless goat, there's not much to hold onto. Although this means the goat won't get stuck in the fence, it also means that you'll need to wrestle with the goat anytime you want to work it.

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.

When to Breed Goats - Quick Tips

If you haven't already started, breeding season is nearly here! But, maybe you'd like to try a different breeding date this year. Although I'm certainly no expert, we have sometimes found that breeding just after the weather cools yields more twins and triplets than breeding in the extreme heat or bitter cold. You might want to consider the best time to breed your goats.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Build Gates in the Corners - Quick Tips

I was looking at Zareba System's Expert Electric Fence Tips the other day and was reminded of some easy advice that took us a surprisingly long time to figure out on our ranch. When you build a goat pen, put the gate in the corner. It's a lot easier to herd the goats when you can pressure them against the intersecting fence lines!

Guardian Pups Chase Kids - Quick Tips

If you get a new livestock guardian pup around kidding season, be careful to tag the kids when the pup isn't looking. Puppies like to play - no matter their breed. If they see you chasing the baby goats to put tags in their ears, they will likely start to help. Well intentioned as the pup may be, baby goats make expensive play toys!