12107_GJGuideToKeepingGoats

What’s INSIDE

The Basics

How

32 Elder Goat Care

How to care for goats into their senior years.

Feed-Housing

36 Harmonious Housing House goats with a minimum of conflict and stress.

38 How Many Goats per Acre? Find out how to estimate how much land you need for your herd.

41 How Much Space Do Goats Need? How much space do goats need to avoid aggression?

44 Forages That Help, Forages That Harm Pasture management is an ongoing process. Make the most of nutrients accessible to your herd.

48 Poisonous Plants: Avoiding Dastardly Disasters

What NOT to feed your goats.

50 Listeriosis in Goats

Understanding the dangers of feeding moldy hay.

Behavior

52 How to Deal with Aggressive Bucks

It’s important to head off behavior issues before they happen.

55 Why Does My Goat Paw At Me?

Understanding caprine body language.

58 Training Fundamentals

Use positive reinforcement techniques to make life more fun and harmonious for goats and humans.

Breeding

62 Doe Breeding Soundness

To help ensure healthy kids, have your does in optimum condition.

64 Buck Breeding Soundness

Are you getting a bang for your buck?

66 Breeding Crash Course

If this is your first time breeding goats, a little preparation goes a long way.

Pregnancy

68 Pregnant Doe Care

What to do during all stages of goat gestation.

71 The Doe Code Is your goat in labor? Nope, just kidding!

74 Preparing for Kidding

A primer to help prepare yourself for kidding season.

Kidding

76 The Kidding Kit

What to include in a goat birthing kit.

80 Good Mama vs Bad Mama

Is your mother goat rejecting her kid?

82 The What & Why of Colostrum

If you’ve had a sick goat kid, then you’ve likely had your vet ask you about colostrum consumption.

Milking

84 Comparing Milk from Different Breeds

There’s certain to be a dairy goat breed that can meet your needs.

87 How to Milk a Goat

Is milking by hand destroying your goat’s udder?

89 How to Increase Milk Production

How to manage and what to feed goats to increase milk production.

Jobs

92 Finding Purpose

The best way to save a rare breed from extinction is to find a purpose for it.

95 What to Do with All Those Extra Goats

Try clearing brush, pack goats, or pulling carts.

78 Premature & Other Emergencies

A premature kid needs immediate intervention and special care.

WHAT TO KNOW

Before You Buy a Goat

Owning a goat should be a positive experience.

By Theresa Miller

WHETHER YOU’RE considering goat ownership or adding to your herd, consider some things before you buy a goat. Extra care in the beginning can save expense and heartache later.

I spoke with Gloria Montero of Montero Goat Farms. Gloria has been around goats since infancy, when her father bought milk goats because she couldn’t drink other types of milk. She currently raises South African Boers, LaManchas, and Saanen/Alpine crosses. She sells goat meat to stores in Reno, Nevada, and individuals in neighboring Fallon, as well as project animals for both independent and youth programs.

Gloria is the program director for Nevada Goat Producers Association and often receives emails and calls from people who bought goats and didn’t get what they wanted. Often, sellers told buyers that the animal was papered, registered, and came from champion stock but that was found to be untrue.

“If you’re buying stock for the first time or the hundredth time, it’s essential to do your homework. Up-to-date

research will enable you to find reputable sources. Take your time and shop around. Learn what questions to ask. Never become impatient and buy on a whim. When looking at registered stock, the producer should be able to show you papers on the animal and the animal’s dame and sire. Registered papers on a goat is comparable to a title for a car.”

Gloria asserts, “No matter what a seller may tell you, if they can’t display the appropriate papers, then you best walk away.”

Determine Your Goal

“What is your reason for owning a goat?” Gloria asks.

If you want it to eat weeds, be aware that goats don’t eat all weeds. You must provide something with nutritional value; contrary to popular opinion, goats are not garbage disposals. If you want it for packing, be able to devote the time it takes to training a pack goat. Some breeds are better for milk production, and some are better for meat. Deciding why you want the goat helps you know what questions to ask.

Buy a Goat from a Reputable Breeder

Before you buy a goat, go to the farm and look around. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There’s a big difference between a breeder and a dealer.

Gloria uses the term “goat dealer” for people who pick up goats then resell them within five to six days. Unscrupulous dealers take advantage of “buyer’s frenzy” and tell you anything just to make a quick sale. The most common trick to create buyer frenzy is creating a sense of urgency. If someone pushes you to make a decision on the spot, walk away. There will always be another goat.

Ask for Proof

Don’t take a seller’s word that their goats are disease-free. Ask to see test results. Don’t be shy about it. The three most important goat diseases to test for are CL (caseous lymphadenitis), CAE (caprine arthritis encephalitis), and Johne’s disease (paratuberculosis).

CL in goats is highly contagious. Once the goat becomes infected, they

SHUTTERSTOCK/ NATALIYA HORA; SHUTTERSTOCK/ YURII MASLAK

have repeated abscesses for life. Internal abscesses can cause chronic weight loss, exercise intolerance, difficult breathing, chronic cough, or sudden death.

What is CAE? This viral disease lives in the goat’s white blood cells. It can cause arthritis, encephalitis, pneumonia, mastitis, and chronic wasting. It spreads mainly through the mother’s colostrum, although it can be spread through bodily secretions or reuse of needles. There’s no cure for CAE.

Johne’s (pronounced YOH-nez) is a wasting disease that can spread through feces. After a goat becomes infected, it can be years before it shows symptoms. Unfortunately, the test is not 100% accurate. Only about 50–88% of infected animals will test positive. If a seller doesn’t know tests are available or says they haven’t tested, ask to test before you buy. You can negotiate who will pay for the test. It’s more common for the seller to pay, but it’s cheaper for you to pay for the test than to take home a sick animal.

Be Careful about Claims of Vaccination for CL

There are two types of vaccination for CL. One is available over the counter and administered by the goat owner. The other is made by a veterinarian who opens an abscess, takes the pus, and creates a vaccine for that specific herd. Both vaccinations need to be administered every year. You have no idea how often the seller actually administered the over-thecounter vaccination.

Once a goat has been vaccinated for CL once, it will test positive for the rest of its life, so someone could pay a veterinarian to administer the overthe-counter vaccination just to create that proof. If this is the case, talk to the vet to make sure.

Check With Your Local Vet before Owning a Goat

Many U.S. veterinarians don’t have much education or experience with caring for goats. If your local vet doesn’t understand goat illnesses or

know about these tests, you’ll have to do it yourself. Nevada Goat Producers Association supplies syringes and vials and will come out and show you what to do.

“You draw the blood, send it to the lab, and the lab will send the test back saying positive or negative,” Gloria says. If you think you’ll be okay doing this yourself, check in your area for similar organizations to help you.

Research Before You Buy Know what

you’re getting into before you buy a goat. Taking the extra time avoids buyer’s frenzy and unscrupulous people who push people to buy without thinking. The Nevada Goat Producers website has good information. If you have questions not covered in their links, their board members are willing to accept calls and answer questions. They do this for free, so please be respectful of their time.

Conclusion

If you start with good, healthy, clean animals, you can avoid the heartbreak

of having to get rid of an animal you have grown to love.

“I’ve seen it happen with FFA, 4-H, and Grange kids. They go out and buy an animal, and they spend a lot of time with their project animal. Then, they come to find out it has arthritis and is only going to live six years and they have to watch it suffer,” says Gloria. “If you want this animal for production, if you really want a good production, start with healthy.”

She adds, “Just because it says it’s cheap or free do you know what cheap or free means? That means you’re going to spend a lot of money real soon for some reason. Because you didn’t want to spend a little bit extra on a clean-tested herd, now you’re going to spend even more on a sick animal.”

Don’t let shysters talk you into buyer’s frenzy. Doing your homework before you buy a goat can save you heartache in the long run.

Originally published in the July/ August 2018 issue of Goat Journal

Finding the Right Goat Mentors

By Janet Garman

HAVING A GOAT mentor can be a lifesaver for you and your herd as you begin raising goats. Getting timely answers and comparing notes with another goat keeper is a great learning method. But how do you know who to go to with your questions and concerns? What’s the most time-sensitive approach in a goat emergency, and what should you do?

Let’s assume you’ve done a fair amount of research before bringing home the new goats. At the very least, you have a purpose in mind for the new arrivals. Are you keeping goats for dairy, fiber, to sell kids, as a meat source, or as pets? Will you be breeding your does? The answers to these questions will help you narrow

down who to approach for mentorship. You’ll want to talk with a goat mentor who’s doing or has done what you’re attempting with your goats. You can find answers regarding health, property, kidding issues, and milk production through veterinary teaching universities, your local livestock or farm vet, and the county agriculture extension agents. While these people may not turn out to be the personal goat mentor you were hoping to find, they’re good resources for questions and concerns as you navigate the new goat world.

Local Goat Mentors

The person who sold you the goats should be a good source of information

and assistance. When we first began to keep goats, I was very happy with how the breeder made herself available for my questions. Other goat keepers, previous goat keepers, 4-H clubs, and local breed organizations can all be a source of information. Reaching out to local organizations is also a great way to get your name out if you hope to make some farm income from your goat herd. Attending local and state fairs, breed shows, and agricultural forums may lead you to a goat mentor. Keep in mind that you’re looking for someone who will take your phone calls or receive text messages. Being respectful of your mentor’s time is important. Most people want to be helpful and encouraging but are

Having a goat mentor can be a lifesaver for you and your herd.

Trimming Goat Hooves for Overall Health

Hoof care helps prevent hoof rot in ruminants.

By Janet Garman

TRIMMING GOAT HOOVES is essential to good health. The hoof needs regular maintenance to promote a healthy life for your goat. Overgrown hooves can hide diseased tissue and lead to a slow, painful decline in the goat’s overall condition.

When you’re looking at the foot from the top view, you see two separate toes, or cloves, of the hoof. Each clove acts as an independent hoof! Both halves of the full goat hoof have the same parts. Hopefully, you also see clean, hard hoof material. Picking up the hoof allows us a view of the interesting underside. A healthy, welltrimmed hoof clearly shows the various layers.

The hard outer layer is made of a keratin material, much like our fingernails, but tougher and thicker. Adhering to the outer hoof is a rim of lighter-colored growth material. This is

called the hoof wall and is the underside of the outer hoof. Growth results in a ragged hoof, flaps of overgrown hoof tissue, and lengthening toes. The central portion is the sole (or frog) of the hoof. In a healthy hoof, this will need little to no attention. I brush off any mud that has adhered to it, mainly so I can make sure there are no abrasions or inflammation present. This is softer tissue and can suffer bruising, cuts, rotting, or fungal infections. Other parts of the hoof are referred to as the toe, heel, bulb, and coronet, which is the band of the hoof at the end of the ankle. There shouldn’t be any separation between the hoof wall and the frog portion. Dirt, mud, feces, and anything imaginable can get caught between the two cloves, and hair will also grow between the cloves. An oil gland is located between the two halves, at the end of the ankle/beginning of the hoof. This oil gland can get clogged, so it’s good to check for it occasionally.

TOOLS FOR TRIMMING GOAT HOOVES

• Hoof trimmers.

• Goat stand. This isn’t mandatory, but it will make the job easier on your back.

• Goat halter for moving the goat to the stand.

• Hoof pick and brush.

• Rag or old towel for wiping mud off the hoof.

• Purchased products corn starch for blood stop, zinc oxide or copper sulfate foot solution for foot rot.

The flaps under the hoof provide a hiding place for moisture, mud, manure, bacteria, small pebbles, and bits of food. All this can lead to diseased hooves. In addition, it puts unusual pressure on the joints, particularly the joints in the pastern area of the lower leg, and knee.

Poisonous Poisonous plants for goats

ALKALOIDS

A class of nitrogenous organic plant compounds with pronounced physiological actions, often speeding up the heart and turning off the parasympathetic nervous system to the point of death.

• Aconite

• Allspice

• Black Snake Root

• Bloodroot

• Blue Cohosh

• Boxwood

• Celandine

• Common Poppy

• Crotalaria

• Crow Poison

• Datura (Jimsonweed)

• Death Camas

• Dicentra

• False Hellebore

• False Jessamine

• Fume Wort

• Hellebore

• Hemp

• Horse Nettle

• Indian Hemp

• Indian Poke

• Larkspur (Delphinium)

• Lobelia

• Lupines (Bluebonnets)

• Marjiuana

• Monkshood

• Moonseed

• Narcissus (Daffodil, Jonquil)

• Nightshades

• Posion Darnel

• Poison Hemlock

• Poison Rye Grass

• Rattleweed

• Rock Poppy

• Senecio

• Spider Lily

• Spotted Cowbane

• Spotted Water Hemlock

• Stagger Grass

• Staggerweed

• Sweet Shrub

• Thorn Apple

• Varebells

• Wild Parsnip

• Wolfs-Bane

• Yellow Jessamine

Foliage from tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos, and potatoes, in addition to green potato skins, can cause alkaloid poisoning if ingested in large amounts.

Do you have poisonous plants for goats on your property? Check this list then consult your local veterinarian, county extension office and your state or local jurisdiction veterinary college can give you a list of additional problem plants often found in your area.

Enterotoxemia can occur even with the healthiest foods, if fed to goats that aren’t used to them. This imbalance upsets the goat’s rumen, which allows growth of bacteria Clostridium perfringens types C and D.

CYANOGENICS

Produces hydrogen cyanide, which can cause chronic or acute cyanide poisoning in animals and humans.

• Arrow Grass

• Black Locust

• Blue Cohosh

• Broomcarn

• Buckeye

• Cherry

• Choke Cherry

• Corn Cockle

• Dogbane

• Elderberry

• Hemp

• Horse Nettle

• Indian Hemp

• Ivy

• Johnson Grass

• Kafir

• Laurel

• Leucothoe

• Lily of the Valley

• Maleberry

• Marijuana

• Milkweed

• Milo

• Nightshade

• Oleander

• Rhododendron (Azalea)

• Sevenbark

• Silver

• Sneezewood

• Sorghum

• Stagger Brush

• Sudan Grass

• Velvet Grass

• White Snakeroot

• Wild Black Cherry

• Wild Hydrangea

Though foliage from prunus trees (apricot, cherry, peach, plum) may not harm goats while leaves are fresh or dried, they have higher cyanide content while in wilt.

OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS

Bracken or Brake ferns contain an accumulative toxin which can cause severe anemia from hemorrhaging. It is also a carcinogen and can cause thiamine deficiency, leading to goat polio.

Maple leaves, when dried or wilted, can cause hemolytic anemia. Red maples are most toxic and tend to drop more leaves, which goats readily ingest.

Mold, though not a plant, can cause deadly listeriosis. Do not feed moldy hay or grass/ landscape clippings that have been allowed to sit even a short time.

Mushrooms, especially toxic varieties, may be mixed with lawn clippings or prevalent in wooded areas.

Oak, including leaves, blossoms, and acorns, contain tannins. Red, black, and yellow oak are especially dangerous. Allowing fallen leaves to remain in livestock water can cause toxin accumulation. High tannin content can cause liver and kidney damage that can lead to death.

Ponderosa Pine can cause abortions in pregnant goats, though other pine trees, firs, and spruces are fine if introduced gradually.

Rhubarb leaves contain high quantities of oxalic acid, which can damage kidneys.

Yew, a coniferous tree common in landscaping, is deadly and can stop a heart in seconds. Be watchful for these at livestock exhibitions, as they can be used in displays and near barns.

Sources: by Katherine Drovdahl, MH, CR, CA, CEIT, DipHIr, QTP and http://poisonousplants. ansci.cornell.edu/goatlist.html