General Goat Herd Management

1. General Goat Herd Management Dr. tatiana Luisa StantonGoat & Sheep Extension AssociateCornell University

2. What are goats used for?

3. Other uses?

4. Human Nutrition

5. Good management depends on: • Matching your care to the animal’s special needs • Suitable facilities • Good observation and record keeping

6. Matching your care to the goat’s needs - • What phase in production are your goats? • How much are they producing?

7. Production Phase • Birth • Weaning • Weaning to breeding (growth) • Pre-breeding • Breeding • Early gestation • Late gestation • Kidding • Lactation

8. Birth to weaning • BoSe injections • Check for extra teats • Disbud between 3–14 days • CAE prevention program • Feed program depends on the purpose kid is for – dairy replacement? Easter kid? • Give first Clostridium CD&T booster at 3-4 wks of age and repeat 4 wks later

11. Weaning • Consider age and weight (often recommend at least 30 lbs or at least 10 weeks old) • Prior to weaning or at weaning, treat kid for coccidia • Make sure kid is readily eating hay and some creep feed prior to weaning • Drying off doe – eliminate grain and put on a low quality hay or pasture and consider dry treating

12. The growing weaned kid • An important time to develop rumen capacity and good eating habits, plan on about 4% dry matter intake • Provide lots of exercise and a ration relatively high in protein and calcium • Trim feet periodically • Monitor eye membranes regularly • Grain as needed depending on when you are hoping to breed her, weight you want to slaughter at, etc

13. Monitoring eye membranes

14. Prior to breeding • Doeling should be a minimum of 7 months old and 70 lbs – What are some considerations? • If you plan on giving a BoSe or MuSe shot give it prior to breeding • Flush does with lush pasture or small amount of extra grain about 2 to 3 weeks prior to breeding • Keep bucks away so that when you suddenly introduce them you will get a “buck effect”

15. Early pregnancy • Push young does who were smaller than you would have wished for at breeding • Mature does will have relatively low nutritional requirements if they are not lactating • Dairy does will need to be fed enough energy and protein that their production remains persistent without letting them get obese

16. Last third of pregnancy • Fetus is starting to grow rapidly • Increase the plain of nutrition for your does. Plan on about 4-5% dry matter intake. If it is less make sure you are providing sufficient feed quality • Increase energy content of feed and observe does for decreased appetite and possible ketosis – may need to separate out some does for extra feeding • Vaccinate does for Clostridium perfringens C&D and tetanus • Worm does if indicated

17. Subcutaneous Vaccination

18. Early lactation • Doe’s intake will need to be about 5-7% of her body weight • Provide a very palatable feed diet high in protein and calcium • Energy level will vary according to what her feed intake and milk production are • Make sure doe consumes sufficient fiber – ideally at least 60% of her diet should still be roughage • Generally we worm meat does at kidding

20. How much are they producing? • Are you raising kids as slaughter kids for Easter? Or as dairy replacement kids? • Is your meat doe raising triplets or just one big single? • How much is your dairy doe producing?

21. Housing

22. Good ventilation yet protected from the elements

23. High ceilings, wind resistant screening, fans

24. Good drainage

25. Easy to clean

27. Kidding in cold weather - smothering

28. Barns with good ventilation and no drafts

29. Kid Housing – minimal exposure to feces

30. Mangers • That your goat can’t go to the bathroom in

31. That are protected from the rain

32. That have enough room for all your animals to eat easily

33. That are “choke-proof”

34. That allow you to feed from outside the pen

35. That are the right dimensions – • Sometimes it pays to keep things temporary until you are sure they work right!

36. Making adjustments to your dairy barn

39. Hay Mangers

41. It pays to have a round bale feeder

43. Salt

45. Water

46. Forage • Invest in good quality forage – particularly for does in late pregnancy and at the beginning and peak of lactation • Good quality forage is also very important for kids depending on the quality of their creep feed • Goats are selective eaters • Goats have a rapid rate of passage of food through their rumens • Goats have a higher feed intake than most other livestock species

47. Hay • Beware of older hay or damaged hay that has lost much of its vitamin content • Keep in mind that a legume hay like alfalfa will better meet the calcium needs of a lactating doe or growing kid than a grass hay

48. Baleage and Silage • Goats are very susceptible to listeria

50. Pasturing Goats • Goats learn their eating habits from the herd • Goats can eat a wide variety of plants from trees to conventional grasses and tend to be very versatile eaters • Goats can not utilize mature hi-fiber grasses well • Goats are very susceptible to internal parasites • Few goats will naturally paw through snow to get grasses