Raising Goats For Dummies E-Book

Cheryl K. Smith

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 616

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

No buts: discover the addictive joy of raising goats

Goats are amazing, multi-talented creatures that have been domesticated for over 10,000 years. As well as being a source of food, clothes, and milk, they're wonderful companions: cute, intelligent, and playful—and often as friendly and attentive as dogs. In addition, they make endearing noises and—according to ancient Ethiopian legend—discovered coffee. So what's holding you back? The new edition of Raising Goats For Dummies rebuts all your excuses, and shows you why having one—or, actually, a few—of these companionable ruminants (cud-chewing animals) in your life will bring you great joy, and, if you choose, unbeatable homemade milk and cheese—and possibly a cozy new sweater.

A happy goat aficionado since 1998, Cheryl K. Smith takes you from the grassroots of raising your goat—choosing and buying the breed you want, building and maintaining goat-friendly housing—to more elevated terrain, including how to build your own milk stand, participate in online goat shows (it’s a thing!), and even monetize your goat. You'll also learn the fundamentals of proper care to make sure your goats are fed, kept healthy, and bred in ways that ensure they have the happiest life you can provide.

• Study the history and breeds of goat, like the Nigerian Dwarf or Pygmy
• Live sustainably from and even profit from your goat
• Identify and alleviate common ailments
• Have fun raising the kids!

Whether you're researching buying a goat or learning on the hoof about the ones you have, this book has everything you need to see why getting your goat will bring years and years of joy.

Leseprobe

Raising Goats For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021930797

ISBN 978-1-119-77258-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-77259-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-77260-6 (ebk)

Raising Goats For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Raising Goats For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Beyond the Book

Icons Used in the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with Goats

Chapter 1: Discovering the Joys of Raising Goats

Finding Goat Basics

Identifying the Benefits of Owning Goats

Determining Whether Goats Are for You

Chapter 2: Glimpsing Vital Goat Statistics

Doe, a Goat, a Female Goat

Taking a Look at Goat Anatomy

Signs of a Healthy Goat

Using a Goat Scorecard to Evaluate a Goat

Chapter 3: Knowing Your Capra Aegagrus Hircus (Goat, That Is)

Looking into Dairy Goats

Discovering Meat Goats

Investigating Fiber Goats

Chapter 4: Getting Your Property Ready for a Goat

Figuring Out How Many Goats You Can Support

Making Sure Fencing Is Adequate

Protecting Your Plants

Protecting Your Herd

Building a Milk Stand

Part 2: Bringing Your Goats Home

Chapter 5: Home Sweet Homestead: Sheltering Your Goats

Outlining Shelter Types

Providing a Safe, Cozy Place for Goats to Bunk

Creating an Outdoor Shelter

Keeping Your Goats and Their Living Space Clean

Chapter 6: Dinner Time: What and How to Feed Your Goats

Goats Don’t Eat Tin Cans: What and How to Feed

Using Body-Condition Scoring to Fine-Tune Feeding

Feeding for Special Cases

Getting the Basic Supplies

Building a Simple Hay Feeder

Building a Mineral Block Holder

Providing Supplemental Feeding Options

Creating a Hedgerow

Supplementing with Fodder

Chapter 7: Getting Your Goats: Choosing, Buying, and Bringing Goats Home

Choosing the Right Goats for Your Needs

Finding Sources for Goats

Making Sure You Get a Healthy Goat

Protecting Yourself with a Contract

Bringing Your Goats Home

Chapter 8: Working with Your Goats

Identifying Normal Goat Behavior

Conducting Basic Training with Your Goats

Moving Up to Advanced Goat Training

Supervising Your Herd

Maintaining Physical Fitness

Entertaining with Your Goats

Chapter 9: Handling Routine Care and Important One-Time Tasks

Grooming Your Goats

Caring for Hooves

Dealing with Horns

Castrating Your Bucks

Identifying Your Goats: Microchipping and Tattooing

Part 3: Managing Goat Health and Breeding

Chapter 10: Outlining Basic Health-Care Requirements

Recognizing Signs of Illness

Working with a Veterinarian

Building a First-Aid Kit

The Straight Poop: Fecal Analysis

Giving Injections

Considering Vaccinations

Keeping Health Records

Testing to Avoid Problems

Knowing the Law Regarding Drugs in Food Animals

Chapter 11: Addressing Common Health Problems and Ailments

Managing the Creepy-Crawlies

Acquainting Yourself with Goat Viruses and Infections

Examining Feed-Related Problems

Chapter 12: Breeding and Looking After Pregnant Goats

Preparing for Breeding

Running through Goat Mating Habits: Courting Is Crucial!

Finding Breeding Solutions When You Have Only Does

Looking into the Finer Points of Goat Pregnancy

Getting Ready for Kidding

Chapter 13: Now Comes the Fun Part: Kids!

Grasping the Basics of Kidding

Taking Care of Mother and Kids after Kidding

Feeding the Kids

Chapter 14: Caring for Aged Goats

Identifying Health Problems

Making Allowances for Disability

Determining When to Let Go

Part 4: Making Your Goats Work for You

Chapter 15: Discovering Goat Milk: How to Get, Use, and Sell It

Developing a Milking Routine

Getting a Grip on Hand-Milking

Using a Motorized Milking Machine

Handling Milk to Keep It Clean and Fresh

Staying Legal while Selling Milk

Chapter 16: Goat Meat: From Breeding to Selling and Beyond

Getting the Basics of Raising Goats for Meat

Selling Your Products

Slaughtering Goats

Using All of the Goat

Chapter 17: Showing Your Goats

Finding Shows

Preparing to Show Your Goat

Showing Your Goat in Person

Showing Your Goat Virtually

Chapter 18: More Benefits of Goats: Fiber, Breeding, Weed Control, and More

Harvesting and Selling Fiber

Creating Mini Breeds

Backpacking with Goats

Offering Buck Service

Boarding Other People’s Goats

Selling Compost

Hiring Out for Weed Control

Providing “Goat Therapy”

Part 5: The Part of Tens

Chapter 19: Ten Common Mistakes First-Time Goat Owners Make

Getting Too Many Goats Too Fast

Failing to Educate Yourself before Getting Goats

Underestimating the Costs

Paying Too Much or Too Little for Your Goats

Getting Only One Goat

Buying Unhealthy Goats

Neglecting Routine Management and Care

Overlooking Your Goats’ Dietary Needs

Giving the Goats Too Little Attention

Getting a Buck before You’re Ready

Chapter 20: Ten Misconceptions about Goats

Goats Will Eat Anything

Goats Stink

Goats Aren’t Very Smart

Goats Make Good Lawn Mowers

Goat Milk Tastes Bad

Goat Meat Tastes Bad

Goats Get Most of Their Water from Plants

Goats Are Only for People Who Can’t Afford Cows

Only Male Goats Have Beards

A Dog Makes a Good Friend for a Goat

Appendix: Goat-Milk Recipes

Cheeses and Yogurt

Drinks

Entrees and Side Dishes

Desserts

Index

About the Author

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 2

TABLE 2-1 Distinguishing Goats from Sheep

Chapter 9

TABLE 9-1 Comparing Identification Methods

Chapter 10

TABLE 10-1 Dewormers for Specific Parasites

TABLE 10-2 Goat Vaccinations

Chapter 12

TABLE 12-1 Some Infectious Causes of Abortion

Chapter 13

TABLE 13-1 A Sample Goat Feeding Schedule

Chapter 15

TABLE 15-1 Solving Common Milking Problems

Chapter 16

TABLE 16-1 Holidays Popular for Goat Meat

List of Illustrations

Chapter 2

FIGURE 2-1: The parts of a goat’s body.

FIGURE 2-2: The parts of a goat’s digestive system.

FIGURE 2-3: You can tell a goat’s age by his teeth.

Chapter 3

FIGURE 3-1: An Alpine goat.

FIGURE 3-2: A LaMancha goat with gopher ears.

FIGURE 3-3: A Nubian goat.

FIGURE 3-4: Nigerian Dwarf goat.

FIGURE 3-5: An agouti Pygmy goat.

FIGURE 3-6: A South African Boer buck.

FIGURE 3-7: A long-haired Spanish goat, also considered Cashmere.

FIGURE 3-8: An Angora buck.

Chapter 4

FIGURE 4-1: A tree goat-proofed with a wooden enclosure.

FIGURE 4-2: A milk stand.

Chapter 5

FIGURE 5-1: A corner sleeping shelf is easy to build.

FIGURE 5-2: Sleeping shelf frame assembly.

FIGURE 5-3: Old roofing material and pallets can become an outdoor shelter for ...

Chapter 6

FIGURE 6-1: A simple homemade hay feeder.

FIGURE 6-2: You can build a simple mineral block holder.

FIGURE 6-3: A fodder system.

Chapter 8

FIGURE 8-1: A pack goat can carry up to 20 percent of its body weight in a pann...

FIGURE 8-2: Put your goat to work by teaching him to pull a cart.

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9-1: You can buy hoof trimmers from a livestock supply store.

FIGURE 9-2: Bend the leg before you begin clipping a hoof.

FIGURE 9-3: You can sit behind the goat to trim back hooves.

FIGURE 9-4: First trim off any growth on the front walls of the hoof

FIGURE 9-5: Trim the heel a little at a time so it is even with the sole.

FIGURE 9-6: A goat stands on a properly trimmed hoof at about a 45-degree angle...

FIGURE 9-7: A disbudding iron burns the horn bud, causing it to eventually fall...

FIGURE 9-8: Kid ready for disbudding in a kid holding box.

FIGURE 9-9: Hold the kid’s head still while you apply the disbudding iron.

FIGURE 9-10: When you are finished disbudding, you see a copper-colored ring.

FIGURE 9-11: Horns that regrow after disbudding are called scurs.

FIGURE 9-12: An elastrator is the most common tool for castrating.

FIGURE 9-13: You use the Burdizzo to castrate a goat by crushing the spermatic ...

Chapter 10

FIGURE 10-1: Injection sites.

FIGURE 10-2: Feeling the vein and inserting the needle.

Chapter 11

FIGURE 11-1: The head of a biting louse (left) is smaller than that of a suckin...

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12-1: Check the ligaments on a goat to tell whether she is going to kid.

Chapter 13

FIGURE 13-1: A doe may lie down to deliver her kid.

FIGURE 13-2: In a normal birth presentation, the goat is positioned head first,...

FIGURE 13-3: The kid’s back feet are positioned first in a breech birth present...

FIGURE 13-4: Keep a kid’s head up when you tube-feed it.

Chapter 15

FIGURE 15-1: Wrap your thumb and forefinger around the teat to trap the milk an...

FIGURE 15-2: A Simple Pulse machine works well if you don’t have a large number...

Chapter 17

FIGURE 17-1: Setting up a goat.

Chapter 18

FIGURE 18-1: Shearing a goat.

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Goat-Milk Recipes

Index

About the Author

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Introduction

Welcome to Raising Goats For Dummies. Raising goats is a rewarding and challenging adventure. Whether you are new to it or have been raising goats for a few years, you never stop finding out about or being delighted by these intelligent creatures.

I wrote this book to help you get started successfully raising goats and to answer any questions that you have. Whether you’re raising goats for fun, for companionship, or to add value to your farm and your lifestyle, this book gets you on the right track.

About This Book

I took ten years between thinking about getting some goats and actually getting them. I had to get a place where I could keep them and then try to figure out what I wanted and what I was getting into. After I actually became a goat owner, I had to figure out a lot through trial and error.

I needed a book that laid out the basics, gave me tips on what to look for, what to expect, and how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. This book does that. It gives you the basic information you need to make the intelligent decisions required to successfully raise goats and helps you avoid making mistakes that have a negative effect on their lives and yours.

Even if you’ve been raising goats for a few years, this book can help you. You find new ideas on how to keep your goats healthy and happy. And you find out how you can use the goats you have to become more self-sufficient. This book is for anyone who wants to raise goats.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

When writing this book, I made some assumptions about who you, the reader, might be. I assume that you

Are already planning to get some goats or have a few and want to find out more about caring for them

Are interested in the basics of raising goats for milk, meat, fiber, backpacking, or pets

Want to produce some of your own food so you can control the quality and what goes into it

Don’t know much about goat health care and plan to work with a veterinarian when your goats get sick

Want to save money by building some of the structures and supplies your goats need

Beyond the Book

In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for tips on preparing your property for goats, the signs of a sick goat, and the questions to ask before buying a goat. To access the Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and type Raising Goats For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

Icons Used in the Book

Throughout this book, little pictures in the margins draw your attention to special types of information that make your reading experience more helpful. Here’s what you find:

Some information bears repeating, and I highlight it with this icon. Important points that you may turn to again and again appear next to it.

The information you find next to this icon is more detailed than usual. When you see it, feel free to move on. You won’t lose out on main points.

Beside this icon are nuggets of important information that help you to be a better goatkeeper. I use this icon to show you ways to save time or money — or both.

This dangerous-looking icon draws your attention to potential bad outcomes or mistakes that you want to avoid. Pay close attention to them.

Where to Go from Here

Pick a chapter, any chapter. Each one is its own little book. You won’t need to go back to fill in missing pieces from earlier chapters. Looking for information about what to expect from kidding? Turn to Chapter 13. Want to glimpse the details of caring for goats? Chapter 9 has what you need. And if you’re an overachiever or just insatiably curious, by all means turn the page and keep going until you get to the back cover.

I imagine that the more you find out about goats, the more likely you are to fall in love with them. They’re smart, curious, and calming, and they can even help you make some money. So welcome to the world of goats. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help you on your quest.

Part 1

Getting Started with Goats

IN THIS PART …

Discover the benefits of raising goats and decide whether goat keeping is for you.

See what makes a goat a goat.

Discover the pros and cons of different breeds and figure out which breed is right for you.

Ensure that your goats have a happy, healthy life by getting your property goat-ready.

Chapter 1

Discovering the Joys of Raising Goats

IN THIS CHAPTER

Finding out about the many benefits of raising goats

Getting to know these lovable animals

Deciding whether goat keeping is for you

I’ve been raising goats since 1998, and I’m still not tired of them. In fact, I can’t imagine my life without them. Talk to any other serious goat keepers and you hear that after they get “in your blood” you have to have at least a couple.

When you get a sense of goats’ many uses and get to know their unique qualities, goats will get in your blood, too. Goats are more than livestock, they’re friends and helpmates, and they’re entertaining as heck.

In fact, the popularity of goats, especially dairy goats, has grown in the United States in the past decade. That doesn’t mean that the same people now have bigger herds. In fact, the average size of a goat herd went from a little over 29 heads in 2009 to almost 20 heads in 2019. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Goat Study, small herds of 5 to 19 goats are not just pets; more than half of all dairy and meat goat farms and ranches have small herds. Dairy goats are becoming even more popular, increasing 57 percent in just ten years, but almost one-quarter of goat owners surveyed said they own their goats for more than one reason, such as milk, brush clearing, packing, or as pets.

Goats have been called the poor man’s cow but a better name for them would be the “green” cow. They take up less space, cost less to feed, and even contribute less to global warming because they don’t emit as much methane gas. On top of all that, they’re smart, friendly, and easy to manage with the proper setup. This chapter introduces you to the benefits of raising goats and lets you know what you can expect from the experience.

Finding Goat Basics

Goats are intelligent and friendly animals. They come in all sizes (but only one shape) and can help you in numerous ways. After you decide what you want to accomplish with them, you have a lot of breeds to choose from. (Most goat owners have their favorite, which they can talk about endlessly.) Check out Chapter 3 for a rundown of goat breeds.

Goats are unique animals within the ruminant classification. Ruminants are also known as “cud-chewing” animals, or as having four stomachs. You can find out more about their digestive systems in Chapter 2, as well as how to tell them from sheep, what makes a healthy goat, and how goats communicate with you and each other.

Being responsible for goats is a serious undertaking. I say “goats” because goats need a herd to be happy, so you shouldn’t get just one goat. You can read more about why you need at least two goats and other ways to keep them happy in Part 2.

THANK GOATS FOR COFFEE

According to legend, goats in the charge of an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi failed to return one evening. When he found them the next morning, they were excited and dancing next to a shrub covered in red berries. He investigated, trying the berries, and discovered that they were responsible for the goats’ excitement. The goats had discovered coffee.

When the goatherd took the berries to the town monastery, the abbot disapproved and threw them into the fire. When he smelled the pleasant odor they gave out as they roasted, he raked them out of the fire, ground them up, and mixed them with water. Coffee’s use as a stimulant drink gradually spread around the world.

Goats still enjoy coffee, and some goat owners use it to stimulate labor and give energy to a doe (female) that is kidding.

These critters can live for ten years or more, so getting goats is like getting a dog — you may be taking care of them for quite a while. Chapter 2 tells you about their life expectancy.

Identifying the Benefits of Owning Goats

Goats are fantastic animals that have been domesticated for more than 10,000 years. You get a lot from a relatively small animal — you can milk them or eat their meat, use their fiber and their skin for making clothing, and even use their dung for fuel (if you are so inclined). In the past, goat hide was made into bags for carrying water and wine and parchment for writing on; it is still used to make drums in some countries.

You may want to raise goats for a variety of reasons. Whatever brings you to goats, you’re guaranteed to find additional benefits to owning these critters after you start working with them.

Becoming more self-sufficient

Goats are not only a great way to become more self-sufficient — they can give you milk to drink and food to eat, and even help you carry your belongings when backpacking — but they teach you in a very direct way where your food comes from and give you an opportunity to affect its quality. If prices go up (and don’t they always?) you are less affected if you’re supplying some of your own food.

And imagine not ever having to cut down blackberries or kudzu again. You can get your friendly goat to do it for you, while growing fiber for hats and sweaters and providing you with milk, meat, and even more goats.

In this section I talk about the many ways goats can contribute and move you toward self-sufficiency.

Cutting your dairy bill

Imagine never having to buy milk or cheese again. If you raise dairy goats you can achieve that goal. Your goats need to have kids to give you milk, and then you can milk them throughout the year for up to five years without rebreeding, if you want. Or you can stagger the kidding each year so that you have a milk supply year-round. (They need a break from milking during the last two months of their pregnancy to put their energy into growing kids.)

You need only a few goats to keep a small family in milk and other dairy products. Just one standard-size dairy goat can give you an average of 6 to 8 pounds (3 to 4 quarts) of milk each day. And, depending on the butterfat content of the milk, you can get up to a pound of cheese for every gallon of milk.

With your own milk supply, you won’t need to worry about additives to the milk you drink or the cheese or yogurt you eat. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow milk, and so it is prized by people who can’t drink cow milk. Depending on the state you live in, you can sell milk to supplement your income or offset the goats’ feed costs.

You find out about raising goats for milk in Chapter 15.

Raising your own meat

Goat meat has always been popular in the developing world, because goats are much more affordable and use fewer resources than animals such as cows. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the demand for goat meat is expected to continue growing.

People who moved to the United States from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa brought their custom of eating goat meat as a regular part of their diet and still want it. And more people who hadn’t eaten goat meat before are willing to try a new, lean source of protein that doesn’t have the taint of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Animals raised in CAFOs often never see the light of day and are unable to exercise or eat grass because they are packed into small areas.

DRINKING MILK ON THE FARM MAY HELP YOU BREATHE EASIER

A number of studies have shown a positive correlation between living on a farm and not having allergies or asthma. One study goes even further, showing a likely benefit of raising goats for their milk.

A 2017 study of farmers and their spouses in the United States looked at correlation between a tendency to develop allergies and exposures to a farming environment (including early childhood farm animal contact and raw milk consumption). The results backed up earlier studies from Europe showing a decreased tendency to develop allergies when in a farming environment. This was especially true in cases where their mothers had performed farm activities while pregnant, as well as when they drank raw milk and were exposed to farm animals before the age of 6.

Goat meat is easily digestible, tasty, and low in fat. If you’re in charge of your own source of meat, you know how the animal was raised and what feed or medications went into the animal.

Meat goat farming provides a great opportunity to start a business or supplement your income. You can raise goats that are bred for meat, or you can use your excess dairy bucks (males) or wethers (bucks that have been castrated) as an alternative to buying meat or to provide income to support your herd. Before you jump into a meat-goat enterprise thinking that you’re going to get rich, you need to investigate a few things:

Check out the market for goat meat in the area of the country where you live.

Contact your extension office for assistance, go to the local livestock auction to see how well and for what price meat goats are selling, and read the local agriculture newspaper or other publications to see what they have to say about raising and marketing meat goats.

Learn about

stocking

(the number of animals you can support without overcrowding or overgrazing), how many goats you can stock on your property, and how that might break down in terms of income.

Determine what kind of meat goats are available and for what price.

Consider slaughter options.

Would you slaughter goats yourself, sell them at auction, have a mobile slaughter provider come out, or transport your goats to a slaughterhouse? Do you have a vehicle to transport goats? Is there a USDA-certified slaughter facility nearby that handles goats? Factors affecting this decision include laws governing slaughter as well as the local market, your capabilities, and financial considerations.

I talk in much more detail about raising goats for meat in Chapter 16.

Growing your own fiber

Some of the finest fiber comes from goats: Angora and Pygora goats produce mohair, cashmere goats produce cashmere, and crosses between the two breeds produce a fiber called cashgora. An adult angora goat can produce an average of 8 to 16 pounds of mohair each year, and a kid can produce 3 to 5 pounds. Cashmere and cashgora-producing goats produce less fiber, but it is also more highly valued.

If you raise fiber goats, you can spin your own yarn and make hats, blankets, sweaters, or other products. You can also sell the fiber to spinners or to companies that make these products, while having the benefit of these friendly creatures.

Check out Chapter 18 to find out about harvesting and using goat fiber.

Harnessing goats’ power as living weed whackers

Goats are well-known for their ability to wipe out weeds. In fact, some people have made businesses out of renting out their goat herds to cities and other municipalities to clean up areas that are overgrown with weeds or blackberry bushes. These leased goats decrease the need to use herbicides, improve the soil’s fertility, decrease the risk of fire, increase the diversity of plants in the area, and control weeds in hard-to-reach areas, such as steep hills.

Because goats are browsers, they can share or alternate a pasture with sheep or cattle, which prefer different plants. Goats eat brush, leaves, and rough plants. They can improve pasture by removing noxious weeds, clear areas to be replanted with trees, and control leafy spurge, knapweed, Himalayan blackberry, giant ragweed, sunflowers, kudzu, and other weeds.

Not every plant is a great snack for a goat. I tell you about plants you need to keep away from your goats in Chapter 4.

Whether your goats are pets, milk producers, meat animals, or serve another purpose, they provide the side benefit of acting as living weed whackers. With some portable fencing or a guardian animal for protection, they range far and wide each day to keep your property free of noxious weeds.

Don’t expect to put them on a lawn and have them mow down the grass, though. “Lawnmower” is the job of sheep, not goats. Goats prefer to eat your rosebushes or lilacs.

CASHMERE GOATS

No specific breed of goat is named cashmere. However, feral goats from Australia and New Zealand and Spanish meat goats from the southwestern United States can be registered with the Cashmere Goat Association, if they meet the standard. Breeders have produced more productive cashmere goats by selectively breeding good producers from these populations. Cashmeres have the added benefit of being good meat goats.

The term cashmere refers to the undercoat or down that is harvested from a variety of goats. Cashmere is harvested and processed mainly in central Asia, especially China. The fiber produced by up to four of these Asian feral goats in a whole year is required to make just one cashmere sweater — which explains why they are so expensive.

Breeding and selling

Unless your goats are just pets or brush eaters, you probably want to breed them. If you have dairy goats, you need to breed them to keep a good supply of milk flowing. And you will need to replace any goats you sell or slaughter.

As a dairy goat owner, I supplement my income from selling milk by selling kids and providing buck service. Buck service means leasing a buck for breeding purposes to another goat owner. Buck service is valuable to goat owners who don’t have the space or don’t want the hassle of keeping a buck or who want to get certain genetics into their herd. I tell you more about buck service, and about breeding in general, in Chapter 12.

Using goats for companions or helpers

Goats make great companions, something that more people discover every day. Miniature goats such as the Nigerian Dwarf, Pygmy, and mini dairy breeds are growing in popularity as pets, in both the city and the country. (Check out Chapter 3 to find out more about these and other breeds.)

Goats are intelligent and funny, and they’re also a great way to meet people. I had a little goat named Malakai, who was a dwarf Nigerian Dwarf, because of health issues. His petite size made him all the more adorable. He was house- and car-broken, and so I took him with me wherever I went. He was the little Mystic Acres farm emissary and never failed to attract people. Besides helping me meet people, Malakai gave me the opportunity to educate people about goats and clarify their inevitable misunderstandings. (Get into goats, and you’ll find that misconceptions abound. I brace you to take on the most common of them in Chapter 20.)

Keeping goats as pets

Normally considered livestock, goats can make good pets, but you will be much more satisfied using them for this purpose if you remember that they are outdoor animals and that’s where they do best. Goats are herd animals and need another goat for a friend, so get at least two of them. I tell you more about choosing your goats in Chapter 5.

You can leash train goats and take them on walks throughout the neighborhood or around your property, which provides exercise for all of you. (Chapter 8 shows you how to get started leash-training.) I can tell you from experience that just sitting and watching goats has a calming effect. Studies of other pets have shown that they can lower your heart rate and improve your health — and I’m sure that the same is true for goats as pets.

Finding a helping hoof: Using your goat for packing

Goats are social animals and, after you establish a relationship with them, they love to spend time with you. They enjoy going for hikes and can go almost anywhere you can. Not only that, but they can carry your belongings, they find plenty to eat right there in the wilderness, and they make great companions.

So why not take your goat packing? Ideally, you select a large wether for packing and then take the time to train him to obey commands and to carry your gear. Goats are surefooted, excellent pack animals and can help you work, whether it be gathering wood in the forest or just carrying your belongings on a holiday hike. Chapter 8 tells you about training your goat as a pack animal.

Sharing your goat with others

Another way you can use a companion or pet goat is as a therapy animal or a visitor to children, seniors, or other groups who don’t usually see goats. After you train your goats, you can approach teachers, administrators, or activity directors to plan a goat day (or hour). You get to spend time with your goats, and other people get to learn about their unique personalities.

Some people use goats to help children with autism improve their sensory abilities and social skills — there’s nothing like a cute pet to get people talking to you — and to improve morale and entertain residents of nursing homes. (I talk more about these benefits in Chapter 18.)

Raising goats as a 4-H project

Getting children involved in raising goats is a good way to teach responsibility. Keeping goats requires twice-a-day chores. Children quickly learn that the goats depend on them. They also find out about the cycle of birth and death and get outdoors to get regular exercise.

Learning about and caring for goats as a 4-H project provides a structure that makes caring for goats fun and easy by giving the project a bigger purpose. Contact your county extension office for help on finding a 4-H group. If the 4-H group in your area is not set up so your kids can raise goats for a project, consider getting trained and starting your own goat 4-H group. Doing so not only gives your kids the opportunity for such a project, but it teaches responsibility, helps promote goats, and educates other children.

Some of the things that children can do in a goat 4-H project include the following:

Developing a budget for goat care

Writing a report on and giving a speech about goats

Demonstrating hoof-trimming or other routine care (

Chapter 9

)

Watching a goat show

Exhibiting the goat at the county or state fair (

Chapter 17

)

Milking the goat and making cheese or yogurt (

Chapter 15

)

Training the goat to walk on a lead (

Chapter 8

)

Writing or drawing for a goat newsletter or magazine

Determining Whether Goats Are for You

You may love goats and the idea of raising them, but how do you know whether raising goats is right for you?

The first order of business is finding out everything you can about goats. You get a good start by reading this book. I also recommend that you spend time around goats. Ask goat people you’ve met whether you can go to their farms and observe or even help with their goats. Firsthand experience gives you an idea of what goats need and how you like working with them.

Goats can live 15 years, or even longer. Unless you buy goats to be eaten, and especially if you plan to keep them as pets, remember that you’re taking on a long-term commitment just like you do when you get a dog or a cat.

The upcoming sections tell you more about considerations you need to mull over before you become a goat owner.

Devoting time and effort

Expect to spend at least a half hour each morning and a half hour each evening on routine goat care. If you get a lot of goats or use them for a specialty such as milk, meat, or fiber, you need to budget more time. (Part 4 tells you about each of these situations.)

Goats need a supply of hay and/or browse (grasses and other plants they can find in a pasture) and clean water at all times. (Chapter 6 gives you the details on what goats eat.) The routine twice-daily care you need to plan for includes feeding, changing water, cleaning buckets, observing your goats to make sure they are healthy and acting normal, making sure they’re safe and secure each night, and letting them out in the morning. Of course, you probably want to spend more time just being with them after you discover how fascinating they are.

Plan also to spend an hour or more each month on regular grooming and goat care such as hoof trimming, injections or other treatment, and cleaning their living area. (Chapter 9 runs through the routine care that goats need.) If you breed, show, shear, or slaughter your goats, you spend many more hours with your goats intermittently. And if one of your goats gets sick, you need time to provide care or coordinate with a vet. (Chapter 11 addresses common illnesses.)

If you work and don’t have a reliable helper, you need to have some flexibility to deal with problems. If you work outside your home and have long or erratic hours, a helper is essential.

Deciding which goats are right for your situation

You want to get the type of goat that’s right for your goals. If you want goats for milk, get dairy goats; for meat, get meat goats; for fiber, get fiber goats. If you have mixed goals, find out which animal will best suit all of them. For example, a Spanish goat can produce cashmere, kids for meat, and milk. The milk won’t be of the volume or quality you get with a dairy goat, but nevertheless, it’s milk. If you just want pets, miniature goats may be your best bet. And for brush control, bigger may be better. You can read more about the different breeds in Chapter 3.

If you want pet goats, choose goats that are

Tame and friendly:

These goats are much easier to work with, and you won’t have to spend time trying to get them to trust you.

Horn-free:

Goats without horns are the safest, especially around children. (I tell you more about the horns, including how to remove them before they grow, in

Chapter 9

.)

Wethers:

Don’t ever accept or buy a buck goat for a pet. You will regret it as soon as he matures and starts to stink during breeding season. (

Chapter 12

tells you about the weird and exciting world of breeding.) Does can make okay pets, but wethers are the best. They don’t go into heat, and they cost less to feed because they don’t need anything but minerals and good grass hay. They also are the sweetest.

If you live in a city, get miniature goats, not full-sized ones. They won’t take up as much room and then you can have more, if you want. By the same token, if you have a physical disability, miniature goats are better because they are easier to handle. You can read more about miniature goat breeds in Chapter 3.

If you’d like to raise and breed show goats, you probably want to get registered goats. There are many registries for goats, usually related to their use — for example, dairy goats, meat goats, or cashmere goats. I tell you more about showing goats in Chapter 17.

Finding out about local ordinances

Check out ordinances in your area regarding keeping livestock. These govern whether you can keep livestock and restrict the types you can keep. You need to be aware of the ordinances governing your area, or you risk losing the goats that you dreamed of getting just because of a technicality.

A good place to start is with a city planning or zoning department. Make sure to get a copy of the rules or regulations that govern this. Jenny Grant, of the Seattle Justice League, who spearheaded the Seattle effort to allow miniature goats in that city, also recommends that you check with local animal control to determine whether they have the ability to deal with goats.

In some cities, you may need to buy a license for a goat, just as you do for a dog. Another kind of ordinance that you need to be aware of governs noise. In rural areas, animals are expected (as are guns), so neighbors can’t do much legally about a crying goat (or target shooting). But in an urban area, even if goats are allowed, your neighbors may complain, much as they do with a barking dog. Be aware of what your local noise ordinance covers.

In some cases where goats are prohibited by a city or other municipality, people with special needs or medical issues have been able to obtain variances to the zoning so that a goat could serve as a service or therapy animal.

If your city does not allow backyard goats, you’ll need to work with the powers that be to get the law revised, like other urban farmers are doing in cities around the United States. Grant suggests putting together a petition and obtaining signatures and then taking it to the city council and requesting a hearing. If you also obtain email addresses on the petition, you’ll have a ready-made list to notify interested parties when the hearing is scheduled.

Also helpful are recommendations on what should be covered by such an ordinance, such as miniature goats only, a limitation on the number, only does or wethers, and whether they need to be licensed. You can use another city ordinance as a pattern for the one you’re proposing.

Knowing your neighbors

Even more important is to know your neighbors. Do they have any vicious or out-of-control dogs that may be a threat to your goats? Can you keep these dogs away from your goats?

Do you already have bad blood with neighbors? Will they bitterly complain, undermine you, or otherwise make your life miserable if they hear goat cries? If you live in an area where you’ll need a livestock guardian dog, will neighbors have a problem with nighttime barking? Try to work things out first, but if you can’t, think about whether you want to invest a lot of time, money, and heart in a project where a nearby neighbor will make your life difficult.

After you get goats, share some of your goat products with your neighbors, consider involving them or their children in your project, and work with them to make sure your goats aren’t causing a problem.

Better yet, if they’re interested, teach your neighbors about goats. You could even offer to work with a neighbor child who is interested in raising goats for 4-H. If you have neighbors who have enough interest, they may be willing to learn enough to be able to care for them so you can take a vacation. It’s a win-win!

Chapter 2

Glimpsing Vital Goat Statistics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Using the correct terminology for goats

Focusing on features that make a goat a goat

Identifying a healthy goat

Goats are interesting and amazing animals. They’re related to sheep, deer, and cattle but have some basic differences. Talking about goats and their various parts requires you to pick up some new vocabulary.

In this chapter, I give you an introduction to goat terminology, take you through body parts that are integral to “goatness,” and give you some tips on what to expect from a healthy goat and how to tell whether things are starting to go wrong.

Doe, a Goat, a Female Goat

If you want to get goats, you need to talk goats with other goat lovers. To help you avoid missteps, here is the basic terminology that you need to ask questions and talk about goats knowledgeably:

Doe: A female goat. A young doe is called a doeling.

You may have heard a female goat called a nanny. But don’t use that term unless you want to offend someone. Some meat goat owners still call their does nannies, but the more common term these days is doe, especially if you’re getting dairy goats.

Buck: A male goat. A young buck is called a buckling.

Like nanny goat, billy is also considered a negative term for a male goat, bringing to mind a scruffy, stinking animal. Some meat goat owners still use this term, but in order not to offend, use buck instead.

Brood doe:

A doe that is kept and used for breeding purposes, to pass on certain desirable genetic traits.

Kid:

A baby goat or a goat less than a year old.

Yearling:

A goat that is between one and two years old.

Wether:

A castrated male goat.

Herd:

A group of goats. Sheep are in flocks; goats are in herds.

Ruminant:

An animal that has a stomach with four compartments and chews cud as part of the digestive process. Goats are ruminants.

Udder:

The organ in a goat that produces milk. Don’t call it a

bag.

Goats have only one udder.

Teat:

The protuberance from the udder that you use to milk a goat. Goats have two teats.

Dam:

A goat’s mother.

Sire:

A goat’s father. You can also say that a goat

sired

a kid.

Taking a Look at Goat Anatomy

Goats are mammals and are similar to other mammals in some ways. But they also have unique features that indicate whether they are healthy, tell you how old they are, and even give clues about their parents.

In this section, I tell you about different parts of the goat, how to tell a goat’s age by his teeth, and how to tell a goat from a sheep. (Some of them do look similar.)

Parts of the body

You can own goats and not know the names of parts of the body. But if you want to have an intelligent discussion with other goat aficionados or show your goats, knowing the correct terminology is essential.

Figure 2-1 shows you the names of the different parts of a goat. Some are obvious — we all can identify an ear or a neck. But others may be new to you if you haven’t raised animals before. Here are some terms for different body parts:

Cannon bone:

The shin bone.

Chine:

The area of the spine directly behind the withers.

Escutcheon:

The area between the back legs, where the udder lies in a doe. This area should be wide in a dairy goat.

Pastern:

The flexible part of the lower leg below the dewclaw and above the hoof.

Pinbone:

The hip bone.

Stifle joint:

In the back leg, the equivalent of the knee in a goat.

Thurl:

The hip joint, usually referred to in relation to the levelness between the thurls.

Withers:

The shoulder area or area of the spine where the shoulder blades meet at the base of the neck. You measure from this point to the ground to determine a goat’s height.

FIGURE 2-1: The parts of a goat’s body.

The digestive system

Goats are ruminants, which means that they have four stomach compartments and part of their digestive process includes regurgitating partially digested food and chewing it, called ruminating. This kind of digestive system needs a plant-based diet.

Understanding a goat’s digestive system and how it works helps you keep your herd healthy or identify potential problems.

The goat stomach consists of three forestomachs — the rumen, reticulum, and omasum — and a true stomach, the abomasum. (See Figure 2-2.) The forestomachs are responsible for grinding and digesting hay, with the help of bacteria. The last compartment, the abomasum, is similar to the human stomach and digests most proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

FIGURE 2-2: The parts of a goat’s digestive system.

Each stomach compartment has a different function, and they all work together:

The rumen is the largest of the forestomachs, with a 1- to 2-gallon capacity. It is a large fermentation vat that has bacteria living in it. These microorganisms break down roughage, such as hay. Then the goat regurgitates the partially broken-down material, chews it as a cud, and then swallows it.

This repetitive process, rumination, creates methane gas as a byproduct. Methane is the cause of the strong-smelling belches that you can expect from a goat with a healthy rumen. A goat that can’t belch has bloat. (See Chapter 11 for signs and treatment of bloat.) The rumen action also creates heat, much like a compost pile, which helps a goat stay warm.

The reticulum is in front of and below the rumen, near the liver; the reticulum and the rumen work together to initially break down the food. Rumen contractions push the smaller particles of partially digested food into the rumen and heavier pieces into the reticulum. Then the reticulum contracts and sends the partially digested food into the mouth as a cud for chewing.

This process continues until the pieces are small enough to pass through to the omasum. The reticulum also catches harmful things, such as wire or nails, that a goat accidentally swallows (see Chapter 11).

After fermentation and rumination break down the roughage, it moves through the reticulum to the

omasum,

where enzymes further digest it. The omasum has long tissue folds whose function is to help remove fluid and decrease the size of food particles that come out of the rumen.

The

abomasum

is the only compartment that produces digestive enzymes. It completes the next step in the digestive process of food that forestomachs partially broke down. The abomasum handles the primary digestion of grain and milk, which don’t need rumen bacteria to be digested. The products of this part of digestion pass into the intestine for final breakdown, separating waste products from usable fats and proteins.

Hooves

A hoof is the horny sheath that covers the lower part of a goat’s foot and is divided into two parts. Goats stand on their hooves and walk on them to get around, which makes them extremely important.

When something goes wrong with a hoof, the rest of the musculoskeletal system is affected, which can cause pain, limping, lameness, and a shorter lifespan.

Because they don’t like to stand in one place to eat, goats don’t do well if they have to lie around or walk on their knees. (Yes, knees.) I recently saw goats on television whose owners had fed them well but apparently hadn’t trimmed their hooves for years. (Chapter 9 tells you how to trim hooves.) The goats’ hooves were almost a foot long and curled up at the ends. Consequently, many of them couldn’t even walk, and others walked on their knees, dragging their rear feet. That had to hurt!

Untrimmed hooves make a goat prone to foot scald or rot, which can ultimately kill a goat. (See Chapter 11 for more on foot rot.) Goats’ hooves do best in dry, rocky climates. Goats that are feral or were feral for years, such as the Spanish goat, need less hoof care than closely bred, farmed goats.

A proper goat hoof is rhomboid-shaped (not rectangular, but slightly longer in the front than in the back) and has no overgrowth on the sides or front. Trim your goats hooves regularly to ensure that they maintain this shape.

Teeth

Goats have lower teeth in the front of their mouths but only a hard pad on the top. They also have back teeth on both top and bottom, which you will painfully discover if you put your finger into the back of a goat’s mouth! The back teeth are used for cud-chewing.

Baby goats get their first teeth before birth, at around 98 to 105 days of gestation. They lose these baby teeth, just like other mammals. You can generally determine the age of a goat by looking at the eight teeth in the goat’s lower front jaw. This is called toothing a goat.

Toothing a goat is not completely accurate because you can find variances among goats. They may lose some teeth and grow new ones at different times, or their diet or health can influence how their teeth grow. Figure 2-3 shows you goats’ teeth at various stages.

Here’s a guide to toothing a goat:

First year (kid):

Baby teeth are small and sharp. They gradually fall out and permanent teeth replace them.

Second year (yearling):

The two middle front teeth fall out when the kid is about 12 months old. Two larger permanent teeth grow in their place.

Third year:

The teeth next to the two middle teeth fall out. Two new, larger, permanent teeth grow in when the kid is about 24 months old.

Fourth year:

The next two teeth on either side of the four middle teeth fall out, and new permanent teeth grow in.

Fifth year: The goat has all eight front teeth.

After five years, you can guess at the goat’s age by looking for wear on the teeth and missing teeth. This will vary a lot, depending on the goat’s diet.

FIGURE 2-3: You can tell a goat’s age by his teeth.

Beards

Most but not all goats have beards. The male’s beard is more majestic than the female’s beard. Although the purpose of the beard is unknown, it’s great for capturing that unique scent that males like to flaunt during breeding season. If you’re having trouble telling whether an animal is a goat or a sheep, look for a beard — only goats have them. (But not all goats have them.)