Most goats are farmed in a similar way to cattle, that is, for their milk or for their meat.
Milk goats are largely kept indoors with large farms keeping 4-500 head. A female goat can first mate at only 7-9 months and, after a four month pregnancy, can be milked at about 1 year after their kids have been weaned onto a formula. Milk is extracted twice daily at 12 hour intervals and can be done by machine or by hand, depending on the technology available and the numbers of the herd.
Dairy goats enjoy human contact, but each has its own personality and tricks, which may require careful handling. The natural social order of the herd can be seen to come into play when establishing milking orders, and it is best to let them sort this out for themselves in the herding area, although action may have to be taken to prevent higher ranked animals stealing the feed from submissive beasts during the milking.
Breeding goats is similar to breeding cattle, with most females giving birth to between one to five kids; twins at least are very common.
If goats are being farmed for meat, they are nursed by the mother until about 10 weeks after which they progress to a diet of hay, grain and pasture designed for maximum weight gain. This can be anywhere between about 35 to 90 pounds, depending on the breed.
The main health problems affecting farmed goats are footrot and parasites. Footrot is a very painful condition which affects the goats’ feed intake and production and is slow and costly to cure. Prevention is the better method as it is with parasites, as many of those which affect goats are resistant to the common drenches available.
Milk goats are largely kept indoors with large farms keeping 4-500 head. A female goat can first mate at only 7-9 months and, after a four month pregnancy, can be milked at about 1 year after their kids have been weaned onto a formula. Milk is extracted twice daily at 12 hour intervals and can be done by machine or by hand, depending on the technology available and the numbers of the herd.
Dairy goats enjoy human contact, but each has its own personality and tricks, which may require careful handling. The natural social order of the herd can be seen to come into play when establishing milking orders, and it is best to let them sort this out for themselves in the herding area, although action may have to be taken to prevent higher ranked animals stealing the feed from submissive beasts during the milking.
Breeding goats is similar to breeding cattle, with most females giving birth to between one to five kids; twins at least are very common.
If goats are being farmed for meat, they are nursed by the mother until about 10 weeks after which they progress to a diet of hay, grain and pasture designed for maximum weight gain. This can be anywhere between about 35 to 90 pounds, depending on the breed.
The main health problems affecting farmed goats are footrot and parasites. Footrot is a very painful condition which affects the goats’ feed intake and production and is slow and costly to cure. Prevention is the better method as it is with parasites, as many of those which affect goats are resistant to the common drenches available.