Every year I receive dozens of calls from people wanting to get started in the goat business as well as from people who already have goats and have some management problems.
I really encourage individuals to read all they can about goats and, as well, to visit some established herds and talk to experienced and reputable breeders BEFORE purchasing any animals.
Any successful livestock enterprise requires careful research, management and a genuine interest in the species one is working with.
A well cared for, top quality meat goat is an impressive sight. Meat goats are long-lived, hardy, readily handled, need minimal facilities and, except when the bucks are rutting, relatively odor-free.
Like any living animal, they can be frustrating, however, and, on occasion, will crawl through and under or even jump or climb over poorly maintained fences, get their heads stuck in unbelievably small holes and destroy equipment one felt was built sturdily eneough for cattle.
While a couple of goats make interesting pets, most people who have any number expect to generate an income, either primary or seconday, from them.
Sources of revenue include meat, breeding stock, and skins/hides.
Buy good quality breeding stock, be it commercial or registered, to start out with.
Remember that your bucks/billies are half of your herd, so purchase the best.
Meat/Boer goats do well in confinement, semiconfinement, improved pastures or range if carefully managed.
Well-nourished good quality goats that are regularly dewormed and protected from predators will repay the farmer or rancher with1 to 3 (or perhaps more) nice kids a year.
For more information on meat goats refer to Meat Goats,Their History, Management and Diseases by Stephanie and Allison Mitcham.
This 264 page book, by Stephanie Mitcham and Allison Mitcham was written in response to all of the meat goat questions asked over the years. Price $19.95 plus $3 shipping in the US, $4 shipping to Canada
Contents of Meat Goats,Their History, Management and Diseases by Stephanie and Allison Mitcham.
- 1. Introduction: An Historical Perspective
- 2. The Contemporary Shortage of Goat Meat: A Problem in Asia and America Too
- 3. Meat Goats in the United States: The American Quest for the Ideal Meat Goat
- 4. Management
- A) Forages: An Economic Necessity
- B) Is Bigger Better? In Many Environments, Not Necessarily!
- C) Stress
- D) Marketing
- 5. Getting Started in the Goat Business
- 6. Goat Selection and Record Keeping
- 7. Facilities, Feeders and Fencing
- 8. Handling Systems
- 9. Nutrition
- 10. Grazing Management
- 11. Routine Procedures
- 12. Kid Production
- 13. Diseases
- I. Parasites
- II. Nutritionally Related Diseases
- III. Reproductive Problems
- IV. Miscellaneous Diseases
- 14. Artificial Insemination
- 15. Embryo Transfer
- 16. Showing Meat Goats
- 17. Guard Animals
- 18. Herding Dogs: The Border Collie
- 19. Healthy and Delicious Meat
- Appendix I. Meat Goat Calendar
- Appendix II. Normal Goat Temperature, Pulse and Respiratory Ranges and Goat Aging
- Appendix III. Medication Administration
- Appendix IV. Drug Dosages
- Appendix V. Induction of Abortion or Parturition in the Doe
- Appendix VI. Evaluating the Gestational Age of Aborted Goat Fetuses
- Appendix VII. Tatooing
- Appendix VIII. Fecal Examination for Gastrointestinal Parasites
- Appendix IX. Meat Goat Nutrition and Ration Balancing
- References
Stephanie Mitcham
3061 160th Street
Sumner
IOWA 50674
Tel: (563)578-5665
Fax: (563)578-8193
e-mail: sam@netins.net
sam@netins.net
Registered Boer Goats
- Our first registered Boer goats were acquired in 1998.
- Our goats are selected for production (pounds of kid raised).
- Our goats are healthy and vaccinated regularly against overeating and tetanus. Animals are dewormed on a regular basis.
- We usually have top quality billies and nannies for sale.
Savanna Goats
- ***This page is still under construction****.
- Transportation can be arranged for small groups (5 - 8 head, depending on animal size) for $1 a loaded mile to any destination in the continental US.Transportation for groups of up to 30 head is $1.15 a loaded mile to any destination in the continental US. Individual animals or several small groups can be combined in one shipment to make trucking more reasonable for all concerned. Larger groups (30 head plus) can be sent by semi truck for $1.50 per loaded mile (approximate charge, please call for exact quote as it depends on the distance travelled and the destination.) Individual animals can be sent by air in airline approved dog kennels. Animals can be trucked to Chicago and delivered to the appropriate airline terminal.
- Interstate health papers are available for all sheep at no charge. Blood testing is additional but the charge is only for mailing samples to the lab and the actual lab charges.
- Export paperwork is done at cost (actual cost) so no extra charges are built in. Paperwork is done professionally and speedily. Sheep from Crane Creek are routinely sent to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
- Transportation available leaving 22 February 2003 to North Carolina and locations along the way. Transportation to Maryland and New Jersey May 2002. Sheep can be intercepted along the travel routes. Please call, e-mail or write for more details.
Crane Creek Boers
Stephanie Mitcham
3061 160th Street
Sumner
IOWA 50674
Tel:(563) 578-5665
Fax:(563) 578-8193
E-mail: sam@netins.net
sam@netins.net
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