Goat Management
Characteristics
 Goat population worldwide is over 350 million
 U.S. population is between 2 & 3 million
 Becoming more popular as people move to
more rural areas

Relatively inexpensive to purchase and
reproduces efficiency


Having 2- 3 offspring per year
Don’t demand specialized housing or feedstuff
Patterning
 Get does into a
routine. Feed at same
time and place where
you can pen the
animals in a small
enclosure.
 Easily caught and
handled from there.
Reproduction
 Seasonal Breeders


Length of daylight influences the secretion of
hormones that affect the estrous cycle
Seasonal species are responsive to melatonin



Hormone produced by the pineal gland
Response to declining periods of light
Breed in the Fall

80% of all does come into heat between Sept 1
and Dec 31
Reproduction
 3 systems for breeding



Pasture Breeding
AI
Hand Mating
Pasture Breeding
 Does and Buck put into one field
 Very little labor and results in a large
percentage of does conceiving
 Have no control over when does are bred
AI
 Growing in popularity
 Frozen semen is thawed and placed into the
reproductive tract of the doe

Done by using a plastic insemination pipette
 Heat detection is very important
 Cost is higher
 Can breed to superior bucks
Insemination site
 We want the tip of the
catheter to be well
inside the cervix, but
not penetrate
completely into the
uterus.
 Reason-bacterial
contamination
Take catheter and insert
Place catheter in cervix
Hand Mating
 Buck is kept in a separate pen from the does
 As does come into heat they are turned into
pen with buck
 Breeding is observed, then doe is removed
from buck and return to pen
 Gives you precise breeding dates
 Separate buck pen and shed, and more time
is involved
Parturition
 Gestation period is between 145- 155 days
 Kids should have navels dipped in iodine to
prevent infection
 Make sure kids receive colostrum
 Don’t touch kids right after birth
 Kids are weaned at 3 months
Disbudding
 Removal of the horn buds from a kid
 Two methods


Chemical
Disbudding iron
Castration
 Done before 12 weeks
 3 methods



Knife
Burdizzo
Elastrator
Knife
Burdizzo
Elastrator
Identification
 4 different methods




Tattooing
Neck chains
Branding
Ear notching
Hoof trimming
 Removing the excess growth that occurs at
the toes, heels, and sidewalls of the hooves
 Should be done every 6-8 weeks
Hoof Trimming
Parasites
 Internal Parasites one of most economically
important constraints in raising livestock
 Animals certain to exposure of worms


Confinement
Pasture-based
 Results


Decrease in productivity
death
Controlling Parasites
 Worms are a major parasite within goat
industry
 Should be dewormed on a regular basis

About every 6-8 weeks
 Receive an injection of Clostridium
Perfringes, Types C & D and Tetnus, once a
year
Deworming
 3 types of dewormers



Avermectin
Benzimidazoles
Imidazothiazole
Avermectin
 Clear dewormers

Ivomec, Dectomax, Cydectin
 Not effective against tapeworms
Benzimidazoles
 White dewormers

Safeguard
 Effective against tapeworms
 Can cause abortions
Imidazothiazole
 Tramisol
 May cause abortions
 The “safe” and “toxic” levels are very close,
making product dangerous
Fecal Float
 Way to identify what type of worms goats
have and what you need to vaccinate with
 Use a Modified Wisconsin Procedure

Create a sucrose solution


Combine 454g granulated sugar with 335mL of
water
Heat the solution until the sugar is completely
dissolved and the solution is clear
Fecal Float
 Fecal samples are collected and weighed


3g of each sample is measured and
suspended into 20 mL of the sucrose solution
in a waxed paper cup
Solution is stirred until solution is completely
dispersed and then poured into a second cup
Fecal Float
 Liquid is poured into a 15 mL test tube until
slightly raised above the top of the test tube
then topped with a cover slip
 Allow to sit for 3-6 hours then observe under
a microscope
The FAMACHA© System
 Eye color chart with five color
categories
 Compare chart with color of mucous
membranes of sheep or goat
 Classification into one of five color
categories:
•
•
1 – not anemic
5 -- severely anemic
 Examine in sunlight
 Open as shown - for a short time only
 Look at color inside lower eyelid
 Barber pole worm egg
 Haemonchus adults in the abomasum
Other Diseases
 Blackleg
 Bloat
 Bottle Jaw
 Coccidiosis
 Colic
 Enterotoxaemia
 Foot and Mouth Disease
 Foot Rot
Other Diseases
 Johne’s Disease

Thickening of intestine

Have to be slaughtered (no cure)
 Pregnancy toxemia
 Mastitis
 Tetanus
 Urinary Calculi