Goat Management

[mikey]

Madam Dadai Rubia stressed to me that a key to a successful goat operation is Record keeping on your herd(s).This makes good sense,how can a person remember all that is needed about his herd from memory.Keeping records on your goats makes for better management of your operation,one is able to get all the background information needed to make decisions on that goat or goat(s),the sire and dam,age, hoof trimming, last time dewormed,date bred,date kidding,how many kid(s),single,twin.triple.There are times that a person will want to see the history of that goat they may wish to buy from you,someone looking for a breeder,will be interested on the background of the goat(s) bloodlines.
Proud Independant
mikey

[mikey]

Ear tags,the easy way to identify your goat(s) is not always practical for some of us that have no access to the tags,I have heard of some farmers putting a rope around the goats neck and tying a different coloured string,or tape to identify their goats.This is a simple and practical way to help better manage one(s) operation.Just an idea.Hope this helps.
Proud Independant Region 7
mikey

P.S. do not be shy,share your ideas with us.United we stand,divided we fall.

[mikey]

Another good management skill to know,when you have goat(s) in milking mode,never keep the buck close by or the milk will take on a unpleasant flavour,one should keep all breeding sire(s)  at some distance from the does but within eye sight of each other.

Proud Independant:
mikey

[mikey]

Horned or polled breeding sire(s),this again is a personal choice,some poll (dehorn) their male goats for safety reasons,other say a horned male goat is better for breeding purposes,this depends on your farm management pratices,personally our herd is all horned because of our location,the horns on a goat is one way the goat has to protect itself from danger.
Some Anglo goat are born hornless (something in their gene pool),one should never breed 2 goats born hornless with this gene together,reason the offspring will be sterile (unable to reproduce).
Proud Independant:
mikey

[alaminos_goatfarm]

The four pillars of a successful goat raising business;
   1. The type of goats
   2. Nutrition
   3. Housing
   4. Deworming program and health protocol

After the goats have been chosen, nutrition is the most important single factor that will determine the success of goat raising. I say that between 70 to 80% will depend upon the feeding program. The right amount of energy, protein, minerals and vitamins. With proper nutrition goats will have better reproductive performance and weight gain. A sign of goats fed a balance diet are smooth and shinny hair coats. Visit my web site at http://www.alaminosgoatfarm.com/pages/articles/?pid=57
to learn more about our feeding program.