Is gentle and playful? Is rougher and plays hard, sometimes head-butting you? Look over your answers and see which letter was most chosen the most—A or B. Dairy goats come in a variety of colors. They come in brown, black, white and gray. I own a Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat.
She is very friendly and sweet, and I love her a lot. Dairy goats seem to be better with younger children and are more like a pet, since many times they have been bottle fed by their owners. They are not as pushy as the bigger, meat goats such as the Boer goats.
They are very cute and have a sweet personality. They are very playful. If you want to be in the pen with them, they are easy to play with and train for the fair. They follow you around and are just like a playmate. You have to milk them twice a day. They require more work and responsibility than meat goats. Meat goats are more stocky and muscular than dairy goats. They come in a combination of red and white colors. I also own a meat goat. He is a Boer and his name is Chocolate Chip.
Meat goats are strong and can be frisky—they might be better for an older child. They like to head-butt and sometimes can push you down and might chew your clothing.
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Give preference to early born kids for replacements, and select doe kids from does that kid twice each year. Good reproductive performance can be an indicator of a breed's compatibility with the environment. Meat goats have a reputation for high fertility, averaging 98 percent of does bred under good management and nutrition. Given proper care, the does should be capable of maintaining a birth rate of 1.
Although meat goats are polyestrous, peak sexual activity occurs during the autumn months. The apparent decline in male libido during late spring and summer can lower reproductive rates during these times. To improve herd management, bucks should not be allowed to run with the does throughout the year. A planned breeding season also allows you to better manage does during pregnancy. Kids will also be more uniform in size at weaning, which is preferable for marketing as well as raising doelings as replacements.
A continuous breeding season is discouraged because it subjects underdeveloped replacement doe kids to the buck. These factors can have a negative influence on overall profitability. A well-planned breeding program is highly recommended for any producer interested in expanding to a sizable commercial operation of greater than fifty head of breeding-age does. Focus your breeding schedule to take advantage of the best marketing opportunities for your area.
The gestation period for does varies from to days. If does are bred two times per year, kids should be weaned at months of age. The weaning period is a good time to accustom future replacement stock to a supplement feed should the need arise to provide a limited amount of a concentrate feed. These replacement doe kids can return to the breeding flock when they reach desirable size two-thirds their mature weight or are one year old. Goats require tight fencing. Electric netting fence can provide a temporary enclosure, but goats will eat through such a fence if it is used as a confinement structure and not continuously electrified.
Woven wire fencing may be used, but the goat's horns may become entangled in the fencing and severely harm the goat. If woven wire is used, you will need to check the goats frequently to free trapped goats. A five- or six-strand high-tensile fence with electrified first, third, and top wires has proved to be an effective goat-tight fence.
High-tensile electric fence wire. Like other livestock, goats need some type of restraint facility and shelter when on pasture. Regular sheep-working pens are adequate for goats. Cattle pens can be easily adapted by making the lower section goat tight. An open shed arrangement of square feet per doe can provide shelter during extremely hot or cold weather. A preventative health program should be carefully worked out with your veterinarian. Goats are more susceptible to internal parasites than other types of livestock.
Control of internal parasites is probably the most important health issue for goats. Generally, control methods for sheep within a certain region of the country will also be effective for goats. Problem diseases associated with reproduction or kidding can be managed and treated, in most instances, the same as for sheep.
Pasture productivity is often measured in animal unit months AUM. An AUM is the minimum area of grazing land required by one mature 1,pound beef cow for one month. If stocked according to recommendations in your locale, meat goats can be grazed with other livestock. In marginal grazing lands, goats have been shown to complement both sheep and cattle. Goats consume a higher percentage of brush and other less desirable plants; thus, they help maximize the use of marginal pastureland as well as improve forage production over time.
A carefully planned rotational grazing program can enhance pasture production and help control internal parasites. High-quality pastures and small-grain pastures are good for kidding since they provide excellent feed for milk production. Supplemental grazing in stubble fields, corn fodder, small-grain pastures, and brassicas can be used to either extend the grazing season or boost required nutrient levels for some critical phase of production.
Moving goats out of pasture before the grass is less than 3 inches tall will help prevent internal parasite infection. In general, growth rates for meat goats are slower than those of sheep. Under favorable nutritional conditions, meat goats may gain at a rate of more than grams 0. All agricultural operations in Pennsylvania, including small and part-time farming operations, operate under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law.
A specific part of this law is the Nutrient Management Act also known as Act However, all operations may be a source of surface or groundwater pollution. Because of this possibility, you should contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District to determine what regulations may pertain to your operation. There are several risk management strategies you may employ for your operation.
You should insure your facilities as well as your animals. This may be accomplished by consulting your insurance agent or broker. You may also insure your income through a crop insurance program called AGR-Lite. You can then contact an agent who sells crop insurance and insure the income of your operation. For more on agricultural business insurance, see Agricultural Business Insurance. The sample budget includes cost estimates for a meat goat herd of does and three bucks.
The budget summarizes the receipts, costs, and net returns of a meat goat enterprise. This sample budget should help ensure that all costs and receipts are included in your calculations. Costs and returns are often difficult to estimate in budget preparation because they are numerous and variable.
Therefore, you should think of this budget as an approximation and make appropriate adjustments in the "Your Estimate" column to reflect your specific production and resource situation. More information on the use of crop budgets can be found in Enterprise Budget Analysis. You can make changes to the interactive PDF budget files for this publication by inputting your own prices and quantities in the green outlined cells for any item.
The cells outlined in red automatically calculate your revised totals based on the changes you made to the cells outlined in green. You will need to click on and add your own estimated price and quantity information to all of the green outlined cells to complete your customized budget.
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