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FIVE BASICS OF RAISING GOATS

Contrary to popular belief, goats are most difficult livestock to raise. Learning how to work with them will make your life easier and the lives of your goats will be better.   Once you learn to "think like a goat" -- to understand how they live, see, and interact with the world around them -- you will begin to recognize problems  as they occur and even learn to anticipate them.   Plus you will save money, because the most costly  goats are always the sickly "poor doers."

Internal Parasites.   Everything begins with Haemonchus contortus (barberpole stomach worm).  Goat health revolves around controlling this blood-sucking, anemia-causing strongyle that consumes  blood volume and deoxygenates the body's organs, killing the goat.  Heavy worm loads are  completely preventable.   An established deworming program that involves random monthly egg fecal counts using a McMasters (gridded) slide under a microscope is your first line of defense towards maintaining healthy goats.

Do fecal egg  counts before you deworm. Count  the number of eggs per gram.  Select a   dewormer  (not a white-colored dewormer*) and give it orally at a goat-appropriate dosage, ignoring label  directions because we use dewormers off-label (not labeled for goats because virtually nothing is made for goats, or if it is, it doesn't work).   Do not use feed-based dewormers and don't  put dewormers in  drinking water.   Dewormers for goats must go into the goat's mouth.  Seven (7) days after you dewormed, do fecal egg counts again. If you didn't get a 95% reduction in the number of eggs ("kill rate"), then your dewormer didn't work.  It only killed  susceptible worms and let  resistant worms survive.   Start over   with a different class  of dewormer.

* In most parts of the USA, the "white-colored" dewormers (Safeguard, Panacur, and Valbazen) don't kill stomach worms.

Because you dewormed does not mean that it worked. Fecal egg counts using McMasters (gridded) slides and a single eye-piece (monocular) microscope with an adjustable stage that allows the slide to be moved side to side is the only way to get accurate readings.

The dewormer to use is the one that you determine works (by doing fecal egg counts) with your goats on your property.    Use this dewormer until it quits working. Do not   rotate dewormers. When it quits working, change to a different class of dewormer and continue random monthly fecal egg counts,  as well as fecal egg counts before and seven (7)  days after deworming.

You can use FAMACHA eye membrane checks as a guideline to your goats' health, but only fecal  egg counts  using gridded microscope slides will tell you what is really going on inside the goat.

At  www.tennesseemeatgoats.com on the Articles page and in the MeatGoatMania archives is the  article  DOING YOUR OWN FECALS IS EASY.  Read the article   and buy the MSK-01 microscope, fecal floatation solution, gridded McMasters slides, pipettes, tubes/containers and other supplies and learn to do your own fecals.   At 2024 prices, you can likely buy all of these items for about $300 on Amazon.com. It doesn't take long to spend $300 with a vet or lose $300 when a goat dies from worms. You will have firsthand knowledge of wormloads in your goats in the timeframe that  you need this information by doing  your own fecals.

Acreage.  Sufficient acreage is critical so the goats aren't in constant contact with worms, both in pasture and in feces. You cannot feedlot goats. They can't handle the stress and sickness caused  by the closeness, and they can't overcome the worm load that occurs with constant exposure to fecal material in overcrowded conditions.

Raising  20  goats on 2 acres is a feedlot. I've talked with hundreds of people who are raising goats in  overcrowded conditions and they all have internal parasite  problems. Stocking rates for goats are all about reducing exposure so that the wormload can be  controlled.   If your goats are wormy, you are overcrowded.

Think of goats as DEER. They need space to roam.   They stress easily. They must eat "from the top down" (leaves and weeds) to avoid microscopic stomach worms that live at ground level and on grass blades as tall as eight (8) inches.

Worms are very adaptable.  The barberpole stomach worm  goes  into hypobiosis (hybernation) in a pregnant doe. When  she  goes into labor, the worms re-start their life cycle  and are waiting on the ground when  her kids  take their first bite.

Worms  are more adaptable than goats to their environment,  so you have to provide conditions in which the goats can thrive.  This means lots of land  over which to forage-browse. Some  people don't have enough acreage  upon which to raise goats. WET equals WORMS. Much of the USA is too wet to raise goats successfully. Goats  are a dry-land species.

If you insist on raising goats in wet environments, you must keep your stocking rates super low and put extra focus on fecal egg counts. The worm to concentrate  on is Haemonchus contortus, the barberpole stomach worm, which sucks blood, causes anemia, deoxygenates organs, and kills goats. The protozoan to monitor and control is Coccidia. See the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com for many helpful articles addressing these issues.

Shelter  and  Weather.  Goats need protection from wind and rain. They need shelter from extreme cold and heat.   In hot climates, they  need shade, especially darker colored goats. Goats expel heat from their bodies through their horns. If you disbud or dehorn, they can overheat, mouth breathe, and die. Goats, especially kids, have trouble maintaining internal body temperature during wide swings of outside temperatures. Pneumonia is often the result and is second only to worms in killing goats. Proper shelter varies based upon the weather conditions in your part of the country.

Nutrition. You can do everything else correctly  and if your goats aren't properly fed and hydrated, you will still have problems. Proper goat nutrition is difficult to get right. Too many  people either overfeed or underfeed. You have to know the nutritional values of what you are feeding.   If you mix your own feed or buy it from someone who isn't a trained goat nutritionist, then you have no idea what amount of protein, fat, fiber, energy, vitamins, and minerals you are feeding.

You can't "starve the profit" out of a goat. Goats have a very fast rumen passage rate (11 to 14 hours). Whatever the goat eats, it must be palatable, easy to digest, and highly nutritious or the goat's digestive system won't have time to extract nutrients from it. Cattle can survive on dead grasses in poor pastures because their rumens take two to three days to digest them. Goats literally cannot digest coarse and stemmy plant materials; they  contain too much lignin (indigestible fiber).  Believing that goats can eat anything is 180* out of sync with reality.

Develop a relationship with a goat nutritionist at the plant that produces your feed and have that professional analyze your particular needs. There is usually no charge for this valuable service if you are buying their feed.   I feed 3/16th inch pelleted feed.  Textured ("horse & mule") feed has a molasses base that molds easily. Mold kills goats in multiple ways, including but not limited to Listeriosis. You don't want Listeriosis in your goats.  I developed the protocol for treating Listeriosis many years ago.  It works, but it is time consuming, tedious, expensive, and exhausting.  Avoid  problems by not feeding sacked or bulk feed that can easily mold. Keep the feed room securely locked and located away from the goats.

When buying hay, never tell the sellers that you raise goats. Most of them think goats can eat anything, including tin cans. Ignorance about goats is mind-boggling. Tell them you want to buy horse-quality hay. Never feed hay with mold on it . . . not even white-colored mold. This includes sileage, baleage, haylage, and alfalfa that has been packaged with high moisture content.   You can't tell if hay is of good quality by looking at it.

Test your hay. Dairy One Forage Lab in New York  provides  a basic analysis via their postage-paid mail-in sampler for about $24.   You (or your goat  nutritionist) can take samples of plant materials in your pastures for nutritional analysis too. See my article on hay and forage testing on the Articles page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com.

Spend the money necessary to buy good quality feed and hay for your goats. Proper nutrition helps prevent health problems with goats.  A starving goat scrapping for food on pasture will quickly develop internal parasites. It is much cheaper to feed them properly.

Get these five basics of raising goats right and managing your goats becomes much easier when you approach their world from the goats' point of view.   Which brings me to the sixth BASIC of raising goats:  If you don't provide proper management along with the five BASICS above, your goat problems will never end.  Attend GoatCamp™ at Onion Creek Ranch north of Austin, Texas every October to get the information you need to be a successful  goat raiser.

Suzanne W. Gasparotto, Onion Creek Ranch, Texas    10.1.24

Come Learn in Person!!
How to be proactive in your herd management!

LAST CALL FOR GoatCamp™ 2024

Join us at the once a year GoatCamp™ at Onion Creek Ranch in Texas where you will learn from the experts in hands on as well as classroom instruction. (Where no question is too dumb!!)

Taking reservations for GoatCamp™ 2024

Oct 21-24, 2024

FAMACHA training. Doing microscopic fecal counts. Reading fecals.

Learn how to diagnose and treat illnesses and diseases

Nutrition: learn best nutritional practices

Tubing, injections, tattooing, eartagging, handling and restraints

Hoof trimming, hoof care

Necropsy demonstration

Diseases affecting goats

Drawing blood, disease testing

Selecting goats for breeding, market sales

Marketing your animals

Humane slaughter demonstration

Breeding, Kidding, Kid care

Importance of private property rights to goat owners.

...and much more, all on a working goat ranch.

The GOATCAMP™ Instructors

MARK SWENING, DVM - VETERINARIAN, Coleman, Texas Vet Clinic

JAMES MILLER, DVM, LSU - PARASITOLOGIST

KENT MILLS, HI PRO FEEDS - NUTRITIONIST

DAN BYFIELD, AMERICAN LAND FOUNDATION - PROPERTY RIGHTS & LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

BOB GLASS, PAN AMERICAN VET LABORATORY - SERUM DIAGNOSTICS

SUZANNE GASPAROTTO, ONION CREEK RANCH

PAT COTTEN, BENDING TREE RANCH

Classroom Instruction as well as Hands-on Work with Onion Creek Ranch goats on a working goat ranch

TUITION PER STUDENT - $550.00 IF RECEIVED BEFORE 10-1-24

$575.00 IF RECEIVED ON OR AFTER 10-1-24

Registration Form on the GoatCamp™ page at www.tennesseemeatgoats.com

Additional Information or questions: Suzanne Gasparotto - 512-265-2090 (Texas) or email her at onioncrk@centex.net

GOATCAMP™ TESTIMONIALS:

My name is Christy Dalros. I attended Goat Camp™ in October. A few weeks ago, I noticed one of my does was not acting like her normal self. She had recently given birth to triplets and had been fine up until then. I check eyes at least weekly and she had good pink membranes prior. When I checked her eyes that day she was at a 4 on the FAMACHA scale. I immediately took a fecal sample and her count was extremely high. I began deworming her but she went down to a 5 on the FAMACHA scale soon after and developed bottle jaw. I have been so worried but I have run fecal samples on her weekly and continued deworming. I started her on daily iron and B-12. I also started giving her all the alfalfa she wanted for the added protein. I am happy to say that today she had no signs of bottle jaw and her eyes were at a 3 on the FAMACHA scale.

I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to attend Goat Camp™ last year. Without your class, I would not have known what to do. I lost more than 10 goats last year by this time and because of the training GoatCamp™ gave me, I am happy to say that ALL of my goats are thriving. I run my own fecal tests, something I would never have known how to do without Goat Camp™, and I refer to your articles and the notes from GoatCamp™ regularly. Thank you so much for the knowledge you shared. You have helped me more than you know.

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I want to send you a huge thanks you for doing what you do and offering me the opportunity to attend Goat Camp and learn from the best!! There was a ton of new information for me to absorb but equally valuable was to confirm whether or not I have been doing things correctly or not. It was amazing to see how you setup your operation and all the things you had to consider . Since I got home, I set up monthly random fecal testing to monitor wormload. I also have a Jeffers shopping list and a few books to add to my collection. After the necropsy, all the things that I have read and pictured finally made sense. I found that demonstration fascinating and really well explained. The 4 days for information was more than worth the time and travel and you have provided me with more confidence in looking after my little herd. I wish you all the best with your business and hope you continue to educate others, as your experience and knowledge is priceless. Shelley Helmer Canada

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We had the most amazing experience at Goat camp . The information I found there was very impressive. That is one of the best decisions I have made going into this venture. My second best decision is I will be back next year. My brain hurt trying to retain all the info. I will continue to review everything you supplied but I will be lucky if I have retained 50%. My 82 year old Mother was so excited when I explained all that went on she wants to come with us. Brian returned for a second GoatCamp™ and was amazed at how much he has missed the first time around! Thank you, best money we ever spent. Brian & Lori, Rockport, Texas

Click here for more photos from the very successful 2023 GoatCamp™