You were asking about… Goats

Housing: Where Do Goats Live?

Goats have the capacity to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions. They are a hardy animal that can be kept on marginal land or rough terrain that is unsuitable for other types of livestock, but they also respond well to more intensive husbandry.

They are well adapted to the Canadian climate, but they do require shelter for shade in the summer and a dry, draft-free barn in the winter. Goats, like sheep, may be easy prey to predators and they must be kept guarded from harm.

Dairy goats and their offspring are housed and cared for just like dairy cows, with indoor accommodations for the twice-daily milking routine. Commercial dairy goat farms range in size from 150 goats to over 400 goats. Most farmers that are serious about commercial dairy goat farming are growing their herd to upwards of 400-500 goats, and the largest herd in Ontario is approximately 1200 goats.

Where production and management permit, loose housing is preferred over tie stalls as goats are naturally very active. At least three square meters of floor space is allotted for each goat where possible.

Goat farmers use the most advanced husbandry practices in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Recommended Code of Practice, developed in 1984 by farmers, government, animal protection groups, researchers, and processors. Copies may be found at www.livestockwelfare.com.

Nutrition: What Do Goats Eat?

Goats are herbivores, which means that their diet consists of plant matter. Like sheep and cows they are also known as ruminants: instead of having just one stomach like humans they have four separate stomachs that allow specialized digestion of different components of the feed.

The whole digestive process takes a while. A goat will spend several hours a day eating and several hours a day thoughtfully chewing its cud: regurgitating boluses of feed from the rumen (the first stomach), masticating (chewing) them, and re-swallowing them to be further digested in the next three stomach chambers called the reticulum, omasum and abomasum. This lengthy process allows them to efficiently digest low-grade fibre, turning feed grade (lower quality feedstuffs) that would otherwise be unsuitable for human consumption into milk or meat for our tables and fibre for our clothing.

The goat comes from the deer family, and contrary to popular myth, if left to graze naturally they don’t eat everything, but rather they are browsers and prefer the leaves off low branches, much like a deer. In a rangeland environment their eating habits allow them to survive even the toughest times of the year, when they can resort to eating woody plants to maintain their protein and energy needs.

In more intensive husbandry situations goats, like all farm animals, are catered to with a diet balanced for energy, protein, calcium and other essential nutrients from a mixture of sources including pasture, hay and commercial feeds to support their increased production requirements. Barley, bran and corn are used as energy feeds, peas and soybeans are used as protein supplements and bone meal and citrus pulp are used to provide calcium to the goat´s diet. Additional feed ingredients include alfalfa, grass, clover and sugar beet roots as either pasture or hay. Commercial feeds may include mineral mixes to balance the ration.

About the Life Cycle of Goats…

The normal breeding season for goats is from August to March. The gestation period (length of pregnancy) for goats is five months. They are usually bred once a year, meaning that the kids (young goats) will be born between January and August. Does (female goats) may have from one to five kids, but twins are most common. Male goats are known as bucks.

For goats intended for dairy production the yearling does will be mated at seven to nine months of age so that they can begin to produce milk at about one year of age.

The doe does not usually require help at kidding (birthing) time, but the farmers must ensure that kids nurse or are bottle fed as soon as possible after birth to receive the critical first milk known as colostrum. This milk contains lipids, minerals and vitamins, as well as immunoglobulins (antibodies) that pass along the mother’s immunity to disease to her offspring. After 2 to 3 days the colostrum will be replaced by milk or milk formula.

Dairy kids are removed from their mothers after birth following production practices similar to dairy cows: the kids will be raised on milk replacement formula until they can be weaned at five to seven weeks of age, leaving the doe’s milk to be used for human consumption.

Dairy goats are given a 60-day rest from milking just before they give birth in order to provide enough nutrition for the developing kid(s) during the final weeks of gestation.

Dairy goats are milked twice a day, usually at 12-hour intervals, by machine or by hand. Unlike a cow, goats (and sheep) only have two teats. Goat milk is produced in modern dairy operations under the same hygienic requirements and conditions as cow’s milk.

Kids raised for meat production will nurse their dam for ten to twelve weeks. The kids will then be weaned from milk to be fed hay, grain and pasture until they reach market weight, which can range between 35 and 90 lb depending on the breed of goat and farm management practices.

Goats naturally have horns with only the occasional goat being polled (naturally hornless). Most farmers remove the horns at an early age (disbudding) for the sake of safety for both people and other animals.

Breeds

The goat is one of the most versatile species of farm livestock. Canadian breeders utilize specialized lines depending on the product they will market: milk, meat or fibre. Dairy goats are selected to be the most efficient at producing milk; market goat breeds are raised for their meat, called chevon, and goats used for fibre production have been selectively bred for the quality of their hides and fleece.

Some of the breeds that are used for milk production are Toggenberg, La Manchias, Alpine, Saanen and Nubian.

The Pygmy goat is a small breed that originated in Africa. They produce milk that is high in butterfat. Their offspring can be raised for meat and they also make ideal companions and pets. The Boer goat has been selectively bred for meat production. Angora and Cashmere goats are prized for their fibre production.

For more information on breeds, click here: www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/

For more information contact:

Canadian National Goat Federation
www.cangoats.com

Ontario Goat Breeders Association
Box 596
Lancaster, ON K0C 1N0
www.ogba.ca

Other useful websites:
www.ontariogoatmilk.org
www.ontariodairygoat.com
www.bcbga.netfirms.com
www.manitobagoats.com
www.sbga.tripod.com
www.albertagoatbreeders.ca