Are your ready to buy goats for your farm or to raise their breed? If you’ve never purchased animals, you’ll want to know about raising goats as best as you can before going to a prospective breeder for a look at the animals. You will then have an idea of what you’re looking for when you examine the goat and their property. Such tips will get you started with what to expect when you buy your first herd of goats.
Quantity of Goats you buy
Do you know how many goats you want to start with. Most goat farmers suggest beginning with fewer animals than you would like to end up with, learn how to take care of them without the stresses of a larger flock.
You’ll need a total of two goats because they’re social animals that’ll be lonely on their own. You can have, or do, just wethers. Don’t get a buck first unless you’re sure you need one.
Do you know how much room your goats have. For sleeping space, you need 10 to 15 square feet per caprine indoors. If not, for a sleeping room, you would need about 20 square feet per goat and 30 square feet for exercise (ideally, this would be outdoors).
Goat Characteristics
You need to select the goat breed which suits your goals: either meat or milk, showing and growing a healthy breeding line, or producing fibre. But several other characteristics need to be considered:
Size: You may want to choose a miniature breed if you are an urban dweller or have a small homestead.
Horn: It can harm other goats, people, and properties. Figure out if the breed that you are considering is kept horned.
Breed: If you are showing or breeding goats, you may want to get licensed animals that need to be marked with a tattoo or microchip and that have a breeding background. You don’t have to have licensed goats if you are raising goats for meat or milk or helping on the homestead.
Select and Buy Goat
Always but a good breeder goat, which can provide you stable breed for your business. Ask around locally to get an idea about the breeder and ensure the integrity of your goat, and ask to check both the animals of the breeding and their records. A good breeder’s animals are healthy, sound, and their careers will show how well their herd performs.
Stop selling barns, because people here also dispose of their goats. Shop around and compare how the goats in the farms you visit are handled. Start slow, but plan to buy more than one goat because the animals are social.
Ask questions:
- Why is the goat available for sale?
- How old are they?
- Has she ever kidded a dog before?
- What were the outcomes?
- Is the goat licensed, and if so, whose bloodlines are they?
- Is there a history of herd diseases?
- Any history of illness in this particular goat?
- Is the CAE-free Herd?
- Is the CL-free herd?
And watch your future goat, and study it. Your goat can walk steadily without limp. Her hooves should be kind and do not smell foul (could suggest rot in the feet). Her eyes should be a warning, bright and clear, and she should look pink or red when you gently pull down her lower eyelid. Goat coat should be smooth and soft, not rough or slender.
Goat teeth should be solid-bite sound, and udders should be smooth and well-formed on mature do.
There you will notice a few signs of an ill-health of a goat: lean body, high knees, abscesses, raw skin, stumbling, or exceptional gait.
If you bring your goats home for the first time, make sure they are kept apart from the current herd for at least a month, so you’re sure they won’t carry any parasites or diseases to the rest of your flock.
