Goats and Goat Biology

Angora:

Raised exclusively for their fleece (mohair); 90% of American Angoras are in Texas; diet is almost entirely browse and broadleaf plants; usually shorn twice a year with weights of 4 to 6 lbs per clipping; mature doe wt - 80-90 lbs, bucks weigh 125 to 175 lb.

Lactation:

Remember - a doe must give birth to a kid before she can be milked. On average lactation extends for about 230 days, but can extend to the 305 day figure of cattle. However, outstanding does are usually not rebred in the ensuing autumn and thus can be milked for up to 20 months (pregnancy has a depressing effect on lactation). This is when you see does with production figures of 5000 lbs of milk or more. Otherwise, average production is 2,100 lbs of 3.6% fat, 3.5% protein milk. Average daily production is about 6.5 lbs per day (approx 3 quarts), just right for a family of four.

Raising Replacements:

Replacement kids are fed to reach breeding size (85 to 90 lbs) at 9 to 10 months of age. This can be accomplished by providing a good-quality pasture, perhaps with some grain supplementation (1 lb or less per head per day).

Digestive Anatomy:

Ruminants. Goats, like sheep, are obligate herbivores, although they are browsers not grazers. A browser is a selective eater, who is willing to eat stems, twigs and brush- plant products high in 'woody' fibers. Goats have a dental pad instead of top front teeth. Goats shed 'baby' teeth and age like sheep, regurgitate and re-chew their food, using microorganisms in the rumen to ferment fibrous plant material - producing food energy and methane (to be belched) in the process.

Gestation

150 days (range of 144-155; longer in larger breeds)

Estrus Period

2 days (1-3)

Estrous Cycle

21 day average (19-23)

Ovulation

24 hours after the onset of estrus

La Mancha:

Developed in California in 1959 from Spanish meat goats; Earless - with Gopher ear <1 inch long and Elf ear < 2 inches long; somewhat lower milk production at 1800 lbs per lactation and 3.9% fat.

Seasonally polyestrus

If not impregnated, does will cycle as do ewes, from late August through Winter. Less seasonality as you approach the equator. Unlike sheep, however, estrus is detectable by humans - swollen, red vulva, often accompanied by a mucous discharge

Kid Management:

Kids need colostrum for the first 3 to 5 days of life. Kids raised on a bottle (rather than nursing) should get approx 8% of body weight per day, fed two or three times a day. Weaning can occur between 6 to 12 weeks, with hay and creep feed being available. Castration and dehorning is usually done between 2 and 5 days.

Doe

Mature female goat

Buck

Mature, intact male goat

Nubian:

Originally from Sudan; long droopy ears; coat color is usually mix of black and tan; the 'Jersey' of goat breeds with 4.6% milk fat and production of 1800 lbs per 8 month lactation; Nubians are a little 'meatier' than other dairy breeds with mature doe wt of 130 lbs

Saanen:

Originally from Switzerland; erect ears, large white (usually, although there are jet black Saanens) doe of 140 lbs with high milk production - 2150 lbs milk per lactation and low fat at 3.5% (the 'Holstein' of Goats).

Toggenburg:

Originally from Switzerland; erect ears, small goats (often around 110 lb does); coat color is generally a shade of brown, with a stripe of white down the sides of the face; Togg's often have longer hair, including beards; milk production at 2000 lbs per lactation at 3.3% fat.

Alpine:

Originally from the French Alps; alert eyes and erect ears; variation in color - white, gray, brown, black & mixtures; mature doe wt - 130 lbs with production of 2100 lbs milk per 8 month lactation at 3.4% fat.

Pygmy goats:

Originally from west and central Africa for meat production, now in US as unique pets; no seasonality in breeding (any season since they are equatorial animals); adapted to humid subtropics and tolerant of trypanosomes.

Birth weight

between 5 and 6 lbs (range of 1.5 to 11 per kid), where twins are the usual number born, with a low incidence of dystocia. Fun Fact: It is common to find does in visible estrus when pregnant.

young male goat

buckling or buck kid

young female goat

doeling or doe kid

What is mastitis?

inflammation of the udder

The most important disease in dairy goats

mastitis

Clinical mastitis

the infection of the mammary gland by bacteria (principally streptococcus and staphylococcus). Antibiotic treatment is effective, but the milk must be discarded until medicine is cleared from the gland. Another common affliction is contagious ecthyma (soremouth, also seen in sheep) characterized by sores around the mouth (like a herpes cold sore)

Breeding:

99% of does are bred naturally (a more accurate number would be 100%, but there are probably some artificially bred does). Bucks smell, so that one should keep them away from the herd until breeding is necessary. This is particularly true in a milking herd, where the buck odor can find it's way into the milk.

Managing The Milking Herd:

A typical milking diet would be 2 to 3 lbs of good-quality hay per day, along with .5 lb grain per quart of milk produced. At peak production (2 months into lactation), hay can be fed ad libitum with a more generous grain supplement. During the dry period does can 're-charge' their body stores on hay alone, unless it is of poor quality, then some grain (1 to 2 lbs per day) should be fed as well.

Milk:

Goat milk is: whiter than cow's milk; easier to digest than cow's milk; has smaller fat globules; has softer protein curd; higher in minerals like calcium and phosphorous, as well as vitamins A, E and various B vitamins.

Puberty

Variable with breed and nutritional status; from 120 days to 1 year; small breeds reach puberty earlier than larger breeds

Kid

Young goat