Breeding Goats FAQ: Part 1- Getting Ready and Selecting Your Goats

I decided to create this series of posts in order to have something to refer buyers to. I love helping people get started with goats, but I find I spend a lot of time answering, in detail, the same questions over and over. Having this post as a reference will help a lot, and hopefully it's good information for you!

Disclaimer: There are many different ways to do things. I've made it clear that I'm not really a stickler for how you should "do" your herd. However, there are some things that are really important. If it's something that is just my own method, I will say, "Here's what I do:". If it's something that is really important for the safety and health of your herd, I'm going to bold it. I'll try to share the pros and cons of things as well, as far as I know.

Q: How much land do I need?

A: It depends on how you plan to feed the goats. Many people dry lot their goats, which means they feed hay / grain year round, so they have limited or no pasture for grazing. If you do this, you don't need as much space. Pros: less space needed, fewer parasite issues. Cons: You have to buy hay year round. If your goats are going to depend on grazing in the nice weather, you want to make sure you have enough space for them to both get enough to eat, AND avoid getting parasites. I've seen a variety of "this many goats per acre" rules, but there are just so many factors. You can also do rotational grazing to make do with a smaller area. I have 25 goats on a little less than 2 acres. I don't rotate, but I do expand the buck pen in grazing weather and keep them in a more "dry lot" space in the winter. They are on pasture from April-October. There is plenty of food for them, and parasite issues are rare, so I feel like this is a pretty good balance.

Q: What kind of shelter do they need?

A: It's necessary to have a shelter where they can get in out of the bad weather. My herd loves sleeping under the stars when it's a clear night, but they will totally hang out in the barn when it's drizzling. I don't lock up the adult goats at night, but we don't really have a predator problem. If you live in an area where that is an issue, you may want the ability to secure them at night. I do have a separate kidding barn with stalls. I keep my does in there when they are about to give birth, and I also lock babies in there at night.

Q: What do they need to eat?

A: Goats can be picky eaters. They will make a mess of the hay you give them, sorting through it to eat the parts they like best. In nice weather, I pretty much let them graze. We have a pretty lush pasture, living near a river and irrigating. Grain is for the animals who are milking or raising kids. I use an organic dairy goat grain mix that I buy from a local farm. It has a variety of good stuff in it, and my goats love it. I have also simply fed wet cob (Corn, oats, barley with molasses). This is cheap and gets the job done. And goats will eat it by the bushel. I definitely notice my animals maintain a healthier weight (ie not fat) on the organic mix, and they get better vitamins and minerals and such. I also feel safer feeding this to my bucks. I would never give them wet COB. In the winter, I feed everyone a high quality alfalfa hay. This is just my preference. Some people do orchard grass, or grass / alfalfa mix. I've had the best results with straight alfalfa.

Q: Wait, I heard bucks shouldn't eat grain! Or Alfalfa!

A: I've heard that too. The main concern is Urinary Calculi. It's a potentially deadly problem in which the goat can't pee due to crystals in the ureter. The cause of this issue is an imbalance between calcium and phosphorus (should be a 2:1 ratio calcium to phosphorus). This can happen whether or not you feed grain. They can get it from their water or their forage too. Now, do bucks NEED grain? Some say no. I give a small amount of grain to mine in the winter, but I feed them a high quality dairy goat mix. I also feed them straight alfalfa hay. Mine do great on this. I used to feed them grass hay and NEVER grain, but I felt like they would get thin in the winter and it took a long time for them to recover in the spring. Now, they are generally coming out of winter much better. It's a good idea to read up on prevention and treatments, because it's not something you want to have to deal with.

Q: What type of fencing should I use? I've heard goats are escape artists!

A: I have a special name for escape artist goats. The are culls. I don't have the time or patience to deal with a goat determined to get out and eat my baby orchard trees. BUT, that being said, you should build your pens properly. I love using cattle panels. They are sturdy and easy to move around if you want to reconfigure your pens. Our pasture area is surrounded with field fence, but eventually, I want woven-wire "no climb" because babies CAN get out of the field fence. They don't often do it, but they can. Bottle babies are the worst offenders. We use the panels surrounding any smaller areas within the pasture, like the buck pen. The main issue is not escaping, it's the leaning on the fence and standing on the fence. So you want to make sure that your posts are strong and the fencing is pulled tight if you're using a wire fencing. We use 4' fence, and none of the Nigerians jump over it.

Q: Can I house bucks and does together?

A: Important! No! So Nigerians cycle year-round. And bucks can manage to breed a full size doe as early as 2 months old. This is a big issue for me, because I can't even count the number of times someone asks when they should separate their buck from their does, because they've been living together. They shouldn't live together. You don't want your does to get pregnant twice in the same year. You want to know WHEN they were bred. The only time I've ever let my bucks live with my does is in the dead of winter when every single doe was already pregnant and there was a blizzard coming. Before you bring home a buck, make sure he has his own living quarters. And if you only have one buck, do yourself a favor and snag a wether friend for him. You'll thank me later.

Q: Can I feed my goats table scraps? Don't they eat just anything?

A: You can, but sparingly. Sometimes I give them pieces of veggies as a snack. We always throw them pumpkins in the fall. I wouldn't give them bread or anything weird. Animal cookies sometimes. Mine love apples and orange peels too. This is a treat, not really part of their diet.

Q: Do they need something to climb on?

A: It's nice for them to have "toys", plus it adds to your viewing pleasure. Mine have an orchard box they like to climb on, several discarded tires, and a dogloo. There is a big rock in the boys' pen that they love to climb on. Goats will climb, if you give them something. It's their favorite thing.

Q: Do they get cold in the winter? Do I need to put coats on them? Should I use heat lamps?

A: No. If they are in good condition and have a shelter to go in if they want it, it's actually best for them to be exposed to the cold weather. Their coats thicken up to keep them warm. They are built for it! I only use heat lamps in my kidding barn if it's cold. I did put one in the boys' pen once, but they don't have as nice of a barn as the girls do

SO now you have everything set up perfectly, right? All set? Good. Let's get to the part where you choose the goats to start your herd.

Q: Should I buy registered, purebred goats?

A: Obviously, my opinion is that of course you should, because that's what I'm selling. Unregistered or mixed breed goats are going to be cheaper, yes. And maybe you'll get a decent one. But there are several reasons why it's a good idea to buy registered goats from a reputable breeder. 1- You have a traceable history. You know your goat's lineage, and you can often find pictures and information on these animals with a quick google search. You can find photos of udders, anecdotes from the owner or breeder. You can check out the farms they come from and see their practices. It's super helpful to give you an idea of what you're getting. With an unregistered goat, you have no idea what you're getting.

2- Your goat has value and income potential. Registered goats are easier to sell, period. The market is flush with goats, registered and unregistered. You will be able to sell baby goats or adult goats quickly and for closer to their actual value than you will with unregistered goats. To me, the cost of keeping goats gets to be pretty high. So you're not going to break even if you can only sell babies for $100 because they're not registered. Invest! Even if the pedigree isn't anything special, it's a starting point. You can invest in a quality buck and then bring up your herd from there.

3- You don't need a dozen goats to start with. I feel that 4 is a good number. Two does, a buck, and a wether (or 2 bucks, even better). After you have your first crop of babies, you can either buy another, or keep doe kids. So don't get distracted by the idea that you can buy MORE unregistered goats for the same price as just a couple of registered goats. I started with just 3 goats, and my herd grew really fast from there!

Q: What should I consider in the pedigree? What makes a good pedigree?

A: You'll often see the phrase "Comes from good milking lines". What does this mean? Many goat breeders joke that milking lines are the tubes on your milking machine, not a line item in a pedigree. I feel like this phrase often just means "Can give you milk". Which, they all can do that. SO, joking aside, what DO you want to look for? It depends on what you want! Are you planning on showing? Breeding with the idea of building quality? Breeding because you want milk? So a lot of this you can tell from a pedigree. Here are a few things you might see:

*M / *B / 2*M / +B: These are indicators that an animal or its parents were on milk test through DHIA, and reached certain markers in production, butterfat, and protein. If a doe has a *M, then she personally was on milk test and earned that star herself. A doe cannot inherit a milk star, but, if you see a number before the *M (2*M, 4*M) that tells you how many consecutive generations of does were also on milk test and also met the minimum requirements. A buck earns his star from his sire and dam. If his sire is a *B or +B, and his dam is a *M (having earned it in all three categories), then he will be a *B. A buck earns his +B from his offspring. When he has three daughters earn their full *M, then he earns his +B. Now, none of these awards tell you anything about amounts. There is a big difference between the minimum number and the top producing animals' numbers. So you'll want to dig deeper and find those actual numbers. CDCB has a website where you can look up detailed info on a goat's milk test history.

CH / GCH- This has to do with show wins. I am not big in the show ring, so I don't know all the rules and details, but I do know that a CH designation means they have at least three show wins.

SG: Superior Genetics. These awards are earned by animals in the top 15% in their PTI (production Type Index, determined by DHIA and Linear Appraisal). So if you see an SG on the pedigree, that was a really excellent animal all around.

Linear Appraisal / LA- The pedigree will usually just show the years the animal was appraised, but it's pretty easy to look up this data using adgagenetics.com (if it gets updated). Knowing how to read an LA score needs an entire post of its own, but just knowing that info is there is super helpful.

Now, if you don't see those indicators, it doesn't mean they are bad goats. You just may want to look for photos and information about them before you decide. The indicators basically just tell you there are records.

Q: What about inbreeding / linebreeding? Should I be concerned when I notice my goat's paternal grandsire is the same as her maternal great-grandsire?

A: That depends. Was there a reason for this line-breeding? As in, was this a superior goat whose traits would be good to double up on? Or was it a convenience thing? Or an oops? Look up that repeat grandsire to see what you can find out. I would be less concerned with that, being a couple of generations back. I don't buy animals that are closely inbred, like siblings, or sire to daughter / dam to son.

Q: Oh! So I shouldn't keep my doe's buckling to breed to her next year?

A: Probably not. This is maybe a side question, but I didn't want to forget to address it. Full disclosure: I did this when I first started. I thought it was no big deal. And it wasn't, really. I mean, no goats were born with two heads or anything. But, I DID have trouble selling them because there wasn't a good reason for that "tight line breeding". Sometimes it's an accident. One year I had a buck escape and he bred his sister. Thankfully, she had twin boys, so I just sold them as wethers. Now, I try to keep my linebreeding as distant as possible, and never out of convenience. If I'm looking at a pedigree (adgagenetics will tell you how inbred they are, according to their records), seeing 3-5% inbred doesn't bother me. I mean, Nigerians in the US can all be traced back to the same two animals, so it's going to be there. If it's a higher number than that, I just look into it more to see what's up.

Q: What should I look for in a breeder to purchase from?

A: I'm glad you asked! Here are some of my personal preferences. I'm also going to address some red flags to watch out for.

1. I prefer to buy from farms that have a website that they keep updated. This allows me to browse and get to "know" the animals on their farm. You also get to know the breeder that way, and see how passionate they are about their animals. I love buying from people who love their goats and who invest a lot of time and work into them. Following on social media is helpful too. I love interacting with other goat enthusiasts.

2. Healthy animals. It's a good idea to ask if the herd has been tested for CAE / CL / Johnnes disease. While these quickie blood tests are not 100% accurate, I feel that a breeder's willingness to check off this box shows a concern for their herd's health. It's also good if you can see recent photos or visit the farm (more on that in a moment) to get an overall picture of the herd's health. Now, we all get sick goats from time to time. I have one right now that is determined to look awful after recovering from a bad parasite overload. I'm giving him all kinds of supplements and monitoring him obsessively. But, the rest of my herd looks great. If the whole herd was skinny and low-energy, that would be an indicator of a management problem.

3. The breeder is willing to talk with me and answer my questions. This right here is a big deal. I want them to be interested in ME and my farm. I take an interest in my buyers' farms, and I love getting updates from them. So it's nice to find like-minded people like this.

Red Flags:

-I feel like it's a red flag if the breeder is disinterested in talking about their animals or uses the "I don't have time" excuse a lot. If you're going to do this, you need to make time to do a good job. Now, if they have taken several good photos of the animal for sale, and have photos of the sire and dam, I don't ask for more pictures. But if the picture is not high quality, I'm going to need to see more. If your ad doesn't give much info, then I have questions, and you should probably make time to answer them!

-They use language like, "I need to free up some space". This is actually pretty common wording in a scam. Anything unspecific. "Baby goats, bucks and does available"...another one. I want specific info on specific goats.

-They are too secretive. Now, I don't think it's a red flag if a breeder doesn't do farm visits. Protecting your property, family, and the biosecurity of your herd is important. But it only takes a few minutes to do a video call and "virtual tour". I love doing these. I know it's important that my buyers see my goats as they are TODAY, and not three years ago when the photo was taken.

-The price is too low. I know, it sounds weird. I feel that anything under $400 that appears to be a high-quality animal is questionable. Not that I never sell animals at a lower price. But when I do, I am transparent about why the price is so low. I've priced animals low because they are not great producers, because they are escape artists, because they are old, because they are stunted in growth, or because they are skittish and are going to take some work. I don't eat my culls, but I don't have trouble finding good pet homes for them. So...do you want any of that? If you speak with the breeder, and the reasons for the price being low don't matter to you, then by all means, go for it. But if the breeder insists it's a quality animal with zero flaws for $150...they're either dumb, or lying.

IMPORTANT: don't buy from a livestock auction unless you're willing to quarantine them for a long time and make sure they are healthy before introducing to your herd. Purebred animals are usually sent to auction for a reason, and they can pick up any number of diseases there, if they didn't already have them.

Q: Do I want a bottle baby or a dam-raised baby?

A: Either can be positive or negative. The pros of a bottle baby are that they WILL be friendly. They will probably want to stand on your shoulders, climb inside your coat, and nibble on every part of your body or clothing, but at least they won't run from you when it's time to give them their dewormer. Cons: I've found bottle babies to be harder to train. They take longer to lead, and they are SO mad at you when it's time to learn how to stand on the milk stand. They all get it eventually, but I think we take their friendliness for granted sometimes, and we forget that they need training too. I have also found that bottle baby goats will be your escape artists. The pros of a dam-raised baby: They can still be friendly, while maintaining their independence. They like you because you're their friend, not because you're the source of all sustenance. Some of my favorite goats were dam-raised, but are friendly, and enjoy sitting in the sun with me, getting scratches from a respectful spot next to me, rather than sitting like a dog in my lap (Hi Voldemort). I also find that dam-raised-but-friendly goats are MUCH easier to train, because they understand your role. You're the boss. They like you, but they respect you more too. I have a doe who is not super friendly, but when I need her, I literally just make eye contact with her and say, "Come here, Jenny." And she makes her way over to me for whatever it is that I needed to do. Bottle babies be like, "I'm already in your house. I'm going to nap in your bed." The cons of a dam-raised baby: they CAN be ridiculously wild and require a rodeo to catch them. I won't deal with those. If they don't settle down with me out there feeding and caring for them, they are gone. My babies get held daily, and are used to people petting them, picking them up, etc. So they are usually pretty sweet by the time they go to their new homes.

Q: Should I buy babies or adults?

A: Totally up to you! I think it might be nice to have at least one full grown doe, and then a few babies. It gives you an idea of what to expect. But either way works well, depending on your plans.

So that just about covers it! Now that you're prepared, let's move along to keeping and breeding the excellent goats you've purchased!