COLLECTION: GOAT HANDBOOK
ORIGIN: United States
DATE INCLUDED: June 1992

Extension Goat Handbook

This material was contributed from collections at the National Agricultural Library. However, users should direct all inquires about the contents to authors or originating agencies.

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NO A-6
THE 4-H PROJECT BOOK
B. Ells; New Mexico State U., Las Cruces
The Goat Industry

1 The purpose of a 4-H goat project is to help youngsters learn about goats -- their feeding, care, management, and how to select them. They will also have the opportunity to show others how to develop a kid into a good goat, specificially a dairy goat. This project is suitable for rural and urban youngsters alike.

2 Objectives The objectives are: * To gain knowledge and skills in managing and caring for dairy goats. * To learn to select quality goats and how to feed them balanced rations. * To maintain management records to base decisions regarding feed, production, breeding and profit. * To participate in group activities within the club and to assume responsibility in the club goat program. * To gain satisfaction from completing a project to the best of the ability of the youngster. * Learn responsibility by regularly caring for an animal. * Appreciate the role of goats in human nutrition. * Develop a business ability.
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3 Housing Equipment Breeds of dairy goats Feeding Tattooing Diseases and ailments Determining age Grooming Showing Tanning a goat skin Disbudding Trimming the feet Using goat meat Products from goat milk (cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream) Diseases affecting man through milk The mammary system and how it works Digestive system

4 Project Book State and county 4-H leaders in Cooperative Extension offices have project record books for use by the 4-H members. Many of these books contain the basic management information on how the youngster can get started with goats. Breeds, feeds, health, fitting and showing, milking, housing, etc., are outlined usually in an introductory way. Score cards for the goat and for fitting and showmanship are included.

5 Following are record book forms which have proven useful: HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR 4-H CLUB DAIRY GOAT? Name Registry No. Date of Birth Date Secured Name of Sire Registry No. Number of Tested Daughters Avg. Production Milk Name of Dam Registry No.

6 Give her milk and butterfat records: Age Days Milk Butterfat lbs lbs ____ ____ ____ ____

7 From whom did you purchase your kid? Give Name Address

8 If your kid is a purebred, it should be registered and transferred immediately. The transfer should be made out in your name. This should be done before July 1.

9 The seller of a purebred animal should arrange for the registration and transfer of an animal which he sells. It is customary for the seller to assume the expense of registration and transfer. The papers should be delivered to the buyer within a few weeks from the time of purchase.

10 The Growth Record Measure the heart girth and height at withers of your goat and record it in your book every month. Make these measurements near the day in the month that your goat was born. The chest measurement is made with a tape measure around the barrel just behind the fore legs. The withers measurement is made by standing the goat on a level floor, placing a long stick upright beside the fore legs, and a short stick level over the withers and to the upright stick. The heighth of withers will then be the distance from where the sticks cross to the floor.

11 If you plot the growth on the growth charts, you can see more easily how your goat is growing.

12 Keeping the Feed Record This is a very important part of your dairy club work and should be filled in every month. The grain rations used and prices are recorded in the space provided at the top of the feed record page. The different grain mixtures fed are numbered so that the number representing the grain mixture fed that month can be placed in the column marked No. when filling out the feed record. The cost per 100 pounds should be calculated from the farm price of home-grown grains and the purchase price of feeds that are bought. The problem is worked in this manner:
100 lbs cracked corn or milo at $2.50 per cwt = $2.50 100 lbs rolled or crushed oats at 4.70 per cwt = 4.70 50 lbs wheat bran at 4.50 per cwt = 2.25 ___ ______ 250 $9.45
Cost per cwt = 9.45 / 250 = .38 cents per lb or $3.80 per cwt

13 If you buy ready-mixed feed, report it in this way in the space provided at the top of the feed record page.
Jones & Smith dairy ration $4.82 = .048 cents per lb. or Brown & Lee Goat Pellets $6.20 = .062 cents per lb.

14 On the Monthly Feed Record, on the lower half of the page, record the month, the number of the grain mix used that month, the pounds of grain mix feed during the month, and the value of the grain mix used. In the columns for roughage, record the kind of hay used, the pounds fed that month, and the value of the hay fed. The same method is used in recording any feed fed.

15 Grain should be weighed or measured at each feeding. For example, if you are feeding one pound of grain twice a day in a 30 day month, you would feed 60 pounds of grain. The hay and silage fed the goat should be weighed near the middle of the month. This weight multiplied by the days in the month would tell you the amount of hay and silage consumed by the goat. Roughages should be charged at the farm prices. This also should be recorded every month.

16 QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED THE FIRST YEAR 1. What is a purebred goat?
2. What is the first step in becoming a good judge of dairy goats?
3. When may milk feeding the kid be discontinued?
4. How can you tell whether your kid should be dehorned or not?
5. Name two breeds of goats not including the breed you have.
6. What are the three distinguishing features of a good dairy goat when at a peak of production?
7. How many days should newborn kids be left with their mother?
8. At what age should kids be put on pasture?
9. How often should the grain be weighed or measured?
10. What tools would you need to trim the feet?

17 QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED THE SECOND YEAR 1. During the winter what feed should young does receive?
2. With good pasture and browse what grain should they receive during the summer months?
3. List three essentials of a good shelter.
4. What are the two most common health risks with goats?
5. At what age should well-grown young does be bred?
6. Where should your goat be at kidding time?
7. What part of your goat should be clipped before kidding?
8. How long a gestation period do goats have?
9. How many kids do goats usually have at one time?
10. How long a time is usually needed to prepare your goat for the roundup?

18 QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED THE THIRD YEAR 1. How many days usually elapse between kidding and keeping the milk?
2. Name two advantages of keeping production records?
3. How many months should your goat be in production?
4. About how long a dry period should your goat have to maintain high, efficient production?
5. What is the suggested grain mixture for a home mix for milking does?
6. Grain feeding is usually based on the rate of production. What is the suggested ratio of lbs grain to lbs of milk?
7. What is the minimum amount of grain that a milking doe should receive each day?
8. Goats are usually milked twice a day. Name the most important factor in regard to the time of milking
9. If you own a buck, what would be his main feed in the summer?
10.From the standpoint of dairy character describe what a milking goat would look like when at a peak of production.

THE 4-H PROJECT BOOK
COLLECTION;GOAT HANDBOOK
ORIGIN;United States
DATE_INCLUDED;June 1992