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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.
DOCN 000000009
NO B-3
MANAGEMENT -- BIRTH TO BREEDING
J. A. Yazman; Winrock Intrnt. Livest. Res. Train.
Ctr. Morrilton, AR L. Turillo; Cornell U. Ithaca,
NY
D. L. Ace; Pennsylvania State U., University Park
Management and Housing
1 Kid management from birth to breeding is an essential
component of the dairy goat enterprise. With the possible
exception of the nutritional management of the doe
herd, the kid management program has the greatest
effect on the long-term productivity of the dairy
goat herd. The dairy goat kid at birth represents
a genetic resource necessary to replenish the herd
gene pool which has a changing composition due to
death, culling and sales for breeding stock. While
the genetic character of the kid is determined at
the time of conception, survival to lactation and
an adequate body size are necessary to realize inherent
genetic potential for lactation. One of the advantages
of the dairy goat is the opportunity for rapid genetic
progress due to early sexual maturity (breeding is
possible at 7 months or less), short gestation interval
(150 days) and multiple offspring per parturition
(2.0 or more for mature does). Kid mortality has a
direct effect on genetic progress by its effect on
selection pressure, that is, the percentage of the
kids which must be retained as replacements. Maintaining
low mortality from birth to weaning while producing
a 100 lb doe at kidding should be the primary objective
of the kid management program.
2 As practiced on most dairy goat
farms, the kid raising enterprise is highly labor-intensive.
Because in the absence of control programs involving
lighting and/or hormonal treatments, dairy goats have
a highly seasonal reproductive cycle, a labor-year
profile for kid raising would show a peak demand in
January through May, with low demand in July through
November. In order to reduce the characteristic high
labor input per unit of milk produced on dairy goat
farms, attention should be given to systems of kid
management which reduce labor while keeping mortality
low.
3 Pre-Parturition The kid management
program should actually begin prior to parturition
with attention to the nutritional needs of the gestating
doe in latelactation and during the dry period. With
a gestation period of 150 days, most of the development
of the dairy goat fetus occurs when the nutritional
demands on the doe are at their lowest; late lactation
and during the dry period. The tendency is to regard
the late-lactation and dry doe as a nonproductive
part of the milk-producing system. On the contrary,
however, an adequate diet for the dry doe is essential
to producing a healthy litter of kids. Depending upon
the forage source and size of the doe during the dry
period from one to two lb of a 10 to 16 percent concentrate
ration should be fed daily. Pregnant does should receive
plenty of exercise. An overly fat doe should be avoided
but the high producing doe needs to recover body weight
lost during the previous lactation. Clean, cool water
and free choice trace-mineralized salt should be available.
A supplement of bone meal will aid in fetal development
but care should be taken to not overfeed calcium.
4 Vaccination boosters for Clostridium
perfringens C and D and tetanus toxoid should be given
not less than 3 weeks prior to kidding. Vitamin E/selenium
injections are given during the dry period to prevent
white muscle disease in the kids, especially in areas
where soils are selenium deficient. Does should be
wormed at drying off.
5 The goal for average kid weight
at birth should be 8 to 11 lb. Underweight, weak kids
do not do well and require extra care and labor. Kid
mortality in the first 10 days is highest among kids
born underweight either due to a premature parturition
or poor doe nutrition.
6 Parturition The doe should kid
in a clean environment, either a well-rotated pasture
or stall bedded with straw or other absorbent material.
The kid prior to birth has been existing in a germ-free
environment and parturition represents exposure to
common disease organisms to which the mature animal
has developed resistance. The location of the kidding
stall or pasture should be near a well-travelled area
in order that the doe will be frequently observed
for kidding difficulties. Few adult does require assistance
at the time of kidding though problems are always
a possibility. First-freshening does should be closely
watched, especially if bred to bucks known to sire
large kids.
7 At birth two management practices
are critical to the future health and survival of
the newborn kid. The navel cord should be diped in
a solution of tincture of iodine to prevent entry
of disease-causing organisms through the navel cord
and directly into the body of the kid. If necessary,
a long navel cord can be cut to 3 or 4 inches in length.
A bleeding cord should be tied with surgical suture
material. Dipping of the cord in iodine not only prevents
entry of organisms but promotes rapid drying and the
eventual breaking away of the cord from the navel.
8 The second critical practice is
the feeding of colostrum milk as soon after birth
as possible. The colostrum, or first milk, contains
antibodies which the doe did not pass to the fetal
kid in utero. Consumption of colostrum must occur
as early as possible and prior to 18 hours after birth
as there is a rapid reduction in the permeability
of the intestinal wall of the newborn to the antibodies.
The colostrum milk should be bottle-fed to the newborn
to insure adequate consumption. Excess colostrum can
be frozen for use in orphan or bonus kids. Recent
research indicates that disease organisms, especially
caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), may pass from
doe to kid through the milk and transmission might
be avoided through the use of extra colostrum frozen
from does tested and shown to be CAE-free or pasteurized
colostrum. An additional practice at birth which enhances
the health of the newborn kid is to give injections
of iron dextran and vitamins A and D after birth.
A vitamin E/selenium injection may be beneficial in
areas of selenium-deficient soils.
9 Kids should be checked carefully
at birth for any deformities or abnormalities.
10 Pneumonia is a major killer of
young kids. A dry, draftfree environment is an excellent
preventative measure.
11 Birth to Weaning Milk is the principal
component of the diet of the preweaning kid. There
are numerous ways to feed milk including the use of
bottles or pails, suckling the dam or nurse does,
and self-feeder units. The method chosen will depend
upon such factors as the size of the herd and available
labor, as well as personnel preference. With any system,
the health of the kid, sanitation and available labor
are the major factors to consider. Under natural suckling,
kids consume small amounts of milk at very frequent
intervals. Ideally, artificial rearing should mimic
natural suckling but the constraint of available labor
precludes frequent feeding. Nevertheless, kids should
be fed 2 to 4 times daily for the first week or two
and twice daily thereafter. Bottle feeding is more
labor intensive but kids receive more individual attention
and are easier to handle post-weaning than kids that
are allowed to suckle does. Pail or pan feeding may
reduce labor somewhat but bodyweight loss and need
for extra ''training sessions'' at the beginning must
be expected.
12 For larger herds, self-feeder
units such as a ''lamb bar'' may successfully reduce
labor. The key to use of the system is the maintenance
of a low temperature of the milk (40F) which will
limit intake by the kid at any one time. Small, frequent
feedings increase digestibility and decrease digestive
disturbances. Consumption of large quantities of milk
may lead to bloat due to entry of milk into the reticulo-rumen
or rapid passage of milk through the abomasum and
small intestines resulting in diarrhea or nutritional
scours.
13 Where a strong market for goat
milk exists, milk replacer is an important option
available for raising kids. Lamb milk replacer containing
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has b milk/self-feeder systems for raising lambs.
A limitation to the use of milk replacer is the tendency
by manufacturers to substitute whey for skim milk
as a protein source. Whey is high in lactose which
causes bloat and scours in young kids. Research conducted
on raising kids on lamb milk replacer fed cold and
free-choice from 4 days of age to weaning at 6 weeks
indicates that growth performance is lower and the
incidence of digestive disturbances such as scours
and bloat are increased compared to goat's milk under
the same system. If milk replacer is to be used it
is recommended that it be given to animals older than
2 weeks of age, or combined with goat's milk on an
equal weight basis. It is best to make a gradual change
to milk replacer over a few days.
14 In raising dairy goat kids, increase
in size and weight are not the only measurements of
success. A well formed skeleton and proper development
of internal organs are often neglected when the emphasis
is on rapid gains. An average daily gain of 250 gm
during the first weeks of life should be the goal.
By limiting daily milk consumption to about 2 quarts,
daily consumption of dry feed will be encouraged.
Dry feed consumption is important in developing body
capacity. By increasing body capacity, feed intake
and digestion increase. Research has shown that at
two months of age a weaned kid has a reticulo-ruminal
capacity 5 times as large as suckling kids of the
same age.
15 Kids should be consuming forages
such as pasture grass or hay by two weeks of age and
grain within four. Careful attention need be given
to formulation of a concentrate supplement for the
pre-weaning kid. Palatability is of primary concern.
Molasses at the rate of 100f the total dry matter,
corn (preferably chopped or rolled) and whole or rolled
oats make up the energy ''core'' of a good preweaning
diet. Balance the crude protein needs by adding cottonseed
or soybean meal or another high protein source. Though
few studies with kids have been done, crude protein
contents of the pre-weaning ration should be within
the range of 14-18 Ground alfalfa may be added at
50r less to provide additional stimulation for reticuloruminal
development.
16 Several factors need to be considered
when making the decision as to when to wean dairy
goat kids. The most important consideration is whether
or not the average daily consumption of concentrate
and forage is adequate for growth and development
to continue in the absence of milk. Fixed weaning
ages are less desirable than weight goals such as
2.0 to 2.5 times birth weight. Many producers who
have an erratic or marginal market for their milk
delay weaning for longer periods than necessary. While
milk feeding may promote more rapid growth than a
concentrate-forage diet, maintaining kids on milk
may delay the attainment of the dry feed intake level
necessary to weaning and also leaves the kid disposed
to diarrhea.
17 Kids should be dehorned between
3 and 14 days of age, while the horn bud is visible.
The hair should be clipped and a hot electric disbudder
held over the area for 15 to 20 seconds with firm
even pressure. The center of the ring formed by the
iron should also be burned and the cap remaining pried
off. A topical spray should be applied to avoid problems
with flies on the resulting wound. A local anesthesia
such as lidocaine may be used to decrease pain and
permit easier handling of the kid. Restraint devices
are available to purchase or may be homemade.
18 At about 3 to 4 weeks of age kids
should receive a vaccination for C. perfringens CD
and also tetanus or any bacterin for which there is
a problem in the herd. A booster should be given in
two weeks.
19 Buck kids to be slaughtered under
2 months of age need not be castrated. If meat goats
are to be kept until an older age, castrating can
be done at 2 to 4 weeks. The lower part of the scrotal
sac is cut with a knife and the testicles squeezed
through the openings. The cords are then cut by scraping
with a sterilized knife or scapel. Iodine or topical
spray is applied. The ''bloodless'' method of castration
using a Burdizzo clamp can be equally effective if
care is taken to crush both cords. Use of elastic
bands is not to be recommended due to potential development
of gangrene.
20 Weaning to Breeding The objective
of raising the dairy goat kid should be to produce
a lactating animal with an adequate body size as inexpensively
as possible and in the shortest possible time. For
the heavier breeds (Saanens, Alpines, Nubians), the
goal should be a 110 lb doe freshening at 12 months
of age and 90 lb for the lighter breeds (LaMancha,
Toggenburg). If a doe is weaned at 8 weeks, weighing
20 lbs and is to kid at 12 months, at 110 lbs, then
she must gain 90 lbs in 10 months, or approximately
1/3 lb daily. Therefore, the nutritional program must
aim for a growth rate of approximately 150 gm daily
with consideration for both the nutritional requirements
of the growing doe and the growing fetus over the
5-month gestation period.
21 Forage must constitute the core
of an economical diet for growing dairy goat kids
with mixed concentrates or simple grains fed to provide
the nutrients that are not provided by the forage
consumed. Forage quality is therefore very important
but because the dairy goat is a browsing animal, it
is quite poorly estimated. Leaves and young stems
chosen by browsing animals have crude protein and
digestible energy values higher than the average for
the whole plant. The kid grazing on improved pasture,
browsing in woodlots or consuming alfalfa hay is able
to select plant parts which have a higher nutritional
value than laboratory analyses of the forage samples
might show. Given the ability of the dairy goat to
selectively browse, in order to formulate a program
of supplementation on a forage-based diet, one must
estimate what the kid is actually consuming rather
than what is available. If good quality, leafy alfalfa
hay is fed in quantities which allow for selection,
a simple supplement of 2 lb of corn or oats per head,
daily gain is adequate. On lower quality forage such
as poor quality grass hay, or grazing where intake
of dry matter might be limited by water content of
the forage consumed, 2 lb of a higher protein, mixed
commercial concentrate may be required. Whatever the
''mix'' of the diet fed, forage should be provided
free-choice in quantities which allow for maximum
opportunity to select, with limited feeding of concentrates
or grain to fill in the nutritional gaps.
22 Exercise, fresh water and access
to salt and minerals are also important in the postweaning
period. Attention must be given to control of internal
parasites, especially coccidiosis. Treatment of kids
with a coccidiostat, either liquid or solid, should
begin at 3 weeks of age and continue at proper intervals
through the post-weaning period.
23 Hooves should be trimmed frequently
to assure proper development of the hoof.
24 Summary There are a variety of
management techniques available for raising healthy
replacement dairy goat does and bucks. Selection should
be based upon efficient use of available resources
and development, of a healthy doe of adequate bodyweight,
ready to produce an economical level of milk at 12
months of age. Particular attention needs to be paid
to the system of feeding pre-weaning due to the high
labor requirement for raising young kids.
25 Stress and disease-causing organisms
often interact to produce high kid mortality. Cleanliness,
proper nutrition and a good herd health program are
the best ways to prevent such losses.
MANAGEMENT -- BIRTH TO BREEDING
;GOAT HANDBOOK
ORIGIN;United States
DATE_INCLUDED;June 1992
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