Animal Science Goat Management 3/12/2015- Male goat Buck- Castrate Wether (like a sheep)- Female goato Doe- Baby goat Kid - Handling Goats Very similar to sheep Do not jump without encouragement Try to prevent crowding- stepping on each other Need tall facilities to discourage jumping  Avoid sudden movements and loud noises - Transportation  When hauling, be aware of their climbing ability, they will climb on anything Have them crowded enough to prevent significant movement, makes everything a lot easier in terms of rocking a trailer  Make sure to close partition or cut gates in the middle of the trailer to prevent bunchingHealth Issues  Overeating-the number one cause of death in goats Enterotoxemia- very dangerous for goat owners. Caused by overpodiction of toxins that gets into the blood stream that makes them sick. Overeating of milk, grain or grass causes enterotoxemia. Milk replacers are notorious for this. Causes their stomach to stop moving  Pink eye: can be infectious or non-infectious. o Noninfectious: bright sunlight, dusty hay, wind and dusto Infectious: bacteria or virus, keraconjuctivitis o Early signs are runny, red, swollen eyeso Can cause blindness, and even death in severe cases  Soremouth- most common disease in sheep and goats. ORF IN HUMANS. AKA: (contagious ecthyma, scabby mouth, pustular dermatitis, orf (zoonotic) ) Course of disease is 1-4 weeks pustules appear, scabs appear and fall off, tissues heal.  Caseous lymphadenitiso Lymph node abscess, can cause sudden death. Hard and onion like Mastitiso Utters can get hot and swollen if they don’t empty it completely.  Tetanuso Vaccinate for this. If you don’t, you will get it. Especially when banding or castration. Foot roto Big problem for our wet environment Vibriosiso Can cause abortion. Can in humans too, must protect yourself from it Chlamydiosiso Most frequent cause of abortion in goats, cannot be left untreatedo Other causes include Listeria, Toxoplasmosis, Brucellosis (Veins disease, not necessarily in Tennessee)Behavioral Clues to Health Problems Isolation Lag behind Off-feed Lethargy Anxiety Very vocal (unlike sheep)Management Practices  Disbudding (dehorning)o Chemical, or hot iron (goats have thinner skulls than calves, and you can cook their brain) Deodorizing o Odor glands are taken out. They are right behind the horn Castrationo Wethers are preferred by some buyers but there is a market for buckso Improves managemento Do as young as possible (small testicles, lower blood flow) Also can’t band when they are olderNutritionand Feeding Management They will eat weeds and junk before they eat the good grass in a pastue They do not need to be fed all year long You want no change in body weight- “Maintenance feeding”.  New kido Need colostrum for immunoglobins. Calves need 10% of their body weight. Kids need less than that, 2-4 ounceso Needs to be given in the first 24 hours o Weanling Wean about 3-4 months of age  Replacement femaleo Need to be no an increasing plan of nutrition, but not fato Breed at 60-80 pounds, and will be 8-10 months old. Breeding femaleo Eat mostly forageo Flushing- feed them more right before breeding and during breeding, in hopes of increasing probability of twinning o Last 6 weeks of pregnancy 1-2pounds per dayo Also feed after breeding to maintain weight  Lactating Female Breeding Male o Make sure he doesn’t lose weight during breeding, needs extra body fat before