Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Goat farming can be a fun and rewarding job if well prepared. Find out more about the reasons for setting up a goat farm and what to consider when starting this job.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Choose a goat

1. 

   Check out the local regulations. You may not be able to keep goats where you live, especially in urban areas. Contact the nearest district authority, construction inspectors or local authorities to see if there are regulations allowing only certain breeds of goats to be kept, or male goats are not allowed. are castrated or have other restrictions. You should also ask the landlord if you are renting the land.
   • Make it clear whether you intend to keep goats for business or just to meet family needs, as there may be different rules that apply to each situation.

2. 

   
   
   Plan to raise at least two goats. Goats are social creatures and will often not be pure-natured or try to escape if kept alone. You should keep at least two goats in each fenced area. A male goat that is not castrated cannot be kept with a female, so you may need to buy more than two. Read on for advice in deciding whether to buy male or female goats.

3. 

   
   
   Determine how many male and female goats to buy. There are three main types of goats divided by sex: female, castrated male goat (male goat), and castrated male goat. Female goats need to be fertilized before they can be milked, but raising the male goats takes a lot of work. The male goats should be kept separate, can have a strong odor and are often quite aggressive. The easiest way to start a goat farm is to buy 2 female goats and hire another rancher to breed your female goats with their male goats.
   • Castrated male goats are unable to reproduce or produce milk. They are often sold as pets on farms. Many people will have to castrate if their goat farm has too many male goats being born.
   • If you want to buy a male goat, you should consider paying extra for a breeding record. You will have more information about its features to help reduce the risk of genetic defects in your herd.

4. 

   
   
   Choose the age of the goat. Goats around 8 weeks old are usually cheaper than older goats and can be more friendly if kept close to humans, but they require care for another year or two before they can reproduce. milk or sold as goat meat. Young goats between six months and one year old will mature in a shorter time and can even be pre-mated (this will produce milk sooner). Ultimately, mature goats and older goats may be the least expensive option, but be careful with dairy farmers. Maybe they want to sell the worst quality goats in the herd.

5. 

   Choose a goat breed. Some goat breeds suitable for dairy farming include the Nigerian Dwarf, La Mancha, and Alpine. Other goat breeds are commonly raised for meat, such as Spanish or Tennessee. Finally, some farms raise Angora or Cashmere goats for fur for sale. Find out what breeds of goats are normally raised in your area, the size of each breed when it is grown, and the physical and personality characteristics of each breed. Some breeds of goats tend to be more homogenous, some have male breeders with a more intense odor, and some breeds are susceptible to certain diseases.
   • Before making a decision, you may want to learn how to milk, kill, or shear the goat hair. If you don't want to kill the goat yourself, find a professional slaughterhouse nearby to find an outlet before deciding to raise the goat meat.

6. 

   Expense estimates. The cost of raising goats will vary from time to time and varies from region to region, as is the profit you make from selling goat products. If you intend to raise goats for business purposes, it is essential to anticipate the costs and expected profits. Try to talk to many goat farmers or read the recent goat industry guidelines for a fairly accurate estimate of the costs. If the estimated results exceed your budget, you may need to decide to buy fewer goats or buy another breed. Keep in mind that goat farming may not be profitable for the first two years or longer, especially if you plan to keep young goats or have to pay upfront costs such as fencing.
   • How much does it cost to raise a female, male or baby goat for a year? Try to find an answer for the breed of your choice if possible.
   • If you are going to raise the goats for milk, how much milk can a female goat produce? How much milk can you sell?
   • If you raise goats for meat, you need to calculate how much a meat goat will sell. Can goat meat be more expensive at special times of the year such as Muslim, Christmas or Easter?
   • How much money do you need to be prepared to deal with unexpected events like fence fixing or veterinary costs? Will one of the goats die, will it cause you financial trouble?

Part 2 of 3: Prepare the barn

1. 

   Build a good fence. Goats are very good at sneaking through narrow gaps or climbing over fences. Fences that are 1.5 meters or more high with a sturdy "anti-climb" net attached to the poles will be more difficult to climb or get through than the fence made with horizontal bars. If you have both male and female goats, you will need to install a separate, particularly tall, stable fence to keep the male goats. This fence will prevent the male goats from reaching the female goats in heat; in other words, it will help prevent goats from mating unplanned.
   • Goats that vary in size should not be kept together, unless they are a mother goat that has a baby goat.
   • Male goats can become very aggressive when kept close to the female, so you need to keep them separately, even if you are not worried about the goat having an unplanned pregnancy.

2. 

   Build a goat stable. Goats need shelter when winter comes or when it rains. Small pens are enough for the goats. Goats with thick coat can withstand colder weather, but ask experienced goat breeders first. If you are in a temperate climate, the barn has three walls to help circulate air. If you keep goats in an area with cold winters, you need to build a stable completely and free from wind, but you should let the goats out during the day.
   • Goats hate puddles and wet weather. If you live in an area with a lot of rain, you may need a larger indoor cage.

3. 

   Get rid of poisonous or tarry plants. Goats usually nibble on almost everything, but stories that say they eat both cars and tins are exaggerated. Earrings, hawk ferns or wild cherry leaves are plants that can be toxic to goats, although they may not eat them if there is enough other food available. Plants that have a dark odor that can give goat milk a strange odor include onions, cabbage, buttercup and parsley.

4. 

   Find a source. Find out the prices for food and water buckets. Compare a variety of grains to see which are the most nutritious and beneficial for the goats. Goat feed should provide adequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus at a ratio of 1.2: 1 to prevent health problems, and some foods may require additional minerals. An experienced goat breeder or veterinarian can advise you on locally available options.

Part 3 of 3: Starting to look after the goats

1. 

   Reducing new horns of young goats. Most goats grow horns, and if left untouched, the horns pose a potential danger, potentially causing serious harm to humans and other animals. After the goat is 2 weeks old, you can remove the horn at any time. This can hurt the goat and make it difficult to do without assistance. You should seek help from an experienced goat farmer or veterinarian, especially someone who knows how to anesthetize before starting the procedure.
   • If the goat's forehead skin can move easily when rubbed, then the goat probably has no horns and does not need to be de-horny.

2. 

   Castrated most of the males. Even if you keep breeding goats, you only need one male for 25-50 female. Male goats that you are not planning to breed should be castrated at about 2 weeks of age or later, but only when they are healthy. You will need to ask your veterinarian to vaccinate the goat tetanus before the procedure.
   • The male goat has large testicles, so even a castrated goat may not look like it has been castrated.

3. 

   Breeding female goats. If you want the female goats to milk or give birth to baby goats, you will need to breed them when you reach reproductive age. When the female goats are in heat, separate them from the herd and transfer them to the male goat cage instead of doing the opposite. 2-4 inseminations are usually sufficient to ensure a pregnant female goat. The average gestation period of goats is 150 days, but it can also vary by breed.

4. 

   Milk the goat every day. A pregnant female goat can give milk when her breasts are full. Express milk 1-2 times daily for up to 2 months before the due date. The time to stop milking will ensure the mother has enough nutrients to feed her newborn baby goats. Continue milking again when the baby goat is about 6 weeks old. You do not need to breed female goats until the milk production has decreased significantly.

5. 

   Seek a specialist for advice in the event of a serious problem. You need to know someone you can ask if one of your goats has health problems or has escaped from the farm. If there are no veterinarians and goat ranchers nearby, you should look for a goat farming guide that covers things like check-ups and recognition of signs of disease in goats.

6. 

   Find where to sell products. Regardless of whether you sell meat products, feathers, milk or a baby goat, you will have to find a market. For small farms, the easiest way is to sell retail in the community or at farmers' markets. If you have more products, you can sell them online and ship them to order or sell them to dealers.
   • Consider opening the farm to tourists and charging for when people visit and play with the friendly goats.

Advice

• Clean all milking equipment and keep milk in a very clean area. This is very important for the taste of milk.
• Regularly check the fence for vulnerabilities. Goats can get through very small holes - especially baby goats.
• You can bond with the breeding goats and goats you want to keep, but avoid getting close to the goats, as it can be difficult to hold back when selling them to the slaughterhouse.
• Male goats usually urinate on their feet or face during the breeding season. If you notice that they have a strong odor or have nutrients on their hair, this may be the cause. This behavior is not worrisome, although many goat breeders find it uncomfortable.
• Lactating female goats should be milked for a minimum of daily milk, usually every 12 hours. You need to consider carefully before buying a milk goat. They need to be milked on a schedule regardless of whether you are feeling unwell, on vacation, or feeling lazy not wanting to work. This job requires a lot of time.

Warning

• The goat farm needs daily care. If you are going on vacation, you need to plan to hire someone with experience to look after.
• When building a fence, avoid using delicate nets and barbed wire. A chain net or cattle fencing will be much more secure, provided there is no room for goats to climb.

What you need

• Goat
• Fence
• Separate pens for female and male goats
• Food
• Veterinarians