Agriculture Alley: Raising goats in Georgia
Gordon County is a very important agricultural county in Georgia. We have a good deal of variety in the agriculture ventures in our county. We have many citizens that have generations of farming experience while others are new to production agriculture. For many, they enjoy the aspects of raising livestock, but the amount of acreage needed for many of the larger species is a limitation.
Raising goats is one area that can be a fun and profitable venture if you manage and market correctly. Today, I will be sharing some goat production basics from a UGA publication by my old UGA livestock judging team coach, Calvin Alford along with author Dr. James Strickland, Kim Lewis, Sarah Simpson, Dr. Will Getz and Dr. Ronnie Silcox.
If you have decided on raising goats, you need to decide on what breed you are going to raise and what are your goals for production. You may simply want to raise and manage goats to clean up some areas of the property that are covered in weeds and briars or you may want to raise show caliber goats. Back in the 90s, the African Boer goat and the Kiko goat breeds were introduced into our county. The Boer goat is a true meat breed of goat. They are heavier muscled than other breeds and have a faster growth rate. The Kiko is a large framed goat that is known to have good feed conversion rates. There are also what are known as Spanish meat goats or brush goats. They developed from colonial goats that crossed with goats from Spain and Mexico. You will see Spanish goats in many color patterns and most will have horns.
I will state that one of the most important aspects of goat production in the Southeastern United States is your management of internal parasites. As a county agent, I would say it is a major issue to have a plan for parasites in our area. Our climate can make internal parasites a problem. First, you need to know symptoms of parasite infestation in a goat. A goat with a high parasite load can have a rough hair coat, seem weak, lose weight, have diarrhea, be anemic and have what we call bottle jaw. If you decide to raise goats, I would study up on parasite management and also get a good working relationship with a local vet that will assist you with goats. A course of action should start with a fecal sample that can be analyzed by your vet for the type of worms present and the amount of infestation. A vet can then get you on a deworming program right for your herd. You will then run future samples to see if your goat dewormer is still working and that you do not have resistance build up.
Another management tool is to set up a plan so to not overcrowd an area with goats. Having multiple pastures to rotate herds and then to give areas time for regrowth can also help. Another important aspect is facilities. This will include shelter and fencing. Shelter is important because in times of inclement weather goats can get hypothermia and respiratory issues. Shelters need to provide 5 feet of floor space per goat and be closed on 2-3 sides. Good goat shelters need to be roofed lower to the ground to help goats trap body heat in cold weather. If building, keep in mind rear eave heights of 4-6 feet with front eaves of 6-8 feet. If you want to add hinged sides that can be raised in summer time to add some ventilation would be a bonus. The key to fencing is to keep the goats in and to keep predators out. That sounds simple, but you need to decide the route that works for you. Some will use woven wire with barbed wired on top and also a strand at the bottom. There are woven wire on the market designed for goats. Some may use hog wire, but you will have trouble with horned goats getting their heads stuck in the fencing. Many will use electric fencing too. Again the key is to keep the goats inside and animals that can harm goats on the outside.
Finally, for the new goat producer, do your homework and read researched based publications and handbooks on goats. You will need to learn about topics such as nutrition, the goat gestation period and even about goat marketing to name a few. For more information contact Gordon County Extension at 706-629-8685 or email gbowman@uga.edu.