Questions About Goats, Meat Goats and Raising Goats

A: That depends on what they are eating. Goats will only be productive as long as their teeth allow them to be. Tough conditions will mean a shorter productive lifespan. Typically, a healthy nanny will produce for 8-10 years, but I know a few ranchers with 12 year old goats, and even a guy in NC with a 20 year old goat (that is not typical).

A: While every area of the USA has a different carrying capacity, a good rule of thumb is 7 goat/kid units in the place of a cow/calf unit. This rule is only an estimate, as cattle eat mostly grass, and goats eat mostly weeds and brush.

A: Slaughter kids (70lbs) have been as low as $1 pound, and as high as $1.65 per pound in the year 2006 alone. Slaughter prices depend a lot on ethnic holidays like Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Christmas, Ramidan, etc. During these holidays goats are in high demand and in low supply. Many farmers also find niche markets like ffa wethers, these kids can average as much as $400 per kid. Other farmers' niche markets include producing additional income by charging to clear brush with their herd.

A: NO. Some other websites advertise that you can get 2 kid crops every year, but it isn't true. A conception to market cycle is 5 months gestation, 4 months on the nanny, and 1 month to recover body condition before rebreeding. That means 3 kid crops every 2 years. But even this isn't possible for many breeders due to weather, grazing, and wear & tear on the nannies. In Texas we get 3 crops every 2 years, you may not be able to do that. I would rather you not get into goats but know that ahead of time, instead of buying and needing that income from that 2nd kid crop every year.

A: Take $1000 and invest it in a good cow. Breed her and in 9 months you have a calf, wait 6 more months to sell it at market. You have made $600-$800, minus feed & misc. Take $1000 and buy 10 Spanish goats. Breed them and wait 5 months for a kid crop. You now have about 18 goat kids. Wean them in another 4 months and you should get at least $70/head for them. That's $1260 for the goat kids, but in 9 months (almost half the time to produce them) so really that's $2520 for the same time period. Wow, that's much more profitable! Buyers should also take into consideration that 10 goats are more work to keep than 1 cow, and goats do need protection from predators.

A: Female donkeys are good, they have powerful jaws and good kicking ability.
LGD- (livestock guardian dogs) are my favorite because they can work as a team and they mark pastures with their scent. Most predators want an easy meal, and the smell of a domestic dog will let them know not to enter.
Male Llamas are advertised to protect, but they are really just nosey and can't kick or bite like a donkey.
We use dogs, and we have them for about $200 for a 4 month old w/ shots.

A: No. Goats can be easily contained with a 5 strand cattle fence with 2 strands of electric at 10" and 20". Another more expensive way is 4' tall woven field fence with 6" x 12" openings graduated. Then put a strand of electric or barbed wire at the top. We use both styles.

A: No. We raise more tons of goat here than anywhere else. We graze our animals because alfalfa hay and grain are too expensive to ship here, so goats live on fields of brush. If a goat gets over about 150 pounds in Texas they can't deal with the heat, as well as large pastures that they travel, and fat goats don't breed as well. You are welcome to fatten them up when you get them to your farm but we cannot afford to do that here. Our end goal is to produce 1.8 kids at 70# per nanny per crop, and our nannies do that for us.

A: Boer goats are great for some people, but they tend to be mediocre mothers and aren't too hardy. In addition, they eat more grass than other breeds and need lots of attention when it comes to parasite control. They are very fleshy, and they make great market wethers. They gain weight very quickly on feed and they are typically very docile.
Kikos are very hardy and make good mothers. They can be expensive to purchase and use for meat production as they were imported in the last 15 years.
Spanish goats are very similar to kikos as they both originated from Spanish settlers feral stock. Spanish goats are very hardy, very parasite resistant, good framed, good udder structure, and they favor brush and weeds. By far the most popular goat in the USA, but different areas have different strains of feral stock.
Black Uvalde goats are always black and are a composite of a special strain of Spanish selected for larger frame and homogenous black. They are also excellent mothers as well as showing good gains in the feedlot. These goats like brush too!
Boer-Spanish cross have hybrid vigor of both breeds and can be the best of both breeds or the worst of both.

A: We ship thousands of goats to the East Coast every year, about 1700 miles from our ranch. We typically lose 1 nanny per 950 head shipped. Also ask us about tips to help acclimate them to your new farm.

A: We get lots of people who just want to get the goats to their place as cheap as possible. If that's you, we can get a few farmers together in the same area and split the shipping. I have the lowest shipping rates because I do not profit from shipping. I just arrange it and load the animals. On a full truck I can usually keep shipping to Iowa or New York as low as $9 per head.

A: We deworm 4x per year, as well as 2cc of CD&T. In addition we recommend free choice minerals and an 18% protein tub. If you buy goats from us and need help keeping them healthy, feel free to call us.

A: Excellent. The USDA estimates that the new demand for market kids quickly out paces the available new meat production nannies every year. This means that every year the goat kids will be less available to those who want to buy them, in turn making market prices inflate every year. We don't see any reason that the demand will not continue to rise.

A: In Texas we just need shade and a windbreak. Farther north I recommend a barn with 4 sides enclosed. We have a friend in Maine who raises goats who says some goats prefer to be out of the barn, but all goats hate cold rain!

I hope that these commonly asked question have helped you. Feel free to call us anytime 325-716-1904 Tyler Vanderkolk or email us.