Goat Farming: 4 Tips On How You Can Breed Goats Successfully

Goats are extremely hardy creatures. Basically, they can thrive on almost any food source, and the known breeds we have today are especially resistant to most diseases and foods that plague many farm animals around the world. However, that doesn’t mean you leave goat farming to the goats. Taking care of these animals would take a bit more work to ensure that the horned and hoofed animals remain productive on your farm. Here are some easy but very effective goat farming tips that you might want to try.

1. Decide early on what kind of goats you would like to breed. There are goats that are valued for their milk, meat and fiber; and there are those who are being groomed like pets. By knowing in advance what kind of animals you want to care for, you can narrow your choices to dairy farmers, meat producers, wool producers, or docile animals as pets. This is also a good way to limit your expenses when it comes to buying goat farming tools and machinery.

2. Decide exactly how many animals you want on your farm; and this must be done in relation to the size of your land. A large enough area would ensure that overcrowding does not occur and that your goats have ample areas to graze and exercise. One more thing to remember though: Goats are herd creatures. They do not thrive in solitary existence. If your farm is very small, try to get at least a couple of goats to breed.

3. One way to ensure that it is easy for you to keep goats is to ensure that you choose and build your goat house or enclosure carefully. Try to choose a piece of land where they can graze on their own without worrying about animals roaming the road or encountering wild predators. Your case or enclosure doesn’t need to look downright fancy. But you do need to make sure the space is properly ventilated (especially during the warmer seasons), properly heated (during the cooler seasons), with a good drainage system (to help keep the area free of animal waste), enough sleeping space for each goat (about 4 meters of floor space each) with separate feeding and water stations (to help keep mold and mildew at bay).

4. And finally, keeping goats isn’t just about feeding and letting the animals run wild for the rest of the day. The most productive farms are those that follow specific schedules. In addition to establishing a daily routine of feeding, watering, exercising, and herding the goats, there should also be a monthly (or bi-monthly, semi-annual, or annual) schedule to follow. This should include cleaning or grooming, dehorning, haircutting, hoof trimming, and veterinary checks.