Raising Goats for Prep

8/9/2019 Raising Goats for Prep

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Raising Goats for Prep | The

Perfect SHTF Livestock

ByKaty Lighton May 30, 2014

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Raising goats for preparedness

In my opinion, goats are the perfect stock for homesteading and prepping.

They take the advantage over other options primarily due to their ability to

subsist on very basic pasture and browse, unlike cows, who require

significantly more grain, grass and additional forage in order to maintain

optimum weight and output. While a cows will provide a greater volume ofmeat and milk, I believe the other disadvantages outweigh this. Cows can,

and will, challenge fences for entertainment value, require a greater area for

living space and shelter, and are far harder to handle for routine care.

Goats, however, are relatively easy keepers, and will be as happy and

productive kept in a mostly wooded area as they will on acres of pasture. In


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fact, with access to woodland and browse, they will essentially self-

medicate, finding plants and fauna to settle an upset rumen, or treat a

parasite issue. They will, of course, require human intervention with

medications if their issues become out of hand, but given the opportunity,

they will often forage a solution alone.

Under correct conditions, with adequate pasture rotation, goats require little

in the way of prepping for their keep, and can be maintained fairly easily

without the addition of feeds or grains. Indeed, goats are happier with access

to browse leaves, branches, other ground growing plants than they are

when presented with acres of lush grass. The barks, leaves and rough stems

of the plants found growing in wooded areas take longer to digest in the

rumen and therefore help them to stay warm in cold weather and stay full

longer. They are straightforward in their requirements for housing; a simplethree sided barn with a soft floor, which provides shelter from the wind and

rain, will keep them happy. However, goats do hate to be wet and production

will drop significantly if they expend their energy, shivering and trying to

keeping warm.


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Raising Goats Breeds:

While there are breeds that are generally intended for either milk (Nigerians)

or meat (Boers/ Pygmys), there are those which will provide a good deal of

both. Saanensand Nubiansare good and popular examples of such breeds;

does are heavy milk producers, providing a family with up to two gallons of

milk a day, which can also be made into cheese and other dairy products,and extra bucks can be wethered (castrated, an easy at-home, two minute

process) and raised for meat. The wethering process helps to keep the meat

tender and reduce the bucky taste it can otherwise have if the males are left

intact. Also, bucks tend to run to more muscle than meat, making the result

tougher and needing a longer cooking time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Dwarf_(goat)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saanen_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Nubianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Dwarf_(goat)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saanen_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Nubian


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There is a third option, but you will likely lose out in the milk department:

Angoras. This adorable breed, which is of medium size (bucks are around

125-175lbs, does generally 80-100), is both a reasonably sized meat animal

and an excellent fiber producer. The fiber can either be felted or spun to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angora_goathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angora_goat


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provide the means to make clothing and even footwear. They can be

somewhat more high maintenance than dairy breeds, with greater tendencies

towards parasites, particularly external ones, and if you give them access to

brush and woodland while they are in coat, youll be picking VM (vegetable

matter) out of the fiber for days.

That or youll lose the entire fleece because you have to field shear it from

the goat who is irretrievably stuck in thorn bushes, deep in the woods. Ask

me how I know this. However, in conditions designed to preserve their fiber,

the Angora goat is spectacularly efficient at producing volumes of fiber

which can then be washed, carded and spun for use in a variety of clothing

and household items.

Gestation for goats is between 145-151 days, and the large breeds tend to be


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mono- estrus, meaning that they cycle, or come into season, during a fixed

period, usually late summer through early-mid winter. Good quality stock

will milk right through the next breeding, only drying up briefly during the

last 30-45 days of pregnancy. With proper planning, and a large enough

herd, milk can be on tap all year. Does with good bloodlines and provenhardiness should be chosen, and preferably two bucks from unrelated lines.

Having just one buck puts all your eggs in one basket, and I am a huge

proponent of never having just one breeding male, be it chickens, goats or

cattle.

Twice now I have found myself losing a male to sickness or a predator, and

been left trying to source a good quality breeding male in short order. It

almost always happens when season is about to start, when prices are

highest. In a non-survival situation this is irritating and expensive, and if youwere in a time where travel and internet connection was not possible, it

would be even worse. So plan ahead for those annoying occurrences. Also,

while line-breeding isnt the end of the world, and can even be beneficial in

some circumstances, you will eventually see a decline in the quality of your

milkers if you wind it too tight for too long.


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Therefore, having a couple of diversely bred bucks is helpful in the long

term. Bear in mind that while registered stock is usually preferable, in a

prepping situation, papers are worthless. Rather, for these means, choose

heavy milkers, paying close attention to the dairy scores on their pedigrees.

Herds who have participated in the DHIR or milk testing program through

the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) will give you a good idea of

the does production capacity. There is a significant and noticeable

difference among various qualities of blood line as it regards milkproduction, and you will do well to do your research before purchasing.


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baby in!

While goats are pretty self-sufficient, there are a handful of medications you

should probably have on hand in their very own prep box. A simple teat dip,

to keep the milking process sanitary and to prevent ingress of bacteria into

the udder, can be made with a mixture of water, rubbing alcohol and tea tree

oil. To your box, also consider adding LA200 and PenG (antibiotics),

Today and Tomorrow (mastitis treatments), BoSe (selenium supplement),Maalox (for upset rumens), C&D antitoxin (in case of plant poisoning or

enterotoxemia), activated charcoal and Vitamin B complex. There are many

other things that you would have in a perfect world, but these are simply the

things I would have as a bare minimum.

But for all this to work, for the goats to fit into your prepping plans and to


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add real value to them, as opposed to creating more work, it is imperative to

buy quality stock. Low quality animals may come with existing illnesses that

cause them to have problems kidding, produce weak kids, bring sickness

onto your property, or even transmit illness to your family through the meat

or milk. Responsible breeders usually test for common illnesses such asCAE, CL and Johnes, and keep reliable records of antibiotics given and

other medical issues. By reviewing all this before you purchase, you will

give yourself the very best chance of having a thriving farmstead to add to

your prepping arsenal.

Read more from Katy at Poppy Creek Farm!
http://poppycreekfarm.com/http://poppycreekfarm.com/

Raising Goats for Prep

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