When I began looking for ways to decrease the amount of milk we purchased through commercial dairy systems, I started researching dairy goats. What I discovered is that goats, and their cousins, sheep, can be huge workhorses in the backyard farm.
Smaller than other hoofed livestock like horses or cows, they provide many benefits. If you have room for a couple goats, you can greatly increase your self-sufficiency. Goats and sheep can provide milk, fiber, and meat for even city homesteaders. We live within city limits on a suburban corner lot and have been keeping goats successfully for years.
While commercial operations will usually keep breeds that are specifically raised for meat, or specifically raised for fiber, a backyard farmer might want to keep heritage breeds that are more dual-purpose. This will allow you to gain multiple benefits from a single animal. Here are some breeds you might want to consider for your backyard farm.
Breeds for Milk
Alpine. Alpines have been bred primarily for milk production, but bucks should always be more than 170 pounds. This good size means that they are a suitable breed for meat production, which makes dealing with wether culls (getting rid of the extra, castrated males) much easier. One of the benefits of the alpine breeds is that they are highly tolerant of poor ground and are hardy—easy to maintain, usually keeping very good health, and great mothers. An alpine doe can be expected to produce around 3 liters of milk daily for 9 to 10 months a year.
East Fresian Sheep. These sheep are one of the most popular milk breeds and will produce very rich milk. They are highly productive, with most sheep averaging between 1⁄2 and 1 gallon per day for about 200 days a year. And with a mature weight of 150 pounds (rams can reach up to 200 pounds!), these sheep can make a good meat choice as well. Purebred East Fresians don’t tend to do as well in large, commercial conditions, or in areas with extreme heat, but can be crossed with other breeds to increase milk production. A mature ewe will also produce between 8 and 11 pounds of wool per year.
These goats fit nicely into our backyard and not only clear the fence line, but provide meat and milk for our family.
Lacaune Sheep. These sheep have been very carefully bred into highly productive milking sheep that will now produce 200 to 500 pounds of milk each year (from U.S. bloodlines). While the European lines still produce better than those breeding lines available in the United States, there is a great market for sheep cheeses in the United States. They are more heat tolerant than the East Fresians, and their milk has a slightly higher butterfat content. They do not produce any real wool to speak of, and also produce fewer lambs compared to the East Fresians.
DEFINITION
A buck is a male goat; a doe is a female goat. A wether is a castrated goat. A ram is a male sheep; a ewe is a female sheep. Baby sheep are called lambs.
La Mancha. We started with La Mancha goats in our herd because they were available in our area and produce a lot of milk. We get between 1⁄2 and 1 gallon of milk per day per doe, which provides plenty of milk for my family. La Manchas have a slighter build, though, and usually we breed them with a Boer or Nubian buck so the offspring will be better suited for meat purposes. One of the biggest stand-out features of the La Manchas is that they have very small or even nonexistent ears. Ours are friendly, vocal, and personable.
Nigerian Dwarf. Nigerian goats have a great disposition, and their smaller size makes them popular for a backyard space. Not as well suited as a meat goat because of the small size and thin build, the Nigerian dwarfs are rock stars as milkers. A doe can produce 2 quarts of milk per day and their milk has a higher butterfat and higher protein level than many of the other milking breeds. Because they are so easy to handle, they are popular for 4-H projects, children’s pets, or first-time owners.
Our La Mancha milk goat, Ginger, has a more streamlined appearance with an already visible udder though she’s still 4 weeks from giving birth.
Nubian. Nubian goats are one of the most popular dairy breeds in the United States right now and can also serve as meat goats. Full-sized goats range between 125 and 175 pounds, so they are one of the larger milk breeds. Nubians have high butterfat and protein content in their milk, which makes them more popular for making cheeses. A Nubian doe can produce 1,400 to 1,500 pounds of milk per year. Nubians are more vocal, like La Manchas, so if you have neighbors close by, that is something to keep in mind.
Breeds for Meat
Boer. One of the primary breeds of meat goats, Boers are large-framed and much thicker than many of the other breeds. You look at a Boer and you can tell it is primarily a meat goat. They are bred specifically for good weight gain, high conversion of feed to muscle ratio, and of course, size and meatiness. Our Boer doe has a big, broad, Roman nose and floppy ears. Boers are actually decent milkers as well and have rich, high-butterfat milk that they use to feed their twins, triplets, or even quadruplets. While many strains have been selectively bred for meat production only, it is possible to find strains of Boers with more productive milking abilities also. One cool thing about Boers is that they are the only goats that can have four functional teats.
Dorper Sheep. One of the fastest-growing meat breeds of sheep, the Dorper originated in South Africa, so it is well suited to hot, dry, and less than ideal conditions. The sheep grow quickly and give a backyard farmer a good return on feed investments with their ability to thrive in a variety of conditions. For someone looking for a very low-maintenance breed, the Dorper or White Dorper sheep do not require shearing. They are sometimes used as crosses for backyard farmers wanting to improve quick growth, good mothering, and a high rate of lambing.
The body size and makeup is obvious when you compare the meat goat breeds with the milk breeds. Our Boer goat, S’mores, has a larger frame, thicker bone structure, and far more meat on her than a typical milk breed.
Kiko. Kiko goats originated in New Zealand and are similar to Boer goats in their size and meatiness. Kikos were feral at their origin so they are very hardy and disease resistant. And with only the most maturing and fastest-growing goats used for establishing the breed, the Kikos rival the Boer goats in healthy feed-conversion rates. Most Kikos are white and have short fur.
Myotonic Goats (Tennessee Fainting Goats). This breed of goat originated in the United States but their common name is slightly misleading. While Myotonic goats do have a trait that causes their legs to stiffen up and sometimes fall over, they remain conscious when this happens. This stiffening action is partially what creates the thick meatiness of the breed, making them a suitable meat breed. Some Myotonics are naturally polled, or hornless.
DEHORNING AND DEBUDDING
If your goats are not naturally polled, they will produce horns as they grow. You can have your goat dehorned or disbud the kids when they are a couple days old. Disbudding involves burning off the growth ring of the horn bud and should be done with help from an experienced goat keeper. Some people choose not to disbud or dehorn their goats. We dislike the disbudding procedure and leave our goats in horns for a variety of reasons. Horns are helpful for holding a goat during vaccinations and other procedures, help with temperature control of the goat, and are more natural for the goat. Commercial dairies all dehorn their goats to prevent injuries from multiple goats in the same enclosures. The choice is a personal one for each goat owner.
Savanna. Savanna goats are a little hardier than Boers, as they originated in South Africa and have more tolerance to dry, hot weather. They are said to be more resistant to parasites and diseases as well. Savanna goats also can develop a cashmere coat that increases the value of the breed for the backyard farmer. If you live in a drought-prone area, or want a dual-purpose goat, you might consider the Savanna.
Texel Sheep. Texel sheep are a popular meat breed in the United States and are known for their quick growth and lean meat. The sheep must be white according to breed descriptions so even though they only produce 3 to 4 pounds of medium-length wool, the wool is useable. They are considered excellent mothers as well and have a high rate of multiple births with twins considered the norm. Texel sheep are very efficient at turning feed into muscle mass and are naturally lean with little fat.
Breeds for Fiber
American Cormo. These fine-wooled sheep originated in Tasmania but came to the United States in the 1970s. Since then they have become known as producers of a fine fleece with more than 6 to 9 pounds of wool produced each year. They are low-maintenance sheep and can tolerate wet or humid climates better than some of the other sheep breeds. They also produce twins often and are excellent mothers, which helps make them easy to keep.
Angora Goats. Angora goats produce mohair, a distinctive long coat with wavy or curly fibers. Originally from Turkey, they are popular with homesteaders for their spinnable fiber. Their medium size allows them to fit in nicely with a backyard farm program. Traditionally, the Angora goats were white, but a growing trend among the breed is producing a variety of colors that allow for naturally colored fibers. Red, grey, and brown are all colors making a comeback among the Angora enthusiasts.
Border Leicester Sheep. Popular for the long, white wool that can have a staple length up to 10 inches, the Border Leicester is often used to cross with other breeds and improve fleece length. The average ewe will produce 8 to 12 pounds of wool each year. While they are not as highly productive in lambing, they are excellent mothers and milkers. Their parent breed, the Leicester Longwools, produced a number of Leicester cousins that all have a similarly long staple length to their fleeces.
California Red Sheep. A newer breed that is still developing, I anticipate seeing more wool pro-duction from this breed in the future. Right now, these naturally colored sheep produce 4 to 7 pounds of wool per year. California Red sheep do not have wool around the belly and udder area, and the rams have a red mane of hair around the neck. Their color begins as a dark cinnamon red when they are lambs, but the wool lightens to oatmeal, light red, or a pale copper color. With the trend toward naturally colored wools, this fits the growing niche.
Fiber goats are almost always kept with their horns intact to help regulate temperature, and they have long, thick coats, as you would expect. Some breeds double in meat production depending on body type.
(Photo courtesy of R. M. Siegel)
Cashmere Goats. Cashmere goats are a type of goat, not a specific breed, so there are several breeds capable of producing the cashmere fibers. Many Cashmere goats are dual-purpose meat goats as well. Hardy, half-feral breeds like the Spanish goats have a natural cashmere fiber that can be enhanced with selective breeding. Most Cashmere, and indeed all fiber goats, are left with horns intact so they are easier to restrain and have better temperature regulation.
Lincoln Sheep. These sheep were originated from Leicester crosses and have been bred specifically for their long staple length and heavy fleeces. The wool fibers can be 8 to 15 inches long, and ewes can produce 15 pounds of wool a year! Lincoln sheep should not have wool below the eyes and are usually white, but also come in a variety of other colors, especially grey.
Romney Sheep. The Romney is sometimes considered a good dual-purpose sheep, as the sheep range between 150 to 275 pounds and have a tender meat quality. They produce an easily spun wool between 5 and 8 inches long. Ewes can produce 10 to 18 pounds of wool each year. White fleeces are common, but Romney will also be bred with natural colored and even variegated coats. The main focus of breeding with the Romney breed is uniformity in the crimp of the wool throughout the entire fleece.
Take the time to see a few different breeds before selecting a goat or sheep breed. It’s worth considering breeds that are available locally if you want purebred offspring so you have access to other breeders who can help you. Well-cared-for goats and sheep will live 8 to 12 years on average, although cases of them living 15 to 20 years are not unheard of. Make sure your choice is one that suits your needs and situation, because it’s a longer-term commitment than some of the other livestock on the backyard farm.
Goats and sheep can be kept together without overly competing for resources because goats are more of browsers, while sheep are more grazers. There are some differences in the dietary needs between the two animals, which we will discuss in the following sections. Both can be offered high-quality hay as a free-choice supplement in a smaller backyard space.
The biggest challenge will be to ensure that their diet is balanced year-round without upsetting their digestive systems. Green grass and other forage, as well as hay, will make up the bulk of the diet with various feeds and supplements added in as needed. The basic needs are, of course, food, water, and trace minerals as needed. I’ll discuss housing later in this chapter.
Care and Maintenance
Keeping goats and sheep can be more involved than keeping rabbits and chickens. I recommend finding a breeder in your local area to connect with to help you. In our case, we have a mentor we can turn to for help, advice, or just an expert eye. This kind of connection will be invaluable.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when caring for your goat or sheep.
Food. Food is obviously very important for your sheep and goats. The trickiest part for new homesteaders is understanding how your livestock’s dietary needs change according to their age, workload, and whether they are currently breeding. A young goat that hasn’t been bred yet won’t need as much concentrated grain or feed as a doe that is carrying twins or milking nearly a gallon of milk per day. Sheep that are growing lustrous wool fleeces will need higher protein as well. The diet has to be monitored and adjusted for each member of your herd based on their individual needs.
This is one of the benefits of keeping livestock on a small scale. You know your animals individually, their quirks and their personality and their individual needs. I know that our Boer goat, S’mores, is always the first with her nose in the feed trough, so if she ever held back, I’d know something wasn’t right. Both our mature does were bred this fall, and we already know both are carrying, so we’ve begun to increase their feed allotments until they kid (give birth) in another month. This personalized attention means your livestock will thrive and be healthier than they might be in a larger situation where that level of attention isn’t possible.
We bring hay in as needed so our goats have constant access to roughage as they desire. We’ll wrap this round bale with a cattle panel to keep the goats from wasting it and spoiling it.
The feed you provide consists of two basic types. Roughage is the high-fiber feed from browsing on bushes and shrubs, from eating grass, or from hay. Concentrates are supplementary and make up a smaller portion but are grains that are super high in energy, protein, and often in trace minerals needed for total health.
We offer grass hay free choice to our herd. They will barely touch it during the spring and summer when they are able to browse on the blackberries, honeysuckles, and other growing plants. But during the winter when growth slows down, they eat a lot more of the grass hay.
For feed grains you can supplement your herds with barley, corn, oats, and other grains. You can buy feed mixes specifically for goats and sheep also, which is a great way to start out. Be sure that when you are feeding commercial mixes you do not try to feed your goat mix to your sheep. Sheep should not have the copper minerals that are present in commercial goat feed mixes.
THORNY MATTERS
When you feed commercial feed mixes made for goats, you cannot give that same feed to your sheep. Sheep should not have copper in their mineral blocks, feed mixes, or food supplements, while goats do need trace amounts of copper. Feed your animals separately to avoid problems!
In general, you can assume that your goats and sheep will eat about 2 percent of their body weight in dry feed. So my 125-pound La Mancha doe will eat about 21⁄2 pounds worth of hay and feed each day. Within that feed amount, at least 8 to 10 percent of her daily intake should be protein. In the last two months of her pregnancy, when the majority of growth occurs in the kids, her nutritional needs will increase and we’ll replace part of her hay ration with alfalfa to help her keep her weight up.
Goats and sheep should never get overweight, because when they lay on fat it can be difficult to reverse the process. But you also don’t want them to get too skinny, of course. Just petting your animal can give you a good idea of their condition—you should be able to feel their ribs when you pet them, and perhaps slightly see the ribs on thinner breeds like dairy goats, but you shouldn’t be able to see the individual vertebra of the spine or clearly see the outline of the ribs through their coat. You also wouldn’t want your goat or sheep too overweight to the point where you cannot feel their ribs.
One cool thing about feeding goats and sheep hay is that you can use “weedy” hay that horses and cows would turn their noses up at. We’ve actually secured some great deals by cutting our own hay on fields where the owners were trying to reclaim pasture that had overgrown. Lots of weeds, thistles, and brambles are mixed in with the grass, but the nutrition factor would actually be higher and provide the ruminants (animals that regurgitate partially digested food to chew it again) with the mixture of browsing materials that they really appreciate. Just be sure that it’s not molded or old hay—it should still be fresh hay that is high quality.
Water. Your herds will need fresh, and most importantly, clean water. Goats and sheep won’t drink soiled water so even if their bucket or trough looks full of water, they might not be drinking it. You’ll need to replace the water if it’s dirty so they will drink it. Never let the water run out, and be prepared for a doe who is about to kid or a milking doe to drink a gallon of water per day.
Goats need fresh, clean water available at all times. Remember that pregnant or milking goats and sheep will need more water each day.
(Photo courtesy of R. M. Siegel)
Grooming. Goats and sheep don’t have to be groomed every day, but there are some things to be aware of, especially with fiber animals. During the seasonal shifts, especially when our herd members are losing their longer winter coats, we brush the goats on a daily basis. This gives us a chance to check their health and condition, and give them some relief as their sleeker summer coats come in. It’s relaxing to them.
Right before kidding, you can clip the hair that might be growing near the udder to help the babies find their milk source after birth. This isn’t necessary with all breeds. If you purchase your livestock from a reputable breeder, they will be able to show you which grooming methods are appropriate for the breeds you’ve fallen in love with. Bathing isn’t necessary for goats unless there are lice problems in your herd. I’ve never seen a problem with lice, but our herd is smaller and not overcrowded, so that helps prevent issues.
Hoof trimming. Goats and sheep will usually need some hoof trimming unless your ground is rocky. How often depends on a lot of different factors, including each animal’s personal development. A pair of trimmers and maybe a file are all you need to trim the hooves, and what you’re trying to do is restore a balanced stance to the animal’s foot. Any part of the hard hoof that isn’t flush with the fleshy pad will need to be trimmed evenly with the pad of the foot so walking and standing is comfortable. If you, like us, adopt an older animal that had some neglect, you might find the hoof severely overgrown. The same tactics apply, though—trim away the excess hoof growth until the foot is properly aligned.
Housing
One of the benefits of keeping sheep and goats is that they are hardy animals with minimal housing requirements. While some facilities do provide a full barn situation, most ruminants prefer being outdoors and will do fine with a simple open-sided shed or shelter. It is vital to provide some shelter, however, to give your livestock shelter from temperature extremes, snow, rain, or even strong winds. You can see a simple open-door shed style plan in Appendix A.
The flooring must be dry, especially if you have an outdoor shelter. If the floor area of your shelter gets waterlogged you’ll need to add gravel to build it up and create better drainage. We used wooden pallets on the floor and filled it in with dirt and gravel mixed to build the floor level up so it wouldn’t hold water if it rained. On top of that goes a thick layer of straw and hay.
Concrete is easy to clean, but not comfortable for your animals, especially if they are probably going to be kidding or lambing in their shelters. If you must use concrete flooring, I recommend at least a foot of straw to cushion the floor. Dirt or gravel can be raked clean when you have a top cover of straw, and will be warmer and more comfortable than cold concrete.
Open shelters are fine in areas with no predators and mild climates. I’ve seen three-sided shelters that resemble cardboard boxes tipped on their side—only 4 feet tall so they are just big enough for the goat or sheep to get into. I prefer a taller shelter that is easier to clean out. Our goat shed is 10×8 and 6 feet tall, which is plenty tall enough for me to get into and clean everything up. It also leaves enough room for the milking stand to be inside the shed so we can milk the goats out of the elements on misty mornings.
This sheep is cozy in her warm shed with plenty of bedding. The wooden walls and sawdust will keep her warm, and most importantly, dry.
(Photo courtesy of Brian Boucheron)
Your shelter and feeding areas should be close enough to wherever you store the feed that daily chores aren’t a hassle. We have an interesting arrangement in our backyard where the back wall of the storage shed doubles as the back wall of the goat shed. (See the quarter-acre illustration in Chapter 3.) Close proximity like that will make it extremely convenient to do your daily feedings.
Whatever housing arrangement you have should include a large-enough yard that your goats and sheep can have a comfortable amount of exercise each day. Our goat yard includes some interesting rock features that the goats like to climb on. If your yard doesn’t have anything, provide wooden spools or large stumps for your goats to climb on.
We also have an additional yard that the goats can browse in on a regular basis. This allows them to change up their daily routine a bit, as well as providing them with fresh browse (brushy plants to nibble on). Having more than one yard or pasture area allows you to rotate where they are being kept and helps prevent (or decrease) parasite infestations.
Goats are natural climbers and will appreciate items in their exercise yard that allow them to practice their climbing skills.
(Photo courtesy of R. M. Siegel)
Signs and Prevention of Illness and Disease
Goats are usually quite hardy (sheep a little less so), but even the hardiest animals can sometimes get sick or infested with pests.
Parasites. Parasites are inevitable in your livestock, so you’ll want to be on guard for when infestations become too severe. Parasites can be external, or living outside the animal like ticks, fleas, mites, or lice. Parasites can also be internal and are usually called “worms” and enter via the digestive tract. Both can create serious problems, of which malnutrition and anemia are only the start.
If you notice patchy areas of the animal’s coat, or crusty wounds on their skin, you may have an external parasite problem. Sometimes mites will cause the animal to rub bald spots on their coat. Ticks, of course, are visible as they attach to the skin and swell when they feed. Internal parasites are harder to visibly diagnose, but if you notice your animals not gaining weight the way they should be, that’s a good clue. You can have a stool sample analyzed as well, which is the best way to tell which specific parasites you should treat for. It’s always best to only treat the specific parasites that are causing problems, and only treat when necessary, because resistant strains can become a problem otherwise.
CAEV (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus). This is a persistent problem in sheep and goat herds. The difficulty in eliminating it is that a goat can be a carrier of the virus without ever showing symptoms, thus not only passing it on to his or her offspring, but also infecting other goats and sheep they come in contact with. A blood test can tell you whether your stock is CAEV positive. If they are, you should make sure any kids or lambs born don’t become infected as well. There is a growing movement to attempt to eliminate this virus from breeding stock completely, in much the same way that Coggins is being eliminated from horses.
Researchers believe that CAEV is transmitted through bodily fluids, blood, milk, and during breeding. If this is so, you should keep infected stock separate from uninfected stock. You would also quarantine any incoming animals and have them tested before introducing them into the herd. It is also okay to ask for test results of an outside buck or doe you are considering for breeding. In 1975, it was estimated that 80 percent of the goats in the United States were positive for CAEV, so you can see how attempting to eliminate it will take dedicated efforts on the part of breeders and owners. In 1999, several regions tested as low as 38 percent in the United States, so awareness is increasing. Similar efforts in Switzerland dropped the rate from 60 to 80 percent down to 1 percent.
Indigestion. Indigestion might not seem like a serious problem, but ruminants rely on a balance of healthy bacteria for their digestive problems. This can happen after antibiotics, or if the goat overeats harder to digest foods like grains. In many cases it’s not contagious, but it’s serious and can be fatal. Milk of magnesia can help detox and encourage movement in the rumen to get things moving again. Yogurt and probiotics will help restore healthy flora in the digestive tract. Waiting too long to treat this condition can kill, so be watchful and take action before it gets too serious.
A good breeder to purchase your initial stock, wise management in diet and care, and a great veterinarian are the three best ways to maintain a happy and healthy herd in your backyard farm.
Breeding Goats and Sheep
I love my baby goats. We joke that they are called “kids” for a reason—because they act like a bunch of little toddlers. They are curious, they love to explore, taste things, and play fight around the yard like a pack of preschoolers turned loose.
THORNY MATTERS
Before you breed your goats or sheep, you need to realize the level of care that babies involve—every day, even several times a day, if you end up with bottle-fed babies. If you cannot commit to that care, do not breed your animals.
The first step to healthy breeding is to start with animals that are in good shape. You’ll never want to breed an animal that is underweight, overweight, or struggling with illness. We adopted a Boer goat who wasn’t being cared for properly. She had been living with a domestic herd of deer, never handled, and poorly fed. She was wild, and quite a bit overweight as well because she had been fed kitchen scraps like white bread and other poor foods that should never be in your livestock’s diet. So we kept her for almost a full year before breeding her to make sure she was back in good shape, that her temperament could be calmed down, and that she had her dietary needs met. S’mores would not have been bred this fall if her attitude hadn’t improved. She was never aggressive, only unused to being handled. Now she leads easily, comes to the fence first of all our goats, and has a great demeanor. Temperament should be in your mind before breeding.
You also want to have in mind what you are breeding for. Your desire for milk, meat, fiber, or showing your livestock should impact how you breed. In our herd, our primary concerns are milk and meat, so we aren’t as concerned with pedigree, showability, or fiber quality. As a result, our herd is diverse with more than one breed, and we aren’t concerned with color. We’re using a big Nubian buck that had an excellent milker for a dam (thus passing on great milking genes) and has excellent size and build for crossing with our Boer doe for potential meat purposes.
Select a buck that will complement your breeding goals. He should compensate for any failings in your herd and should have a certification of good health from the veterinarian. Our small backyard farm is too small to keep a buck on site with our girls so we use a buck at a friend’s house, taking our girls there in the fall for breeding. This arrangement works out well, giving us the chance to introduce new blood into our herd without the expense of keeping a buck that will only be bred with our two or three females.
You can also use artificial insemination, which means you purchase only the semen. The veterinarian will perform the insemination using what you’ve purchased without ever having your girls stand for a buck or ram. This is another viable option for a small-scale homesteader.
Most goats and sheep have periods where breeding can take place. Usually this happens in the fall and they come into heat every three to four weeks for a few months. With an experienced doe you will usually be able to tell when she’s in heat by the signs she exhibits. Some of them are downright obnoxious about it!
OVER THE GARDEN FENCE
Signs that your doe or ewe is in heat include extra vocalizations, decreased appetite, wagging the tail (called flagging), seeking out a buck or standing against the fence near where he is penned, and decreased milk production. Ewes are less likely to show obvious signs of heat without the presence of a ram.
You can expose the doe to the buck you want her to breed with by introducing them to each other when the doe seems receptive. We usually move our girls over and allow them to breed at least two or three times confirmed. This last time we misjudged our Boer’s heat cycle, so she ended up staying at the buck’s house for three weeks. It was easier for us to leave her there than to upset her by transporting her back and forth multiple times.
If a sheep’s long fleece gets in the way of breeding, you’ll want to trim your ewe before breeding her. This could be as simple as a clipping around the tail end and udder areas for breeding and lambing ease. The ovulation rates of both does and ewes will be at their highest peak between the ages of 3 to 6 years old, which means breedings are more successful and will generally result in a larger number of babies.
Late gestation, the last month or so of the pregnancy, is when you’ll want to provide the most nutritional support for your doe or ewe. If you allow the mother to lose too much body weight during this time, she may not be able to produce enough milk. And certainly, in a dairy animal, that would be especially unfortunate.
Lambing and kidding take place an average of 150 days after breeding. Mark your calendar for 147 through 155 days and start your watching and waiting period! This is so exciting, and every time my doe takes her time coming to the feed trough in the morning I rush out to see if there are babies in the shed. Sometimes they fool me, though, and have a knack for waiting until I’ve gone to the grocery store or a longer outing before settling into a birth.
An indicator of an approaching parturition (lambing or kidding time) has not been, in my experience, a swelling of the udder. I begin noticing a larger udder taking shape up to a month prior to birthing. A better indicator for me has been swelling or discharge of the vulva. Also, a softening of the ligaments around the hips and tail can make the tail seem to rise, while the abdomen seems to drop, almost separating from the spine. You can feel the softening of the ligaments under the tail and help to judge the mother’s readiness.
Birth usually occurs within 12 hours of the onset of labor, and the pushing phase or second stage of labor happens within 3 hours. If you notice your doe or ewe seeming to struggle, and nothing seems to be happening after an hour or more, you may need to call in a vet. A poorly positioned baby may have difficulty coming out and may need assistance. This is something that many home-steaders and ranchers have done themselves for generations, but isn’t something I recommend trying without experienced guidance your first time.
In most cases, your female will birth her babies without assistance. She should immediately begin cleaning the face and head of the baby. In the case of multiple births a doe or ewe may be distracted by the birth of the next kid or lamb and not finish cleaning the first baby. If this is the case you can use a towel to wipe the baby dry so it doesn’t become chilled, but resist the temptation to do much more than that at first.
Within two hours of the delivery, the placenta or afterbirth should also be expelled. If you do not see the placenta come out, you will need to call a veterinarian because a retained placenta can cause a fatal infection. Note that each baby has its own placenta, so twin lambs means you should see two placentas birthed in the third stages of the labor. It is not uncommon for the mother to eat the placenta as a defense against predators being alerted to their presence, so if you do not observe the birth you may not actually see the placenta.
After birth has finished and the kid or lamb has been cleaned and dried, you should start to see signs that they are interested in nursing. An active lamb or kid will begin nursing within 30 minutes, while a slower-to-start baby may not begin nursing until an hour has past. Too much longer than that and you’ll probably want to begin helping, especially in situations with more than one baby, if there’s a chance that a weaker sibling will be pushed to the side. Kids and lambs should both consume about 10 percent of their body weight in their first milk, called colostrum, within the first day.
This baby goat is getting a final cleaning by her mother, although she’s already up on her feet.
Colostrum is highly nutritious and beneficial for the kids and lambs. It has natural antibodies that are passed down from the mother to the babies. It’s also really thick and rich to help stimulate their digestive systems right away.
Here is where two schools of management really diverge. Some herd owners will separate the kids and lambs right away, and raise them apart from their mothers. This can definitely increase the amount of milk available from the goats and sheep you are milking. The downside is the multiple times per day that you need to feed your kids. Others take a more natural herd approach and leave the babies with their mothers for feeding throughout the day. You can still get plenty of milk using this method if you begin separating the kids from their mothers at night, and milk the does or ewes first thing in the morning. You’ll only get one milking per day because the kid or lamb will nurse the mother throughout the day, but this prevents you from having to bottle feed a large number of babies.
If you have more babies than teats (nipples) it can create a situation where one of the babies isn’t getting enough milk. In this situation you have a couple different options. Bottle feeding is one of the most common. Another common method is to foster the baby out to another mother who maybe only has one lamb or kid and plenty of milk. In order to do this you’ll have to mask the baby’s scent until the mother accepts it, or tie the foster mother to allow the kids to nurse. I know goat owners who have good success rubbing vanilla extract under the doe’s nose so she won’t notice the baby’s strange scent.
This baby goat is just a couple hours old but is already standing and has enjoyed its first meal.
This baby is only 3 days old. Bottle feeding your kids and lambs can increase milk supply, prevent the spread of CAEV, and make kids and lambs easier to handle as adults.
(Photo courtesy of SupernaturalNutrition.net)
In my experience, most of the kids wean naturally around 6 months of age. In 2011, the heat was so extreme that our doe didn’t produce much milk through the full summer and weaned the baby a little sooner. We separate out the bucks at about 2 months of age because they have been known to breed does as young as 8 to 12 weeks. They are castrated by 12 weeks so that the buck-scent won’t taint the meat. Female babies we keep unless we’ve reached my husband-imposed limit of four does for our backyard space.
Raising or Selling Your Yearly Offspring
Females that you are not planning to keep can be sold as young as 2 months old. If I’m planning to sell a doeling, I will usually not bother weaning them until the sale takes place. I’d hate to put them through the stress of weaning right before the added stress of a move. Your extra stock can sell for a wide variety of prices depending on the demand for what they have to offer.
Male offspring we castrate and raise to a butchering size at my in-laws’ house. The arrangement we have with them is they provide the space, and we provide the feed. They tend the wethers until they are butchering size, and we split the meat that is produced. We’ve been able to add between 80 and 100 pounds of meat to the freezer each year in addition to having the doelings each year.
THORNY MATTERS
Castrating young males can be done with either banding or surgery. There are pros and cons to each method, and you should have experienced help before attempting either method yourself. Banding is bloodless but takes longer. Surgical castration does cause bleeding but the procedure happens a lot faster. Either way I recommend waiting a few weeks before castration to help prevent accidental damage to the urethra, which can cause a blockage of the urinary tract called urinary calculi.
Whatever babies you decide to keep will need to be vaccinated according to the schedule your veterinarian recommends. I also recommend handling them often to get them used to human contact. We teach them to lead at just a week old and have never had problems handling our adults who were trained young. We also get them accustomed to the motions of hoof trimming and grooming.
There is a limited market for castrated males that are trained to drive small carts, or used as pack animals for backpackers and hikers. Also check out local 4-H groups, farmers’ markets, and feed stores for potential buyers. We’ve never had to list our goats in the newspaper or take them to the livestock auction, but both can be potential places to find buyers for your goats. Ideally you’ll have developed a good relationship with the breeder that you purchased from and they can help advise you.
This goat cart race is an example of how castrated males can be used beyond their meat potential. Strong and agile wethers are also used as pack animals or friendly and hardy pets.
(Photo courtesy of Steve Swayne)
We started out by purchasing an experienced milking goat already bred and about two months from kidding. This made it so much easier to get the hang of milking because we weren’t training ourselves and training the doe at the same time. Since then we’ve learned to train our does when they are young to stand on the milk stand, and when they kid we’re able to begin milking more easily.
Our greedy does don’t raise too much of a fuss when we milk them because they have their heads stuck in a bucket of feed. We use milking time as their morning feed time and they quickly adjust to the routine. That’s really the key—establishing the routine habit that the animal can rely on and grow confident in. Remember that any increases in grain should take place gradually, so it’s wise to begin that process earlier rather than later to avoid digestive upsets.
If your milk station is not separated from the other goats, you’ll need to tie them. We just tie the others to the fence while we rotate in whomever is milking. You want to have a set milking stand or station where you can have your equipment, and keep the area clean. Cleanliness applies to the goat, to you, and to all the equipment.
These milk stands are perfect for keeping the goats semi-restrained and easily feeding in the individual feed troughs during the milking process.
(Photo courtesy of Nicolás Boullosa)
Follow these steps for milking:
See how each hand grasps the teat firmly. Squeeze your fingers from top to bottom to squeeze the milk out.
(Photo courtesy of Brian Boucheron)
Here’s an example of a large bucket of goat’s milk being strained into the storage jar. Notice the strainer set inside the funnel.
(Photo courtesy of Nicolás Boullosa)
Milk will keep about four or five days in the fridge, and if there is any leftover at that time we move it out to the shed to turn into clabbers. This fermented milk is a delicious and high-protein treat for chickens, hogs, our dogs, or the barn cat.
MILKING TOOLS
Milking tools are especially handy if your hands are too large or if you have arthritis. One hand-milking tool that is very reasonably priced is a simple vacuum pump-type system that you just squeeze and collect the milk into a jar that’s attached. Fancier milking machines are motorized and can sometimes milk more than one animal at a time. Obviously, the fancier you get, the more money you’d be investing and the less likely it is to be a good investment for the average backyard farmer. Check your local feed store or online farm supplier for options.
If you’re growing a fiber breed of sheep or goat, you’ll want to eventually harvest your fiber. Cashmere goats are not shorn, but much like Angora rabbits (see Chapter 13), they are combed or plucked to get the soft, spinnable fibers. Sheep with wool fleeces, and Angora goats (which produce mohair fiber) can both be shorn. Shearing sheep or goats is tough work, but for the fiber enthusiast it is also an exciting time.
Angora goats usually get two shearings per year, once before breeding and once before kidding. This allows the fleece to stay as clean as possible. There’s a balance in the timing because you want to be harvesting the longest fleece possible and wait for it to grow out, but you also need to harvest before it starts getting dirty and matted. Because this shearing will remove the entire fleece, your goats will need extra protection from bad weather postshearing. Add extra layers of straw to their shed and make sure they do not get damp. You may also need to fit each with individual coats temporarily until their own coats begin to regrow.
It may look uncomfortable for the sheep to be flipped over during shearing, but notice the other sheep waiting its turn. They are ready to lose their coats for the summer!
(Photo courtesy of Brian Boucheron)
Sheep are sheared in much the same way. You can shear them by hand with hand-clippers or use electric clippers. Either method should be done with care and can be tough to accomplish. It helps to begin working with your sheep when they are young so they become accustomed to you and being handled. Often you will want to time your shearings for early summer.
Sit the sheep up or roll her over and clip the stomach area. If possible, hold her steady with your knees so you can use both hands for better control. Take care around the teats and cut as close to the skin as possible without nicking the tender skin. Continue clipping each row further to one side until you cut all the way down the sides and almost to the back. Then work the fleece from the other direction until you meet your cuts in the middle. Shear the tail end and back of the legs carefully, and turn the sheep loose. With practice you’ll be left with the full fleece in one large cutting!
With any fleece, whether from your goat or sheep, you’ll want to remove any sections that are matted, dirty, or soiled by feces. Then your fleece can be rolled up and sold in the grease (unwashed) or washed and sold at its washed weight. Fleeces will lose some weight after they have been washed and then dried because the oils produced naturally by the animal will be washed away, leaving the fiber fleece lighter than it was originally.
This fleece has been washed and is spread out to dry. Notice how well it held its structure during washing to preserve the workability of the wool.
(Photo courtesy of Emma Jane Hogbin)
To wash fleeces, you can use either a washing machine or a large utility sink or tub. Use a mesh bag to help hold the fleece in place and to prevent felting (unusable matting) of the fleece.
When it’s completely dry, you can roll it and sell it at a higher price per ounce or per pound with a clean and workable fleece!
