How to take care of goats A teach and do book

This book is made by: Niketan foundation Antoinette Termoshuizen The Netherlands [email protected]

This educational material is meant for teachers in Bangladesh to support them in giving information and instruction to intellectual disabled or autistic people who take care of goats. This product has the Education4all quality mark. Education4all gives her quality mark to educational products which meet her quality demands, educational view and where there is a clear relationship between content and exams. All rights preserved. Nothing from this publication may be multiplied, stored in a database and/or be made public, whether electronic, mechanical through photocopies, recording or any other way without the explicit written permission of Education4all.

Goat facts The Goat is one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans. A goat is a ruminant animal. They are even-toed, cud-chewing, hoofed, usually horned mammals. They have a stomach divided into four compartments. Goats are herbivores eating mainly hay, grass and ferns. Both male and female goats can have beards Goats can have almost any colour, solid black, white, red, brown, spotted, two and three colored, or blended shades. The goat tail is short, bare underneath, and usually carried upright.

The goat has very sensitive lips. Goats' lips, teeth, and tongue are the primary grazing tools. The lips are most important in grabbing feed and bringing it into the mouth. The upper jaw is wider than the lower jaw in ruminants, only one side of the mouth can be used at a time to grind the feed. This causes the rotary movement you see when a goat is chewing. It takes 11 to 15 hours for feed material to pass through the goat’s digestive system. The ruminant digestive system of the goat works non-stop throughout the adult life of the animal.

Feeding the goat Feeding your goats is the first and most important part of taking care of goats. You have to feed them to help them produce milk. Without feed, no milk. You should try to feed them every day or as many times as necessary per day. Take care that they have constant access to clean water; goats should never go without water, especially when they are being raised for milk. Since goats pooped and peed everywhere. You have to put the water basket at least 70 cm high. Take care that you make a step for the goats, so that they can easily reach the water basket.

What to feed the goat Each goat needs about two to four pounds of hay per day. Hay can be fed twice a day.

Grain feed or pelleted grain mix.

Minerals, salt lick block, consisting Selenium.

Basic kitchen and garden compost

Look at the colour of the feed. Hay can look "good" to the eye if it is green in colour. However, sometimes the better quality hay is the more brownish-coloured hay.

Smell the feed to see if it contains mold or is dusty. A goat will turn her nose up at moldy and dusty feed.

Look at the amount of stem material in the hay. Quite often a good indication of hay that is too high in fibre and too low in energy is when there is too much stem material in it. This shows that the hay has been cut too late in the season and has decreased in nutritive value.

Housing Goats, whether raised for meat or milk, need basic protection from the elements: wind, rain, heat. They like to break out, so you'll need some seriously tight fencing for them.

If you are kidding in the winter, you will typically need a solid building for your pregnant and/or lactating goats and the kids. Inside the building, you can use livestock panels to divide the space into separate pens for each group of goats and kids. Use pine shavings and straw as litter on the floor. Take care that this will be cleaned regularly. Large stables ensure peace in the herd.

Fencing is key to the safety and health of your goats. Fencing for goats needs to be secure, not just to keep them in, but to keep predators dogs, people and more - out. The fence should be at least 1.30 meters high. If you're creating goat housing, consider where you will store feed, straw or other bedding, and other goat-related equipment.

All animals should be able to eat or drink at one time. Hay should be kept in a rack. Goats pooped and peed on the ground. Goats does not eat dirty hay.

Getting a baby When a goat is 8 months old, she is old enough to get a kid. A goat is ‘in heat’ every three weeks, for one or three days. You can see this because of the behaviour of the goat. She may be acting restlessly and mooing a lot. A goat is 150 to 155 days pregnant. A goat can get one or two kids, sometimes more.

If the goat is in labor she needs rest. The best place is a pen. She may look at her side, like she can't figure out what is going on. Then the goat gets contractions, the muscles of the uterus push the kid out. You will see thicker discharge, sometimes tinged with blood.

Then you will see a bubble at the opening of the vagina. This is the amniotic membrane. If you look in the bubble you usually see a nose and one or two little hooves.

After the bubble appears, the goat will continue to push the kid out, sometimes stopping to gather her strength. Within a half hour, the baby will slide out. Often kids are still in the amniotic membrane. A newborn kid is driving wet.

The mother licks the kid clean. In this way they get to know each other. A newborn kid weighs 2 or 3 pounds. The kid quickly gets on his legs to drinks with his mother. The first milk is called colostrum.

Colostrum is good for the kid. It protect the kid from diseases. A goat has two nipples. The kid drink several times a day.

When the kid is 10 to 15 days old, it begins to eat grass and hay.

After 3 months, a kid can be weaned. He does not need milk anymore.

Health care Normally a goat has a good resistance. Well cared goats are less vulnerable to diseases. A dry and thick lounger protects the goat. A thin layer of straw can cause bald spots. But also a dirty hide. Bald spots and a dirty hide irritate the skin. Brushing It is important to brush the goat. Brushing increases the milk production. It will stimulate the blood flow of the skin and the hide will be healthier and shiny. The goat will suffer less from dust and itches. As a result a happier, healthier and more productive goat. Brush in the direction of the coat starting at the neck, then down the back and down the sides. Make sure to brush the neck, chest, legs, and abdomen.

Avoid foods that will harm your goat. Goats must avoid ornamental plants, especially those in the Rhododendron family. These can cause severe problems like vomiting, diarrhoea and even death if the goat has ingested enough and the condition hasn't been treated by a Vet. Exercise your goat. Help your goat to climb a lot. Goats love to climb so give them toys that would involve climbing.

They may also enjoy something like a seesaw, which allows them to balance and move up and down in the same climbing method.

Trim the hooves. If you don't want your goat's hooves to bend, crack, or get infected make sure you trim them once a month.

Deworm. Most goats are very susceptible to internal parasites (e.g. worms), and should be dewormed on a regular basis. The common worms that prey on goats are known as bloodworms, hookworms and a different species known as coccidia. Depending on the environment, parasites can cause many health problems (even death) such as weight loss, poor hair coat, reproductive failures and more. 

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Young kids should receive their first deworming between 6-8 weeks of age. There are commercial dewormers available for goats at your local feed store (such as Safegard). Be sure to follow label directions. However, the majority of goat dewormers are not effective against coccidia, which can be particularly harmful in young kids and older or immune compromised goats. There are several products available for treatment of coccidia, but the most available is called Corid. Signs of coccidia infestation include difficulty in weight gain, lethargy, lack of appetite and clumped stools (rather like something you may see from a dog) If there is any question if there is a worm problem in your herd, have your Vet run several faecal analyses on different goats. This will provide a definitive answer, and your vet will be able to recommend the proper treatment.

Get the needed vaccinations. All goats should also be vaccinated once yearly with a vaccine called "CDT", which includes tetanus. Kids should be vaccinated at 6-8 weeks, then boosted in 4 weeks. After that, it's once yearly. Be aware of bloating. Giving them too much lush green food can cause them to bloat and this can kill them if not treated.

Dealing with goats Moving a group of goats is a trick. Consider how you will do it. Always stay calm. Do not run or scream. Close all gates and doors where they do not have to go through. Attract goats with some pellets or carrots. Stay calm at the gate and rattle the bucket. The goats come to you. Goats are very curious. If one goat walks with you, the rest will follow. Are all goats in the right place? Give them all some pellets. Take one of the goats the wrong direction? Be patient, he will come to the fold. Close the gate and the move is finished. Do not chase after goats. They will get in panic and jump all over the place.

Quiet goats can be hold around the neck. Or by pushing the goat against the wall with your thigh. Or clamps the shoulder of the goat between your legs. A big goat can hold best by his goatee. When a goat wear a collar he will be easy to hold. The collar should not be too tight. Four fingers has to fit between the collar and the neck of the goat. Make a rope on the collar to secure the goat on a fence. Use a safety knot to secure the goat. Once the goat is on a rope, you can lead a goat. You can teach a goat to walk beside you. Do not let the goat walk before or after you. Never wrap the rope around your hand. The rope can pinch your hand. Keep the rest of the rope loops in your left hand. How to take one goat out of the herd: 1. Attract the herd with some pellets. 2. Put the herd in a small space. 3. Try to get the goat in a corner and snap her. Do it first time right, because the goats will get wild. 4. Grab the goat with two hands around his neck. Grab a goat not at his horns, tail or leg. They hate it. They will resist and kicks.