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The Dairy Goat Farming
The two predominant products in goat farming are the milk and the meat that the goats produce.
In most cases, in terms of dairy goat farming, the goats are treated much like dairy cows as their accommodations are indoors and like cows they are milked twice a day. Many large goat farmers tend to have 400-500 goats on their farm.
On goat farms the breeding season for the goats is from August to March. The goat’s period of pregnancy lasts for four months. In goat farming the animals are generally bred once a year which means their offspring, called kids; tend to be born between the months of January and August. The female goats can have anywhere from one to five kids and twins are very common.
In dairy goat farming the female goats (does) can start mating when they reach the age of seven to nine months. Milk from the animal can be produced when the animal reaches a year in age.
There is no help needed for the goat to give birth but the farmers has to make sure that the kids nurse from their mother or are fed from a bottle directly after birth as this is when the kid receives the critical first milk that is called colostrum. After 2-3 days of receiving colostrum, which contains minerals, vitamins, and antibodies, the colostrum will then be replaced by the mother’s milk or given milk formula.
In goat farming it is much the same as cow farming as the kids will be given a milk formula until the time when they can be weaned which is when the kids are five to seven weeks old. This is the time in goat farming when the goats are then milked.
When goat farming the animal is given a two month period before giving birth so the mother can give enough nutrition to their kids.
For diary farming the goats are then milked twice a day generally in intervals of 12 hours. Goat farming uses the techniques of extracting the milk by machine and also by hand. Another way that goat farming is similar to cow farming is that the both use up to date dairy production that operate under the same hygienic condition.
If the primary goal is for meat production the kids will be nursed from eight to ten weeks. After this period the kids will be fed hay, grain, and pasture until they reach the desired weight which can range from 35 to 90 pounds.
When someone is in the business of farming for goat’s meat, there is a desired weight that they are striving for. It’s dependent on the breed of goat, not all goats are as large as others.
Although it’s not always the first thing considered when thinking of farming, goat farming is an enjoyable and lucrative venture.
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