The goats at a Haitian orphanage are fitted with wooden triangles around their necks to keep them from escaping their pen.
tourists walking through town.
I saw pigs, goats, and chickens rooting among the trash lining some of the streets. They were eating plastic bags and any food they could find. I asked myself, how could FAMACHA scoring or fecal flotations help these goats if their owners could not afford to care for themselves, let alone spare money for their animals. The first day of our 5-day mission trip was spent preparing medical supplies at the New Hope Hospital, where we would be of- fering discounted treatment. The hospital was about one-half mile off the main road. There were several horses walking along the road, free grazing. Goats dotted the hospital driveway as well, but they were tied. Our translator told me that in Haiti if a goat gets loose and eats vegetables from someone’s garden, that person is entitled to monetary compensation for their lost crop.
If the owner of the goat cannot pay for the damages, they are entitled to the head of the goat and one front leg. Thus, it is important for owners of goats to make sure their animals do not get loose. However, the goats were just tied to clumps of grass and tiny bushes or saplings. Not a single goat was tied to a stake or anything more substantial.
On the second day, my advisor borrowed one of the translators and I was able to ask a local farmer about this. He said the goats did not leave because they were used to being tied. Haitian farmers begin tying their goats early in life, around weaning. At this point they are not strong enough to pull away from the clumps of grass, and most of them never discover that once they were older and stronger, they could. During my conversation with the farmer, I taught him how to age a goat from their teeth. Our translator told us he could tell how many kids a doe had had based on the number of rings on her horns. I tried to argue that would be impossible, until it dawned on me why it might be true. Goats in Haiti are raised only on pasture, and do not receive supplemental grain when nursing. It would be my educated guess that a doe would have corresponding rings to the number times she has kidded because of nutritional deficit. When nursing, Haitian does must put all their energy into nurs- Please see HAITI, Page 34
October 2021 | Goat Rancher 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
