Continued from Page 14


bunch of kids appear together several days after start of kidding and it is difficult to tag them on the open range and pair them with their mothers.


The most important performance char- acteristic is the doe having kid(s). An open doe costs the profit of a doe having twins and then some. The doe can be checked for pregnancy by ultra- sound 50-60 days after breeding. If you must haul animals to the vet- erinarian for ultra- sounds and it costs $6 to $15/doe, it is not cost effective unless you have quite valu- able animals. One large goat


Steve Hart


producer has two preg-checking chutes and his vet rolls on a chair between chutes and can do over 100 animals per hour and charges $1.50 per head — pretty cost-effec- tive for a large herd.


One can purchase a cheap ultrasound unit for $2,500 or so and do their own preg- nancy checking, but requires development of a new skill and imagination (if you have seen an ultrasound) as well as a significant number of animals to pay for it.


If you have a highly fertile herd that has a 95% conception rate, it may not pay to do ultrasound. You can develop a highly fertile herd by culling animals that do not kid. Five generations of culling all animals that do not kid will result in a herd with 95%


conception rate.


Keeping does for one more try will give you a herd with lower conception rates that reduces profits due to supporting non-pro- ductive animals. If the other animals in the herd conceived, it is unfair to them to keep a freeloader around.


If you cannot ultrasound does, you can check them at the end of kidding season to see if their udders have been nursed and if they have lost condition. If you have records from kidding, it makes it easy to identify freeloaders. If you have a small enough herd that you can record does that are nursing kids, you can identify freeloaders. However, it does no good to identify freeloaders if you are not going to cull them. You need to keep records on animals that cause management problems — the doe that always gets out of the fence, those that get sick most often, the doe that had a ca- seous lymphadenitis abscess the second time or the doe that jumps on you when you are in the pen feeding.


Also, identifying those with worm problems that can be inherited by offspring. By using FAMACHA during the worm sea- son and keeping records, those does that get dewormed the most need an all-expense paid trip to the auction.


It is best to cash these girls in before they die and are worth nothing and you have the expense of getting rid of the body. Also, if most wormy does are sired by one buck, you may need to think about moving him down the road.


Animals with genetic defects need to be culled: cryptorchids, goats with bad teat


structure (kid can’t latch on and nurse), en- tropion (eyelid that is curled under at birth so the eyelashes scratch the eye), mismatch of jaw with upper teeth, bad feet and legs, etc. Next month — We will discuss making measurement on kids and using records to se- lect the best replacements and identifying su- perior bucks.


(Steve Hart is a retired Goat Extension Specialist at Langston University in Okla- homa. He conducts research on internal par- asites and presents parasite workshops. He is also a member of the American Consor- tium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control. He can be contacted at steve.hart@lang- ston.edu.)


Minerals play important role in herd health


From Purina Animal Care


How do you decide what goat mineral to feed? Is it the same mineral you’ve always fed, a mineral your neighbor feeds or are you skipping mineral altogether? Mineral plays a critical role in goat performance, so it’s impor- tant to select the right mineral for your herd. While mineral may be a small portion of a goat diet, it aids in many vital functions and impacts everything from reproduction to feed efficiency and overall herd health. Pro- vide a quality goat mineral that supports per- formance.


Here are three things to look for in your goat mineral supplement: • Provides consistent intake. The most important aspect of a mineral is to provide vital nutrients your goats might be lacking. But how can you be sure your goats are get- ting the intended nutrients if they don’t con- sistently eat the mineral?


Choosing a palatable mineral assures that your goats are eating and receiving proper amounts of essential minerals like copper and calcium. Also, look for a goat mineral supplement that’s formulated for low intake.


Palatability and low intake might sound like a contradiction, but the idea is for goats to get the nutrition they need while avoiding overconsumption. When goats consume min- eral at target intake levels, no minerals get wasted and each goat gets the nutrition it needs. • Supports goat reproduction. Many


18 Goat Rancher | July 2025


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