Breeding goats for meat may be the next step to take after successfully establishing your goat farm. After all, continually ordering in fresh batches of animals from the suppliers can become a pricey affair later on. In order to breed meat-producing goats, you need to remember a few things though. For example:
1. Most meat producing breeds (e.g. Boer goats, Spanish goats, etc.) normally mate between the months of August and all the way through March. In order to give you ample time to prepare the does’ nutritional needs and the birthing pen, try to plan exactly when you want the kidding or the birth of the young goats to happen. The usual gestation period of these animals lasts 5 months or 150 days. One way of maximizing your meat production is to try breeding the goats at twice during the mating season.
2. The term “flushing” is essential when it comes to breeding goats for meat. Flushing, or to be more precise: egg flushing simply means putting the does on a better and highly concentrated diet. This helps make the goat produce a bigger litter. Normally, goats produce 1 to 3 kids in one birthing. However, if the flushing is done correctly, the does may produce 4 healthy kids. It is also during the flushing period that female goats are de-wormed and given vaccines to help keep their health up during the gestation period.
3. An additional footnote when it comes to breeding goats for meat: if does are geared to reproduce twice during the mating season, it is very likely that the second litter will only produce 1 to 2 kids. Some goat farmers either choose to have their animals mated twice, or choose the flushing method instead. Combining both methods has proven to be detrimental in all the efforts for breeding goats for meat. Either the population of the goat herd becomes too extensive that the animals become susceptible to disease, or the mother goats’ health is compromised that further birthing for the next few year is almost impossible.
4. Even with all the science and technology available to goat farmers these days, nothing could beat a buck’s (male goat) ability to detect female goats in heat. Investing in one or more buck for your goat farm might be a good idea. Or, you could always ask other goat farmers to “lend” you a male goat 2 weeks before your estimated time when most of the does come in heat.
Are you planning on breeding goats for meat?. Separate yourself from the usual goat owners who are prone to common mistakes. If you would like to learn more tips on breeding goats and how to raise goats correctly, please visit http://www.raising-goats.com.
by Ted Allen
