Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with Langston University Goat Extension Leader Dr. Terry Gipson, about the benefits of adding small ruminants to a property or operation.
Right now, Gipson said, the market prices for goats are incredible. Looking at an economic analysis of goat production, Gipson said there is a greater return on investment in goats over cattle.
Gipson said it has been estimated that you can add one goat for every cow on the farm and not reduce carrying capacity.
“I am not saying that you make more money on goats than you do cattle, but for the investment that you put into it, you get a greater return on that investment,” Gipson said.
Goats can be a beneficial addition to a cattle operation, Gipson said, because cattle and goats eat different vegetation.
“Right now, in Oklahoma, we are having a real problem with invasive species, such as the eastern redcedar,” Gipson said.
Cattle will not eat eastern redcedar, Gipson said, but goats will. From a vegetation standpoint, Gipson added, there is not much competition between cattle and goats.
Gipson also said that cattle and goats do not share the same internal parasites.
“Any goat parasites that a cow eats will be a biological dead-end for that parasite, and vice versa,” Gipson said.
When it comes to managing those internal parasites in goats, Gipson said producers need to be aware of the health status of their goat herd, with the use of a FAMACHA system.
“This is a little card that is one to five with colors of sort of pink on it, that you would look at the mucus membranes of the eye and be able to ascertain the anemia level of the goat,” Gipson said.
While many cattle producers deworm on a calendar schedule, Gipson said he does not recommend using the same method for goats.
“What we would recommend is doing selective deworming, so we would look at our goats and then screen them using the FAMACHA, and only deworm those animals that need to be dewormed,” Gipson said. “We would suggest that every two to three weeks that producers look at their goats, do the FAMACHA score, and then selectively deworm those animals and not the entire herd.”
Regarding the purchasing of goats for your herd, Gipson said he does not recommend buying from the sale barn.
“Most of the goats at a sale barn are there because they are culls, so we always recommend that you go to a reputable breeder,” Gipson said. “Those are fairly easy to find through word of mouth or different breed associations, and when you are going and looking at breeding stock, we recommend that you are choosing young animals, that are going to stay in your herd longer.”
When it comes to culling goats in the herd, Gipson said that if a female does not have a kid for one season, not to cull her immediately. But, if it has been two years, Gipson said to go ahead and cull her.
“Goats can handle twins very well,” Gipson said. “Triplets, not as well. For meat goats, we want to look at twins being the optimal and really try to avoid those females that are giving us singles, or triplets or more.”
To read more info from Langston University on goat research, CLICK HERE.
