Thread by @EdwardTruly_me

FOR THE LOVE OF FARMING.
STARTING GOAT FARMING.

SELECTING OF GOATS

The biggest blunder you can ever make in livestock keeping is choosing the wrong genetics, whether you are in milk production or meat production. If you choose the wrong genetics you have failed before starting

Its important to learn the Art of selecting the Right animal fit for your purpose. if it milk then goat breeds like Saanen, Toggenburg, nubian & Alpine are best, if its for slaughter then borana/somali goats & boer/savanna/Kalahari red are best. But start with native breeds.

When selecting goat for slaughter we look at morphological traits that is the size, shape & structure of an animal. By observation look at the coat of the animal, it should look smooth ,no wounds, the hair should not look rough or sign of hair loss. See images of sick goat skin.

The front legs should look straight , but the hind leg should have a smooth curve and not straight legs. When the back legs too straight that not good, it is called posted legs. See image to be understanding how front & hind legs should look like.

The goat should not have knocking legs/knees.

The goats should have all four healthy limbs and no deformities on his legs

The Doe / female goats should have a pair of healthy udders, no deformities or sweelings or cases of one udder being bigger than the other and they must be symmetrical

The male goats should have a pair of big healthy testicles, symmetrical & avoid situation where the goat have one testicle or or one testicle is bigger than the other or testicle with extreme splitting in the middle, or extremly small. The testicle should not go beyond the knees.

The goats should have a big chest, wide thighs, wide ribs area showing its capacity to carry kids comfortable . Distance from one hind legs to another to be wide, with a straight back and a smooth inclination on its butt about 25° .

Check the eyes to know if the goat have internal parasites. You can easily detect anemia via the eyes . You can use the famacha which shows different eyes pigmentations where deep pink means goat is healthy and pale pink reveals signs of anemia.

The goats should be active not sleepy & not unease and scratching itself all the time because those are signs of parasites on the goat. Watch the goat poop , the droppings should be separate hard lumps , if the poop is watery or bonded together without lumps then the goat is sick

If the goat is covered with watery poop on her hind legs and anus then thats a sign of diarrhea dont buy such goats. At last know to identify age of goats to avoid buying old unproductive goats . You can identify goat age using Goats teeth. See image below

Avoid high breeds at all cost . Always go for pure breeds, because they have a higher hybrid vigor than hybrids. Then you can introduce a different breed later and cross with your goats to get a hybrid. When you cross two pures the F1(first generation) is born better than parents