Any one here raise meat goats?

I have a aquaintance that wants me to raise meat goats for Somolian clients here in St Cloud. He just emailed me and said he could probably sell more than I could raise, already said he could take 100+ in the next month alone.. He is a good man and a former employee of mine from my manger days. Just wondering if any one could give some advise. I have cattle, small herd, but have room to raise some goats if need be.

It's been my experience that cattle ranchers don't make good goat ranchers. (not that you wouldn't). Goats need to be treated a lot differently then cattle. Think DEER. Goats need better shelter, better feed, and better care then cows. Treat a goat like you treat a cow, and you will lose it.
They will eat what a cow won't, so they can be pastured together. They love trees, multiflower rose (ANY rose) and weeds. They are escape artists. A regular 5 wire barb wire fence will not hold them. You will need woven or 2-3 strand electric. They are also good at getting their heads caught in fences.
They are enormous fun to have around and are diligent entertainers. They require that you take care of their hooves. Parasites can be a problem. They do not like rain or nasty snow storms. You MUST have inside shelter for them.
Don't just jump into it - read up first.
Goats are NOT just "small cows", they are closer related to Deer, then anything else.

Meat goats- as in maybe Boers? Whatever breed you get- make sure your fences are high and strong. Mexican/Spanish goats are smaller but still have big horns- herds of the spanish type exist for mexican meat markets as cabrito, may find some starters there. If you have cattle now you probably have the water tanks, shelter and feed bunks for silage and hay. Goats are more browsers than grazers- a overgrown weedy pasture is fine for most of them. Shouldn"t have problem letting them run with cattle unless billies get obnoxious- meat market they would be cut anyway. Best to have 3 or 4 fenced off rotating pastures or 2 part feedlot to rotate while cleaning. RN

One of our neighbors had goats for a while. He had woven wire fence. He then used an electric fence extension that made the hot wire stick out at least 12 inches from the wire fence.

From talking to him, they do take more care than cattle. He had them for a couple of years, but eventually got rid of them.

As for feed bunks and water tanks - be careful with regular cattle stock tanks - they are good for adult goats, but smaller ones like to jump in (and not get out). Goats also do not like to drink from ponds or streams. If the feed bunks are for cattle, then they will need to be shortened for goats. You will also find that the goats will jump IN them instead of eat FROM them. They will shortly fill up with all kinds of little black "goat berries". Also - it's not a good idea to feed silage to goats - they are susepable to molds that cattle are not. Keep the food dry, clean, and mold free. The best "feeder" I've found is made from a 4" PVC pipe cut in half lengthwise and screwed to legs that hold it about 20" off the ground. That keeps the goats out of the food. Try not to ground feed a goat. If you dump food on the ground, it WILL pick up parasites. Goats also like to sleep off of the ground. I (and several others) have built platforms that allow the goats to sleep "bunk bed" style off of the floor. You can get 4 times the goats in the same space, that way.
They also are climbers - if they figure out how to climb a fence or open a gate - they will NEVER forget it.
Minerals are also important. Sheep and cattle tubs will not work. A goat needs more copper then either (sheep tubs have ZERO copper...). They don't need high doller hay, but need good, hay that hasn't been wet.
Check with your local vet. Find out if they have ANY experience with goats - you will probabnly need him, and most vets don't have a clue about goats.

I don't understand, if you drop food on the ground they will pick up parasites? but yet it's ok for them to pasture? Wouldn't they be picking up just as many if not more parasites from the pasture area as they would from food on the ground? Years ago we had a goat, just gave it a long leash about 30' long (so 60' diameter to pasture), and just let him go, rotating areas every now and then. We gave him a good size dog house for the rain. Worked well for us

My uncle used to raise a few, nasty buggers, but I did like the meat, it's a little like mild venison, the billys are nasty they like to spit at you and p#ss in their beards and stink. The kids are like humans, cute and cuddly when little. Then they grow up!! LOL

Unless you over graze (or over "browse" to be correct...) then they don't eat as far down to the ground. When you "feedlot" them and dump the feed on the ground, the parasites are easier to pick up and more concentrated. The food is also more apt to be contaminated with dirt, and some will be left to mold. When you tethered your goat, you said you moved it around. That, in itself helps to cut down on parasites.

Yup. Cute little guys! Nothing cuter then a couple of goat kids out causing mischief! The billy goats don't always spray themselves with urine, only when it's "the right" time of year! If you like venison, then you'll like goat. The milk is also better then cows milk (and better for you). There are countless folks who cannot drink cows milk that CAN drink goats milk. Of course, Boers aren't milk goats (although their milk is pretty good...).

I had 20 fainting goats,started with doelings, they DONT CLIMB and CAN"T JUMP {muscles lockup)
kert them in a 36" high woven wire fence.Loved them, wish I had them back had them for 2 yrs
Jerry C

Dachshund has some good points. We have a couple of goats, used to have more. One thing is to elevate the feed troughs, so they can't poop in them. If they do, they won't eat out of it. BTW, my vet ( vet for hundreds of goats), says there are 2 types of goats - ones that get thier heads stuck, and ones that don't.

Well - in THEORY they can't climb or jump. Most are a little slow compared to a "regular" goat, but some do jump and climb. They also tend to be a tad smaller then other breeds.

Delightful little blighters BUT do your homework first, a normal 5-7 strand fence is not a good idea, ringlock is what's required.I wouldn't run them with cattle because they nip the grass too low. They like high places so a lot of people put a load of rocks throughout the paddock which could also work to keep their feet in check otherwise they need paring.Stop them from walking up the strainers on your fence posts. The Sth African Boer seems to be the one taking off here.I can't see problems in raising them as long as good animal husbandry is maintained.The garden shrub "Oleander" is poisonous to them.

Tuff to raise goats commercially here in the midwest. Could be very lucrative, but it's fairly labor intensive. Profit margins are small, you need large numbers of animals but then your workload increases also. Need good management practices, ie. feed quality & consumption, vaccinations, worming, facilities, etc. You can't just turn 'em loose and hope for the best. Start small and work your way up.

I know nothing about goats outside of the climbing up on anything they usually do, but I heard something the other day about the Fainting goats. There is a guy down the road that had some and every time one of his relatives drove past he would hit the horn and they would all drop to the ground just to mess with them. Never saw it happen but I suppose that is why they got their name. I guess if they were mine, I would have to keep them away from the road.

Do you live near Joe Kenning? This may sound crazy but have you ever thought about horse meat for these poeple ??/You would have to think they would be lifting the ban on that sometime..Not to mention the Horses would darn near be free,,,poeple would be dropping them off..

You have eat goat for buy? I tri raise one, but wife get jealous, say goat better smell than perfum her. Dannged! go to sell wife, goat better dis-po-sition, Achmed.

Some climb just fine. All depends on the individual goat and how much myatonina it has. Myatonia is the official name for the genetic disorder these goats have. Also has a disease name and sometimes exists in humans. I've known a few I suspected of having it (half kidding). When humans have it, it's called Thompsen's disease, even though it's a genetic thing, and not an illness you can catch. I raised them for 20 years. They come in varying degrees of the "lockup syndrome", and those that have it real bad tend not to climb things. Those that don't have it bad climb just like any other goat.
They never actually faint, just get stiff and some keel over and can't get back up for awhile. Even when in full "faint", they are awake and will often eat if you hand them some grain. So, seems even when their legs lock up, their mouths don't.
When you register a Faiting Goat, it gets tested and rated for how much it locks up. The ones that have it the most are rated as "premium."
Here's a registry paper of one of my old premium Fainter's. Also one photo of a goat starting to go into lockup-mode, with her legs getting stiff. In some areas, they are called Wooden-leg goats.

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