Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Buying Goats
There are many different kinds of goats for different purposes. Start by reading up on the dif-
ferent breeds so you will know what kind of goats you are looking for. Do you want goats for
meat? For milk or cheese? For fiber? For weed control? It always helps to know what you
have in mind. Next, make sure you are prepared for your new animals before you bring any
goats home. Have shelter, feed, waterers, buckets, and other things you will need in place.
You need to be prepared to care for your goats before you bring them home.
Where to buy kids and adults
As with other kinds of livestock, you usually can buy goats from many different sources, in-
cluding auctions and sales barns. However, these are not always the best places to get your
goats. It is generally best to buy your kids and adult goats directly from another farmer who
breeds them. Visit farms to see where the goats are raised. You can tell a lot by visiting a
farm. This often will give you a good overview of the goat's health and hygiene. Healthy
goats come from healthy farms. Goats that come from auctions and sales barns have been ex-
posed to animals from many farms, which means they could have picked up diseases. In addi-
tion, sellers want to get rid of the animals for some reason. You are much better off going dir-
ectly to a breeder's farm and asking to see breeding-quality goats.
What to look for when buying goats
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Pedigree:
A document or chart with the recorded ancestry of a goat, its parents, grand-
parents, and so on
•
Registration:
Documents verifying an animal is registered in the official herd topic of a
recognized registry organization for that breed. When it is said that an animal has “pa-
pers,” it means that the animal is registered.
•
Registered purebred:
A goat whose papers are readily available; it has been registered
with an official registry organization, it is listed in the herd topic, and there is a docu-
ment to prove it.
•
Purebred:
Goats that, according to their ancestry, fall into a breed group defined by na-
tional and often international breed standards. Purebreds may or may not have papers
documenting their ancestry. For example, a breeder who keeps a small herd of
purebreds but does not want the expense and trouble of acquiring papers for each one he
