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Goat production The goat must have been domesticated at the same time as the sheep in the East during the Neolithic Goats have always been considered very useful animals.

Goats success is related to its excellent adaptability to the difficult mountain conditions, extreme weather and low value feed acceptance, versatile habits and high production considering their size. These are some reasons because goats are among the first animals to be domesticated. In terms of evolution, goats could be separated by their dispersion area in three large groups: the European, the Asian, and the African. Global goat populations, mainly in Africa and in Asia, have increased for centuries but very strongly in the past decades, well above the world population growth. They are also used for forest grazing, an integrated and alternative production system, very useful to control w**d growth reducing fire risk. Despite some exceptions, no large‐scale effort to professionalize this industry has been made so far. There are consumers for goat dairy products and there is enough global production, but misses a professional network between both. Regarding goat meat, the world leadership also stays in Africa and Asia, namely in China, and there is a new phenomenon, the spreading of goat meat tradition through Europe due to migrants from Africa and other places with strong goat meat consumption. Goats were among the first farm animals to be domesticated. According to Ref. [1], goats have been linked to humans for at least 10,000 years. Due to their great adaptability to difficult environment conditions and to different diets, they have always been considered very useful animals for their good productivity and easy to handle and they do not compete with man for food and eat cheap feeds. In the last 50 years, global goat populations have increased by about 240%, while other livestock species have maintained or decreased their populations. Currently, there are about 1 billion goats around the world. More than 90% are located in Asia and Africa and only 1.8% in Europe. While in the countries, where goat production is massive, high adaptability to the environment is one of the main breed characters, in the developed countries, most of the goats are of genetically selected breeds for high production [2]. In rural areas of developing countries, the contribution of goats is highly valued and has an important role in feeding the populations, an item that is often not adequately recognized when comparing goats with sheep and cattle. In fact, goats are extremely intelligent animals, very agile, and independent, with a high level of resistance to diseases, much better than other ruminant species. Despite the fact that in recent decades there has been a great progress in research aimed at increasing the goat productivity, there is still a great work to be done, namely in the applicability of the different races to the different environmental realities of the underdeveloped and developing countries. In these areas, the current and potential importance of goat production combined with the use of breeds that have not yet been fully selected and exploited will certainly be a reality in the near future. At both local and macroeconomic levels, goats will certainly be an animal production that will enhance the livelihoods and sustainable development of the world’s poorest population

PASTURE AND MANAGEMENTGoats should be stocked at the rate of five to six adult does to one animal unit equivalent. Meat ...
01/11/2022

PASTURE AND MANAGEMENT
Goats should be stocked at the rate of five to six adult does to one animal unit equivalent. Meat goats must depend almost solely on forage to meet their nutritional needs.
A carefully planned forage program can enhance growth and performance of goats. A good, thought-out, rotational-grazing program can improve pasture production and help control internal parasites.
Supplemental grazing in stubble fields, corn fodder, wheat pastures, or winter rye can be used to either extend the grazing season or to boost required nutrient levels.
Goats also complement both sheep and cattle in marginal grazing lands. Goats are considered excellent browsers and consume a higher percentage of brush and other less desirable plants. This allows goats to maximize the use of marginal pasture land as well as improved forage production systems.

Spanish. The Spanish or brush goat breed has developed through natural selection from goats first placed in Oklahoma and...
01/11/2022

Spanish. The Spanish or brush goat breed has developed through natural selection from goats first placed in Oklahoma and Texas in the early 1540s by Spanish explorers. The size of the goat varies according to climate, terrain and available breeding stock. Mature bucks can weigh up to 200 pounds and does up to 130 pounds. Body shape, hair and color are not consistent among goats of the breed. The term Spanish or brush goat has been used to denote goats that do not fit into any breed description. Historically, the Spanish goat has been kept primarily to help clear brush and other undesirable plants from pasture and range land.

Myotonic. The Myotonic goats are often referred to as Wooden Leg, “stiff-leg,” or Tennessee fainting goats.The stiff-leg...
01/11/2022

Myotonic. The Myotonic goats are often referred to as Wooden Leg, “stiff-leg,” or Tennessee fainting goats.The stiff-leg name is derived from the fact that the goats, when excited or frightened, “lock-up” and often fall over and lie very stiff (faint) for a few seconds (normally only 10 to 20 seconds).
The breed is one of the few indigenous to the United States. Two strains of the Myotonic breed exist one in Tennessee and the eastern United States and the other in Texas. While the exact circumstances of the development of the breed are unknown, it is widely accepted that the breed originated in Tennessee. It is believed that all fainting goats in the United States can trace their origin back to four goats imported to Tennessee from Nova Scotia by a man named John Tinsley.
The Myotonic goat is heavy rumped and deep chested. While multi-color animals are not uncommon, the most common colors are black and white. The goat is an aseasonal breeder. Many breeders have noted that the breed has the capability to produce two kiddings a year.They have been discovered as an excellent cross breedstock for the Boer goat. Because the fainting quality comes from a recessive gene, the fainting is not usually expressed in crossbred animals.

01/11/2022

Myotonic. The Myotonic goats are often referred to as Wooden Leg, “stiff-leg,” or Tennessee fainting goats.The stiff-leg name is derived from the fact that the goats, when excited or frightened, “lock-up” and often fall over and lie very stiff (faint) for a few seconds (normally only 10 to 20 seconds).
The breed is one of the few indigenous to the United States. Two strains of the Myotonic breed exist one in Tennessee and the eastern United States and the other in Texas. While the exact circumstances of the development of the breed are unknown, it is widely accepted that the breed originated in Tennessee. It is believed that all fainting goats in the United States can trace their origin back to four goats imported to Tennessee from Nova Scotia by a man named John Tinsley.
The Myotonic goat is heavy rumped and deep chested. While multi-color animals are not uncommon, the most common colors are black and white. The goat is an aseasonal breeder. Many breeders have noted that the breed has the capability to produce two kiddings a year.They have been discovered as an excellent cross breedstock for the Boer goat. Because the fainting quality comes from a recessive gene, the fainting is not usually expressed in crossbred animals.

01/11/2022

Nubian (Anglo-Nubian). Originally imported from Nubia, Africa, the Nubian breed was developed by crossing British goats with bucks of African and Indian origin. The does are not heavy milk producers but have milk with higher than average butter fat content. In addition, the Nubian breeding season is much longer than that of the Swiss breeds, making it possible to milk the doe year-round.
Any solid or part-colored goat is permitted in the breed, but the most common colors are black, red and tan. Bucks should weigh at least 175 pounds, and mature does should weigh at least 135 pounds.

01/11/2022

The Kiko breed was developed by crossing feral does (relatively small goats which developed from escaped domestic goats in New Zealand with does weighing between 25 and 55 pounds and bucks less than 88 pounds) with Nubian, Toggenberg, and Sannen bucks. The Kiko herd book was closed in 1986 (all breeding animals had to be selected from within the herd). Kiko goats (weighing roughly twice the weight of feral goats) are capable of high levels of meat production and can produce well under a variety of conditions.

MEAT GOAT BREEDSGoats of all breeds may be raised for meat production in many parts of the world. However, meat-goat car...
01/11/2022

MEAT GOAT BREEDS
Goats of all breeds may be raised for meat production in many parts of the world. However, meat-goat carcasses are generally leaner and more muscular than dairy-goat carcasses and have different proportions.
With the possible exception of the South African Boer goat and the New Zealand Kiko goat, there are no real defined meat-goat breeds in the United States. Several other breeds, such as the Spanish, Myotonic, and the Nubian, have been utilized for meat production in the United States. Some general characteristics of each of these breeds are presented here.
Boer. The present day Boer breed (other names include the Africander and South African Common goat) was developed in the early 1900s when African ranchers began breeding goats for the specific purpose of meat production. Today there are approximately 5 million Boer goats in Africa, of which only 1.6 million are of the improved type. The Boer goat has a good conformation with high growth and fertility rates. In the late 1980s, Boer goats were imported into Australia and New Zealand. In 1993, the breed was imported into the United States from Australia and New Zealand.
A mature Boer buck weighs between 240 and 300 pounds, and a mature doe weighs between 200 and 225 pounds. Performance records indicate that some goats are capable of average daily gains of more than 0.44 pounds per day in feedlot conditions, with average performance between 0.3 and 0.4 pounds per day. The Boer goat doe has sufficient milk to raise a kid that is early maturing.The breed is prolific, with common kidding rates of 200 percent. The Boer goat has a non-determinate breeding season, making three kiddings every two years possible.

01/11/2022

GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC​S OF THE MEAT GOAT
Female goats are called does, or sometimes doelings if they are less than a year old. Males are bucks or bucklings. Young goats are called kids.
Bucks usually do not make good family pets because of their aggressive behavior and strong urine-like odors. Buck odors are most offensive during the breeding season, usually from September to early January; however, their scent glands can be removed. Does do not secrete strong odors from their scent glands.
Goats adapt well to most environments, but do especially well in hot environments because of their small size and higher ratio of body surface area to body weight. Also, their ability to conserve body water, their limited subcutaneous fat cover, and their hairy coats are good survival traits under desert-like conditions.

The foraging preference of goats is for a broader range of plants than the preferences of other small ruminants. Goats make excellent browsers and are inclined to forage from the top of a plant downward, making them efficient biological controls for undesirable plants and shrubs. Goats are particularly adept at selecting the most nutritious plants or parts of plants. Because of their foraging characteristics, meat goats fit well on poor or fair grazing areas as long as adequate plant material is available to consume. This aspect allows goats to respond very well to an improved quality forage-feeding program. Goats can efficiently convert vegetative matter into meat and milk, requiring little need for other feed sources such as corn or processed feeds.

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