I an interested in raising meat goats. Thanks

-- Karen Burrell (burrell_karen@hotmail.com), February 20, 2001

Answers

Karen:

Unfortunately there is no good answer to your question. There are just too many factors involved. Start with goats being browsers, not graziers. If you put them on a straight pasture, they probably won't be happy campers. Put them in a wooded area, and they probably will be. However, even here the paddock would be able to carry less and less head per cycle since the goats will have stripped just about everything palatable within reach, plus any seedlings.

I've noticed this with my cattle. I let them into some wooded areas which formally you just about couldn't talk through. Now it is someway like a park.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 20, 2001.

It depends on the quality of the pasture and the method of fencing and pasture usage you choose. We pasture our goats very intensively, using New Zealand electric fence. Sometimes they are only on a pasture for a day before the fence is moved to a different spot. Using this method, and spreading manure on the pastures, we had over 15 goats on three acres or less last year. That is a lot of goats on very little land, and we couldn't even begin to get away with having so many if it weren't for the rotational grazing.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 20, 2001.

Most of the literature says 5 goats per acre.That is really meaningless.You might keep 8 on well watered and fertilized pasture or you might keep 1 on 8 acres in west Texas.I have a friend here who keeps 200 Boer does on 40 acres of mixed woods and pasture.He feeds a LOT of hay.

-- JT (gone2seed@hotmail.com), February 20, 2001.

Rebekah, what is New Zealand electric fence? Thanks, Elizabeth

-- Elizabeth in e tx (kimprice@peoplescom.net), February 21, 2001.

New Zealand fence is four or five strand high tension and high current electric wire. Will knock your socks off. Used a lot by horse people around here. Used for sheep in NZ? Probably because it has to get through the thick wool. They use special insulators on wood posts and ratchets to tighten up the wires.

As for number of goats per acre. I agree with the previous replies. Its not a matter of feed, but elbow room. Our small herd of 15 does have already stripped an acre of brush. The spring growth won't have a prayer. We feed lots of hay. They do eat a little grass, but their main diet is hay.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 21, 2001.

Check out Premier's fencing.

www.premier1suppplies.com

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.