Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats, 2nd Edition: Managing, Breeding, Marketing

by Maggie Sayer

Overview

Goat meat production is the fastest growing segment of U.S. agriculture, and an estimated 70 percent of all meat consumed globally is from goats. Storey’s Guide to Raising Meat Goats is the essential reference on raising, caring for, and marketing meat goats. This updated edition gives caprine producers the vital information they need to start a meat-goat business or expand their current operation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603425827
Publisher:	Storey Books
Publication date:	12/03/2010
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	164,878
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Maggie Sayer has written numerous articles on animal raising and husbandry. Her Boer goats and dozens of rescued animals share the farm with Sayer and her husband in the Ozark region of Arkansas, where goat production has taken sustainable agriculture by storm.

Table of Contents

Why Meat Goats?     1
The Pros and Cons of Raising Meat Goats
Finding and Working with a Goat-Savvy Veterinarian
There's More Than One Way to Raise a Goat
Which Niche?
Before You Begin     18
Adding Your Farm to the Equation
Availability Matters
Do the Homework
Which Breed?     25
Parts of a Goat
Boers
Savannas
Kikos
Myotonics
Tennessee Meat Goats
Composite Breeds
Spanish Goats
Dairy Goats
Angoras
Registered, Fullblood, Purebred, Percentage, or Crossbred?
Where (and Where Not) to Buy Goats     46
Individual Producers and Breeders
Which Seller?
Production and Dispersal Sales
Sale Barns
Selecting Breeding Stock     55
Don't Buy Trouble
Breeding Better Boers
Look 'em Over Before You Buy
Closing the Sale
Think Like a Goat     76
Range and Feeding Behavior
Social Order
Breeding Behavior: Bucks
Breeding and Kidding Behavior: Does
Behaviors of Newborn Kids
Goat Handling 101
Goats on the Go     96
Stress and the Traveling Goat
Plan Ahead
Weather Kills
Choosing a Hauling Conveyance
Meat Goat Housing and Facilities     104
Shelter
Pens
Feeders
Watering Devices
Handling Facilities
Fencing
Feeding Meat Goats     124
The Caprine KIN (Keep It Natural) Diet and Your Goats
The Goat's Digestive System
Goats and Poisonous Plants
A Forage-Based Diet
Keeping Goats Healthy (and What to Do When They Aren't)     137
To Be or Not to Be Your Own Vet?
Learning the Ropes
Checking Vital Signs
22 Caprine Maladies You Should Recognize
Stop Disease in Its Tracks-Vaccinate!
Antibiotics: Good or Bad?
Epinephrine - Don't Leave Home without It
Drenching a Goat
Medical Alternatives for Goats
Parasites 101     169
Dewormer-Resistant Worms
Meet the Enemy
Other Gastrointestinal Nematodes
The Solution to Drug-Resistance Is...?
Those Other Worms
External Parasites
Livestock Guardians     180
Statistics Tell the Tale
Protecting the Herd
Breeding Meat Goats     198
Bucks Are Half the Herd
Those Does
You've Got to Be Kidding
Marketing Meat Goats     226
Market Goats
Breeding Stock
Show Goats
An Unexplored Market: Working Goats
Promoting Your Goat Business     243
Choosing a Business Name
Web Sites Sell Goats
Industry Advertising for Pennies
Make Business Cards Your Ace in the Hole
Create Your Own Flyers and Brochures
13 Additional Easy, Low-Cost Promotion Strategies
DEFRA's Code of Recommendation for the Welfare of Goats     261
Photograph Your Goats     270
Identify Your Goats     276
Trim Your Goats' Hooves     282
A Milk Goat for the Kids     287
Clipping for Shows     295
Emergency Euthanasia     296
Resources     297
Glossary      314
Index     328