Buying a Goat

The breed you choose is your decision, but you will have more choice and find it easier to locate a buck to breed her to, if you decide on a breed that is popular in your area. It is better to not start out with an extremely expensive or fancy goat. If you wait until you have gained goat experience to invest in a very expensive animal, you will be better able to judge for yourself what sort of goat you would like to spend a lot of money on and whether you really need to. It makes sense to start out with a healthy, sound (sound means free of structural defects) goat whose relatives have good milk production and sound conformation. Goats who are registered as “Purebreds” (all their ancestors trace back to goats that were registered with their breed association when it was started) with the American Dairy Goat Association may cost more than goats that are registered as “Americans” (some of their ancestors come from unknown backgrounds), and Americans usually cost more than “grades” (goats whose pedigrees do not trace back to any known registered parents). Grade goats can usually be recorded as “recorded grades” with the American Dairy Goat Association under the breed they most resemble. Before you go shopping for a goat, you should find out whether your goat will need to be registerable with ADGA in order for you to show it at any 4-H shows you aspire to participate in. Remember that you cannot show dairy does that still have their horns, so be sure any doe kids you buy have been disbudded ( had their horn buds burned so that the horns will never grow) and stay away from mature horned goats unless you plan on paying a veterinarian to remove the horns (dehorn). If the goat is milking, taste her milk to be sure that it has no off flavors.

Should you buy a doe kid or an older doe? It depends on what you want. If you want milk as soon as possible, choose a mature doe that is pregnant or already milking, and be sure to learn how to milk before she arrives at your home. If you can wait a year for milk and want the experience of raising your own kid, start with a weaned kid. You can also start with a 2 week old kid that you will need to bottle feed at least twice daily but this will take both a lot of work and a lot of milk. Don’t make this choice unless you and your family have discussed and planned it out carefully and have experience caring for very young animals. Try to avoid buying an animal right when it is undergoing a lot of stress. For example, buy your doe at least a few weeks before or after kidding rather than right at kidding. If you must buy a kid right when it is being weaned and it has been bottle raised, ask if you can buy a gallon of milk to take home with it and bottle feed it a small amount of milk twice daily for the first few days you own it until it has adjusted to its new feed and surroundings. Goats are very sociable so it is a good idea to buy two goats rather than just one.

Ideally, the goat you are buying should look long and deep bodied when viewed from the side and wide between her legs when viewed from the front and rear. You want her escutcheon and udder attachment to be high and wide. She should have a shiny coat, level topline, and sharp withers.

Be sure to pick a healthy, sound doe, whatever her age. When you visit the farm, ask about the health status of the herd. Is the herd on a program to prevent a disease called CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis)? This usually involves raising the kids on pasteurized milk. Ask to see the milk production records for the goat you are interested in buying and her relatives, and ask yourself these questions as you look at her:

• Do her eyes look dull or cloudy?
• Does she have diarrhea?
• Is she standing hunched up with her tail drooping down?
• Are her eyes or nose very runny?
• Is she coughing or breathing hard without having just done hard exercise?
• Is her coat rough and flaky or does she have any bald spots?
• Are her gums and insides of her eyelids very pale?
• Does she have any unusual lumps or swellings on her body, legs, or udder?
• Is she lame or stiff moving?
• Does her milk taste bad?
• Is she hard to milk or does her milk have milk clots or blood in it?
• Is her appetite poor?
• Does she seem depressed or weak and uninterested in her surroundings?

A yes answer to any of these questions often indicates a sick goat. Check carefully with the owner if you feel any of these health problems exist. Here are some ways to check how structurally sound the goat is:

• Is she double teated on either side of her udder?
• Are her back knees (hocks) extremely straight so that when viewed from the side she looks as if her back
• legs are fence posts? This is called “posty legged”.
• Are her ankles (pasterns) weak and long so that her dewclaws almost rest on the ground?
• Does her udder have weak muscles that let it hang down low so that it swings when she walks and is easy for her to accidentally step on or urinate on (ideally, her udder floor should be no lower than her hocks)?
• Are her front knees and pasterns crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the front?
• Are her hocks and pasterns crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the rear?
• When you open her mouth, are the teeth on her lower jaw way in front of (overshot, monkey jawed) or behind (undershot or parrot mouthed) the dental pad of her upper jaw?
• If she is a kid or has never kidded before, does she show symptoms of being an intersex?

Hopefully, you answered no to all these questions.

Market wethers can come from almost any breed. But you will probably get a meatier kid if it is part South African Boer Goat. It makes sense to start out with a healthy, sound (sound means free of structural defects) goat kid that appears to have a good meat carcass. You should usually buy a market wether shortly after weaning unless you raised him yourself from one of your own does. You can also start with a 2 week old kid that you will need to bottle feed at least twice daily but this will take both a lot of work and a lot of milk. Bottlefed kids are generally less meaty than kids that are raised on their dams and they are also easy to get very attached to. Don’t make this choice unless you and your family have discussed and planned it out carefully and have experience caring for very young animals. Always keep in mind that this is a market kid and you are raising it to slaughter for goat meat. Try to avoid buying an animal right when it is undergoing a lot of stress. For example, if possible get a weaned kid a week after weaning rather than right at weaning. If you must buy the kid at exactly weaning be sure to find out what hay and/or creep feed it is already eating and buy a small amount of this feed from the seller to feed it at home the first few days while you gradually switch it to your own feed Ask that it be given a Clostridium C and D shot within 2 to 4 weeks before weaning to try and protect it against enterotoximia (overeating disease). If the kid has not been castrated yet, remember that you will have to get it castrated yourself in order to show it in most 4-H shows. Make sure the kid has been disbudded or was born naturally polled (hornless) if your local 4-H shows do not allow horned goats. Otherwise plan on “tipping” the points of the horn by removing the tips with a hack saw or hoof nippers at least a month before showing him. Goats are very socialable so it is a good idea to buy two goats rather than just one.

Ideally, the wether you are buying should look long in the loin (at least 6 inches long if 10 weeks old)
when viewed from the side and very wide between his legs when viewed from the front and rear. You want his
escutchen to be low and wide. Unless he is only a few weeks old you would like to see some muscle development on his thighs and forearms. He should have a shiny, glossy coat and look a little plump if he is still nursing from his dam. His withers should be rounded rather than sharp and he should be relatively level along his topline. Count on him growing about 2 to 3 lbs per week or about 10 to 15 lbs per month from weaning to slaughter age. For example, if you buy a kid who is 40 lbs at 12 weeks of age in late May and your 4-H show is in late August, your kid will likely weigh at least 70 lbs at showtime.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you try to choose a wether to buy:

• Do his eyes look dull or cloudy?
• Does he have diarrhea?
• Is he standing hunched up with his tail drooping down?
• Are his eyes or nose very runny?
• Is he coughing or breathing hard without having just done hard exercise?
• Is his coat rough and flaky or does he have any bald spots?
• Are his gums and insides of his eyelids very pale?
• Does he have any unusual lumps or swellings on his body or legs?
• Is he lame or stiff moving?
• Does he have a fever?
• Is his appetite poor?
• Does he seem depressed or weak and uninterested in his surroundings?
• Is he having trouble urinating?

A yes answer to any of these questions often indicates a sick goat. So check carefully with the owner if you feel any of these health problems exist. Here are some more questions to ask yourself to check how structurally sound the goat is:

• Are his back knees (hocks) extremely straight so that when viewed from the side he looks as if his back
• legs are fence posts? This is called “posty legged”.
• Are his ankles (pasterns) weak and long so that his dewclaws almost rests on the ground?
• Are his front knees and pasterns crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the front?
• Are his hocks and pasterns crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the rear?
• When you open his mouth, are the teeth on his lower jaw way in front of (overshot, monkey jawed) or
• behind (undershot or parrotmouthed) the dental pad of his upper jaw?
• Do the toes of his hooves spread far apart from each other when he walks?

Hopefully, you answered no to all these questions.

Pack goats and harness goats can come from almost any breed. However, a goat kid that is going to grow to be large and agile yet muscular will be able to carry more weight in difficult terrain and thus, may be more useful in the long run. Most pack goats for commercial packing trips in the North American mountains come from the larger dairy goat breeds. When deciding whether to buy from a dairy, meat, fiber or miniature breed, you need to decide if there are other purposes you plan to use your goat for, how much weight your goat will be carrying or pulling when grown up and what size goat you are comfortable handling and raising. Keep in mind that you will not be doing your most serious work with your goat until it is 2 years old and you will also be two years older and bigger then.

Remember that this is a working goat that you will be raising it to be “your buddy”. You will be doing a lot of training with your goat. Eventually the two of you will need to be able to trust each other even in new situations such as strange trails or public parades. Therefore bonding with your goat is very important. A goat kid that has been raised to already like people is going to be easier to work with than a kid who is very frightened of people. “Attitude” is very important in a working goat kid just as in a puppy. Try to buy an alert and “bright” goat kid that is friendly, curious and does not mind being touched. Find a goat kid whose personality clicks with yours that you think you will really enjoy working with.

You should usually buy working goats shortly after weaning unless raising them yourself from one of your own does. Goat kids are usually ready for weaning by 10 weeks of age. You can also start with a 2 week old kid that you will need to bottle feed at least twice daily but this will take both a lot of work and a lot of milk. Don’t make this choice unless you and your family have discussed and planned it out carefully and have experience caring for very young animals. If you do make this choice, make sure the kid is already well started on a bottle and start by using the same type of bottle for it at home. See if you can buy a gallon of milk from the breeder to give it half and half with whatever milk replacer or milk you will be raising the kid on yourself for the first few days after you bring it home. Try to avoid buying an animal right when it is undergoing a lot of stress. For example, if possible get a weaned kid a week or two after weaning rather than right at weaning. If you must buy the kid at wean-ing be sure to find out what hay and/or creep feed it is already eating and buy a small amount of this feed from the seller to feed it at home for a few days while you gradually switch it to your own feed.

Find out and keep a record of what vaccines the goat has had and whether it is already well protected for tetanus and overeating disease (Clostridium CDT vaccines) and rabies. If it is not yet protected, find out what vaccines it still needs. If the kid has not been castrated yet, remember that you will have to get it castrated yourself (after making sure it is protected against tetanus) to use as a 4-H working goat. Make sure the kid has been disbudded or was born naturally polled (hornless) if your local 4-H shows do not allow horned goats. Goats are very sociable so it is a good idea to buy two working goats rather than just one if you do not have a suitable pen mate to keep it company at home.

Be sure to pick a healthy, sound kid. When you visit the farm, ask about the health status of the herd. If the kids are being raised artificially rather than on their dams, ask if the herd is on a program to prevent a disease called CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis)? This usually involves raising the kids on pasteurized milk and/or screening the herd to make sure all does are CAE negative.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you try to choose a kid to buy:

• Do his eyes look dull or cloudy?
• Does he have diarrhea?
• Is he standing hunched up with his tail drooping down?
• Are his eyes or nose very runny?
• Is he coughing or breathing hard without having just done hard exercise?
• Is his coat rough and flaky or does he have any bald spots?
• Are his gums and insides of his eyelids very pale?
• Does he have any unusual scabs, lumps or swellings on his body or legs?
• Is he lame or stiff moving?
• Does he have a fever? (normal temperature is ~101.5 to 103° F)
• Is his appetite poor?
• Does he seem depressed or weak and uninterested in his surroundings?
• Is he having trouble urinating?

A yes answer to any of these questions often indicates a sick goat. Check carefully with the owner if you feel any of these health problems may exist.
Conformation is the word used to describe the structure of an animal’s body and how the different parts of the body blend together and contribute to the animal’s appearance and “soundness” (healthy, free from defects or injury affecting its function).

Here are some more questions to ask yourself to check how structurally sound the goat is and how well he is likely to hold up under strenuous exercise as he matures:

• When you open his mouth, are the teeth on his lower jaw way in front of (overshot, monkey-jawed) or behind (undershot or parrot-mouthed) the dental pad of his upper jaw?
• Are either his shoulder blades or his “elbows” loose from his body so that they wing out when he walks or trots?
• Does his back sag either behind his withers or at his loins (lower back on a person)?
• Are his front knees and/or pasterns crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the front?
• Are his ankles (pasterns) weak and long so that his dewclaws almost rest on the ground?
• Are his back knees (hocks) extremely straight so that when viewed from the side he looks as if his back legs are fence posts? This is called “posty legged”.
• Are his hocks and/or pasterns very crooked (toe in or out) when viewed from the rear?
• Do the toes of his hooves spread far apart from each other when he walks?

Hopefully, you answered no to all these questions as each of them is a serious unsoundness!

However, slight hockiness (hocks turned toward the inside) or slight sickle hocks (hocks angled more than generally optimal so that the lower leg is not perpendicular to the ground but is instead angled slightly forward) is generally acceptable in a working goat as this may allow for slightly greater power or “push” from the hind legs.

If you plan to use your goat for other purposes as well than be sure to screen your goat for the qualities needed for those purposes. If possible, look at the goat’s parents and older sisters or brothers to get an idea of what your goat’s conformation will be like when he is mature. If you are buying a doe kid or doe and plan to milk her or raise kids on her be sure to check out her udder and make sure her teats are normal. Make sure the udder on her dam is not very low or loose making it easy to injure on the trail or hard for you to milk or kids to nurse from.

If choosing from a leaner breed of goat such as a dairy breed or Angora, you may want to choose a kid that is a little thicker in his bones and muscle than typical for the breed. If choosing from a thicker meat goat breed such as a Boer, you may want to choose a kid that shows longer, leaner muscle than normal for the breed and is a little longer legged for its body length than average for the breed. Ideally you want your kid to grow up to be muscular without being muscle bound and agile without being frail. However, just like you, your goat does not have to have ideal conformation to become an excellent hiking or driving companion. Attitude, good training and regular exercise are much more important in the long run.