2 Important Tips on Raising Goats For Meat in Order to Successfully Start Goat Farming

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Raising goats for meat does not need to be a very painful or expensive process... if you know how -- that is. Although goat meat farming can entail a lot of your time, the profits from this venture are indeed noteworthy. In order to successfully launch your goat farm, here are a couple of things you need to do first.

1. Choose goat breeds that you can take care of with minimal fuss. Most novice goat farmers immediately choose animals which they think will have higher meat yield. That choice could be favorable -- if you can make your farming practice work, that is. But the truth is: when it comes to raising goats for meat though, your first area of concern is the type of breed you can raise.

Boers (also known as South African Boer goats) and Spanish goats are the most favored meat producing breeds in the country. These animals have larger bodies and not prone to become fat even on an intensive diet. Goats like these also grow up very quickly, which means that their meat can be harvested in a short amount of span only. These animals are indeed noted to have the highest amount of harvestable meat per animal. However, these Boers and the Spanish goats would also need extensive care and a very specific kind of diet.

On the other hand, there are some people who favor raising Brush and fainting goats instead. Unlike Boers and Spanish goats, these animals can adapt to almost any kind of weather, diet or temperature. Although not as heavily built as the Boers or the Spanish goats, the Brush and the fainting goats do have a high reproduction rate; and that is always a plus factor when it comes to raising goats for meat.

If you are not particularly sure as to what breed you ought to get, try asking other goat farmers in your area what breed they raise. It is with all likelihood that that those are the particular goats that can thrive successfully in your locale.

2. Always ask a licensed veterinarian to come on board. One of the most basic things you can do when raising animals for meat is to hire the services of a good veterinarian. Asking for his or her recommendations on diet and housing can almost guarantee you that your efforts in raising goats for meat go as smoothly as possible. Aside from that, the vet's help can also lessen the rate of sick animals in your farm and the goats in your care will yield more healthy litters later on.