Agricultural communication: the lost art

Agriculture, communication, information transfer, Powerpoint limitations, practical advice

By Dr Clive Dalton

The Leeds lectern
On the lectern in the main lecture room at Leeds University where I started to face my first class of students as an Assistant Lecturer in Agriculture, I well remember some wise graffiti, obviously carved with great feeling on the lectern that said - 'Remember the poor sods who have to listen to you'!

 University of Leeds Department of Agriculture, May 1961
Assistant lecturer Dalton - (standing) fourth from left

Memorial lecture
This came to mind in a memorial lecture I attended to be given in a number of venues across the land by a noted University academic. We met in the very Mecca of NZ Agricultural Communication – the McMeekan Communication Centre at the Ruakura Research Centre and here I'm sorry to say I suffered the very worst of the craft.

Here I stand behind the lectern in the famous 'Ruakura McMeekan Communication Centre', from which many famous people have spoken - some to be remembered and many forgotten!

The hall was packed with the local intelligentsia on the topic, all with what I could guarantee, were interesting and valued comments to make. There were some well-known stirrers in the audience so it was going to be fun - so I thought. The subject was “looking ahead in dairying” which was vitally important to the country.

We started at 4pm prompt and were told by the Chairman how great the speaker was on his subject (very true), and how the standing room only turn-out acknowledged this. The programme was to be the talk, then questions, followed by discussion, drinks & nibbles and fellowship. All over by 6.30 he said, so lets get started.

How's my time going?
Well, we did – on the first of what must have been 100 PowerPoint “slides” – all crammed with words, and all of which he read to us! This went on – and on, and after about an hour, the speaker did remember 'time' and asked the chairman how his time was going.

He was told he was going 'well - OK'! A good chairman would have told him to stop right there as his time was up! But they always seem to choose nice blokes for chairmen don't they who don't want to appear rude.

I tell you what - in the next PowerPoint presentation like this, a group of us are going to read the words on the slide out aloud along with the speaker, who in any case is just using them as a memory jogger.

So it went on and on, through stuff everyone in the hall knew well. We were all waiting for his ‘vision of the future’, and time to discuss it. After a few folk started leaving, the chairman must have looked at his watch and found that it was 6.30pm, so panic ensued. His on-the-hoof rescue plan was to suggest we all just “mix and mingle” with the speaker over a drink!

In his thanks to the speaker, the chairman commented that we should all note the large amount of work the speaker had put into his talk. He could have presented 50% less which would have had 100% more effect! Most of us went home saying ‘very interesting’ to the speaker on the way out the door.

A wasted opportunity
What a wasted opportunity. After over 30 years of lecturing, and hopefully owning a watch, you would have thought "that _ _ _ _ _ _ _!". Another great opportunity wasted by not remembering the words on the old lectern at Leeds.

A wonderful contrast

In contrast, I and other members of our Waikato Ag Journalists and Communicators group (WACO) were invited to lunch and listen to Frank Torley, talking to the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC) Journalist students’ about his work on New Zealand’s longest running TV programme ‘Country Calendar’.

It was BRILLIANT! He restoreth my soul, and I saw a master at work. He illustrated all the principles of ‘effective communication’ that pioneers like Geoff Moss tried to instill into us MAF boffins 30 years ago – basically by simply ‘remembering your audience’.

KBPPA movement
Frank didn’t have PowerPoint, and he has signed up to join my ‘Kill Blardy Power Point' movement (KBPP). He didn’t move far from the lectern and stood at the side so we could see his whole body language, he was relaxed so made us feel relaxed, he used body language, facial gestures, the pregnant pause.

He used varying voice tones with some fantastic mimicry of his colleagues (well, they were his colleagues before his talk!). He used eye contact – self-depreciation. Oh praise be, it was a wonderful example of how ‘communication’ can be so effective and entertaining, if you get a few basic things right. It’s not too difficult if you have eyes and ears and can remember the sensations in your backside when seated on a hard chair for over an hour.

'HE' was the visual aid
Frank didn’t need visual aids – HE was the visual aid! He spoke for about 20 mins (well it felt like 20 mins but was actually 40+); he knew how we were all feeling, and he ended with a clear motivating message for the students. He invited and dealt with the questions with warmth and respect. He left us all wanting more!

Further information
How PowerPoint sank NASA's finest.
www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/powerpoint

www.mossassociates.co.nz

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Introduction

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, introduction, information

By Dr Clive Dalton



Introduction

• Goats (Capra hircus) were among the first animals to be kept by man. Goat remains (or of their early ancestors) 10,000 years old have been found in central and West Iran, and domestic goats have existed in other parts of the world for 8,000 years.
• Angora goats are believed to have originated in the mountains of Tibet from where they spread to the Angora province in Turkey. There were five types each with different fleece characteristics but these were merged over time into the mohair goat recognised today.
• Commercial mohair production was established in South Africa with goats for Turkey in 1838 with major imports from 1860-1880, and the USA in the 1800s. So these two countries became the main recent sources of genetic material. Angoras were introduced to Australia in 1825.
• Goats have had a very chequered history in New Zealand since Captain James Cook landed the first few animals at Queen Charlotte Sound in 1773. They probably died so it was those that came on his third voyage in 1777 which successfully established them as a farmed species. Early settlers then brought in more goats for milk, meat and weed control.
• Since then goats have gone from valued farm animal to environmental pest many times over, because goat milk, meat and fibre have fluctuated violently in value and this continues. Around 1979 there was a revival of the NZ goat meat and dairy goat industry, buy it didn’t last and it has been boom/bust ever since. These different kinds of goats have very different husbandry needs.
• The feral goat remains a big environmental pest and attempts at extermination continue with varying success and at enormous cost . Goats have been removed from some islands but it’s an ongoing job on the mainland where they travel large distances to repopulate areas of bush and hill country.
• However, it must be recognised that the feral goat population has been useful to multiply (grade up) meat, milk and fibre goats to expand numbers. Indeed once in the 1980s, feral roadside goats were so valuable that they were being stolen.

Why keep goats?

Points for:

• They are small and easily handled.
• Goats have personalities & bond well with humans.
• They are efficient feed converters.
• They are browsers and relish a wide range of weeds and woody plants not eaten by other livestock.
• Their mohair fibre is currently in demand.
• You can grade up to mohair from feral does.
• They need less capital to buy compared to cattle.
  

Points against:

• They are active animals and climb, dig and squeeze through holes.

Creep hole made by goats

• They need good fencing to restrain them.
• They need good yards for handling.
• Goats are prone to worms and foot problems.
• Shearing fibre goats needs special care by experienced shearers.
• Goats will ring-bark trees if not protected. They will also climb into trees.

Bark stripped off tree despite plastic protection which was also chewed

• Male goats have a strong odour in the mating season.
• Goats will cause erosion on steep hill country by lying on the North facing slopes to get the sun and digging lying spots with their feet.

Erosion of North facing slope caused by goats.

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Legal requirements

Agriculture, husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, welfare, the law, animal welfare act
By Dr Clive Dalton

Your legal responsibilities

• If you keep sheep you are bound by the Animal Welfare Act 1999. The details of good practice under this law are set out in a number of animal welfare codes that you should be aware of. See further reading.

The Five Freedoms
This is the main principle behind the Animal Welfare Act as the person responsible for the care of an animal is legally bound to provide it with “The Five Freedoms”. These are:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst.
• Freedom from discomfort.
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease.
• Freedom from fear and distress.
• Freedom to express “normal” behaviour.
  

The first four freedoms are all very straightforward and it’s only the fifth one where people start to worry about the definitions of what is “normal” behaviour, especially when you consider what happened when man domesticated sheep and the way we farm them today.

• To really understand the 5th freedom, you have to think of mankind and the sheep writing a contract – what the late Dr Ron Kilgour called 'the Domestic Contract'.
  
• The goat cannot negotiate its side of the contract so man has to do it for the goat as well as his own. So when you look at some of today’s goat husbandry practices, you may rightly question if the goat got a fair deal.
• We must constantly be checking and updating this agreement with the goat to make sure that both man and the goat end up with a reasonable compromise. It can only ever be a compromise. It’s up to the human to make sure it’s a fair one.
• So on the farm – remember your goats are legally entitled to the 5 Freedoms and failing to provide these can result in large fines and imprisonment.
  
• We really have to take this seriously because as an exporting country, our competitors are watching us all the time, hoping an issue will arise that they can exploit and restrict or stop our trade.
  
• To our “clean and green” image we must now add the word “humane” and show the world that this is our business and not just public relations spin.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Getting started

Agriculture, husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, management, decisions, getting started

By Dr Clive Dalton



Getting started

Buying goats
Females

What to buy depends on what’s available at the time and what the current market is like. If mohair is out of fashion, then does will be a lot cheaper than when fibre prices are good and people are talking about an approaching boom!

An established flock is described as “age-balanced” as it is made up of all ages from:

• Kids
• Yearlings (goatlings)
• 2-tooths
• 4-tooths,
  
• 6-tooths
• 5-year olds (full mouth) and older. After five you cannot age goats by their teeth eruption.
  

Normally there are a higher proportion of younger animals kept, as over time they‘ll be culled out for a variety of reasons (mainly health).

Top performing goats may be kept until they die and may live to 7-8 years old or more. These old proven dams can be used as the mothers of future sires if they have had many years of proven top production over a range of seasons.

Some purchasing options are:

• Buy mixed-age (MA) does to start off an age-balanced flock.
• Buy all young goats (kids or yearlings) as they have their full lives ahead.
• Buy old goats. These will have been cast for age (CFA) with a limited life ahead of them. But the fact that they are still in the flock tells you that they must have performed well over a range of seasons so must have valuable genetics.
• Buy empty or pregnant does or does with kids at foot.
• Buy does running with the buck (RWB). They may or may not be pregnant.
  

If you want to buy animals with performance records, then it’s important to find out which breeders have this information, and what it all means.

Males

• Buying a buck is an extremely important job and it’s important to find a source of animals with performance records. If there are no records, you should at least have fleece sample tested before purchase, even if you have to pay for it. (See fibre testing).
• Due to the high cost of a top proven male, breeders with small flocks should look at leasing or sharing a buck with other breeders.
  

How to buy & sell stock

At public auctions
Initially you may want to buy (and sell) your own stock, especially if you consider that stock companies and their agents charge too much and their service is less than you demand. Consider these points:

• The more sales you attend, the more people will find out who you are – which may be a good or a bad thing.
• You can check the sale reports in the local papers or contact a Stock and Station Agent for comment about prices at the most recent sales.
• But remember agents can get fed up with your evening calls, especially if you don’t give them any business.
• Public sales can be a competition or battle ground which you are about to enter – usually with little experience. But don’t let that put you off – it’s the only place to learn the business.
• You must register with the office at saleyards before a sale, and get a number that the auctioneer will use to record your identity and purchase.
• Remember that a bid is an unconditional offer.
• Also remember that you’ll be noticed straight away by the sale regulars as a “newchum”. It’s inevitable that you’ll be far too well dressed, as even your old clothes will look far too smart!
• Don’t take anyone along as your adviser who is not a genuine farmer as they’ll stand out like new chums too.
  
• If you are going to bid on stock yourself, then your lack of experience will show and you’ll be signalling for all to see. Some new buyers in ignorance and excitement even bid against themselves! Auctioneers don’t mind you doing this - they’ll take all the bids they can get.
• Check what the commission rate is going to be beforehand, as these can vary, depending on how long a customer you have been and how much you are prepared to complain. Normally rates are around 6% but for stud stock you can be charged up to 13%.
  

With the help of a stock agent

• Stock agents will be keen to do this for you in the hope that they’ll get your future business. You should not pay commission on purchases – vendors pay on stock sold.
• Check what the commission will be, because it’s a lot more at “stud” sales that ordinary sales. It can be double ordinary sale rates.
• You must give the agent a very clear brief of what is your financial limit, and don’t be surprised when the agent always goes to that limit.
• When buying (and selling) through a registered Stock and Station Agency, your money should be safe, and you‘ll get the stock delivered after you have paid for them.
  
• But always read the small print in the terms and conditions of a livestock contract. There are no “guarantees”. History shows that in the event of financial problems when companies have had serious financial disaster, farmers are always last to get a share of what little is left.
• There are also one-person livestock agencies that operate from their home offices. They have lower overheads than the big companies so can be very competitive on charges and offer a very personal service.
  
• But check out their financial status before offering them too much business. You may have to wait some days after the sale for your money and your bank manager may not like this arrangement, so check it out with him/her before you do business.
  

With the help of a farming mentor

• If you don’t want to use an agent, you can get a farming “mentor” who can do the bidding for you.
• Don’t stand near them at the sale, as you’ll give the game away. Have some means of signalling your approval to them from a distance or when you want to stop bidding.
  

Privately in the paddock

• Here you avoid all the hassle of the saleyards and can take time over the business. This is a big plus if you are not happy at the saleyards.
• There are no commission or transport costs to pay. The purchaser pays the transport costs unless the vendor is very generous.
• You and the buyer must come to an agreed value in the paddock. You can base this on recent auction reports or simple bargaining till you agree.
  
• There is always the concern over money. You should insist on getting the money (in hand or in the bank) before you part with your stock.
• You may need to involve your bank to verify that the buyer’s cheque has arrived in your account before you hand over the stock.
  

Privately on the Internet

• There are Internet sites now that offer this service with the big advantage that no or very low commission or transport costs are involved. The purchaser normally pays the transport unless the vendor is feeling generous.
• You can quote a price or ask for offers or tenders and take the highest by a certain date and time.
• Websites selling livestock have important requirements about accurate description of stock and payment details. Surprisingly few problems of non-payment have arisen as buyers are often asked to comment on vendors’ integrity with previous transactions. If you have developed a bad reputation as a trader – it’s hard to keep it quiet on the Internet!
• Current auctioneers hate this idea and say it will never work as buyers always have to inspect animals with their own eyes. Old traditional buyers certainly did, but things are changing fast with much more emphasis on providing documented information on stock for sale.
• Success depends on accurate description of the stock and there is plenty of space to provide full details on a website on their past history, breeding, feeding, animal health treatments, current weight and even digital photos or video clips.
  
• This is a lot more comprehensive than the quick-fire three-second verbal blessing of animals an auctioneer gives each pen at the sale yards.
• You can always go and see the stock and talk to the vendor on the farm. This is an invaluable opportunity to learn.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Monthly management diary

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, management, monthly action diary

By Dr Clive Dalton


Management calendar
January

• Shearing (where it applies).
• Time to tidy up the flock and decide what you want to keep for next season. As feed always declines in the summer dry weather, there’s no point in keeping stock that won’t earn their keep next season.
• Decisions made on bucks to be used, and keep them separated from does incase they trigger some early cycling.
• If there are any signs of drought developing, make sure you have a plan to provide supplementary feed and a good water supply if things get worse.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

February

• Shearing (where it applies).
• Check does are not losing too much condition and if they are provide an improved diet.
• Check with veterinarian regarding vaccinations needed for your property and flock. May be 5-in-1 or 10-in-1.
• Health check all does and bucks on the property. Pay special attention to bucks which should have a veterinary check of reproductive organs and feet.
• Make sure the bucks are in a safe paddock. Holding them within sight and smell of does will stimulate oestrus in does.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

March

• Bucks joined with does (depending on area). There’s no point in kidding too early when feed shortage and bad weather will cause high kid mortality.
• Avoid giving goats any chemical treatment, drench or pouron during mating or for six weeks afterwards incase of effect on embryo establishment.
  

April

• Bucks out. Check that they have been effective by how many does return to oestrus. A mating harness will show this but make sure it fits properly and does not chafe the buck.
• Feed bucks concentrates during mating to maintain body condition.
• Avoid giving goats any chemical treatment, drench or pouron during mating or for six weeks afterwards incase of effect on embryo establishment.
  

May

• Make sure bucks are cared for after mating and build up lost conditon before winter. Cull any that you don’t want to use again.
• Check for lice during winter.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

June

• Make sure does don’t lose too much body condition.
• If they start to fade, get urgent veterinary help.
• Does will be on maintenance feed but this is not planned starvation.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

July

• Shearing (where it applies)
• Make sure does don’t lose too much body condition.
• Time to start to improve doe’s plane of nutrition.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

August

• Shearing (where it applies).
• Boost feed levels and make sure does don’t lose too much body condition.
• Avoid drenching adult goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
• Prepare does for kidding and check you have all the gear organised.
  

September

• Kidding.
• Docking at birth if desired.
• Provide what’s needed to maximise kid survival.
• Recording. Tagging.
• Feed supplements to ensure good lactation.
• Check with veterinarian if any problems.
  

October

• Docking and dehorning if desired.
• Check growth of kids.
• Discuss any health problems with your veterinarian.
• Vaccinate if appropriate.
• Make sure does don’t lose too much body condition.
• Does will be on maintenance feed but this is not planned starvation.
• Avoid drenching any goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
• There should be no need to drench any kids as at this stage of life (up to 6m) their natural immune system is developing and any chemicals don’t help this. There is research evidences to show this.
  

November

• Check that kids are growing well. Consult your veterinarian if they are not.
• Make sure does don’t lose too much body condition.
• Avoid drenching any goats unless there is a crisis confirmed with your veterinarian by a Faecal Egg Count (FEC).
  

December

• Wean kids and make sure they are growing well, providing exra concentrate feed if appropriate.
• Check vaccination needs with veterinarian.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Goat welfare issues

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, welfare, issues

By Dr Clive Dalton

Goat welfare issues

There are plenty of these. Here are some common ones:

• Footrot. This a major problem with goats and is difficult to cure once established. The answer for chronic cases is to cull them.
• Internal parasites (worms). Many goats now have worms that are resistant to all drenches.
• Shelter and shade. Goats need more shelter in winter than sheep and shade in summer.
• The roadside goat. These are very obvious to the public who are concerned about their welfare.
• Goats released into the environment. When returns from goat meat or fibre falls, many are released and get into native bush and damage native flora.
  

Transport
Goats used to human contact will be little problem during transport, but even so, it’s important to study the Code of Recommendations and Minimal Standards (Number 15, 1994) on the MAF Welfare of Animals Transported Within New Zealand.

Goats need special care during transport because they can be very easily stressed with serious health consequences and even deaths. The code lists a number of stressors, which are worth noting:

• Yarding & handling.
• Deprivation of or changes in the quantity or the quality of food and water.
• Changes in climatic conditions.
• Grouping animals that are strange to each other both within and between species.
• Separation from others of the animal’s own kind.
• Unfamiliar surroundings, noises and sensations.
• Overcrowding.
• Isolation.
• Insufficient pre-travel rest periods.
• Insufficient care during road transport.
• Physiological responses associated with pregnancy.
• Disease.
  

• It’s good stockmanship and common sense not to transport does in late pregnancy or at least give them special care. Does with kids at foot and young animals also need special care.

• The trucks, trailers and crates used must be well constructed, well ventilated and free from draughts, and should be driven to avoid stock getting thrown around. If you only have a few animals in a large pen, then reduce the space with gates or hay bales.

• Make sure they can get a good grip on the floor surface with slats, hay, straw or sawdust. Broken legs are the most common hazards. Goats may want to lie down on long journeys too so this is why a good layer of bedding is important. Bucks especially with horns should be penned separately.

• It’s very important that animals not fit to travel are kept at home. “Fit to travel” means that an animal can bear weight on all four legs and does not have any clinical disease. If in doubt, then a veterinary certificate should be provided to the person transporting the stock as they could be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

The recommended space needed per goat during transport is as follows:


Roadside goats
This is always a major animal welfare issue for SPCA and MAF in New Zealand. Problems include:

• No proper feed - goats are expected to live on dead gorse.
• No shelter - goats have little fat cover. If there is a shelter provided, it's often dilapidated and too small for goat to stand upright in.
• No water - goats need water but owners often tell you that they don't! You often see a small container that the goat regularly knocks over.
• Tethers are too long so goats can lie on the road (which is warm and dry) and they get run over.
• Tethers get bound up around trees or in long grass so the goat is starved and may even end up being strangled.
• There is no swivel in the tether chain so the goat is strangled.
• The goat has no defence against stray dogs when tethered.
• The animals are not checked and moved enough.
• Goat shelters that are inadequate - not weatherproof, too small for goat to enter, turn around and stand up.
• Chronic footrot which often ends up with blowfly attacks.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Reproduction

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, breeding, reproduction

By Dr Clive Dalton

Reproduction The female (Doe or Nanny)

• Goats are seasonal breeders coming into heat in autumn as daylight declines.
• They reach maturity at about 5-6 months old but well-reared milking-breed kids can show heat earlier (4 months) so they have to be watched to avoid too-early mating.
• Milking breeds mate their yearlings without any long-term effects, provided they are well grown. Angora farmers usually wait till the following season and mate them at 2 years of age. If they are well grown Angoras can be mated as yearlings too, and it has big advantages in speeding up the generation turnover for genetic advantages.
• Once the doe starts cycling she will come on heat every 17 days like sheep, and stays on heat for 18-36 hours.
  

Signs of oestrus:

• Vocalisation - especially if a lone goat.
• Urinating a lot - crouched with rear legs set open.
• Tail fanning.
• Showing aggression to other goats and biting them in the milking bail.
• Some mounting of other goats - or their friendly owner!
  

• The doe is stimulated to cycle and ovulate by the smell of the buck.
• Pregnancy in goats is varies from 147-152 days.
• Feral does seem to prefer old mature high-ranking bucks in preference to young ones. But this may be because the old bucks are more aggressive and chase the young ones away.
• Goats can show pseudo-pregnancy and it can be a problem mainly in milking herds.
  

The male (Buck or Billy)

• Male goats have a thick beard but so do females but beard growth is not stimulated by male hormones.
• Male goats reach puberty about 4-5 months old, but you should not assume that younger males will not be fertile.
• Mature males show a definite "rut" period and the first sign of it is when they start to smell strongly. This smell is made worse for humans (and better for does) by the goat spreading a thin jet or urine from his erect penis along the belly, chest and on to his beard.
  
• This is called "enurination" and is seen regularly where bucks are tethered, or when kept separate from does waiting for mating to start. Bucks, especially male goatlings run in groups, can use up so much energy in this activity that it impairs their efficiency when joined with does.
• Bucks twist themselves around so they can get their penis into their mouth where the urine stimulates a Flehmen reaction. They will often even masturbate and ejaculate on their bellies and beards - all adding to their aroma which stimulates heat and ovulation in the does.
• Does often are very interested in this behaviour and stand and watch attentively.
• Before mounting, the buck sniffs the doe's side and genital area. He chases her making "gobbling" sounds with his mouth, and flicking his tongue in and out like a ram does.
• Bucks can smell does on heat from very long distances away, so there’s a very high risk of feral bucks coming out of the bush to ruin your breeding programme.
• If the doe urinates he tastes it and gives a Flehmen response. He may have a false mount or two and then a proper mount with ejaculation when he thrusts forward and leaps off the ground.
  
• Following ejaculation - he may lick his penis, and show a Flehmen response again.
• Mating ratios are usually one mature buck to 50-70 does. A well grown buck kid if used will mate 15-20 does.
• Bucks can be aggressive during mating, so keep an eye on them all the time they are in close proximity (e.g. in yards). They may be more aggressive if in a mating group with competitors and they are dominant. Keep children well away from bucks.
• Dominant bucks in a group can be overworked so their sperm count may drop after the first round of matings. Once the majority of does are mated, sperm count will improve.
• Bucks spend very little time eating during mating, so normally lose a lot of body condition. A feed of concentrates each day will help avoid this.
  

Birth behaviour of does

• Just before birth a doe is often more fretful and nervous.
• Feral goats will separate from the main group and find a birth site in a quiet sheltered spot but milking goats in a herd may not have space to do this.
• Near birth the doe will have "bagged up" and may show a mucous discharge from the vulva. Udder swelling will be much more obvious in milking goats than in feral goats with smaller udders.
• If kept indoors, the doe will paw the bedding and try to make a birth site.
• Birth should take about an hour but problems can arise with multiple births as in sheep.
• The doe should get up quickly and turn to chew the membranes and lick the kids. The licking of the kids usually bursts any membranes covering them, but you can get deaths from a piece of membrane left on the nose.
• Afterbirths are passed soon after birth but may be delayed for up to four hours. There seem to be fewer problems with retained foetal membranes in goats and sheep than in cattle.
• The doe recognises its kid first by smell and then by both sound and sight.
• Fostering alien kids to does has the same problems as in sheep, and the same tricks are needed to fool the doe.
  

Birth behaviour of the kids

• Once on their feet, kids should start their teat-seeking behaviour.
• They nuzzle the doe's side to find some warm bare skin and hopefully with a teat.
• Good mothers will stand still and encourage the kid to do this by nuzzling the kids rear end, rather than keep turning head-on to lick it.
• Survival depends on getting enough colostrum within the first hours after birth.
• Kids do not follow their mothers all the time like lambs so have fewer suckling periods when the doe goes back to feed them.
• Cross fostering lambs on goats and vice versa highlights this behavioural difference, with lambs on goats growing faster than their kid mate as they followed the doe and suckle more. The ewe with a kid kept often loses it as the kid goes to lie on its own.
• In the first few weeks after bonding is strong, a doe will go back to its hiding kid and feed it 4-5 times a day. This intense hiding behaviour lasts from 3days to several weeks till the kids are eating pasture when they follow their dams more.
• Dairy kids are kept in mobs and fed on milk replacer diets where they can feed ad lib, along with supplemented hay and meal.
• Disturbance at birth will cause bonding problems, and the doe may take off leaving a twin behind.
• There is a high death rate among feral kids and you regularly see a doe with twins at birth with a single a week or so after birth.
• With farmed goats, providing shelter is very important for does and kids during the first weeks of life.
• During the first weeks, kids will start playing together but will still stay close to their dams. They often climb on their parents' backs and seem to be tolerated.
• Kids start to nibble grass by 3 weeks of age, and after 8-9 weeks are very effective ruminants.
  

When to kid

• This is an important question as good survival and growth can depend on getting it right. The best date for joining the buck and hence the start of kidding is very much a decision for each individual farm.
• To start off with goats it’s always a temptation to kid early as you want to see the results of your breeding plans. But after a bad experience you soon start to see sense.
• The biggest risks of kidding too early are that it increases the risk of hitting poor weather and the spring feed may not have arrived.
• It’s far better to have plenty of feed for dams with kids at foot by mating later.
  

ends

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Handling goats

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, handling, behaviour, practical advice
By Dr Clive Dalton

Handling goats

Behaviour

• Goats are a vastly greater challenge to handle than sheep and the first thing you'll need to do is to heighten the yards to prevent jumping.
• Drafting horned bucks can be problems as they won't be able to get along races in yards. They soon learn to go sideways but it's a good idea to dehorn them, though the horns are often handy to hold them by.
• Goats vocalise (bleat or scream) when held and this can add a lot of stress to jobs like shearing and castrating kids.
• Goats are highly suspicious of new facilities so running them through yards before handling them is useful. They have a good memory and know all the escape spots so be vigilant.
• They will face up to dogs and attack much more than sheep will ever do.
• When they get too fearful, they'll lie down and sulk and you can have a smother or injuries as they pile on top of each other with sharp hooves.
  

Catching & holding goats

• Goats are agile and are often tricky to catch. It’s bad practice to grab Angora goats by the fleece as it’s painful (try pulling your hair), and it can damage the skin.
  
• Your best chance if goats are confined is to catch them around the neck to immobilise the head, and then hold their body against your knees or up against the side of the pen.
• If goats have room to move in a yard, then your best chance is to grab a hind leg and pull until you can get a hand around the neck, and again hold it against the pen side.
• If you don’t have a fence, then straddle the goat holding it around the neck, being careful not to be speared in the face by its horns if it rears. The horns are useful handles to hold it, but be prepared for them not to buck and try to get free.
• Bucks with large horns can be completely immobilised if you hold both horns firmly, as it allows you to have so much leverage on their heads.
• To hold a goat long-term, it’s best to turn it over and sit it on it’s backside. Goats don’t like this much, as they don’t have as much padding as sheep.
• To do this, grab the goat by the loose skin on the opposite side in front of the hind leg, pull up quickly, and be ready to set it down on it’s rump.
  

Yards

• Handling goats, even when they are well accustomed to humans, is too great a challenge without some kind of yards.
• The goats get more stressed and so to the handlers and jobs cannot be completed on time so frustration increases and the goats get the blame!
• Goats have good memories and are not keen to repeat bad experiences.
  

Good things about yards

• A good clear lead into the yards so they go in without baulking.
• On a slight slope so animals run uphill as they go through the yards.
• High enough so that they cannot jump out. Regularly handles Angoras should be able to be handled in sheep yards.
• Good drafting facilities so animals don’t have to be caught individually.
• Close-boarded sides in crush pen and drafting race with concrete floor.
• Road metal in other holding yards.
• Secure gates that swing and close without effort.
• No protrusions such as sprung rails, gate hinges, nails and heads of bolts.
• Dogs under total command, and a place to tie them up well away from yards when not in use.
• Lockable cupboard for animal remedies.
• Place to put scales in the race.
• Fully serviced first aid box.
  

Shelter/Shade & housing

• Goats are very different from sheep as they carry less fibre with less grease content, and they don’t have large fat reserves under their skin.
  
• Cold on its own is not the problem, for as ruminants they generate internal body heat from digestion; but a combination of cold and wet conditions can have drastic effects.
• Goats hate sudden rain or hail storms and they need shelter to protect them from these elements.
• A paddock with scrub or rushes provides ideal natural shelter, provided it also has enough good pasture to meet the stock’s needs.
• Artificial shelter can be made from hay bales, well-anchored corrugated iron either erected to stand straight or bent into a half circle, as well as scrim and shade cloth.
• There is also a wide range of specially made goat shelters available with no floors, solid floor or slats. They also vary in weight so some you can push around and others need an ATV or small tractor to shift. The lighter the shelter, the greater the risk of it being blown away.
• Slatted floor would be the best option to avoid fleece contamination but there’s always the risk of small kids getting their legs caught in them.
• Expect goats to climb on top of any structure in their paddock, so provide a safe surface for this. It’s a great play area of kids to play “king of the castle”.
• It’s worth considering putting a small goat shelter in a corner where four paddocks meet. This can act as the access between paddocks as well as a shelter and a means of holding some animals if needed.
• Shelter belts made up of narrow lines of tall trimmed trees are of little value as the lack of low cover in fact increases wind speed among the trees.
• So trying to grow good timber in narrow shelterbelts of well-pruned trees and protecting stock are not compatible. You need a mixture of tall and low trees to act as an effective windbreak.
• The area of least wind speed is twice the height of the shelterbelt out in the paddock where goat shelters should be placed and not at the base of the trees.
• In snowstorms narrow shelterbelt trees slow up the blowing snow to form a drift among the trees, and will bury any sheltering stock.
• Putting animals into a small plantation of trees with a good dry bed of accumulated needles is ideal. There is no browse in these woodlots so good feed must be provided, otherwise goats may eat too many needles, which can cause rumen compaction.
• Using forage trees such as willows, poplars and tree lucerne is a good idea, especially for browsing in droughts. These trees can be kept low by coppicing and the thicker stems can be used for firewood.
• Shade is now of increasing importance in New Zealand with high rates of radiation and sunburn on the noses and ears of white goats. Sheds and trees, which provide shelter in winter, can also provide shade in summer.
• When planning a shelter, use a figure of 0.9-1.0m2/goat as not all animals will use the facility at the same time.
• For a bedded yard where all goats are confined, use 1.7m2/goat.
  

Danger times for goats

Birth.

• The newborn kid has come from 27ºC into the cold world so is very prone to chilling. The low birth weight of Angora kids (around??kg) adds to their vulnerability, especially if they are born as multiples.
• So it’s essential that they get a good feed of colostrum immediately after birth. The doe normally hides her kids at birth so provision of shelter, natural or artificial is very important.
• Does that have just kidded, especially those with their first offspring may not take their newborns to shelter so vigilance is needed by those in charge.
• The doe and kid should be confined into a small sheltered space as often the doe may want to get back to her birth site attracted by the odour of the birth fluids and leave the kid behind.
  

Post shearing

• Newly shorn goats can very easily become chilled if hit by cold wet weather after shearing. It’s essential to have some shelter for them and plenty of good feed.
• They may need this special care for at least a couple of days and nights after being shorn.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Identification & recording

Agriculture, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, breeding, recording, identification, practical advice

By Dr Clive Dalton


Identification & recording

• You cannot do worthwhile recording and breeding to improve flock performance unless all animals are identified.
• This ID must be unique so that no two animals have the same identity.
• No system of ID is ever perfect, as there are always problems with permanent tags being pulled out on fences, and temporary marks on fleeces fading or being shorn off.
  

A unique identity

• The best way to form a unique identity is to use an individual number along with the goat’s year of birth.
  
• So for example 123/05 is number 123 born in 2005. There may be other goats numbered 123, but they won’t have been born in 2005.
  
• The best ID method is a brass ear tag put in the kid’s ear at birth and then supplemented with a plastic tag later when the ear grows bigger and stronger. Some breeders put a brass tag in both ears to reduce the chance of lost identity.
• There is much less chance of a brass tag coming out or fading than a plastic tag. However, recent advances in plastics have greatly reduced the fading of numbers and colours in plastic tags from the intense sun radiation in New Zealand.
  
• So each year get your tags (both plastic and brass) to run from Number 1 to however many kids you expect to have, and add the year born on to each tag. With brass tags, get your name punched on the third side too.
• Visible plastic ear tags also have many advantages for general management such as using different colours for age groups.
  

Good permanent ID methods

Brass tags

• These have proved their worth over decades in New Zealand sheep.
• Which ear? Always put the brass tag in the left (nearside) ear, as this is the one held by the shearer when coming up around the neck.
• Where to put it? Punch it into the top of the ear, about a third of the way along from the head toward the tip, leaving room for the ear to grow and so the tag to remain in a readable position.
  
• If you put it too near the head it can grow into the skin folds, and you’ll have to fight the goat every time to read it, and the animal will remember the experience.
• Always read brass tags from left to right to avoid confusing 66 with 99.
• Keep all tagging equipment disinfected during and after use. Check for any ear infections and festering a couple of days after tagging.
• Brass tags come on sticks with a rubber band on the end, to stop them slipping off and getting out of numerical order when you drop them!
  

Very small plastic tags

• These are like a numbered pliable plastic band that bends around the edge of the ear when clinched together. They can be put in a kid’s ear at birth without causing it to droop and malform it, and little festering occurs if you keep your gear clean.
• These tags come in a range of colours and you cannot read these from a distance.
  

Medium plastic tags

• These are smaller and less expensive than the very large tags.
• Put them in the goat’s left (near) ear to help the shearers.
• They are still too heavy to put in young kids and even kid’s at weaning.
• They are easier to read than the small plastic bands, but you’ve got to be up fairly close to the goat to read them.
• They are an ideal intermediate tag, but farmers don’t like the expense and bother of replacing them so will wait till the goat is big enough for a large tag.
  

Large plastic tags

• These are “flag” type tags that you can easily read from a distance of 3-5 m and come in a range of bright colours.
• Put them in the doe’s left (near) ear to help the shearers.
• You can have them numbered or you can write your own numbers on with a supplied pen containing ink that doesn’t not fade. Some fading is inevitable in New Zealand’s intense sun.
• Don’t put these in kid’s ears until they are at least 5 months old as they are too heavy for the kid’s small ear and it will pull it down and permanently disfigure it. Also more festering can occur.
• Punch them in the middle of the ear about half way along avoiding the two main ligaments and the veins.
  
• Keep all tagging equipment disinfected during and after use. Check for any infection and festering a couple of days after tagging.
• Always put the same number on the plastic tags that is on the brass or small plastic tag, and it’s a good idea to use different colours for each year’s crop of kid’s to help sorting age groups later.
• Don’t use old plastic tags as it will only cause confusion.
• You can cut bits out of the edge of plastic tags with ear marking pliers to denote groups or ages.
• There are also plastic tags that slip through a punched hole can be used to identify age groups. These are put in the top or bottom edge of the ear and can be easily removed but they cannot be read from a distance.
  

Poor permanent ID methods

• Self-piercing aluminium tags were once popular but have not shown any great advantage over the brass tags which once the ear heals are generally trouble free.
• Tattoos. Here sharp pins in the shape of numbers and letters are held in special pliers and punched into the middle of the sheep’s ear between the ligaments. Black pigment is then rubbed in to the wound.
  
• It’s important to put plenty of pigment on the pins and make sure the sheep do not move when it first feels the pain. Don’t flinch, and grit your teeth once you close the pliers.
• You are very lucky if the ID is readable for much of the sheep’s life, and a vivid imagination is always useful when trying to decide on the ID!
• Ear notches for numbering. Here you use the top, end and bottom of the ear to punch a single or double notch made with special pliers that cut a piece out of the ear. Each position represented a numeral and you can build up multiple-digit numbers by combinations of notches. It’s always a brain taxing to work out the code in a hurry as you have to do mental arithmetic on each ear.
• In goats it’s possible to tattoo the underside of the tail.
  

Other temporary ID methods

Raddle

• Numbers can be made with raddle on both sides of the doe. They should be at least 200mm high and be readable from 10-15m away.
  
• They work best on short hair of fleece and may last for half a season before fading. Using raddled numbers and marks is a good idea for a temporary ID of multiple kids.
• Putting lots of raddle on the fleeces is bad practice. Use these tips when using an aerosol raddle:
• Shake the can well before use.
• Hold it upright when using otherwise the propellant will be used up before the paint.
• Use very sparingly.
• Squirt the nozzle near the required spot and only make the smallest dot possible (the size of a 10c piece when dry).
• Store aerosols in a cool place out of the reach of potential graffiti artists.
  

Chalk

• You can get chalk raddle in a wide range of colours.
• It’s useful for short-term marking such as by the meat company lamb drafter.
• It usually washes off in about a week.
• It’s messy stuff to handle but a farmer has invented a plastic holder for the chalk sticks to keep your hands clean and the raddle dry when not in use.
• Only used approved products.
  

Neck tags

• These can be used for temporary ID in flocks at kidding where you don’t want to catch the doe to read her brass tag and cause disturbance, but they are a lot of work.
• You need a checklist of neck tag against brass tag.
  
• Neck tags can be made of all sorts of materials from tin and plastic lids to engraved Formica and letters need to be at least 40mm high.
• Tying the cord the correct length is important otherwise the doe gets her front legs though when grazing.
• It’s important to remember to remove all neck tags before shearing.
  

Coloured clips

• Coloured plastic clothes pegs can be used when selecting goats.
• Gripping paper clips can also be used on the fleece – and not on the ears!
  

Coloured wire twisters

• Use short lengths (about 100mm) of pliable coloured plastic wire that can be threaded through a brass tag and both ends twisted together.
• A wide range of colour combinations can be used and old electrical cable is a great source of wire.
  

New ID methods

Electronic tags

• These are now being used in some sheep breeding flocks where large amounts of performance data are being recorded.
  
• At the moment they can only be read when close to the sheep
• The potential is here for the animal’s complete data to be stored in its ear tag and act as a “passport” to record its complete history, such as feeding and health treatments and which farms it has been on.
  
• This is being driven by the need to track animals in disease outbreaks and concern over food safety and the need for “traceback” from plate to paddock.
• Costs of electronic ID will be easily accepted by breeders who keep detailed performance records and indeed it could help them, but it will pose problems for large-scale commercial sheep farmers.
  
• Put them in the goat’s left (near) ear to help the shearers.
  

Electronic chips
These would only be justified for very valuable animals as a protection from theft.

DNA profiling

• DNA profiling can be used where individual ID of kids at birth is not possible.
• Birth date is obtained by shedding off does that have not yet kidded, so the birth day is known for each paddock of kids when they are docked.
• Kids are tagged at docking (3 weeks old) and blood samples taken for ID profiling at a special laboratory.
  
• As the DNA data builds up in a flock, the parent’s ID of any kid can be determined to a very high degree of accuracy.
  
• Some labs use 6-7 genetic markers for sheep which breeders have found is not as accurate as manual recording. Only using 10-14 markers gives a high degree of accuracy.
• Using DNA markers, it has been shown that 25% of sheep twins had been sired by different rams – something that would have been unknown before DNA profiling.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Aging goats by teeth

Agriculture, farming, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, aging goats, teeth.




By Dr Clive Dalton

Aging goats by teeth

• Goats have no top teeth and instead have a hard dental pad that their bottom incisors bite against.
• You can estimate the age of goats by the age at which the milk teeth are replaced by permanent incisors. They get new ones in pairs working from the middle outwards.
• But be warned about average ages of eruption – there is enormous variation between animals. Here are some values:
  

• Kid - starts with 8 temporary incisor milk teeth
• Hogget - the centre pair of permanent teeth start to erupt at 12 months of age.
• Two-tooth - first central pair of permanent teeth present at 13-15 months old.
• Four-tooth - second pair present at 18-21 months old.
• Six-tooth - third pair present at 22-24 months old.
• Full mouth - complete set of 8 permanent teeth present at 27-32 months old.
  

Looking in a goat’s mouth
Goats don’t like dental examinations, so you’ll have to firmly restrain each animal. Here are some tips:

• Sit the goat upright in the shearing position and use both hands to open its mouth.
• Cup your left hand around its jaw and use your left thumb to lift its top lip and then use your thumb on the other hand to pull the bottom lip down.
• You’ll be able to see if the teeth are meeting the gum correctly and are not “undershot” or “overshot”.
• When undershot the teeth meet the gum back from the edge (called parrot mouth), and when overshot the teeth stick out beyond the gum edge and can be very sharp as they have not been worn down with biting off grass.
• If you want another view, slide your left thumb into the space behind the incisors where there is a gap before the molars start and this will open the mouth so you can see the top of the teeth.
• If you are not able to tip the goat up, then hold it up against a fence or in the corner of a pen and pull its lips down as described above. You don’t get such a good view.
  

Be prepared for surprises

• You can often get a shock when you see the state of a goat’s teeth. Teeth do an enormous amount of tearing and pulling of fibrous herbage and are subject to great mechanical stresses.
• Here are some things regularly seen:
• Overshot and undershot jaws as mentioned above. The overshot teeth may be only partly overshot where the back half contacts the gum and the front half has a lance-like edge that can lacerate your fingers.
  
• Goats with undershot parrot-mouths have great difficulty in eating short pasture.
• Gum cavities that still have both the old tooth present and the new one pushing it out, and the gum looking very inflamed.
• Missing permanent teeth – especially the central pair which are critical for grazing.
• Very long wobbly teeth that are loose in the gum. This may be “periodontal disease” which has many causes and there’s not much you can do about it.
• Most permanent teeth missing and only an odd single very long loose tooth left. It’s better to pull this out to even up the sheep’s bite.
• No permanent teeth at all – the goat is described as being “broken mouthed” or called a “gummy”. They have all worn off by the gum. In pumice country this can be a special problem with the very abrasive nature of the soil.
• If all the teeth are worn right down to the gum but are still there, it’s very difficult to age the goat as you cannot tell which stumps are temporary and which are permanent teeth.
• Long permanent teeth where grass has been getting in between them and wearing away great holes.
  

Goats with no teeth can still manage to eat if there is plenty of pasture available, as the front teeth only bite off the grass and the back incisors do the grinding.

When fed root crops like turnips, they really need good teeth to break the skin of the bulb and eat it down to ground level once the leafy top has been eaten. Also good teeth are important if goats are to browse hard woody shrubs.

Sheep breeders have shown that the solution to teeth problems is through an effective selection and culling programme.

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Practical recording tips

Agriculture, husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, records, recording, practical advice



By Dr Clive Dalton


Practical recording tips
New Zealand sheep farmers, shepherds and research technicians over the years have shown amazing innovation in developing practical ways to make field recording easier. The following are some of them:

Plastic tagging adult does

• Pick a good dry day; avoid wet and humid days.
• Do the tagging as a special job. Don’t incorporate it with a variety of other tasks.
• Make sure everyone concentrates to avoid errors. Banish barking dogs.
• Avoid general chat and make sure the person who is reading the tags has a good clear voice. A loud high-pitched voice is ideal as you can hear it above the other yard noises. Don’t let smokers read tags as the cigarette stuck between their lips all day reduces their diction, as well as their long-term health prospects!
• Dip the tagging pliers into disinfectant after every sheep.
• Hold the goat firmly during tagging so pliers don’t slip half way through the job. This is not such a problem with today’s quick release pliers.
• After tagging about 10 animals, turn them out to see if the tags are in a good readable position and not too near the head. You should be able to read the numbers at 3-5 metres away.
• It’s nice to be consistent and put the plastic tag in the left (near) ear along with the brass tag to help the shearers. Some farmers don’t like this and put the plastic in the right ear – knowing that if a shearer hits it, there will be no damage to the gear compared to hitting a brass tag. Whichever is your choice – be consistent for the shearers’ benefit.
• One idea (if you can afford the time) is to punch the holes in the ears and let them heal, free from the irritation of the tag. Then go back again about a week later and put the tag through the hole, which will be a painless operation. It’s not practical when handling large numbers of goats.

Brass tagging adult goats

• This can be a tough job. The ears of the old does are tough and punching the hole with the special pliers causes pain so they need to be firmly held by one person while the other does the punching.
• Then with the goat in a foul demeanour you have to put the tag through the hole and squeeze it up correctly. If you botch this part and have to open the tag and redo it, that goat will never forget you!
• Put the tag in the top of the left (near) ear about a third of the distance from the head.
• Dip the pliers in disinfectant after every goat.
• Watch for infections for a week after tagging.
• Have plenty of sticking plasters handy as you will knock a lot of skin off yourself in this exercise!
  

Tagging kids at birth
This is the most challenging part of recording, as you can’t leave the job for another day (unless there is storm conditions) and remembering all the points made above about doe and kid behaviour at lambing. Shepherds and technicians developed many tricks over the years to get the job done in sheep. Here are a few of them.

In fine weather

• Start early in the morning (just after daybreak is ideal) and work your way around the paddock tagging kids as you go.
• If there are groups of does that have all kidded in the same place – you‘ll need to attend to them first, as there will be a high risk of parentage errors.
• On the way to the doe note her number incase she clears off, and grab the kid or kids and hold them between your knees. You can do this kneeling on the ground or sitting on your backside using your leggings for insulation.
• Use a light fishing (landing) net with collapsible handle to catch kids, especially twins and triplets and hold them together during tagging.
• If the doe runs away (most likely with two-tooths), hold a kid by the back leg and let the doe see it. If the kid doesn’t bleat –blare like a kid to attract her back! Practice and frustration makes perfect!
• Tag the kid/kids and complete any other tasks.
• Take out your record book and enter the data.
• Before you let the kid/kids go, double check the tag numbers in their ears and the doe number. If there is any doubt about parentage – clearly record this fact.
• Check the unused tags to make sure you are still in sequence and some have not been lost. Try not to drop the tags so they get out of order.
• Don’t do the recording in bits, e.g. enter the tag number after tagging each kid, etc. Do it all in one go.
• Release multiples together incase the doe takes off with one kid and you have to chase her.
• It used to be recommended if there were a lot of does that had kidded together to go in and spot mark the multiples, so you got them correctly identified with their dam when you started tagging.
  

In wet weather

• If it’s really wet, then keep away until it stops raining, as you’ll do more harm than good. Hope that it stops raining in 24 hours because after that the kids will be very mobile and harder to catch.
• If it’s only showery, then tagging can proceed, remembering that punching holes in wet ears risks more infections than with dry ears.
• Carry a towel around your neck to dry your hands before writing in the record book.
• Keep the book inside a plastic bag and write inside there.
• Use a dark pencil, as ballpoints don’t like wet paper.
• Use notebooks with waterproof paper if available.
• Don’t risk a tape recorder incase of malfunction.
• Use a palm-held computer inside a plastic cover – if you can trust its reliability.
• If there is any doubt about parentage of kids – record this fact.
  

Docking at birth

• In some recorded high-fertility flocks run with minimal labour, docking is now done at birth to avoid the work and disruption of docking later.
• There have been concerns on animal welfare grounds about the shock of docking newborn kids, and that it will increase mismothering as one kid may lie down and the mother take off with the others.
• Some breeders find that newborn kids show less reaction to having rubber rings on tails and testicles than older goats, and mismothering has not been a problem.
  

Recording kits

• Shepherds have come up with some great ideas over the years to hold all their recording gear.
• Examples have been modified builder’s aprons or bags with plenty of compartments for tags, pliers, notebook and veterinary supplies.
• Also a large flap to keep all the gear dry and which also serves as a desk top in the paddock for the notebook or to sit on when the ground is wet and cold.
  

Tagging kids when older

• When farmers have adopted minimal-shepherding systems, kids are tagged later when they are difficult to catch.
• Accuracy of parentage is usually quite good, as the does have had plenty of space for kidding being set stocked and spread out.
• It is possible to set up a pen like a docking pen and drive does into it with their kids (singly or in groups) and tag them. It’s a slow and tedious job.
• ID can be done at docking as described above but can be much more of a disruption unless you have a slick well-organised team, and are prepared for docking to take longer.
  

Recording live weight

• A set of scales is an essential piece of equipment these days for large flocks, but can always seem expensive for a small flock. Small farmers should consider joining with neighbours to share the cost or borrow scales from their vet clinic.
• Today’s electronic scales consist of two weigh bars and a platform that needs to stand on a firm base in the yards. The readout unit can be put anywhere such as on the ground, rested or hung on the fence, or hand held.
  
• It can do calculations and provide readouts such as the current weight, weight gain since the last weighing, average for the mob and the range (highest and lowest) and store all the data.
• For individual animals that you can lift, stand on the bathroom scales and get someone else to read the dial while you hold the sheep. Remember to subtract your weight!
  

Check lists

• With the best will in the world, when reading tags you’ll end up with missing numbers and duplicates that are always hard to sort out.
• The key is to have a checklist, which is simply a sheet with a list of numbers from 1 to 100 or 1 to 1000. As each tag number is read, put a line through that number on the checklist, which proves it has been read.
• Then as soon as a duplicate number appears, you can double check the number to see if it is the correct one, or the previous one was wrong. You may be able to see at the end from the numbers missing where the error was in reading the tag.
  

Common causes of errors in recording

• Misread numbers, especially on brass tags because of poor eyesight.
• People reading tags with poor diction or while smoking.
• Transcribing numbers where the number is read correctly when called out, but the digits are reversed when it’s written down. Some people are very prone to doing this and don’t know it – and will argue that they didn’t do it.
• The other variation of the above is to see the number but shout it out with some digits exchanged. Again some people have this problem and don’t know it. And they will argue too!
• For both the above problems, insist the tag readers or those who write it down repeat it.
• Poor writing in record books with blunt pencils or ballpoints in the rain.
• Failure to double check at frequent intervals.
• Failure to stick to a set routine e.g. when tagging at lambing time.
  

Recording fleece weights for selection
This is done on the shearing board using. A wide range of scales can be used. You should weigh the total greasy fleece but excluding any dags.

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Breeding objectives

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, breeding, objectives

By Dr Clive Dalton


Breeding objectives in Angora goats
Breeders agree that all of these traits listed below are important, but they may put them in different orders of priority.

For example if you are spending hours treating goats for footrot and dealing with dirty rear ends with worms, then getting rid of these two traits for an “easy-care” flock is of prime importance.

Many would add other traits to the list such as physical features such as foot shape and udder shape and teat size.

• Increased fleece weight.
• More kids/doe mated.
• Finer fibre diameter.
• Free from hair and kemp.
• Faster growing young stock.
• Resistance to worms and footrot.
• White fibre free from pigment.
• Satisfactory lustre.
  

Selecting physical features
The Mohair Producers’ Association set out some standards for Angora goats in the 1980s as follows:

Head: Neatly formed with jaws fitting well. Covered in good quality mohair, the face with short fine hair. Ears should be long and pendant covered with short fine hair. Horns on bucks must be a minimum of 25 mm apart bending backwards, not too near the neck and spreading.

The horns of does should bend backwards and preferably outwards but in every case, in such a manner that they do not interfere with the head or neck. Naturally polled Angoras are accepted. Pigmentation of the skin on the face and ears should not be discriminated against.

Faults include a sparse kempy face and no mohair covering the head, although these are not great cause for concern if the Angora has a heavy, high quality fleece. Other faults of the head are:

• Badly overshot or undershot jaws
• Folded ears
• Black hairs
  

Forequarters and legs: Neck of medium length fitting smoothly into the shoulder. Forelegs strong and straight, pasterns firm and hooves correctly formed. Faults are:

• Hollow behind the knees
• Bandy legs
• Weak pasterns and splayed hooves
  

Barrel: Back strong and reasonably straight. A good balance between the parts forming the barrel will add symmetry and general appearance of the animal.
Hindquarters & legs: Rump reasonably broad, forming more or less a straight line with the back and withers. Good space between pin bones. Thighs well fleshed. Hind legs strong and square standing, pasterns firm, hooves well formed. Faults are:

• Narrow hindquarters.
• Weak pasterns and splayed hooves.
• A crooked tail and tail covered with coarse hair.
  

Male organs: Must be well developed. Disqualification for any abnormality such as split purses, and small or missing testicles. Clinical abnormalities may affect fertility.

Female teats: Females should have two well-formed teats.

Fleece: A good quality mohair fleece should be fine in mean fibre diameter, soft and silky to touch, lustrous and white, forming stylish wavy blunt staples or ringlets of even length. It should not contain medullated or pigmented (coloured) fibres.

Kemp: Should be at a minimum level.

Medullated fibres: These are hollow and tend to be coarse which results in them being stiff, harsh handling, brittle, chalky in appearance and lacklustre. They dye paler shades than other fibres. Short kemps tend to comb out easier than long kemps. Straight hair on the tail or forelock often points to medullation in the fleece

Fineness & evenness of mean fibre diameter: Important for production of high quality yarns. Soft handling mohair generally indicates fineness. Mohair tends to become coarser with age of animal.

Lustre: Tends to be associated with soft handling for a given diameter and also with ability to be dyed to bright colours.

Length: Evenness of length and good growth are necessary for processing. Fibres should grow at a rate of 20-25mm or more per month. Blunt tips to the staples indicate evenness of length of fibre within the staples.

Density: The percentage of skin area covered by fibres. When the fleece is parted, the skin should e well covered with mohair fibres and only very minimal areas of skin showing between the staples.

Character & style: Mohair should display good character, i.e. even waviness throughout the staple length.

Genetic principles: Refer to Dalton, D.C (1980) in further reading.

Key principles to remember:

• Traits can be measured either subjectively (e.g. In kg or mm) or objectively by eye (e.g. handle of fibre or shape of ears). It’s easy to let too many subjective traits swamp the importance of objective ones.
• The more traits you select for, the slower is the progress in any individual trait. So if you want to see real progress in your lifetime, select for only a few important traits, e.g. fleece weight, fibre diameter and feet.
• Genetic gain is determined by this formula:
  

Genetic gain/year = (Heritability x Selection Differential)/Generation Interval.


Making rapid gains
If you want to make rapid gain:

• Heritability should be high
  
• Selection Differential (SD) should be large and
  
• Generation Interval (GI) needs to be small.

The SD is the powerhouse of the formula where you can apply maximum selection pressure when deciding which animals to be parents for the next generation.

Heritability is the strength of inheritance of a trait, i.e. how much is passed on to the next generation. See table below. Where heritability is low, the environment has a much greater effect than genetics.


Selection Differential.
This is how much better the selected parents (males+females averaged) are than the average of the population they came from. You can have a much higher SD for males than for females.

Generation Interval.
This is the average age of parents when offspring are born. The fastest you can go is to mate buck kids to doe kids, which may not be what you want to do for husbandry reasons.

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Breeding & genetics

Farming, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, breeding, genetics, practical advice

By Dr Clive Dalton


Breeding (Genetics)

Where to start

• Getting started is often the most difficult part, as some major decisions have to be made. These are mainly controlled by available finance and the time you are prepared to wait for results.
• The main decisions are whether to start off with purebred stock or “grade up” to purebreds from another source such as ferals.
• Buying purebreds will always be more expensive than buying grade stock.
  

Purebreds

• The main source of purebred animals is purebred breeders who have “surplus” stock for sale. These may be “culls“ in their view, but will still good enough genetics to get you started.
• A reputable breeder will not sell animals with faults, and if any appear they will replace the animals or refund your money. It’s in their interest to have satisfied customers.
• So the point is to go to reputable breeders and ask plenty of questions about their breeding programme, what and why they have stock for sale, and how you should go about a breeding plan.

Crossbreds
These are animals that have varying proportions of Angora and some other goat types. Here is the process of “grading up” using a purebred Angora buck through four generations towards purebred status.

• Purebred Angora buck x Feral (or other) doe produce first cross (F1) progeny. Called Angora G4 (Grade 4). They are half Angora.
• Purebred Angora buck x G4 females produce second cross (F2) progeny. Called G3 Angora (Grade 3). They are three-quarters Angora.
• Purebred Angora buck x G3 females produce third cross (F3) progeny. Called G2 Angora (Grade 2). They are seven-eights Angora.
• Purebred Angora buck x G2 females produce fourth cross (F4) progeny. Called G1 Angora (Grade 1). They are fifteen-sixteenths Angora and accepted as purebreds.
  

If you cannot afford a purebred Angora buck, then you can use a grade buck but this affects the rate of getting to G1 status. The options as set out below:

• The sex ration of the kids born can affect progress, as you need a lot of female kids and a lot of twins to give plenty of selection for the next generation.
• Even so, it may take 10-20 years to successfully grade up from ferals to purebred Angoras.
• Success also depends on the genetic quality of the bucks used at each stage, and you need to take advice to select the best buck you can afford, or make some arrangement with a breeder to lease a proven sire.
• If just starting off, leave AI till later in your programme because of the management demands it entails. AI certainly has great potential in getting access to top sires that you may not be able to purchase.
  

Phenotypic changes in each cross.
These are changes you can see in the animal, as opposed to genetic changes which are in its genes that you cannot see.

As the proportion of Angora genes increases in each cross when grading up from ferals, you should see substantial changes in the fibre and financial returns from it. Here are some examples:

• G4 does will show some white chalky Angora fibre showing but not covering all of the body. Droopy ears evident. Little belly covering and a hairy britch with kemp fibres. G4s need to be shorn once a year in early spring before fibres start shedding in late spring. These fibres get in among the growing fleece and cause cotting or felting which cannot be broken up during processing.
• G3 does will have more definite Angora characteristics with more style and lustre in the fleece. There will still be hair on the britch, and hindquarters and along the back and very little fibre on the belly.
• G2 does will have a reasonable fleece coverage although they’ll still be light in the brisket are belly. They’ll still have hair along the back line but their mohair should be lustrous with nice even staple formation. G2 kids should be well covered with mohair but some coarse hair and kemp may still be present.
• G1 does will be well covered with mohair of good style and character. Hairy back lines and britch along with kemp will be disappearing. G1 kids should show all the characteristics of good mohair goats.
  

Angora (Mohair) Goat Basics: Feeding

Farming, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, feeding, nutrition, behaviour

By Dr Clive Dalton


Feeding
Feeding behaviour

• Goats don’t have a split upper lip like sheep so don’t graze as close to the ground.
• They are classical browsers and are used successfully by farmers to graze out weeds and avoid chemical sprays. Offering goats a wide choice of feed can cause problems as they may for example take a liking to feeds of low nutritional value when you want them to put on weight.
• They are effective ruminants relying completely on pasture by about 15 weeks of age when feral goats synchronise their grazing behaviour with their dam.
• Goats seem to be less concerned about eating prickly plants suggesting their lips are different to sheep.
• They eat a lot of roughage that includes weeds, woody shrubs, leaves and bark. They are well known for ring barking trees.
• They eat plants from tip down to base which explains why they are so good at killing gorse and thistles and stopping them seeding.
• Goats will stand on their hind legs to reach up high to browse and will use their front legs to hold branches down. They'll even climb trees to get at leaves. This has a major reason why they have been involved in turning farmland into deserts aided by humans.
• They do not relish clover so goat pastures end up being very clover dominant.
  

Nutrition

• The key principle of nutrition is that feed intake by the animal must meet its nutritional needs in terms of energy, protein, minerals and trace elements and vitamins.
• Water is important and although it’s not classed as a nutrient, it’s essential for body function. Water must come from a clean source and not from stagnant dams, swamps or dirty troughs.
• The animal’s feeding needs are divided into “Maintenance”, and “Production. Maintenance feed keeps body systems functioning when the animal is standing still in a warm temperature.
  
• Nutrients for Production are needed over and above Maintenance and are used for movement, grazing, bodyweight, fibre growth and reproduction. More nutrients are also needed if the animal is stressed by cold or disease.
• Goats have a greater level of voluntary feed intake that sheep relative to their metabolic body weight so when fed hay, goats ate more than sheep.
• As ruminants, goats can digest cellulose in plants more efficiently than by any other ruminant. Lignin is plant cellulose that normally cannot be digested.
• As well as feed intake, the digestibility of what they eat is important. Lush pasture is highly digestible but has low Dry Matter, and feeds high in plant fibre have low digestibility and high bulk. All these components have to be taken into account when working out feeding levels.
• In calculating feed requirements, an Angora or feral goat is taken as 0.7 stock units. A stock unit is the feed needed to maintain a 50kg ewe with a single lamb for a year.
• A goat equivalent is another measure used and is a 40kg goat. One goat equivalent equals 0.25 stock units. Note that these values are very crude measures but have been used for years to describe “carrying capacity” of farms.
• Kids are less efficient than calves or lambs when fed milk diets. Kids fed at the same concentration, goat milk, cow milk or milk replacer resulted in similar growth rates.
• Minerals, trace elements and vitamins are important but a balanced diet based on pasture should meet these needs.
  
• However as New Zealand soils are “recent’ in geological terms, mineral deficiencies such as copper, selenium and Iodine can occur. There are also situations where there can be too much, so for peace of mind consult your veterinarian to have blood and liver tests done on animals at critical times of year such as in mind pregnancy, as their body stores may need to be built up over time like charging a battery.
• With any ruminant, changes in diet should be made gradually to allow the rumen micro-organisms to adapt to any changes. Allow from 4-7 days for complete diet changes, and when starting off on concentrates, feed very small quantities(e.g. <40g/head/day).>

Feed intake
A goat doesn’t eat knowing its nutritional needs. Seeking out fibrous plants or salt may prove this statement wrong, but generally they are mainly interested in feeds that are palatable and to continue eating until they are satiated.

At certain times such as when they are suckling kids we want them to eat as much high quality digestible feed as possible and in winter when pregnant we provide feed for maintenance only so they may be hungry for parts of the day and be looking for a chance to escape to get more feed


Factors affecting feed intake are:

• Type and quality of feed. They will eat more high quality than low quality feed.
• Amount of feed on offer. If you see goats lying contented and cudding after grazing and clearly full, if you open the gate they will generally run to the new feed and start grazing again. Give them more and they will usually eat more.
• Frequency of feeding: If you offer feed many times a day in small amounts goats will eat more than if they are fed in fewer larger feeds. They also waste less when fed more frequently.
• Liveweight. Maintenance feeding needs is related to liveweight so bigger heavier animals will eat more than smaller animals.
• Stage of lactation: A milking animal milking has a high appetite to cope with the nutrient drain from its body.
• Pregnancy: In the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy rapid foetal growth causes an increase in nutrient needs, but it’s at this time that appetite often drops. This is partly because the rumen is affected by the enlarged uterus and contents but there are also hormonal reasons involved in this appetite drop.
• Activity: It’s a rule of thumb that you should add 25% more to feed allowances for animals that have to graze actively.
  

Key times for good nutrition
Pre-mating

• It’s important to have does in good condition when the bucks are joined with them. It’s been a traditional practice with sheep to “flush” them for about three weeks before joining, and this practice has been applied to goats to ensure good fertility and twinning.
• It’s always difficult (if not impossible) in dry summers leading into autumn to build up quality green feed for mating, so a far better practice is to make sure your goats never get into a skinny state as good body weight is critical in stimulating cycling (as well as declining day length) to start cycling and stimulating good ovulation rates.
• Where good pasture feed is not available, then good quality silage or balage can be used and if finances allow, concentrate feeds at around 50g/goat/day.
• Concentrates should only be needed if goats were in low body condition. Hay has too low a feeding value for this and weeds won’t meet their needs either.
• Coming up to mating, goats should be in as good condition as possible. It’s hard to Condition Score goats compared to sheep, as goats don’t lay down fat as easily as sheep.
  
• This is especially the case with milking goats that always look thin. But skinny goats are very obvious, and healthy well fed goats should have some fat cover on them.
  

Liveweight
Liveweight has a very important impact on fertility as the following table for Angora goats shows;

Post-mating

• Good feeding should continue for at least 4-6 weeks after the bucks go out hoping that few animals return to oestrus.
• This is a very critical period for the implantation of the embryo and the establishment of the placenta which has been shown in sheep to be very important in embryo survival later in pregnancy and birth weight and hence survival.
• There’s no reason to assume that goats will be any different. Whether your feeding regime is working is best judged by liveweight and BCS.
  

Pre- and post-kidding

• These are very important times. In the last 2-3 weeks of gestation the foetus grows rapidly so needs extra nutrients to ensure it has a good birth weight which is critical in survival, but this coincides with a drop in appetite by the dam.
• Then after kidding there is a massive surge of nutrients into milk and this cannot be met from the doe’s feed intake. The doe is described as being in “negative nutritional balance” for at least the first six weeks after birth and it’s a time when feeding concentrates is most cost effective.
• Her needs are often described as 2.5 times Maintenance.
• You cannot overfeed milking does, and do everything possible to get them to eat more and keep on eating such as offering new grazing twice a day.
• Goats cannot be made to eat soiled pasture to graze it out like you can with sheep and cattle.
  
• Aim to feed pasture of 2500kg DM/ha (700mm high) made up of 70% green content. Don’t make them graze below 500-600mm high so they are getting the most palatable and digestible parts.
• Nibbling weeds won’t do any harm as long as it’s only the very tips which have good feeding value in spring.
• If does were not shorn before kidding, this massive nutritional stress on their system will cause thinning of the fibre, weakness and break.
  

Post-shearing

• Good feeding for at least the first 2-3 days after shearing is a good insurance against any losses due to stress if the weather is cold and wet.

Growing kids – weaners & yearlings

• There is plenty or research is all ruminants to show that feeding and hence growth in early life (pre and post weaning) will affect subsequent weight and production during the rest of the animal’s life. So it’s vital to keep young goats growing well.
• When using milk replacers, it’s never wise to use a cheap product. Feed the best quality product you can find and follow the instructions on the bag to the letter.
• There are plenty of figures for the feed needs of growing milking goats and an example is the table below showing the maximum Dry Matter intakes needed at different weights.
  

Weaning

• This is a critical time as from this time, young animals are “on their own” with no more milk supplementation so they should be eating well.
• Kids can be weaned from 5 weeks old but normally weaning is around 2 months of age. Weaning weight should be based on weight and not age.
• A guide is for weaning weight to be at least 3.5 times birth weight and eating concentrates (around 40g/head/day).
• Young goats after weaning need around 1kg of DM/day (pasture plus concentrates) to keep them growing to reach a good weight for mating.