HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1990-03-14, Page 54t
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By Marg Burkhart
Capriculturalists are not exactly plen-
tiful in Huron Mid $ruce Counties. Fred
Vandersterre of Writs township la one,
Judy Geddes of Berlde .0 one, And for
that matter, so is Russel Fear of
Wingham. A capriculturalist is a person •
who raises goats! 411 of the above raise
goats for a different reason. • •
Contrary to what Many people think,
goats are not necessarily SMellY. Nor do:
they eat rubber boots and' tin cans.. And
they really are not all that difficult to
cOntain. goats are friendly, intelligent
and very lovable.
Breeds,
The most common breeds of goats in .•
this area are the Toggenburge the
Saanen, the Nubian and the Alpine.. Not
so common are the La, Mocha, the •
Angora and the Pyfany. - • '
The Toggenburg easily id•-114edby
it't brawn cOat'islth• white
the face and rump ••• -"""-A
The at -anew, gornvitiowhtt#
cream in colour and has ereetears:It is
considered to be the "Holstein" of the
goat family, being e.apable of producing
large amounts of milk.
The Nubian, ,on the other hand, is often
compared to the Jersey ,cow because of
it's high butterfat production. WO eall
easily identify a Nubian oat by it's long,
drooping ears, and it's Roman nose. Nu-
bian's have no particular colour distinc-
tion, and are often a combination of
colours.
The Alpine, also knows as. the French
Alpine, is a large goat and also has the
erect ears. It has no definite colour and
is often a combination of colours with
darker spine, face, and hindquarters be-
ing common. The Alpine is also a high
milk producer.
The La Mancha is a relatively new
breed in Canada. It can be easily iden-
tified by it's peculiar ears. The ears are
very, very small (13 mm) compared to
other breeds.
The Angora goat is noted for it's fleece,
and the Pygmy is a miniature goat
which is relatively new to Canada.
Dairy Goats
Five years ago, Fred Vandersterre of
R.R. 4, Brussels, bought a small herd of
12 goats for milking. Three months later,
he purchased another 40 goats, and today
he is milking 55 does and has 12 does
soon to freshen.
For Fred, investing in dairy goats was
an inexpensive venture when compared
to getting Into dairy cows, which he
readily admits, is really what he would
like to have.
The Vandersterr's own 1 3/4 acres of
land and rent another two acres for
pasture. Now that does not seem like
much pasture for such a large herd of
goats. But Fred has the grazing system
down pat! He uses intensive strip graz-
ing and contains the goats only with elec-
tric fence. According to Fred, the goats
are quite content with this arrangement.
Raising the
daysbefore weaning them. Fred feels
this is
particularly important with yearl-
ing does as it does quiet them down.
Once weaned, he continues to feed them
doe'e milk with a nIPPled battle until they •
are four days old. At this stage, they
are placed on milk replacer and fed from
a nipple pail three times a day. At about
ten to twelve weeks, he will wean them
and those that are being sold for meat
will be shipped, and the others will be
kept fro breeding. Fred mentioned that
he did try. to wean the kids at eight
weeks but found that they were not well
enough developed for breeding later-
The kids that are raised for meat are
shipped .t� the Brampton Livestock Ex-
• change. 'There hi a Strong demand for thi
Meat.* Christmas, and again it
•row of inter*: PM swat• AI
• 44110ii *Pit abielt
"
Melt 'Mb is partial-
. It is only the buck that carries
a rather obnoxious odour, and this Is
most =cable during the mating seam.
One of the main scent glands is located
on the top of the head, near the kerne,
. Some breeders will burn this out when
. they. are disbudding the young Mds, and
' this; will eliminate the odour somewhat It
is recoinmended that the buck not be
housed in the same pen as nailldng does.
as the buck odour can taint the doe's
-As with any livestock the health of the
herd is important. In the Vandersterre
operation, kids that are kept for breeding
are vaccinated. The does are also vac-
cinated prior to kidding.
While some goat farmers do castrate,
it is not really necessary for butcher
kids, according to Fred, because they are
• usually shipped 'before • they rea'ch
breeding age.
Disbudding is one thing that Fred does
'believe in. This technique preventa the
• growth of horns and must be done when
the -kids are just a few days old. There
are several methods of disbudding but ,
• Fred prefers to use the electrical tool
designed for this job.
Hoof trimming is another important
aspect of herd maintenance, and should
be done on a regular basis. In the 'case
• of the Vandersterre operation, Fred tries
to trig hooves every three to four
months. , •
As far as nutrition is concerned, the .
feed requirements for a milking doe are
really:not unlike those .of a dairy. cow.
Fred indicated that he feeds good quali-
• ty dairy hay, 1696. ration as well as salts
and •minerab..
• For Fred .Vandersterre, working with •
dairy goats is an enjoyable experience.
When asked if his wife, Henrietta, helps
with the daily barn chores, his comment
was, "No, she looks after the kids in the
house (3 girls and Ifsbly) and I look after
the kids in the barn.'
Meat Goods •
Judy Geddes along with her husband
Turn to page 3A •
The milking is complete and the does simply jump from the milking stand onto p
form on the stable floor. (Marg Burkhart photo)
So much for the myth that goats are Fred indicated that he tries to breed
hard to contain! his lower milk producing does to a meat
Fred Ilan both Nubian and Saanen does type buck, and likewise, he prefers to use
for milking, and raises the kids for Meat. a dairy type buck with his higher produce produc-
Someofthekidswillbekeptformilking ins does.. • •
does. Doelings are bred -at between seven
The milk is picked up once a week by and 10 ,months. Not every doeling will
Hewitt's Dairy from liege .Goat , Make a good milker. As' Fred pointed
milk.bringi about 45 cents a tr "the` out, there are a few things that must be
summer and ranges from 60.63 cents per taken into consideration. The doeling
-litre in the winter months. Although there ' should stand squarely on her feet,and she
is no milk quota,. Fred indicated that the should have thin thighs, thereby allowing
more he can produce from November ample room for a good sized udder. A
through March, the better his price will good milking doe has a thin-skinned ud-
be in the summer. He has shipped as der with teats pobting slightly forward.
high as 800 litres per week. The gestation period for a doe is ap-
The normal breeding season for goats proximately 150 days. When asked how
is the fall and early winter. Because of • many kids a doe usuallyhad, Fred stated
this, it is difficult for the goat dairyman that it varies. Yearlings, for example,
to maintain an adequate milk supply for ' might average 1.5 kids over a kidding
shipping during the winter months. This season whereas older does would pro -
breeding season can be altered somewhat bably average 2 kids. Triplets are not un -
by using sheep sponge. Fred said that conunon, and occasionally quadruplets or
along with the sheep sponge he also uses quintuplets are born.
pregnant mare serum about two days According to Fred, kidding is general -
prior to removing the sponge from the ly easy, and although he tries to be with
doe's vagina. Upon removal of the • the doe, he would not necessarilystay up
sponge, the doe should come into heat at night for .a doe to kid.
within 24 to 26 weeks hours. He prefers to let the kids nurse for two