Cattle

Archive for October 19th, 2010

Goat farming is increasingly becoming popular these days. Apparently, more and more people are discovering that there is good profit to be had in raising these animals either as consumable products (fiber, meat and milk,) or as pets. However, that does not mean that the best way to learn how to start a goat farm is by immediately setting up a pen, buying the hoofed creatures and hoping for the best.

Here are a 2 critical things you would need to successfully establish a working farm.

1. Research everything there is about how to start a goat farm. Nothing would defeat your purpose of getting your business running faster than you — quite literally, not knowing anything about the goats you want to take care of. Some breed of goats can be raised for their meat. Others provide rich sources of milk which can be turned into goat cheese and other milk-based products. And then there are other breeds that can be raised as lovable pets. Buying several breed of goats with the intention that the animals can provide you meat and milk, while others can be tamed as well-mannered pets is not the best way to start your farming pursuits. Needless to say, if you want to raise a specific breed of goat, then you really have to provide very specific nutrition and care also.

So the first and most important step to take is to learn all about the breed of goat you want to raise. Subscribing to online courses and reading books would be great; but apprenticing yourself in a working goat farm might be the best course of action to take. This will give you a hands-on experience on how to start a goat farm. Additionally, this might also provide you a better insight as to what kind of goats you want to raise.

2. Before checking out the catalogues for the goats you want to raise, make sure that you have ample space for the animals to live in. Just like livestock, these hoofed creatures would need shelter, and more importantly: grazing areas where they can both eat and exercise at the same time. Keeping goats in very restrictive pens would only lead to a lot of trouble down the line. Make sure that the space you have is just enough for the number of goats you want to farm. One of the most basic things to remember on how to start a goat farm is this: having too many animals on a small patch of land can make the goats both destructive and unproductive.