A pasture-based meat goat A pasture-based meat goat performance test in Western Marylandperformance test in Western Maryland

Susan Schoenian and Jeanne Dietz-BandWestern Maryland Research & Education Center

Maryland Cooperative Extensionhttp://mdgoattest.blogspot.com

Assumptions

• Most meat goat kids are grown out on pasture.

• Grain feeding is generally not very economical for meat goats, and this will become increasingly so.

• Most producers select goats on the basis of how they look, not how they perform.

• Internal parasites (worms) are the primary health problem affecting meat goats and have a major impact on their on pasture.

Objectives

• Measure genetic differences in meat goats consuming a pasture diet with natural exposure to internal parasites (esp. Haemonchus contortis).

• Evaluate meat goats for growth performance, parasite resistance, and carcass merit under pasture conditions.

Western Maryland Research & Education Center Keedysville, Maryland

Resources: 10 acres of pasture

Composition• 2 acres chicory• 1 acre birdsfoot trefoil• 7 acres fescue and

orchardgrass

In 2007• Replace paddock of infected tall

fescue with Max Q™ fescue.• Plant ~ 1 acre of pearl millet for

summer grazing.

Management• 50 lbs. N/acre 3/17 and 5/25• No lime needed in 2006• Mow as needed

Resources: Fencing

• Perimeter– 6-strand HT electric– All wires hot– Fence line is sprayed.

• Interior– 3-4 strand electric

• Pearl millet– Premier Electronet

Chicory

BirdsfootOG

F-OGF-OG

F-OGPM

Central laneway: goat always have access

• Three 6 x 11 ft. port-a-hut shelters

• Water troughs• Mineral feeders• Handling system

with work platform.

Test Protocol

• Up to 50 male goats accepted.

• Any breed or breed cross• Born Dec 15 - March 15• Vaccinated twice for CD-T• Hooves trimmed• Health papers issued

within 30 days of test• No signs of foot rot, sore

mouth, or abscesses.• Scrapie ID

Upon Arrival

• Close inspection• Weigh• FAMACHA© score• Body condition score• Collect fecal sample• Deworm with moxidectin• Stand in foot bath for 10

minutes (zinc sulfate)• Day 0-2, treat for

coccidiosis in water

Management

• Managed as a single herd on pasture

• No supplemental feed• Free choice minerals with

Deccox®• Rotationally graze among five 2-

acre paddocks of cool season grasses.

• Access to central laneway containing shelter, water troughs, mineral feeders, and handling system.

• 14 wethers were added to the herd and removed in August.

• Checked at least daily.

Data collection

• Every 14 days– FAMACHA© score– Body condition score– Deworm 4’s and 5’s

Don’t deworm 1’s and 2’s3’s - depends

– Treat for other problems, as necessary

• Collect fecal sample at day 0, 28, and 56.

• Weigh every 28 days• Scan for carcass traits• Measure scrotal circumference

2006 Test: June 10 - Oct 6

• 35 male goats– Boer (6)– Kiko (17)– Boer x Kiko (11)– Genemaster (1)

• Six consigners– Maryland (3)– West Virginia (1)– Pennsylvania (1)– Virginia (2)– Georgia (1)– Oklahoma (1)

• 29 - 72 lbs.• Avg. 49 lbs.

2006 test: June 10 - Oct 6

• 31 goats finished test• 4 eliminated

– 2 soremouth– 3 abscesses

• 1 untested, picked up by owner

• 1 tested positive for CL• 1 tested negative for CL

• No death loss

Average daily gain, lbs. per day

LowLow HighHigh Avg.Avg.

0-28 0.074 0.444 0.275

28-58 0.036 0.536 0.202

56-84 0.074 0.556 0.293

84-112 - 0.17 0.310 0.01

Overall 0.036 0.286 0.19

Average daily gain

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

6/10

6/17

6/24 7/1

7/8

7/15

7/22

7/29 8/5

8/12

8/19

8/26 9/2

9/9

9/16

9/23

po

un

ds

6.48"

2.44"

1.10"

6.66 "

Number of anthelmintic treatmentsand average FAMACHA© Score

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

10-J

un

23-J

un

7-Ju

l

21-J

ul

4-A

ug

18-A

ug

31-A

ug

15-S

ep

29-S

ep

Nu

mb

er t

reat

ed

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

FA

MA

CH

A(C

) sc

ore

Number of animals dewormed Avg. FAMACHA(c) score

Date # deworme

d

June 10 0*

June 23 2

July 7 0

July 21 1

August 4 20

August 18 11

August 31 0

Sept 15 11

Sept 29 5* None of the goats required dewormed upon arrival, but all were dewormed with moxidectin for FEC protocol.

Parasite resilience (tolerance)

5 inches

Parasite resilience (tolerance)

# goats % of goats # treatments

4 12.9 0

13 41.9 1

7 22.6 2

4 12.9 3

3 9.7 4

31 100.0

Fecal Egg Count data* (parasite resistance)

Sample date Low High Average

Day 0 0 7,700 308

Day 28 0 2,800 732

Day 56 0 4,650 565

*raw data, unanalyzed

Summary of Data

Trait Low High Average

Starting weight, lbs. 29.0 72.0 48.8

Ending weight, lbs. 52.0 98.0 69.3

Average Daily Gain, lbs. per day 0.036 0.286 0.190

Number of times dewormed, # 0 4 1.65

Fecal egg counts, eggs per gram 0 7,700 535

Rib eye area, square inches 1.06 1.86 1.43

Backfat, inches 0.04 0.14 0.077

Scrotal circumference, cm 18 30 24.5

Meat Goat Test BLOGhttp://mdgoattest.blogspot.com

Questions, comments

Small Ruminant Web-Based Information Sources

1) Maryland Small Ruminant Pagehttp://www.sheepandgoat.com

2) Maryland Sheep and Goat (Quarterly) Newsletterhttp://www.sheepandgoat.com/news/

3) Hair Sheep Workshop @ Virginia State Universityhttp://www.sheepandgoat.com/hairsheepworkshop/index.html

4) Shepherd’s Notebook Bloghttp://mdsheepgoat.blogspot.com

5) Meat Goat Performance Test Bloghttp://mdgoattest.blogspot.com

6) Sheep 101 http://www.sheep101.info

7) Sheep 201: A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Sheephttp://www.sheep101.info/201/

8) National Resource on Sheep & Goat Marketinghttp://www.sheepgoatmarketing.info