HOW TO RAISE HEALTHY GOATS

A doe yields more than milk, of course . . . each year she'll birth from one to three kids. The youngsters can present the beginning goatkeeper with a problem because—since they're about the cutest and most lovable animals on this earth—you may get so attached to the furry little newcomers that you'll end up surrounded by hordes of full-grown nannies and billies.

To avoid that problem, you must be prepared to sell or butcher some of your home-raised goats. Actually, any female offspring are relatively easy to deal with. One of your best doelings can be saved to replace its momma on the milk line when the old gal reaches five or six years of age . . . and you'll generally find a good market for your other young does.

Buck kids, however, are another matter. In order to ensure that the best possible male genes go into the makeup of your future herds, you should save only one out of every hundred b illies to be a breeding sire. The many males that don't meet such a rigid standard of excellence should be castrated when they're less than three weeks of age and, ultimately, butchered. Since there's nothing tastier than chevon (its flavor resembles that of lamb), most folks don't mind at all that about half of their nanny's kids will be bucks.

The meat can be harvested shortly after the males are born (prepare it much as you would rabbit) or when the youngsters are weaned at 8 to 12 weeks of age. Then again, you might want to keep the animals until they reach their mature weight of 60 pounds . . . at around six months. (Don't wait any longer, though . . . a goat doesn't grow much after it reaches maturity.)

KNOW WHAT A NORMALANIMAL LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE 

When you decide to purchase a herdstarting doe (or two), you'll immediately be faced with the decision of what breed to invest in. In the U.S., the five most popular purebred goats are Toggenburg, French Alpine, Saanen, La Mancha, and Nubian. (The last two varieties could be called the "Jersey cows" of goats: Although they give slightly less milk than do their three "cousins", their product is high in butterfat.) Any of the five breeds can be successfully raised in all parts of North America, but in most cases the best breed for you will be the one that is most common in your area . . . since their offspring will be the easiest to sell to other folks.

Grade (crossbred) goats will often yield just as much milk as—or even more than—their purebred sisters do, and will usually cost less to buy. But the offspring from such animals will almost never sell at as high a price as do purebred kids. Therefore, it's probably better to buy a higher-priced purebred doe at the outset, and then pay yourself back for that purchase later . . . through the sale of the kids.

Another decision you'll have to make is how old a goat to buy. (You can judge the age of any horned ruminant by examining its teeth: A young goat, for example, has a set of small baby teeth. These are replaced by larger, adult teeth—at the rate of one pair a year—over a four-year period.) Kids will be the least expensive purchases, but they'll also be the riskiest buys, since only a professional goat breeder can judge whether or not a spindly-legged youngster will eventually mature into a high-quality milker.