5 Solid Ways You Can Source  Goats for Your Farm.

Source goats for your farm

The high success rate of any endeavor lies in its foundation.  It is therefore very important to start your goat farming enterprise on a good footing.

Sourcing healthy and productive goats for your farm is the first step towards achieving your goals and greatness.

There are a number of places you can source goats for your farm.

This article will help you make a good judgment on the right place to buy or source goats for your farm.

A lot of factors will influence your decision for choosing and sourcing goats, factors such as:

• The size of your farm.
• Financial capacity.
• Your region, and the species or type of goats available in your locality.
• Is your proposed end product milk and cheese, meat or you are just engaging in goat farming because of the herds and skin.
• As pets.

A good, healthy, and productive goats are the cornerstone of a successful goat’s farm.

Before embarking on the journey to source goats for your farm, you have to be on the lookout for the following signs in the goats you intend to buy for your goat farm.

One of the greatest assets any farmer will have is to master the art of distinguishing between a sick animal and a healthy one.

A lot of farmers have been tricked into buying unproductive and sick animals (goats).  Leading to both losses of precious time and money.

Farmers will save themselves a lot of headaches and trouble by performing a simple visual inspection of goats (farm animals) before purchasing them.

In purchasing a goat for your farm the following signs will help identify healthy and productive goats:

• A healthy goat’s eyes should be bright and clear. It shouldn’t be watery, runny, red, or filled with mucus.
• Normal goat nose should be soft, any discharge, dry or cracked nose with signs of blood indicates serious trouble, a sign of viral infection.
• The ears should be free from mites and other ectoparasites.
• A healthy goat’s mouth should be pinkish, not red, inflamed, or bleeding.
• when sourcing goats for your farm the skin should be bright and pliable. Hair should look as it normally does.
• Goat’s feces should be normal round pellets. Any watery feces or dry fecal matter that stain the anus may mean diarrhea.
• The goat’s legs should be straight and famed with an easy, normal gait.
• The hooves of the goats should be pliable, strong, and not brittle, cracked, or flattened.
• The goats should be able to work smoothly without limping.
• Unscrupulous and dubious farmers at the farmers market or the local goat’s farm are found drugging their goats. You should be on the lookout for unnecessarily hyperactive goats. The goats could be drug to appear to look healthy.
• The source of goats for your farm should be a reputable farm or farmer with a good track record

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You can source for your goats in the following places:

#1. From Your Neighbors

This is more common with those living in rural or semi-urban areas. You can approach your neighbors that keep goats to buy some if they intend to sell some.

Sourcing for your goats through this medium has a reasonable success rate. This is because you are familiar with both your neighbor and his flock.

Probably you are used to seeing the goats you want to buy in good health.

Besides any neighbor that values the importance of good neighborliness will not want to sell an unproductive animal to his fellow neighbor.

#2. The Local Goats and Livestock Markets

The local goats and livestock markets are where you have the good, the bad, and the ugly. All manner of livestock’s are been brought here for sale.

You have to be very observant by putting all your vital senses into use to thoroughly inspect the goats you intend to purchase.

Farmers that genuinely want to sell their goats for profits and money will bring them to the markets for sale.

And those that have goats have some hidden ailments or goats that are barren unproductive will also bring them for sale.

Even the unscrupulous farmers that drug their animals so that they will appear healthy will bring them to these markets.

Even stolen animals will find their way into the markets. In my opinion, this is the last place to source goats for your goat’s farm.

A local rural goats market

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#3. You Can Source for Goats from a Goat Farmer (in his goat’s farm).

Visiting a goat farm gives you firsthand information on goat farming best practices. This could be a very tricky one.

It depends on the rapport between you and the goat’s farmer, most farmers will often want to sell their less productive animals.

Telling the farmer what you want, and the farmer allowing you to inspect what you want to buy will always lead to a fair deal that will be beneficial to both parties.

READ: 8 Solid Ways Goat Farming Can Lift You Out of Poverty

#4. Government Agricultural Research Institutes (This includes Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education)

Most Government Research Institutes are saddle with the responsibility of producing healthy and productive farm animals through genetic and selective breeding.

From time to time Government Research Institute has a good product to sell to the general public. And this could be an avenue to source goats for your farm.

Well-funded government Agricultural Research Institutes and organizations are a good place to source goats for your farm. Because of the high level of expertise.

READ ALSO: Why Duck Farming is a Good Alternative to Chicken Farming

#5. From The Farmers Markets

A farmers market is basically a congregation of both the farmers and the consumers where fresh fruits, vegetables, farm produce, and livestock are sold.

It could be indoors or outdoors and typically consist of stands, tables or makeshift shops for the displays of their various farm produce.

It is a good place to source goats for your farms because most of the livestock brought to this market are usually healthy and good-looking.

All the same, visual inspection is still very necessary to rule out sick and unhealthy farm animals.