Feedlotting Goats.

In this article is a discussion of what you need to know to operate a commercial goat feedlot.

What is lotfeeding?

Feedlotting is the confining of grazing animals, in this case goats, for intensive management; primarily for the optimal growth necessary for the preparation of animals for slaughter.

What problems may occur?

The key problems associated with managing goats in a feedlot include:

• The high occurrence of malnourishment and exhaustion, aggression and disease induced by stress.
• The difficulty of containing agile animals, particularly individual goats that have little respect for normal stock fences or have had little or minimal handling prior to pre-feedlot habituation.
• Specific handling techniques required to move and care for goats.
• The unique nutritional requirements of these animals.

Define your specific outcomes including determining your access of feedlot goats to markets, the potential profitability of feedlotting under your conditions, and contingency plans in case you decide that feedlotting is unprofitable.

If feedlotting is not likely to be profitable or advantageous, then it may be better to either sell your goats without feedlotting them, maintain them on poor quality pastures until quality fodder crops and/or pastures become available or agist your goats.

Costs of feedlotting goats.

Once the feedlot itself is established, the purchase of stock and the cost of feeding will be the major economic outlays . Feed can cost over $200 per tonne, and even between September and March when goats grow best, it will take between 7kg and 14kg of feed to produce 1kg of carcase. Naturally, such estimates vary seasonally and with locality. Vaccinations and drenching, running the feedlot, including staff and transport, slaughter and processing, plus risk assessment, mortality and market guarantees, costs should be considered before proceeding.

Selecting goats for your feedlot.

Loss of stock due to poor pre-feedlot selection may result in significant economic losses. Some selection criteria are;

1. Identification – by law, goats cannot be sold or held without appropriate identification. This may take the form of earmarking, tattooing or a plastic ear tag.
2. Body condition – goats in a feedlot must be in good physical condition. Feedlots are used to finish goats for slaughter, not to revive goats in poor condition. Utilising a feedlot to revive goats is unprofitable and poses a risk that disease may spread if the animals are in poor condition on entry to the feedlot.
3. Temperament – do not choose ‘wild’ or skittish goats for a feedlot. Even with pre-feedlot habituation, a goat that does not respect fences or will not tolerate interaction with humans will not perform well in a feedlot.
4. Conformation – choose goats with good conformation. This includes a natural shaped back and good feet. In a feedlot, animals undergo a rapid increase in liveweight which places more pressure on their limbs and therefore the selected goats must not show signs of lameness from weight bearing. If a goat is limping, check between the hooves for abscesses, foot rot or soft-tissue damage. If the hoof is healthy, then check the leg for muscle, tendon or skeletal damage.
5. Age – lotfeeding is designed to maximise the growth of young goats during their rapid growth phase of development, around 6 months of age, or the first summer after birth. Lotfeeding is of little benefit to older goats and although they will respond well to high-quality feed and intensive management, their liveweight gains are less. Two good indicators of age are; horn size, which is breed-dependent but generally the larger the horns, the older the goat, and the number of adult teeth. Goats are similar to sheep where each additional adult tooth approximately equals an extra six months of age up to maturity.
6. Mouth — check the mouths of goats for overshot or undershot jaws, and look for ‘broken-down’ teeth because these may impede feed intake.
7. Entry liveweight – markets determine the entry liveweight or carcase weight of goats being finished in the feedlot. Your markets’ requirements should be defined before the start of lotfeeding.
8. Castration status – in a feedlot, entire males are likely to have higher liveweight gains than castrated males.

Pre-feedlot habituation.

Feedlotting of goats includes both a pre-feedlot habituation phase and a feedlot phase. Prior to feedlotting, goats should be habituated to the facilities they will encounter on introduction to the feedlot. Pre-feedlot habituation is a necessary process if your animals are to thrive in feedlot facilities, it reduces stress and encourages animals to eat the maximum amount of feed from their first day in the feedlot. This is particularly important when using goats of feral origin or goats from large extensive husbandry systems due to their ‘flighty’ nature when introduced to intensive management systems. Stressors may include a new ration, high stocking densities compared to extensive grazing, and new facilities and management practices.

Pre-feedlot drenching and vaccinating.

Prior to entry to the habituation yards, each animal should be drenched and vaccinated to control internal parasites and reduce the risk of disease transmission between animals. Do this as the goats are being weighed into the pre-feedlot facility. These handling procedures should accustom goats to the human interactions they will experience in the feedlot.

Stocking density and duration in pre-feedlot habituation.

Goats should be held at about 64 goats per hectare for a period of five days.

Pre-feedlot weighing and identification of shy feeders.

Records of each goat’s performance should be recorded. Weigh the goats at the start of pre-feedlot habituation and periodically to identify the change in liveweight for each goat during the habituation period. If a goat looses weight during this pre-feedlot habituation period, it may indicate the animal’s future performance in the feedlot, poor health status and/or poor adaptation to the ration. If a goat loses excessive weight during the pre-feedlot habituation period then it should not be entered into the feedlot.

Pre-feedlot water and feed ration.

Goats need access to a minimum of 4L of cool, clean water per head per day. This requirement may be greater during summer and lower during winter.

During the pre-feedlot habituation goats are to be grazed on pastures similar to those they have been recently grazing and fed chaff or hay on the first day to provide a safe gut fill being about 2% of liveweight per head, then fed their feedlot ration.

Feedlot

General hygiene provisions.

Feed troughs should be covered to prevent goats from standing in and contaminating the feed. Contaminated or uneaten feed should be removed daily to allow continuous access of fresh feed. Hay, if fed, should be provided in elevated hay racks. Spilled residues must be removed daily to avoid contamination. Constructing a cement pad under the troughs and racks will allow for easier cleaning of spilled feed.

Water troughs should be cleaned every second day. Constructing a cement pad under the troughs will minimise mud and contamination from overflowing water.

Feedlot drenching and vaccinating.

Goats should be treated with the following veterinary chemicals:

7ml of Virbac First MectinDrench™ or any similar drench registered for use on goats to control internal parasites including lung and intestinal worms.

1ml of Ultravac 6 in 1® vaccine at the start of the pre-feedlot habituation period to control the following bacterial diseases;

• Caseous lymphadenitis caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, enterotoxemia caused by Clostridium perfringens type D.
• Veterinary tetanus caused by Clostridium tetani.
• Black disease a non-enteric, clostridial infection caused by sporulated organisms within Kupffer’s cells in the animal’s blood and liver.
• Malignant oedema caused by Clostridium septicum.
• Blackleg caused by Clostridium chauvoei.

Use selected chemicals for control of external parasites such as lice and ticks if necessary.

Treatments may incur withholding periods so carefully read labels before use. Withholding periods vary significantly between treatments and should be known before application. Follow safety precautions. Always read the label.

Weighing goats.

Each goat should be weighed on entry into the feedlot and again each week with the minimum of disturbance. If weekly weighing is likely to cause disturbance, then it may be necessary to weigh less frequently, as disturbances may result in decreased feed intake and decreased performance.

Weighing should occur at the same time after the same practices have occurred; that is, if goats are fed before weighing on one week, then they should be fed before weighing every week for the duration of the feedlotting period. This is to ensure that gut fill is approximately the same at each weighing, and no change in regime occurs that may induce stress among the goats.

Records of liveweight change should be kept for each goat.

Monitoring the health of the goats in the feedlot.

Signs of illness and stress-induced starvation in the goats should be checked daily. If any goat is sick or not eating, it should be removed from the pen and placed in an isolation pen where it is not stressed by competition from many goats and is not able to infect the rest of the feedlot flock.

Sick goats or shy-eaters may be subject to aggressive dominance by other goats. This can be disastrous in a feedlot situation. If in doubt as to the health status of a goat, consult a veterinarian.

Feedlot pen stocking density and pen size.

In a feedlot, goats can be stocked at the equivalent of 1667 goats per hectare as long as a pre-feedlot habituation stage has been undertaken. This stocking density is the equivalent of 5.9m2 per head and is approximately the same as the recommended density for lambs in a feedlot. Pens should be rectangular and approximately 42m by 60m to create manageable groups and to mimic ‘natural’ flock sizes of around 400 goats per pen.

Feedlotting duration.

Goats should not be lotfed for a period exceeding 35 to 42 days, as goats easily get bored and stressed in feedlots. Novel environmental stimulation, toys, helps to reduce boredom and stress. Toys may take the form of a pile of stacked railway sleepers and old car tyres or mounds of soil to climb on, or suspended plastic milk bottles and pipes to mouth and butt. After 35 to 42 days the relative increase in feed costs are likely to exceed any additional liveweight gains and may even make the process unprofitable.

This period may be longer if cheaper feed can be obtained and/or goats are introduced to the feedlot at a lower starting liveweight. However be aware that additional novel environmental stimulation will be required for such animals to combat boredom and stress. Liveweight gains may not be as great after 35 to 42 days.

Currently, premium prices are not paid for big goats. Premium prices are paid for goats that can be sent to specific export markets, this for the majority of the year, is goats around 35kg liveweight.

Water and feed ration/formulation.

Feedlotted goats may require up to 4L water/day. Goats will accept a level of up to 1.5%, 5000mg NaCl/L, of salt in their drinking water if the amount of salt is slowly increased up to this maximum concentration. This will allow the use of water from bores in feedlots. However, clean cool water, with a salt content of less than 2000mg NaCl/L, is preferred as it aids digestion and reduces the risk of introducing water-borne diseases.

Because rapid growth is required, it is usually an advantage to feed a mixture of hay and grain when required. A cereal grain and legume hay is suggested at a ratio of 70:30 cereal grain:hay. Take precautions when starting to grainfeed to minimise the risks of lactic acidosis, liver damage and urinary calculi.

A mash containing a mixture of chaff and grains may provide a complete diet, available in a constant ratio without allowing animals to select components of the diet. This may also ensure that the goats eat the desired energy and protein levels required for rapid growth.

A young, rapidly growing goat can eat over 1.3kg of high quality ration per day and grow at over 200g per day. It is vital that animals are provided with more than this amount of ration if growth is not to be limited. Rations should consist of 90% dry matter (DM), 30 to 35% Neutral Digestible Fibre with a crude protein content between 15% and 17% and a metabolisable energy (ME) content of 9-12 mega joules ME/kg ration (DM). Additives to the ration such as minerals, salt, sodium bentonite, vitamins, urea and a coccidiostat may be required.

Before feedlotting goats, consult an experienced small ruminant nutritionist. In the confines of a feedlot, goats should not have access to toxic shrubs, trees or plants that may poison them.

Construction and facilities.

Pre-feedlot habituation.

Fences.

Goats should be held in a habituation education yard with 7 or 9 strand plain wire electric fences during the pre-feedlot habituation process to teach them to respect fences. The fence should be constructed with alternating live and earth wires, the top wire earth, with the gaps between each wire decreasing down the fence (wires 1-2, at the top, have a gap of 20cm, whereas wires 8-9, at the bottom, have a gap of 5cm). The bottom wire, which is an earth, touches the ground. The fence should be electrified to 9000V. The goats should be stocked at 64 goats per hectare.

Feed and water troughs.

Facilities used during this period, water and feed troughs, should be the same as, or at least very similar to, those to be encountered in the feedlot to help familiarise animals with the eating and drinking facilities in the feedlot. Both feed and water troughs should be designed to be easily cleaned. Water troughs should supply a minimum of 4L of water per goat per day.

Feed troughs should be designed to provide 5cm of trough space per goat with feed when required.

Pen shelter.

Goats need access to shelter from adverse weather conditions. Shelter from the wind, rain, direct sun and cold should be sufficient to cover all goats in the yard at the same time.

Feedlot.

A goat feedlot requires several basic facilities including individual rectangular yards (42 x 60m) each with feed troughs, water troughs, suitable environmental enrichment and a central shelter, running North-South to provide continual protection from the East-West track of the sun, access to laneways leading to handling yards and loading ramps. A feedlot should include at least one, and preferably several, isolation pens with separate water and feed sources, seperate loading ramp and seperate drainage system to avoid any contamination of healthy goats in other pens by sick goats. In many cases, lamb feedlots will be modified to accommodate goats, and this may result in significant savings in establishment costs.

Fences.

Feedlots should be fenced with at least 1100mm high (100 x 50mm mesh) weld mesh topped with fabricated wire netting to create a 1500mm high goat-proof fence. Weld mesh fences need to be checked daily to ensure that no goats have their head caught. No gaps should be left under the weld mesh or other escape routes left available to the goats. Any gap large enough for a goat to put its head through, is large enough to become a potential escape route, or goats may get their heads caught.

Angled strainer posts can be climbed by goats, so posts should be external to the weld mesh. Plain wire electric fences of 9 strands are usable in a feedlot, but are not advised. Do not electrify weld mesh. If goats get their heads caught in an electrified weld mesh fence, it is likely to be fatal.

Feed and water troughs.

Feed troughs, either as open troughs or self-feeders, should be fixed 400mm above the ground with a cover to prevent goats from standing in and contaminating the feed. A minimum rough feed length of 5 cm per head is recommended. Hay racks should be elevated to goat head height. The base of the rack should be approximately 800mm above the ground. Feed troughs do not have to be complicated or expensive. They may be open-style feeders with a cover to prevent goats from jumping into the trough.

Water troughs should be fixed at 400mm above the ground and supply clean water at a minimum rate of 4L of water per goat per day.

Shelter.

Goats do not like rain, extreme heat or extreme cold. The feedlot should provide shelter for goats that protects them from these types of adverse weather conditions. Shelter should be an open awning design that allows for ventilation while still providing sufficient space so that each goat may have shelter during adverse weather, without overcrowding occurring. Shelter should provide 1.0 square metre of space per goat.

The awning of the shelter should extend North-South to provide goats with maximum coverage from the midday sun and also so that the pad can dry out.

For sheltering from cold, the awning should provide a wind break by having walls that prevent the unimpeded flow of air while still facilitating ventilation – for example, short wooden barriers as walls and corrugated iron sheeting, such as the types used in cattle feedlots.

For sheltering from heat, enough space per goat should be provided so that body heat radiation from surrounding goats does not adversely affect the individual.

For protection from wet conditions, adequate floor drainage should be made available and the feedlot should be constructed with a ground slope of 3º to aid drainage.

Pen enrichment.

All pens should be enriched with ‘toys’ to help alleviate boredom and disruptive behaviours in the goats. Toys do not have to be expensive or complex. Toys may take the form of a pile of stacked railway sleepers and old car tyres or mounds of soil to climb on, or suspended plastic milk bottles and pipes to mouth and butt. The addition of a new toy each week should continue to stimulate further interest and prevent boredom.

Licences and location.

In Australia, Government agriculture departments and local shire councils have specific requirements for environmental aspects of feedlotting. These include effluent management, site location and water derivation. Before feedlotting, consult the appropriate local authorities for approval.

The predisposition of a site to environmental and community problems, particularly those caused by groundwater contamination, soil erosion and dust pollution is a vital consideration in assessing its suitability for feedlotting.

The information presented in this article has been sourced from Management guide for lot feeding goats, Mark Flint and Peter Murray, University of Queensland and re-written.