Goat Reproduction Management

Credits: Biovision-Infonet

There are many different aspects to herd management. Improving your herd needs good planning and focus on what needs to be achieved. The following table gives some data on different goat breeds that are useful to keep in mind when planning herd improvement. Some breeds have higher twinning rates than others (Prolificacy: Anything above 1.00 means there is a twin or triplets – the higher the number the better chance.) It can be seen that Toggenburg and Boer goats have the highest chances of twinning (1.80-2.00 ) In below table it is assumed that all goats are fed properly. Poor feeding affects fertility very negatively, and increases abortion rates and kidding rates as well as survival if kids. 

Table: Goat breeds and their fertility ascpects

Breed	Fertility	Fertility	Fertility	Litter size )	Birth weight (kg)	Weaning weight (kg)
	Age at first mating (day)	Kidding interval (days)	Kidding rate (%)	Number of kids
Angora				1.00	2.4-3.4	18.1
Boer				1.20-1.80
E.A. goat	458-655	399+-256	65	0.95-1.10	3.0	6.3
Galla	425-598	411+- 189	72	1.03	3.6	10.3
Kenya Alpine	135-504	392+-164	78	1.44	3.1	16.3
Saaneen	291		81	1.13-1.50	3.1	12.9
Toggenburg	547-572	302+-117	86	1.80-2.00	3.3	19.0

(c) Andrew G. Marete 

Reproduction and Fitness traits

In all breeds, fertility is affected by level of nutrition, the age at first mating and kidding interval and it has been reported that kitting interval in local breeds is shorter than in exotic dairy breeds.

• Fertility – refers to the number of parturitions (births) per female of breeding age. It can be calculated as:
  Fertility Rate (called kidding rate in above table) = (total of kidding females/Total of females at mating)*100%   
• Prolificacy and twinning – Prolificacy refers to the litter size and is defined as the number of progeny born per parturition. It can be calculated as:Prolificacy rate = (Total of births/Total of Kidding females)*100

Inspection and evaluation of a goat 

After determining the breed and sex of the goat the next useful step is to examine the teeth. Breakdown of the teeth is a very common reason for culling small stock under range management, as poor quality teeth will affect the ability to browse and feed well. 
The Galla goats have very strong teeth well able to keep them healthy during a long life. Worn teeth indicate old age. Goats which do not have healthy teeth cannot feed properly, and will not gain weight at the expected rates. Neither will they be good breeding stock. Make sure the lower teeth meet evenly with the upper teeth. 

Table: Ageing goats by their teeth

Age	Teeth
Under 1 year old	milk teeth
1 – 1 1/2 years old	2 teeth
2 years old	4 teeth
2 1/2 years old	6 teeth
1 1/2 – 3 years old	Full mouth
Over 3 years old	Worn teeth
Aged	Gumming

(c) Andrew G. Marete 

The Buck
 

In all breeds, the best predictor of a buck’s fertility is testicular weight as indicated by scrotal circumference. Although sperm is produced all year, ejaculate volume increases between January to March and June to October due mainly to the changing day length (photoperiod).

Reproduction in Bucks 

Puberty can be defined as the time when spermatozoa are in the ejaculate,the age will be 3 to 5 months for bucks. Sexual activity in bucks commences with the formation of spermatozoa and the fluids which together comprise semen. The sperms are stored in the epididymis where they can remain fertile for up to 40 days and retain their motility up to about 60 days. Beyond this time they disintegrate and are absorbed

Nutrition has a large effect on a buck’s libido, semen volume, sperm count per ejaculate, and percentage of live sperm, sperm motility, semen fructose concentration and percentage of abnormal spermatozoa. In a similar way nutrition levels can have dramatic effects of does. A sudden availability of good feed for example can induce oestrus and ovulation rates and an increase in multiple births. Conversely severe under nutrition can cause the cessation of all reproductive processes. However, in Angora goats, the biggest factor influencing multiple births is pre-breeding nutrition and flushing does before breeding.

Do not use bucks with one or no testicles for breeding. Also those with swollen testicles should be refrained from breeding. A breedingbuck should have 2-8 hard teeth. Breeding bucks should have superior qualities, such as body size and muscle conformation and for Saanen breeds they should have horns. A noisy buck is said to be a useful buck.

Buck preparation for breeding season

A breeding buck needs good quality roughage as well as 0.45 – 0.9 kg concentrate (depending on size of buck) to keep him healthy. Feeding should be enough to keep its weight steady but not too fat. A fat buck will not be active. Give more feed two months before the buck goes to serve the does. This will improve the buck’s sperm and make it more active. When a buck is being used a lot to serve does, it should be separate from other goats for about 2-3 hrs per day to allow time to eat as well as serve the does. Lots of fresh and clean water needed all the time must be able to lick the mineral at any time.

• The live-weight of the buck should be estimated (weighed or weight-taped) and body condition judged 3 months prior to breeding. This will give you time to build up its weight and body condition before breeding season if it is not adequate. 
• The body condition score should be 3-3.5. If it is higher or lower than that, adjust feed to achieve correct score before entering breeding season. 
• Just prior to breeding season, clip excessively long hair from underside 
• Trim feet 
• Check ease of movement. Does the buck have trouble walking? Hip or leg pain? If so, he will not be able to mount the does. Try to cure it or, if prognosis is not good, find another buck. 
• If you buy a herd right before breeding season and the buck is too fat, do not put him on a diet at that time. Keep feed steady, and make sure you don’t feed any extra feed. Move food and water apart so he gets exercise. He will also run off excess weight chasing does.

The scrotum 

Scrotal circumference should be at least 25-28 cm at 45 kg of body weight. 
Scrotal circumference predicts the fertility of daughters, so you want a buck with a large scrotum.
Make sure both sides of the scrotum are the same size, are smooth and lump-free and are well attached. 
The scrotum should not have two separate oblong chambers, but instead, one chamber with an indentation between the two areas.

Number of does serviced per buck

1 full grown buck can service 50 does. He should not service his own daughters, grand daughters, mother, grandmother and sisters. 

Signs that the buck is ready for breeding

A buck will coat his front legs and beard with urine. He will do anything in his power to get to the does in heat, including breaking down fences. He can be dangerous during this period, so don’t ever turn your back on him, and especially if you are trying to remove does from his pen. It is best to put does on a long leash before putting them in his pen. That way you can pull them back out of the pen without having to go into the pen to get them. 

Note: DO NOT “play” with young bucks. If you do, they may well become a nuisance when they are mature. A mature adult can weigh up to 80 kgs, may have large horns and could be a liability if he grows up thinking humans are “play things”.

The Doe

The udder should be soft to the touch with two functional teats. Any hardness is a sign the doe has had previous problems most likely with mastitis. A doe with a damaged udder may not be able to produce enough milk to feed her young ones. Look for good strong legs. Weak or bent hind legs will make the goat unable to feed on good browse. Blind females will not be able to find good food in a range style management.

Desirable Characteristics in the Doe
 
1) She should be a large animal – not related to the breeding buck, excellent on conformation with a well developed body which displays the particular breed characteristics
2) For meat goats the rectangular conformation of the “blocky” meat animal should be apparent. The dairy animal should display the wedge shaped conformation typical of a good dairy animal.
3) She should be a twin (in order to pass on the twin trait)
4) She should be of a good temperament, particularly for dairy goats. Docility and good mothering ability are good features.
5) She should be a good milker; for dairy goats records of performance of the dam can give information about milking ability.

Sex Ratio: The sex ratio gives an indication of the proportion of males to females born for individual breeds of goats. The ratio is weighted more in favour of males than females for horned goats. The reverse is the case for polled breeds (such as Saanen). In the case of Saanen however, abnormal ratios occur with the production of intersexes or hermaphrodites. This is due to the presence of a dominant gene which prevents horn growth and is closely associated with abnormal development in polled does. Males, whether polled or horned, are normal. In view of this it is important to mate only polled females to horned males or polled males to horned females to reduce the production of polled females.

Feeding Does

 1. Pregnant dry does should be fed so as to rebuild any lost body reserves, provide for the developing fetus and to build some reserve fat before kidding. Free access to good pasture and roughage plus concentrates at 0.2-0.7 kg per day, depending on condition of doe. Yearling does should be fed enough for maintenance and growth but not enough to fatten them i.e., 0.2 – 0.7 kg per day should be sufficient to obtain the desired growth rate. Browse, good pasture and high quality hay and a place to exercise are desirable.2. As pregnancy progresses, the nutritional demands of the female increase. If the goat is heavily pregnant towards the end of the dry season, 4 things will happen at the same time: 

• The food value of the forage decreases every day as the dry season continues
• The nutritional demands of the unborn kid (fetus) is growing daily 
• As the fetus grows, the volume of the uterus expands, thus reducing the room available in the stomach to store and digest food 
• As the female’s body weight increases, the stress on her legs become greater and her ability to browse and find good feed is reduced.

Stress and rough handling during this period can cause the female to abort, and part of the stress is the poor quality of the feed available. Therefore it is important to look for good cheap feed for these pregnant does. This is a bad time to transport goats (to livestock shows or for sale) as the stress can cause abortion. 

If possible the pregnant does should also have access to mineral salt blocks, shade and plenty clean drinking water. 

Age at first mating: Females should have at least two hard teeth (18 months of age) before being mated. If mated younger with too low body weight, this may result in aborting or inability to feed and care for the kid(s). As a result of such early mating, the female’s body growth will be stunted, and the kids will grow poorly and be of little value.  

Mating usually takes place during the rainy seasons, ensuring enough feed for the young ones during the next rainy season. 

Gestation period: 148-160 days. 

Once mating has taken place the doe should be observed for 21 days and again at 42 days to check for return of heat. After 42 days she should be considered pregnant (in kid.)

Management of breeding does

The management of the breeding doe is related to 3 separate physiological stages.1. The dry period (weaning to mating) – approximately 3 months
2. The pregnancy period (mating to kidding) – approximately 5 months
3. The lactation period (kidding to weaning) – until 2 months into next pregnancy 

 If a doe does not dry off naturally the farmer should, at approximately 2 months into next pregnancy, strip the goat of her milk in the evening and apply 1 tube to each teat of “Dry Cow” – (in organic goat this is not allowed: no preventive use of antibiotics). The goat should not be milked again, even if the udder appears to fill. She will now be ‘dried off’ in preparation for her next delivery.

The Dry Period 

A dairy goat’s milk production will drop at approximately 8 weeks after conception and, by approximately 14 weeks, she may dry herself off. 

The doe is least productive during the dry period. At this time the doe recovers from the stresses of the previous pregnancy and lactation. The endocrine system is readjusting to the next service period and pregnancy.

Table: Average daily mineral and trace element requirements for different categories of goat

Category	DM	Ca	P	Mg	Na	K	Cl	S	Cu	Co	Mo	J	Zn	Mn	Fe	Se
	Kg	g	g	g	g	g	g	g	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg
young, pregnant	1.6	3.6	3	1.6	0.6	7	1	2.4	18.6	0.16	0.16	0.5	26.7	72	100	0.23
Pregnant	1.7	3.7	3.2	1.7	0.7	7.3	1	2.55	20	0.2	0.17	0.5	28	68	92	0.17
2 kg milk	2.7	6	8	3	2.1	17	7.4	5	27	0.25	0.25	0.5	60	98	28	0.3
3 kg milk	2.7	8	10	3.8	2.7	21	8.6	5.4	31	0.27	0.27	0.5	66	108	29	0.3

Pregnancy Period 

The development of the fetus for the first 3 months of pregnancy is a slow process and no appreciable increase in the food requirement is needed.During the last 4 – 6 weeks before kidding however, the growth of the fetus is sufficiently rapid to deplete the food reserves o the doe. Thus the quantity and quality of the feed given over this period should be sufficient to meet the requirements of the foetus as well as those of the dam in preparation for parturition. 

She will need more food to keep herself and the unborn kid growing. By the time she is due to kid she should be receiving as much as you would expect her to need as a milker. The last week prior to kidding, add more bran to her mixture. 

At 6 weeks before kidding (16 weeks gestation) there will be a softening around the tail. This is because the pelvic bones are softening in preparation for the birth. The udder will start to expand. At the time of kidding the udder will fill rapidly and harden. If the bag becomes too full, and hard, milk must be taken off or she may develop mastitis and the kid may not be able to suckle.

Good feeding during pregnancy produces greater development of udder tissue and ensures a high milk i potential. A higher level of food offered for the last 2 months of pregnancy has the following advantages:

1. Low doe and kid mortality.

2. The kids are given a weight advantage at birth.

3. Milk flow in the doe is increased causing a greater live weight gain in the kid and thus a heavier live weight of adult stock.

It is important that during this period there should be no drastic changes of feed. Any change must be done gradually in order to allow adaptation. Water and mineral licks should be provided at all times.

During this period pregnant does are housed in large pens. Towards the end of pregnancy, individual does can be confined to pens where the kids are born. Where the floor is made of timber or concrete it is advantageous to use hay to make the doe more comfortable. 

It is high recommended that goats are kept off the ground on slatted floors and not on a concrete floor as they do not drain properly, are uncomfortable and cold (see housing). After weaning, the does can be divided into two or three groups, and fed according to their condition. With small numbers, the animals can be hand fed individually. All does should, however, be exposed to a rising plane of nutrition, a process referred to as flushing in preparation for pregnancy. Flushing stimulates the number of ova shed, thus increasing the potential for more eggs to be fertilized and resulting in higher kidding percentages.

Reproduction in Does 

Excitement in does occurs periodically and is under endocrinal control. At periods of excitement the doe is said to be in heat or oestrus. Oestrus is brought about by ovarian activity under control of the anterior pituitary gland. In the tropics (i.e., EA) oestrus activity is greater than in temperate climates, indicating the effect of high temperature on the endocrine system. Indigenous goats tend to have continuous oestrus cycles, whilst exotic breeds tend not to have entirely continuous cycles.

The average length of oestrus cycle is 18 to 21 days but it can vary from 18 to 24 days. The presence of the male can trigger oestrus.

Oestrus in does is characterised by the following symptoms: 

1. Continuous bleeding
2. Wagging of the tail rhythmically from side to side
3. Redness and swelling of the vulva
4. Mucus discharge from the vulva
5. Mounting of other goats, and allowing mounting by others
6. A lack of interest in feeding
7. A drop in milk production in some lactating does.

Ovulation occurs 12 to 36 hours after the start of oestrus and mating should be arranged accordingly. There appears to be no obvious rhythm in sexual activity during pregnancy and the interval between heats during gestation cannot be predicted.

Body condition

Good breeding goats should not be thin and nor should they be allowed to carry too much fat. Thin goats will not come into heat, if mated they will either abort or reabsorb the foetus into the body at an early stage. Those who manage to give birth may not be able to feed and rear a kid satisfactorily. The dairy goat is naturally more leaner than a meat goat.

Selling/Retiring animals
 

At the start of each breeding season or in the case of ASAL areas, at the end of each rainy season when a drought is expected, a good goat manager inspects his/her flock and determines which ones are to be sold (for meat or fattening by other farmers/pastoralists with more grazing available). Unproductive and unwanted goats are eliminated from the flock in order to improve the level of productivity. This enables the breeder to maintain the flock at a high level of productivity. A good alternative is also to retire the unproductive animals and take care of them until they die a natural death. This is respectful to the animal. individual sentient beings whose lives deserve to be respected and valued. For this it is best to keep them apart from the reproducing flock.

Starting with the poorest animals, the following are traits that should be avoided in a prosperous breeding herd:

• females with poor udders
• females who have been barren for 2 or more breeding cycles 
• females with a history of aborting
• skinny females
• animals with poor teeth (dry season browsing need good teeth)
• bucks with faulty testicles
• bucks with physical deformities
• shy and timid bucks (seen to be poor breeders)

Breeding and management of kids
 

Planned breeding programs yield the best results when the breeder considers the individual production characteristics in goats and how they can be passed on to offspring. The breeder must also be able to match these characteristics to consumer requirements.

Mating systems

Mating systems are descriptions of who mates with whom in the animal world. In simplest terms, definitions of mating systems are based on how many mates an individual acquires during the breeding season. There are two types of mating systems, inbreeding and outbreeding. Unless planned, inbreeding can occur over generations.

DEFINITION: Inbreeding

Inbreeding is the mating of individuals that are related. In the broad sense, all members of a breed are related. As a result, any seed stock producer is practicing some inbreeding. Therefore, generally the term inbreeding is reserved for the mating of animals that are more closely related than the average of the breed.

Inbreeding can have dramatic effects on a herd. Most animals carry undesirable genes that usually remain hidden unless the animal is inbred. An inbred individual is more likely to express undesirable genes, and hence, undesirable traits. Inbreeding does not create undesirable recessive genes, but it does tend to bring to light these unfavorable genetics. This leads to a decline in average productive performance called inbreeding depression.

Effect of Inbreeding in a Herd

Inbreeding is nearly unavoidable in herds since it is frequently difficult to find new breeding stocks that are not, at least partially, related to animals in an existing herd. Care should be taken to keep inbreeding at a fairly low level by avoiding mating of brothers (bucks) with sisters, daughters and granddaughters nor with mother and grandmother. Close mating within small herds or family groups not only produce rapid inbreeding buildup and, hence, depression, but can produce random losses of desirable genes.

If inbreeding builds up, the first economic effect will be fewer offspring available to sell. In addition, the offspring will have poorer performance and will not be as attractive to customers interested in performance. Other complications of inbreeding can include stillbirth, abortion, haircoat abnormalities and malformation.

Inbreeding affects the rate of genetic improvement in several ways. There may be a small increase in heritability (pre-potency: the degree to which a sire or dam will pass his or her characteristics consistently). This is more than counteracted by the decline in selection intensity and loss of genetic variation. Selection intensity is a function of the proportion of sires and dam candidates that are actually selected. Selection will be less intense since more sires and heifers will be needed as replacements, and there will be fewer from which to choose. Furthermore, the variation will be less among the animals since inbreeding reduces intraline genetic variation.

Table: Comparisons of Mating Systems

Trait	Inbreeding Trait	Outbreeding
Uniformity	Good	Poor
Fertility	Poor (to good with selection)	Good
Growth	Poor ( to good with selection)	Good
Predictability	Good	Poor
Overall vigor	Poor ( to good with selection)	Good
Longevity	Moderate	Good

Table; Some choices of breeding strategy for different producer goals

Goal  Uniform offspring Supreme show goats Rapid growth meat kids

Inbreeding  Good choice with selection Poor in most cases Moderate at best

Outbreeding  Good in first cross, then poor Good if non-uniform goats Good to excellent

N/B: THERE IS NO ROOM FOR PRACTICING INBREEDING IN SMALL-HOLDER FARMING.

Objectives for Breeding Plans

Distinct objectives are essential to a breeding plan. The breeder must aim to improve productivity of meat, milk, fibre or skins or some combination of these with the resources of the farm. She or he should not aim at very demanding breeds while the requirements cannot be met in management, including feeding. It is better to aim at an animal that fits the circumstances and keeps healthy than to choose high producing animals that are constantly unbalanced and struggling. The definition of objectives concerning productivity from goats is related to the characteristics of the product and the characteristics of the goat. The latter include the following: 

• Reproduction rate – litter size per birth or per year 
• High efficiency of feed conversion – translating to rapid growth rate for kids. 
• Better milk yields
• Bigger body size 
• For angora goats: Better fibre quality or body size 

The first 2 characteristics are assessed simultaneously as the weight of kid weaned per unit of feed consumed by does.

Both quantity and quality must go together for efficient production. High growth rate and production of the maximum number of goats for slaughter should be associated with an acceptable distribution of fat i.e., sufficient to improve the quality of the meat but not so much as to have a low consumer preference.

The phenotypic expression of characteristics refers to the physical manifestation of a gene, i.e. the observable trait. Thus the length of ear in a goat is the phenotypic expression of the genes that regulate ear length. The breeder can only plan according to the trait observed. Repeatability and heritability are two kinds of observation that the breeder can use.

Predictability:

Involves repeatability and heritability. This refers to the permanence and constancy of a phenotype from one observation to the next and from parent to offspring respectively.  

Improving the Herd

The genetic quality of goats in East Africa is often low and thus productivity is low. This is partly due to the inadequate identification of productive characteristics in individual breeds that could be exploited and selected for in order to increase productivity. Another reason for genetically low quality and low production is that these “low” demanding goats better fit the farm circumstances. Planned breeding is the exception rather than the norm in most of East Africa. Even where promising characteristics are identified, inadequate selection and the absence of a long term sustained effort mean that breeding practice is poor. Goat breeding in East Africa relies on substitution or modification and/or grading-up.

Substitution

Substitution refers to the replacement of existing breeds with introduced breeds. This is usually a large scale operation and very expensive. This method is advantageous under the following circumstances: 

• where the existing population of indigenous goats is small 
• where level of productivity of indigenous goats is low 
• where the requirement of animal protein from goats is urgent and demands accelerated development. 
• where the ecological environment is suitable for large scale goat production. 

It is rarely desirable to get rid of the existing population of indigenous goats. Native breeds are well adapted to their environment, have good disease resistance and high fertility. These qualities can be exploited in breeding plans. Large scale introduction is done in order to increase numbers, and to improve the quality of the indigenous breeds. In this way crossbreeds are substituted for the native breeds.

Grading-up

Grading-up is the genetic quality of indigenous breeds is probably the most popular and widely used herd improvement method in East Africa. This involves the importation of an improved breed. This breed is then used to produce increasing proportions of its characteristics in successive generations. It should be noted that there is a number of generations between the first cross and the grade does. The variation in the genotypes produced is quite considerable and necessitates culling to maintain uniformity of the herd.

Grading-up indigenous goats with one or more temperate breeds is common in East Africa. Likewise one or more dairy breeds have been used to grading-up indigenous goats for milk production. Probably the best example of upgraded goats are the indigenous goats of East Africa with imported Swiss and German dairy goats.

It is pointless keeping a buck unless he is going to improve your herd. It takes up the same amount of space and eats the same amount of food as a quality goat. Alternatively, use a “rotation buck” or take your does to a quality buck on another farm.

Practical Applications of improving goat herds:

Objective for improving the herd might include:

• Breeding for increased milk yield and twinning ability e.g. crossing and grading ?up of the East African goat with an exotic breed such as is the case of 
• The Kenya Alpine dairy goat: contains Alpine blood. (Both German Alpine and French Alpine) 
• The Toggenburg goat: contains Toggenburg blood for increased milk production. 
• Breeding for increased milk, meat production and increased disease resistance
• The Kenya Dual Purpose goat ( please link to Dual Purpose breeds above)

Crossbreeding

Crossbreeding refers to the crossing or mating of two pure breeds, but the term is frequently extended to include the progeny of purebred sires and crossbred females. When two purebreds are used, characteristics of the first cross animal should show:

• Outstanding individual merit 
• Intermediate expressions between the parent types 
• Resemblance to one or other of the parent types 

Crossbreeding of goats is widely practiced throughout East Africa, especially between indigenous goats and Toggenburg and French/German Alpine breeds for improved milk production.

• It should be the objective of the breeder to produce offspring superior to both parents. This is achieved when the progeny resulting from crosses demonstrate extra or improved performance above the average of the parents (heterosis or hybrid vigor). 
• There is no doubt that crossbreeding is an important method of commercial goat production. The vigour, thrift and general excellence of the first cross goat are features that are especially apparent and which can be measured accurately in terms of increased returns. As goat production becomes more intensive for both meat and milk production.

Reproductive Behaviour 

Planned breeding requires an understanding of the characteristics in goats that are transmitted from generation to generation. It concerns the genetics of entire goat populations. One objective of animal breeding is to increase the frequencies of desirable genes so as to achieve the ideal genotype which will give the characteristics required in the population.  

In practice, however, breeding for the ideal type is not easily realized. There is tremendous genetic variability inherent in individual breeds of goats. Most of the characteristics that are important to the animal are influenced by other factors as well as by the genes and are, therefore, highly susceptible to mainly environmental factors over which the breeder has no control. 

Live weight at a given age, or milk yield per lactation are two traits of economic significance that can be manipulated by use of the quantitative data. Qualitative traits such as presence or absence of horns are also of some importance in animal breeding. In the Saanen breed for example, the gene for polledness is associated with hermaphrodistim and polled goats should be avoided in breeding programs. Horn bucks are generally used.

Puberty

Puberty in goats as in other farm livestock is the period when the animal becomes sexually mature. It precedes adulthood, and is reached at an age which varies considerably from breed to breed and also among individuals within a breed dependent on the circumstances the animals are raised. In goats, sexual maturity is reached quite early, but mating should be delayed to ensure that the doe is able to accommodate the foetus without having to compete with available nutrients for her own growth. 

In S. Africa, it has been demonstrated that puberty in male Boer goats was reached at 157.5 days old (22.5 weeks) and counts of morphologically normal sperms rose from 36.5% to 89.8% in the 8th week. 

Breeding Periodicity

Natural breeding cannot be accomplished until goats mate and reproduce. Bucks and does, therefore, must be brought together when they are considered to be sufficiently mature. Mating is also conditioned by various environmental factors, including nutritional state, ambient temperature and the use of artificial insemination (AI) (not readily available in East Africa). In bucks, libido or sexual excitement is exceptional high, while does are more passive.

Kidding

• The first sign of kidding is swelling of the udder a week before the kidding
• Uneasiness, including restlessness, sitting down and getting up and smelling the ground. When this happens, kidding can be expected to occur within 1 – 2 hours.
• Appearance of the water bag
• Appearance of part of the kid
• Onset of contraction

The appearance and method of presentation of the kid determines whether the doe needs any help. Abnormal presentation includes the following: 

• One leg held back
• Two legs held back
• Kid upside down
• Back to front presentation

Whilst birth is a natural process it should be observed carefully since many births are multiple. Note: After delivery watch for the afterbirth. This should be removed and buried or burnt.It is advisable NOT to let the doe eat the afterbirth. A doe in distress must be given time to help herself before she is assisted. It is important to ensure that ALL kids are removed from the womb of the doe.

There are 3 basic rules in successful kidding management: 

• Hygiene. Kidding area must be clean. Make sure the female is in a clean dry place when she gives birth and that she moves there some time before the expected kidding to avoid stress.
• Shade. The kidding should take place under a shelter or shade. A new born kid has a small body size and is born wet. In a cold environment the evaporation of the birth fluids from the skin can drop the body temperature of the kid very quickly, and unless the mother or handler can dry the kid quickly, it will die with cold. In wet cold conditions a kid can die in 10 minutes. In arid and semi-arid areas on the other hand the temperatures in direct sunlight can easily be above 40degC and kill the kid by too much heat. Therefore a clean shady place should be provided for the kidding doe. 
• Water. At the time of kidding the doe will loose a lot of body liquids very quickly. She will also start producing milk and it is essential that kidding doe have enough clean drinking water available to restore the liquid balance in the body. 

Management of Breeding Bucks

Male goats are fertile at an early stage and, consequently, it is usual for them to be managed separately. Bucks exude capric and caproic acids in their coat, which can contaminate milking buckets and cause odours in the milk. It is advisable, therefore, to house the bucks separately. The buck must be kept in good condition and fed adequate amounts of feed. An underfed buck will become sluggish. Exercise is important and provision should be made, where possible for them to have access to a yard.  

Ear Marking 

When this is done at weaning it causes least interference. Two types of ear marking are generally practiced:

• Tattoo: The usual method of tattooing is when tattoo marks are pierced on the inside of the ear and rubbed with Indian ink. The imprint lasts for a long time.
• Tags: Ear tags can be clipped on the ear of the kids. The tags are made of metal or plastic and individual goats identities can be printed on the tags. The tags often fall off so that this is not the most reliable method.

Other Methods: Paint or ink can be used to mark the side of the animal. This has the disadvantage of not being permanent and of possible damage to the skin. A string or cord bearing a tag can be placed round the neck of the animal but the tags fall off easily, particularly if the string is not of good quality.

Castration 

Goats are castrated when they are surplus to breeding requirements and destined for slaughter. Castration of male goats eliminates odours in the meat, rendering it more palatable. The following methods of castration are practiced usually at weaning when the animals suffer least.

• Knife: this is a crude method and is NOT to be encouraged. The testicles are removed with a knife. It is IMPORTANT to use disinfectant to seal the wound. Care should also be taken not to include the two tiny ‘teats’ near the base of the testicles.
• Searing Iron: A searing iron, heated either by burning in the fire or in an oxy-acetylene flame is gently used on the scrotum. The heat also seals the wound and prevents any entry of germs. The kid needs to be restrained and help upside down during this operation. It should be noted that both above are extremely painful and stressful to the kid and should be avoided where possible.
• Bloodless Castration: Two techniques are employed here:
  • Use the Burdizzo castrator which crushes the spermatic fords.
  • Use of rubber rings. Tiny rubber rings about 1 cm in diameter are placed over the scrotum of the male kid. The pressure of the rubber ring in association with the growth of the kid restricts the blood supply eventually causing the testicles to dry up and fall off. When this happens it is important to check that there is not an open wound.