Meat and Livestock Australia

22 Husbandry While goats are a low input enterprise by nature, over the past five years Greg has further reduced the animal husbandry activities he undertakes. In the past, all bucks were castrated in order to focus genetic selection on superior animals and reduce fighting and associated transport difficulties. Greg also ran a number of on-farm trials in which he found castrated bucks would achieve carcass weights approximately 1.5 kg greater than entire bucks at the same age (10-11 months). Greg still attests to the benefits of castration, but now only castrates bucks if they display particularly undesirable characteristics. This is due to Muslim markets’ preference for entire males. Goats are joined year round, with everything mustered and sale stock drafted and sold in April and December. Kids remain with the breeding herd until they are sold, with retained does often kidding themselves before they reach one year old. With this in mind, Greg is very mindful to avoid selling heavily pregnant does due to animal welfare concerns and the obvious economic sense of allowing them to kid. Wild dogs are a growing concern for Greg, with the first dog tracks spotted in 2014. No dog predation impacts have yet been felt but Greg and other producers in the region have become actively involved in coordinated group baiting. By baiting dogs across such a broad area and in a coordinated, regular fashion, Greg believes they have the best chance of controlling them. When preparing sale stock, Greg musters two days before goats are due to be trucked, feeding lucerne hay over-night. As Greg has previously transported his own stock, he observed how stock that had been mustered nearer to the trucking date or not had access to hay over night were far more prone to go down on the truck. Greg feels that this keeps stock more calm and comfortable as they aren’t hungry and avoids having them full of water only. He notes that some processors have also begun feeding hay while goats are being held. Breeding In the past, Greg spent many years working to incorporate Boer genetics into his rangeland herd by buying in bucks and crossing over his does. During this time he struggled with poor survivability of boers and low joining rates. However he was successful in developing a composite herd with improved growth rates and dressing percentage. During this period of sustained genetic selection, Greg was achieving 49 to 51 per cent dressing. Over the last three years Greg has found it too difficult to maintain the influence of Boer goats due to an inability to source the quality and quantity of animals required. This has resulted in a reduction of two kg in average carcass weight, with dressing percentages back to 44 to 45 per cent. This decline has also been compounded by the genetic dilution caused by leaving most bucks entire. Within herd selection of well-structured animals does ensure that a quality line of animals is maintained. Priority characteristics are frame size, good feet and a sound udder. In Greg’s experience, the vast majority of boer goat breeders are located in higher rainfall areas and are primarily breeding goats to meet show ring or hobby farm requirements. This has resulted in the development of animals that are often structurally poor and have had no selection pressures placed on performance in a rangeland environment. They are often developed by hobby farmers with a limited understanding of stock breeding principals and the commercial requirements of the broader goat industry. New loading race at Bushley Station