Small stock production: Advice on culling ewes and does

Question: Why are we advised to cull our ewes and does? Surely it’s better to keep all the females for breeding? Keeping all breeding animals can result in less breeding. The aims of farming are to produce food for the farmer’s family and also extra lambs or kids to sell…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Advice on culling ewes and does

Small stock production: Sheep and goats – how to make breeding selections

Breeding to improve animal production entails the upgrading or improvement of a breed in respect of specific characteristics. An expert explains how to do this. Animals that have poor characteristics shouldn’t be used for breeding, but those that have good characteristics should be retained as parents for the next generation of…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Sheep and goats – how to make breeding selections

Small stock production: How to feed your ewes and does

The most important objective of small stock farming is to produce lambs or kids. Most of them are sold and the rest are kept for breeding. To ensure successful breeding, they must be fed properly. Here are some guidelines. The number of lambs or kids that reach weaning or slaughtering…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: How to feed your ewes and does

Small stock production: How to choose the right goat for you

You’ve decided to farm with goats, but how do you know which breed is best? Here’s a guide to selecting the right goat for your needs. The type of goat you buy depends on whether you want to farm with goats for meat or milk production. Once you’ve established this,…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: How to choose the right goat for you

Small stock production: Reproduction management tips for sheep and goats

Every sheep or goat farmer wants to have as many healthy lambs or kids as possible on a regular basis. Follow these tips to maximise your results. Rams must be functionally effective, in other words they must have healthy reproductive organs and strong, healthy legs. Test your rams for fertility.…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Reproduction management tips for sheep and goats

Small stock production: Basic advice on licks for your goats and sheep

Question: Could you tell me which formulas I can use as self-mix lick supplements for goats and sheep in summer and winter, and which feed lick can be used to grow weaners (sheep and goats)? The most important source of food is always the natural veld or artificial pasture. If…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Basic advice on licks for your goats and sheep

Small stock production: Managing lambs and kids

We continue our series about raising kids and lambs. Here, we deal with management. Ensure that ewes or does have been checked for udder health, that their vaccinations are up to date and that they are properly fed. Also read: Protect your assets and vaccinate sheep and goats by following this…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Managing lambs and kids

Small stock production: Nutrition for kids and lambs

Question: What are the nutritional requirements for raising kids and lambs? Nutrition starts with the mother.  If ewes or does are poorly fed while pregnant, the offspring won’t grow well inside the mother.  They’ll be small, weak and thin at birth and liable to die from factors such as cold, wind,…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Nutrition for kids and lambs

Small stock production: Overcome nutrient deficiencies in goats and sheep

To improve production, enhance your available grazing and provide supplements for nutrient deficiencies – especially during feed shortages. One of the best things a sheep or goat farmer can do is to plan lambing for when grazing is plentiful, because the lambs will then have a better chance of survival.…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Overcome nutrient deficiencies in goats and sheep

Eric Zeli, a goat farmer who holds a day job as medical doctor

It’s early on a Monday morning, and Dr. Eric Zeli has just started doing rounds at Zambia’s Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka. As he pauses at a bed to examine a 40-something female patient, he lets out a gasp. “Oh my God” he says excitedly. “You are looking great.” Performing…

Continue ReadingEric Zeli, a goat farmer who holds a day job as medical doctor

Livestock production: Listeriosis in animals

Question: There have been recent media reports about deaths from Listeriosis in people in South Africa. Does the disease also occur in animals? Listeriosis does occur in animals and is caused by a bacterium [germ] called Listeria monocytogenes. Three syndromes occur, and these are meningitis and encephalitis, abortions or still-births, and…

Continue ReadingLivestock production: Listeriosis in animals

Goat production: Keeping your flock well-watered

Question: How much water should I give my goats, and how often should they drink? What kind of water is suitable for them? Many variables affect water intake, such as the amount of moisture in the grazing, the temperature, how far and fast the animals walk, pregnancy, milk production, wool…

Continue ReadingGoat production: Keeping your flock well-watered
Read more about the article Goat production: Keeping your flock well-watered
Charles' Boer goat stud has produced various champions at the Grootfontein show.

Small stock production: Taking care of your rams

Farmers have to keep rams in top condition to ensure good reproductive performance and profitability in a small stock herd. Rams have a very important role in sheep production. But, although they are the most expensive animals on the farm, they sometimes don’t receive the correct attention until they are…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Taking care of your rams

Small stock production: The five-point check for internal parasites in small stock

This five-point assessment method allows farmers to identify several diseases and parasites in their small livestock. This enables you to diagnose and prevent diseases and death on your farm. 1. NOSE AREA Nasal discharge By checking the nose, you can immediately see if there are any sign of nasal worm…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: The five-point check for internal parasites in small stock

Goat production: Dealing with chlamydia in your herd

Question: We started a goat farming project, but the goats have suffered from chlamydia right from the start. What can we do to prevent this disease? Before we discuss treatment or prevention, we need to be absolutely sure that the goats are suffering from chlamydiosis and not something else. Infected…

Continue ReadingGoat production: Dealing with chlamydia in your herd

Goat production: How to tell if your goats are pregnant

Question: How can I tell if my goats are pregnant? The only completely reliable and practical test today is ultrasonic scanning. The machine has a handset (probe), which is held against the goat’s belly near her udder. It emits very high-pitched sounds that cannot be heard by humans, but these…

Continue ReadingGoat production: How to tell if your goats are pregnant

Digital textbook for goat farming

This comprehensive digital textbook is called the Goat Production Handbook and was compiled by Mdukatshani, Heifer International South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal department of agriculture and rural development. Click on this link to download the book in PDF format: Goat Production Handbook Information compiled by Dr. Faffa Malan, veterinary consultant Content…

Continue ReadingDigital textbook for goat farming

Small stock production: The right way to medicate goats and sheep

Dr. Pierre Jansen van Vuuren, of MSD Animal Health, presents a useful video on good practices for medicating small stock.  He discusses animal handling facilities and demonstrates the subcutaneous and the intramuscular injection. He also shows how to apply pour-on dips, how to do spot treatment and a method for…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: The right way to medicate goats and sheep

Small stock production: Vaccinate sheep and goats by following this programme

Vaccine programmes differ from area to area and even from farm to farm, depending on temperature, rainfall, season, local disease outbreaks, farm specific resistance and resilience and of course - management. There is no one-size-fits-all schedule. It’s up to you to make sure that your particular programme caters for your…

Continue ReadingSmall stock production: Vaccinate sheep and goats by following this programme

Primary health care for livestock (1)

There is no room for inefficient livestock farming if we are to become food secure on the continent. For this to happen there must be transfer of health care knowledge through extension services in the livestock industry. Small-scale commercial livestock farmers who farm cattle and small-stock on communal grazing lands…

Continue ReadingPrimary health care for livestock (1)

Goat production: Remind yourself of the basics of goat management

It’s that time of the year when the air is filled with the sound of young goats bleating for their mothers. Lambing season comes with extra work for the stockman who needs to keep his eyes on the flock and his mortalities down. Raising healthy lambs has a lot to…

Continue ReadingGoat production: Remind yourself of the basics of goat management

End of content

No more pages to load