Before I dive into my system for keeping goat records, I want to introduce you to our herd. The herd sire was a Red African Boer named CT or Chocolate Thunder…You can thank my husband for that creativity. We also had four Nubian does, and one Boer doe. Freda, our prized Nubian, gave us a set of precious triplets and plenty of fresh, sweet, nutritious goat milk before she made her way to a new farm.
If you are like me, then you have trouble remembering all of these details correctly. You are also like me if you are serious about taking great care of your goats and making a profitable small business out of your herd.
Raising livestock isn’t meant to be a guessing game so why keep guessing and losing money (and possibly losing goats) when you can get your stuff together with a couple of simple spreadsheets? I created this Goat Record Book so that I could be as effective as possible with my herd and I want you to have them as well!
The Goat Identification Record is where you can keep basic information like your goat’s name or ID, breed, registration information, pedigree, and a photo. Add who you bought the goat from or if the goat was born on your farm here as well. This is a good idea for traceability if a buyer wants to know bloodlines or if a goat gets sick and you need to check for genetic dispositions to certain illnesses. I like to use this sheet even if I have an official pedigree. I keep the pedigree in a lock box for safekeeping while this sheet stays in my livestock binder.
Use the Medical Treatment Record to keep track of all of the medications and treatments that you use on each animal, the illnesses that were treated, and any visits to the vet. This sheet holds information that is vital if you plan to sell any of your goats, process them for meat, or milk any of your females.
Your buck has made his rounds… now what? Now you write down his shenanigans on the Buck Progeny sheet! Enter the breeding date, which doe was bred, the expected kidding date, and any notes relevant to the breeding. After kidding (if a pregnancy occurs from the listed breeding), you can enter the actual kidding date and the number of kids born out of that breeding.
The kidding record sheet is similar to the breeding record, but it focuses more on the progeny than the parents. Here, you can enter the dam & sire IDs, kidding date, kids’ names or IDs, the number of kids born, number of bucks and does, the birthweight of the kids, and any relevant notes.
If you are milking your females, it is a good idea to keep track of their production from day to day. This allows you to identify any potential issues (like a clogged duct or mastitis) quickly and it helps you to determine which females are the most productive. Simply enter the goat’s name at the top of the sheet and list the amount of milk produced in the morning and in the evening.
