Just kidding … Goats gaining ground in Georgia  BY DEBRA FOSTER
When most people think of a goat, they probably conjure up a picture of an old billy goat chewing on a tin can. Famous for being able to devour anything, goats aren’t often thought of as teaching tools, as therapeutic treatment for the elderly or as affectionate pets. Yet, goats can be all of these things. Like people who raise dogs, goat breeders are passionate about their particular breed. Kiko, Pygmy, Boer and Nubian are some of the more common goat breeds in the United States. People who raise goats as pets or for breed stock are just as passionate about their desire to not have their goats eaten. The United States is one of the few countries that does not list goat meat as a main source of protein. Worldwide, goat milk is consumed more than cow’s milk. Low in sodium and saturated fat, goat meat is the primary source of animal protein in many North African and Middle East nations. Goat is also important in the Caribbean, in Southeast Asia and developing tropical countries. Three-fourths of all the goats on earth are located in the developing regions of the world. Demand for goat meat has risen as immigrants bring their customs and tastes to this country. But many American goat owners still prefer not to think about their animals eventually becoming dinner. Cattle ranchers don’t talk about cows the same way goat ranchers talk about goats. Cattle ranchers don’t discuss the intelligence and personality of cows. Cows are just, well, cows. So what is it about goats?  Goats are considered intelligent, affectionate animals. They have found their way into classrooms as teaching tools and into nursing homes where patients who are generally not responsive, will interact with a baby goat, or kid. Charles Batten, a goat meat producer in Washington County, says, “If you can get attached to a dog, you will get more attached to a goat.”
A kindergarten class at Mountain Area Christian Academy in Morganton agrees with Charles. Along with their teacher, Sara Robbins, the children became the surrogate family for a 10-day-old Pygmy goat named Patches. One of a set of quintuplets, Patches’ mom was unable to nurse all four. So Sara and her class bottle-fed, and loved, little Patches. “Being a ‘quintuplet,’ Patches helped the children learn their ‘qu’ sound,” says Sara. Patches also taught them how to take care of an animal, and that each one is unique. He has since been adopted, is eating grain and is off the bottle. Sara and her family operate Jachin Valley Farm in Blairsville. They have a private petting farm open to church and school groups, which includes six female goats and one registered male Pygmy. For the past three years, Sara has kept only pure-blood Pygmies. “The market is better for registered goats, and only so many baby goats can be kept in the petting farm,” she says. Besides serving as teaching tools, baby goats provide therapeutic benefits. Sara and Kellie Kirkdoffer, the friend who introduced her to Pygmy goats, go to nursing homes monthly with baby Pygmies dressed up and ready to charm. Kellie says she loves to share her goats with nursing home residents and children in schools and day cares.  “Pygmy goats make good family pets,” says Kellie. “They can even be potty-trained and kept in the house,” but she notes that they are herd animals and she prefers to keep them outside. However, she adds, “A bottle-raised Pygmy will follow its owner like a dog.”
Kellie and her husband John have been raising goats on Aribba Acres in Morganton since 1990, but didn’t start with the Pygmy goats until about 2000. Her first Pygmy baby was adorable and she wanted a partner for it. One thing led to another, and soon Kellie had a whole herd. “Having Pygmy goats is like eating potato chips,” Kellie says, “I just couldn’t stop at one!” Kellie isn’t the only one who feels that way. According to the National Pygmy Goat Association, there are about 80,000 registered Pygmies in this country. These goats are raised mainly as pets and show animals. Like dogs and other animals, the offspring of show winners bring a higher price. Kellie charges from $275 to $400 for show-quality doe babies. A breed standard pet female is sold for around $125. Pygmies weigh about 2 pounds at birth. They are born with their eyes open, and within five minutes they are up and nursing. Within 15 minutes they start to hop, skip and jump. Full-grown females weigh from 45 to 50 pounds, with males weighing about 80 pounds. “Full-grown, they are about the size of a fat beagle,” Kellie says. She also notes that these animals don’t require a lot of upkeep. They are “browsers” that prefer to feed on bark, leaves, weeds and briars. Grass is their least favorite food. If not enough plant food is available, then grain can be added to the diet. According to the National Pygmy Goat Association, this African native makes a responsive pet that is hardy and very animated. They can adapt to almost any climate and require minimum space to be kept. Four adult Pygmies can be housed in a draft-free, 8x10-foot shed with elevated sleeping and feeding places. They also require an area outside with at least a 4-foot-high fence, with no more than six goats per acre.  Like all goats, Pygmies are sociable animals that are happier in a herd or with at least one other goat. Many breeders use guard animals to protect their animals from predators such as bobcats, coyotes and stray dogs. Most use dogs that have a natural ability to bond with and guard the goats, but for Kellie she has a miniature horse housed with her goats. “They get along fine,” she says.
Another popular breed is the Kiko. Originally from New Zealand, this goat is credited with being the best adapted to the warm, humid climate of the South. Though presently less numerous than Boer goats, the Kikos are hardier and less susceptible to parasites, according to Kiko breeders Woodrow “Buddy” Little III and wife Kimberly (Kim) from Danville. (Kim is employed by Dudley-based Oconee EMC.) Goat farming was the answer to a prayer for the Littles. It might not have been the expected answer, but it is one that has brought them great joy and purpose. Buddy was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease seven years ago, and found that he could no longer keep the pace of a self-employed building contractor. But he and Kim knew he had to be productive to be happy. The couple was introduced to goat farming; they fell in love with their goats, and a new vocation was born. Now in their third year raising goats, they have more than 100 goats and 50 of them are brood nannies. With two established kidding seasons per year, Kim says they get very attached to their goats. They prefer to raise registered animals for breeding stock. However, not all of the kids will measure up to the breed standard; these will be sold either as pets or at market. There is a high demand for registered Kiko goats. There are many people who raise goats just as a hobby, but it can be a profitable business. “With 25 or more nannies, and by watching the dollars, a small farmer can see a profit, especially in quality breed stock,” Buddy adds.  The fair market value for a registered, purebred Kiko 2-year-old male starts at $650. At 3 months, a male will bring $400 to $500, and a female of any age will sell for $650 and up.
For the Littles, it was a matter of finding the right breed. They have learned that the Kiko goats have a high survival rate and excellent mothering skills. They also produce adequate milk for their young. More resistant to parasites than most breeds, Kiko goats show healthy weight gain and maintain a good, lean carcass. Mentioning raising goats for meat to some breeders is almost a sacrilege. In fact, Pygmy goat breeder Kellie says, “These animals can almost become substitute children.” No matter how you feel about goats, raising meat goats is a growing business in Georgia. The state is currently listed as the second-largest, goat-meat producer in the country, with Texas being first. For Georgia, the farm gate value in 2005 was $12.5 million. The market for goat cheese in this country is small but growing. The only goat dairy in Georgia, Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, produces about 50,000 pounds of goat cheese a year that is marketed nationwide. Whether raising goats for pets or profit, owners say the animals are easy to keep, require less land than cattle and can even become part of the family. And goats don’t eat just anything, especially not tin cans! —Debra Foster is a freelance writer and radio news director in Washington County.
The author recalls: One of the first things my family did when we moved to Georgia 10 years ago was fall for the allure of raising goats. As unwitting city slickers, we purchased three goats for our youngest daughter—and found out just how much we didn’t know. The first thing we learned was that one goat was pregnant. This wasn’t discovered until a rainy December day when “Snowflake” was found to have delivered “Angel” (named for her snow-white coat and near-Christmas birth) on the cold, wet ground. My husband was out of the country, so I was on my own. It was raining as I nailed some discarded boards between two trees and filled the area with hay. It wasn’t fancy, but it kept mother and kid warm and dry. I basked in my children’s pride when they announced the goat’s shelter looked “just like Baby Jesus’ manger.” A mom will take whatever praise she can from her young teens! Like many others, we learned that raising goats is not as easy as it looks.
Demand for goat meat Georgia producers provide only about 25 percent of the demand for goat meat in Atlanta. The rest, according to Charles Batten, president of the Sunbelt Goat Producers Co-Op and Washington County meat goat producer, is imported. This co-op, as well as groups throughout the state, has found it difficult to match supply with demand. “We also had to learn how different ethnic groups prefer their meat,” Charles adds. The market is there, this much has been proven. Charles says there are around 100,000 goats in the state that are valued at about $10 million. His advice to anyone interested in raising goats for meat is “do your homework. Remember, it isn’t always the most attractive goat with the prettiest markings that is the best animal.” He also suggests seeking information from both the local extension office and the University of Georgia.
Sources: • The National Pygmy Goat Association; www.npga-pygmy.com • Sweet Grass Dairy; www.sweetgrassdairy.com • Walnut Branch Kikos; (478) 962-3520 • Jachin Valley Farm; (706) 745-2328 • Aribba Acres; www.aribbaacres.com; (706) 374-5356 • Sunbelt Goat Producers Cooperative Inc.; www.sunbeltgoat.com • The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1168-w.html | 
