Tips to preparing your goat (feeding, handling, etc.)

Once you find the right goat for you, it's now time to raise him or her right! Here are some tips on how to prepare your goat for the show.

 

	Goats need to be vaccinated for C&D Type Clostridial Perfigens. This is to prevent entrotoxemia - commonly called overeating disease. Feeding roughage, feeding on a schedule, gradually changing diets, and parasite prevention helps to prevent entrotoxemia. Kids should be vaccinated at 12 weeks, and a booster given 3-4 weeks later. Wethers should be vaccinated again at 6 months.
	Never give a market goat a shot in the hindquarters. This is one of the prime cuts of meat, and IM (in the muscle) injection sites permanently damages the carcass. Give all IM injections in the side of the neck or bottom of the brisket.
	Vaccinate for tetanus. Tetanus is a clostridial bacterium that lives in the dirt. Any goat that you are unsure of their vaccination history should be given a tetanus antitoxin when any surgery is done.
	De-worm your goat frequently. Your show pen should be treated every 21-30 days. All anthelmintics should be used orally in goats. Ivermec injectable 1%, and Cydectin are the most effective products on the market. Give white anthelmintics (benzimidazoles - Valbazen, Synanthic, Safegaurd or Panacur) at 3x label dose for 3 days for tapeworms. Be careful using the Imidothiazole (Levamisole) class of anthelmintics they have a very narrow safety margin.
	Make sure your goat stays cool! This is very important because heat stress can cause decreased performance, decreased reproduction, diseases and even death. Make sure you have plenty of clean, cool water for your goat especially during warmer months. You might want to keep a fan on your goat or even misters (provides a light mist of water). This will not only help keep them cool, but also reduces flies and other pests. Also make sure there is plenty of shade available for your goat.
	Trim your goat's hooves regularly. Lack of hoof trimming may cause structural problems that can't be corrected after the goat is full-grown. A goat with long back feet will walk and stand cow-hocked. Judges will not overlook overgrown hooves!
	You will definitely want to get your goat on a good feed program. Below are some examples for feeding your show goat:
		Do not feed your goat a ration that is made with milo. This contributes to urinary calculi.
		Feed your goats once or twice daily and they should clean up all the feed in 20-30 minutes. Also feed your goat hay. Goats prefer Sudan, oat hay, Haygrazer, and other leafy hays as opposed to other hays such as coastal.
		Corn can be used the last 45-60 days to add finish.
		You might want to use probiotics to stimulate your goat's appetite as well as to prevent acidosis if your goat is ill.
	Weigh your goat frequently. This will greatly help you in achieving your target weight.
	Work with your goat! When you first bring your goat home you might want to spend about 30 minutes everyday just sitting in the pen with your goat.

Tips for in the Show Ring

If you have properly selected, fed and conditioned your goat, the show ring should be a breeze. Here's some tips to help get you in the Winner's Circle!

 

	Always look at and face the judge. This is especially important in showmanship classes. You wouldn't want the judge to look at you and your goat and you're off waving at Mom in the stands.
	Know as much about your goat as possible. The judge could come over and speak to you about your animal and you definitely wouldn't want to NOT be able to answer one of his or her questions. Some of the questions could include: Feeding questions, basic anatomy questions, questions about your breed of goat, or even ask you to describe what you think are your goat's best aspects.
	Never stand between your goat and the judge. If the judge is looking at the front of your animal, you will want to stand to the side so that the judge has a clear view of your animal's front, and the same goes for the other areas of the animal. Always try to give the judge the best view of your animal.
	Setup your goat properly. Set your goat's feet in a natural position at the corners of its body. And always keep your goat's head up.
	Dress nicely! Wear a long sleeve shirt and NICE pants. Also, don't wear a cap.
	Make sure your goat is well groomed from head to toe to tail! Make sure you groom him or her well before entering the ring.
	Keep a good distance between your goat and all the others and be curteous to the other showmen. Also keep about 10-15 feet of distance between your goat and the judge. You definitely wouldn't want to crowd the judge where he or she can't get a good look at your goat.
	If you are not selected as champion when the judge first makes his selection (ESPECIALLY in showmanship classes) do not become frustrated or give up! The judge could change his mind or he might be curious as to how to react to not being placed 1st. This is a commonly used technique... so keep that smile on your face even if you're last!

 

We hope the above tips can help you to Show success! And remember to have fun! If you have any tips or if you had success using our tips, please click here to tell us about it. We'd love to hear from you!