Let’s guess! You want to breed a meat goat that grows fast, is heavily muscled, gives birth unassisted to a large number of kids, weans them all at heavy weights, is an easy keeper and robust in constitution, produces regularly, is not bothered much by internal parasites, is attractive to the eye, produces plenty of milk for the kids, and sells for a seasonally high price. Now, if you can just purchase the right buck, all these things will come true. Right?

Wrong. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons. In this first section we will focus on some of those reasons, and perhaps create more reasonable expectations. It is not our business to burst your dreams. What we want to do is to transfer information that will allow you to evaluate your expectations on the basis of a fundamental understanding of the scientific facts as we know them now.

You are correct in noting that most serious research in meat goat breeding is of recent advent, and there perhaps has not been enough time and effort expended to add much to the pool of information that can be recommended. This would justify your continuing to base selection and mating decisions on the old wives tales or electronic chat-rooms; many of which still include incomplete information or misinformation. Upon completing this module, you will now have a useful understanding from genetics and breeding research from other livestock species, and enough from meat goats specifically, to set some records straight.

The unique feature of making genetic change is that it is permanent. That means that within any particular generation, once the genetic code is set at conception, it will not likely change … it is extremely rare that any sort of sustainable change will occur. This means that all non-genetic variables, management if you will, can be tailored to a particular collection of genes — a genotype. Once the genotype is set, it will not change and does not need daily attention. Sires do not get genetically better over time; but more on that later.

Seeing the whole picture

In breeding better goats, we are mainly concerned with changing animal populations genetically. From a breeding standpoint you want to know not only the most desirable phenotypes, but the most desirable genotypes as well. That is because a goat’s genotype provides the genetic background for its phenotype. Consider the equation:

where, P represents an individual goat’s phenotype (appearance or level of performance), G = genotype or genetic make-up, and E = environmental effects; all non-genetic factors. An animal’s phenotype is determined by its genotype and the environment in which it is working. Changing “G” is the overarching goal of a goat breeding program. Defining breeding objectives and setting up a strategy spring forth from that overarching goal.

For most characteristics both the genotype and the environmental effects will play a measurable role. For any particular trait, the genotype refers to just those genes and gene combinations that affect that trait, e.g. rate of growth. We can also speak of the genotype in general, as meaning all the genes and gene combinations that affect the whole list of traits of importance to your production system. Most production systems will include these four components:

• Animal genotypes
• The physical environment
• Fixed resources and management factors
• Economic and social considerations

Purpose of genetic change in meat goats

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the purpose of breeding better goats is not to genetically change individual animals, but to improve populations of individuals; to improve future generations of goats; to make permanent change at the cellular level. Breeding for a better goat is a process that does take “daily” attention. There are data to collect, observations to be made, disposition and behavior to observe, mating decisions to make, and selection decisions to be made. It is an on-going process, and we have included in this module several tips and guidelines to help you avoid big mistakes and gain the most use of your goat breeding knowledge.

Breeding goals

What do you want to achieve? A focus on lifetime productivity makes a lot of sense. What are the components? There is an underlying genetic basis for virtually all traits or characteristics on which to focus. It is fair to suggest there are no “right” nor “wrong” goals. It is useful to understand that generally the more traits included in a breeding program, the slower will be the progress in each one. So a key to moving ahead with a reasonable amount of speed is to identify and focus on only the key components of the goal — lifetime productivity.

People raise meat goats for a variety of reasons, including reasons that have no focus on financial return. In those cases there may be no identifiable breeding goal. Survival of the animals may be the only production goal involved. There may be no focus on particular breeds or their improvement. This module may not hold interest for goat owners in that situation. That’s ok.

Breeding for performance will involve a number of traits. Performance in that case a composite measure, such as life-time productivity will be the focus. There is little regard to traits such as color or color pattern. Life-time productivity includes elements of survival, fertility and prolificacy, udder characteristics and milk production, growth rate and ability to maintain body condition. While these traits may seem to focus primarily on females, it is the young sons of those females that should be chosen to sire the next generation.

Life-time doe productivity is a composite trait that includes components of

• fertility level,
• prolificacy,
• milk production,
• genetic merit in growth,
• seasonality in fertility, and
• health

As an example, the components of lifetime doe productivity could include the following elements:

• An accelerated kidding program (three kid crops in two years) is followed.
• The doe’s useful productive life of 5.33 years during which we could expect her to:
  • Give birth to 14 kids
  • Raise 13 kids
  • Wean the kids at 100 days of age, weighing 45 pounds each.
• She would have produced 585 pounds of product, creating between $585 and $735 of income.
• Obviously her very precise nutrient requirements would need to be available on a daily basis, and
• The buck used to impregnate her would need to be fertile and mate aggressively.

Records

Keeping accurate records is a key aspect in identifying the does that have a high level of productivity and efficiency in production. Efficiency in this case refers to the ratio of outputs (kids marketed) to inputs (operating costs and a portion of fixed costs — shelter, breeding stock value, and fences). A record-keeping system does not need to be elaborate, expensive, or computerized but it must be more just than hand notes jotted down on the outside of feedbags. A simple record system is more likely to be consistently followed than one that is highly complex.

The showring

Where do show-ring winnings fit into this? If showring winners are backed up by individual and/or progeny performance information and recorded data, then the show ring can be a useful tool for bringing attention to the breeding establishment. If showring winnings reflect only the ability to fit animals, and are based on traits that have little commercial application, then it is just another dog and pony show; fun but not of much relevance to the product.

One of the challenges of producing this module is to create a framework for reviewing the role of show ring endeavors in breed improvement. Identifying the best, for any particular environments, must be done on the farm or ranch in a working environment. Once the best have been identified at home, and there is a system in place for continuing to identify the better performers in your environment, then it may be appropriate to participate in shows. The purpose of participation will be to create the opportunity to talk to people and provide meaningful information to people who can become customers.

The bottom line is that producing showring winners may create an artificial niche market for show-winning breeding stock, but it is in the pasture and woods where those animals must prove they can provide sustainable earnings from their productivity. An earnest meat goat breeder maintains a focus on the pasture, and on the environment in which breeding stock will be working.

Role of pedigrees

A pedigree is simply a written record of the ancestors of the individual of interest. Animals with written pedigrees are “registered” with some breed association or herd book. The mechanics of doing this is more or less common to all livestock registries. Until recent decades the pedigree information was simply a structured record with animal names and identification numbers. Little performance information was included. Many species of farm animals, including dairy goats, now include performance information on pedigrees.

In the case of meat goats, pedigrees include a record of ancestors and performance in the show ring only. However pedigree information can still be rather useful in interpreting the information one hears in informal discussions of animal performance in commercial conditions. Sons and grandsons of certain individual sires and sire lines will tend to produce offspring that do well or fail to make the grade in local environments. That informal information circulates among breeders and can be used in knowing which lines of breeding tend to be most useful.

Pedigree information is critically important in maintaining control of inbreeding. As the degree of inbreeding increases, the general level of performance tends to decrease. While mold forms of inbreeding, such as linebreeding, can be useful in breed improvement; in most cases close matings are to be avoided. Using a son of your current sire to mate with your young replacement does, is probably not a good idea. Studying pedigrees will allow the producer to avoid these kinds of close matings. If the same animal does not appear in the most recent two generations of a pedigree, then unwanted inbreeding is likely to be avoided. Years ago before performance information was available for any livestock species, a good job of managing inbreeding was accomplished, because farmers paid attention to pedigree information.

In cases where inbreeding has become a problem for a producer, the solution is quick and easy. The inbreeding cycle can be broken in one generation by using an unrelated buck. Currently, many meat goat breeders rely solely upon pedigrees to make purchasing and breeding decisions. The pedigree is a valuable tool in minimizing inbreeding. Consideration should be given by breeders who work well together, to the formation of a buck circle. A buck circle can enhance genetic improvement for the several affiliated producers. It will help minimize inbreeding and maximize economic returns.

Goal setting and breeding objectives

Achieving goals and resetting goals is a mark of success in this and any other business. Goals should be set to create a challenge but be realistic enough to be achievable. Generally with goats raised for meat, the type of animal in the breeding goal will need to fit the environment in order to achieve sustainable levels of production. The best animals the breeder produces should be those that are best for the end user. Breeding objectives can become distorted. There are several reasons this distortion occurs:

• Competition among breeders. In an effort to convince buyers of animal superiority, a breeder may find it profitable to emphasize qualities that set her animals apart but for which there may not be much importance, e.g. color, country of origin, mature weight, or record of ancestors. Even in the presence of performance records and expected progeny difference values, the competitive spirit can move the breeder away from balance.
• Undue reliance on opinions of breeders who may be working in an environment or system different than your own. End users of breeding stock should be able to objectively evaluate their needs and then communicate them back to breeders whose function it is to meet those needs. However, objective information is often scarce and end users make choices based on information that is easily available—the opinion of breeders in promotional materials.

The way to avoid distortion in your breeding objectives is to keep the end user in mind; to define and describe the optimum animal accordingly.

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