Leslie Svacina of Cylon Rolling Acres was recently featured on Shark Farmer Radio on Sirius XM radio. Hosts Rob and Emily Sharkey interviewed Leslie about raising meat goats, selling goat meat and rotational grazing. You can listen to the archived show here.
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This is the second blog post in a four-part Grazing Goats Article Series. The first article, Pasture Fencing for Goats, can be read here.
Electric fence is a great fencing option for goats. However, it is only as good as the training the goats receive. If there's no training, there's a greater chance, or even better chance, that your goats will get out. With the proper training, the goats should respect the fence and not escape.
Each spring our goats are given a "refresher" training, and new goats to the farm, kids or purchased goats, are also trained on how to use the electric fence. Between having good perimeter fencing (see part I) and fence training with portable electric fence, we have little to no issues with our goats staying in the pasture. On occasion kids may get outside a paddock with portable fencing or out of the perimeter fencing since they are smaller, but they always come back to their moms. Once they get older it's not a habit that continues. Here's how we fence train our goats: The prep work:
The actual fence training:
After training:
Tips for success all season
If you raise goats, what has worked for you for training goats to respect electric fence?
In the video below you'll see an example of how we fence train our goats to portable electric fence.
Watch for the next blog post on the basics of rotational goats in this grazing goat series. Sign up for our online community here so you don’t miss the next post and to learn more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat.
If you missed the first article in this Grazing Goats Series, you can find it here: Pasture Fencing for Goats.
This blog was original published 9/6/2019, and was updated on 6/5/20.
Legal disclaimer: All information provided is based on personal experience and is provided for educational and information use only. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless our website, company and owner for any direct or indirect loss or conduct incurred as a result of your use of our website and any related communications. This applies to, but is not limited to, business operational information and consulting, as well as farm and goat management practices.
Any animal health information provided on this website is based on personal experience or information provided by others whose treatments and practices have been discussed with a veterinarian. In all situations, it is the responsibility of the livestock owner to consult with a veterinarian before using any animal health practices shared on this website or by this company and its owner. See the full legal disclaimer here. We use Sweeter Heaters, plug-in electric radiant heaters, in our warming boxes for our goat kids. The warming boxes sit in the creep pen to encourage kids to stay in their safe space and offer extra warmth at night or during a cold snap in our Wisconsin spring weather.
We do have the Prima Heat lamps from Premier One Fencing, but I prefer using these Sweeter heaters since the prevent a much lower risk of fire. Making bone broth is quite simple to do and is way more beneficial for your health than those hard bouillon cubes or even a simple stock. Since the bones are simmered for a longer time with bone broth, it allows for more time to release more collagen, bone marrow, amino acids, and minerals, such as calcium, zinc and magnesium (Cleveland Clinic, 2018). It’s also more economical than the alternative. You can drink it like a cup of tea. Or, I typically will I freeze or can it, and then use it in recipes that call for broth or stock, such as soups, gravies and other dishes. When I made this recipe recently, I used a combination of goat and beef bones. Nutrient-Dense Bone Broth – Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Ingredients
Instructions
Uses:
Tips:
Order your goat bones from our Farm Store. For more goat meat recipes, cooking tips, promotions, and to know when goat meat is available, sign up for our email list here.
Kidding is just getting underway on our farm. A lot has to get done to before the baby goats arrive. It includes herd health work, preparing the barn and organizing my supplies Preparing the does About a month before the does are scheduled to kid, we will do a herd health day so they are ready for kidding. This includes:
As we work through each doe, we will enter notes on what we did into our herd health system, Easy Keeper, making extra notes on areas of concern to help us better monitor the health of each goat and manage our herd overall. Much like our other herd health days, we will set up our workspace in the barn to work efficiently as possible. Each of our helpers has specific tasks to keep everything moving along, while I visually assess each goat and enter notes into my record keeping program on my iPad. Along the top of the pen wall, we set up several 5 quart rectangular fence line feeders to hold supplies, including vaccinations, dewormers, hoof trimmers and drenchers. Here are some of the supplies I use:
Preparing the barn In the weeks leading up to kidding, we start to transition the barn from winter housing to kidding:
Supplies mentioned: Preparing supplies About 1-2 months in advance I like to assess my veterinary supplies for kidding to allow for enough time to order or purchase supplies locally. This includes ordering enough vaccines for the does, as well as for their kids (they require boosters with most vaccinations). Here are the supplies I like to have on hand for kidding. Some of them are used, and some are for emergency situations:
Kidding process and protocols When a doe kids, I will let her do most, if not all of the work herself. The only thing I will do is help clean off kids with an old towel to so they dry fast as possible and help clean airways. The does will typically still continue to clean their kids afterwards. By helping dry the kids, this helps reduce any chances of pneumonia or hypothermia, especially if it’s cold out. After the doe is done kidding, I’ll bring her and the kids into a separate pen for 24-28 hours to allow for bonding and recovery. I’ll observe the kids to make sure they nurse. If a kid had a rough or slow start, I’ll help them with their first feeding. When it comes to processing the kids, we will take weights, ear tag, and trim umbilical cords and dip them in iodine. Then the kds are placed back into the pen with their mother. This information and anything else relevant about the birth or kids behavior is entered into our animal health record system, Easy Keeper. After 24-48 hours, the doe and kids will move to a “postpartum” group pen with other doe/kid pairs. The kids will have access to a creep/safe space, typically with some source of heat to keep them safe from other mothers and prevent them from accidently being sat on by their own mothers. Kids are vaccinated a month after they born and then followed up with a booster based on the vaccinations given. If you’re interested in learning more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat, join our online community here. Note some of these are “affiliate links” that we recieve a small commission for referring - thanks for supporting by buying through these links! But, I use everything on the farm.
Thank you Katelyn at the Wild Rose Farmer for having me as a guest on her Rural Woman Podcast. I’ve been a listener since the start and an avid podcast junkie for along time. It is an honor to be coming into your earbuds as a podcast guest, instead of my usual role as just the listener!
For those who often ask about how I got started raising goats and the meat goat industry and market, here it is! You can find the podcast episode here, listen to it anywhere you listen to podcasts, or stream it on WildRoseFarmer.com P.S. If you’re new to this podcast or Katelyn, she also raises goats for meat! ![]() You don’t know how many times this winter (now spring) I’ve been asked, “How’s kidding going?” Each time I explain that we don’t have any babies yet since we’ve moved kidding to later in the season. We’re set to kid in late April and then have the last batch of kids in May. We’ve kidded and worked with baby goats in January through April, with both babies born on our farm and bottle babies we’ve raised since they were only a few days old. The first few years raising goats we didn’t own a buck and our breeding schedule worked around the farm where we rented a buck. We’ve also bred for earlier in the season (anytime between January and March) because that seems to be what most farms do in our area. So why not do the same? And, with raising bottle babies, we of course were on the schedule of the dairy farms we worked with. There are many reasons farms kid earlier: raising for the show/fair kid market, having kids be at market weight in the fall, renting bucks like we have done, seasonal milking, and so on. Here are three reasons why we’ve moved to late season kidding:
If you’re interested in learning more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat, join our online community here. This post was originally published 3/27/19, and updated 4/14/20.
Ingredients
Directions
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I manage my herd as it grows to its “full size.” As some may know, my herd is still in its growth stage since I've been building it from within. In this planning process I’m being mindful of working with the seasonality of our region, managed grazing practices, and use of our facilities. My plan going forward after this kidding season will be to split our herd into two groups and move into a breeding cycle where our herd is kidding three times a year, about four months apart. This doesn’t mean we’re doing back-to-back breeding, but it means that each group will kid every other kidding season. Each doe will have the opportunity to breed every nine months, allowing for time for gestation, nursing, and recovery. Why am I moving to this system:
From an economic perspective, this farm is also a business. It requires income to continue and serve our customers. Over the span of time, we should be able to produce the same number of kids as if our herd size was 25-30% larger. This means fewer breeding does to feed and manage, with more offspring to either add to our herd as replacement stock or to sell. As a family farm, it also helps keep my workload more manageable. What I will be working on figuring out:
What I know I’ll need to do:
Lastly, a big shout out to Sandy Brock, of Sheepishly Me, a sheep farmer in Canada. Her approach to managing breeding and lambing for her flock provided me inspiration to think about how I could adapt practices to my goat herd and our grazing system. If you’re interested in learning more about what we do on our farm raising goats for meat, join our online community here.
When it comes to goat meat, it can be a challenge to find in grocery stores. Sometimes specialty markets will carry it. But, if you do find it, it is likely imported all the way from Australia. Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of goat meat. Most of the goat meat found for sale in grocery stores in the U.S. is sourced from Australia. According to Meat and Livestock Australia:
Most of these goats are semi-wild (feral), sourced from Australia’s rangeland. Sourcing goat meat in the U.S. So how can you find goat meat in the U.S., that’s raise right here in our own country? 1. If a store in your area carries goat meat, check the label to see where it is from. If you can’t tell ask the manager to know if it’s imported or raised in the U.S. Food co-ops often carry food sourced from local farmers. You can ask the same question at restaurants as well. 2. Look for farms that raise and sell their meat direct to customers. It’s not always easy to do, but with a little homework you can hopefully find some good options. Several places to start include farmers markets, local foods listings and goat breeder organizations. Even an online search can help as well since many farms have an online presence and may even have online ordering options. Often buying direct from the farmer means purchasing a whole goat, cut and packaged to your liking. Sometimes you can also purchase individual cuts of meat, which can be convenient if you don’t have a lot of freezer space or want to enjoy a special recipe without needing to purchase large quantities of meat. Let us be your choice for enjoying goat meat raised in the Upper Midwest on our farm. Sign up for our email list to know about upcoming sales, recipes and tips for cooking goat meat and updates on what's happening from our farm. In spring of 2020 we will be launching a new ordering website, with an option for shipping right to your doorstep.
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About LeslieI own and manage Cylon Rolling Acres in northwestern Wisconsin. On my farm I raise Boer - Kiko meat goats on pasture. ![]() Why Cylon?
Cylon (pronounced Si-lon) is the name of our township in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Sorry fans, our farm is not named after the robots of Battlestar Galactica.
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