ANIMAL SCIENCE FACTS

A clear indication that the meat goat industry is expanding is shown by the 13% increase in the number of goats sold through NC auction markets, from 27,874 in 1995 to 31 ,503 in 1996. By the end of 1997 and 1998, 34, 160 and 35, 116 goats had been sold through NC weekly auction markets, respectively, additional increases of 8.4 and 3%, followed bya 3.9% decrease in 1999, as more goats were sold through marketing channels not controlled by the NCDA. A few years ago, prices of Boer breeding stock decreased enough to become affordable to small producers. Consequently, crossbred animals having Boer genetics are now being sold for meat at auction markets or under private treaty sales and buyers and consumers already have recognized the superior carcasses of those animals.

New Zealand and Australian companies have imported the Boer goat into their respective countries for improving their own meat goat industries. In April of 1993, the quarantine restrictions for the New Zealand Boer goats expired and animals became available for importation into the U.S. The Australian Boer goats were released in October 1995. In June 1993, the North American Boer Goat Association was founded, breed standards were established and registry of animals was begun.

According to New Zealand researchers, the plane of to four nutrition plays a greater role than the ligh/dark cycle for Boer goats to breed out of season.

The Myotonic goat suffers from a recessive trait called myotonia. When frightened, it experiences extreme muscle stiffness causing extension of hind limbs and neck. In this startled state, if unbalanced, the animal will topple over like a statue or will stand immobile until the attack, usually lasting only 10-20 seconds, passes. According to a Texas neurologist, this type of involuntary isometric muscle contraction could build a more tender muscle than a muscle developed by strenuous use.

Little is known about the earliest history of this breed except that in the early 1880's a man appeared in Marshall County, Tennessee with a cow, three does and a buck of a unique strain. These four goats suffered from myotonic spells and were purchased by a Dr. Mayberry who propagated the breed. The population of Myotonic goats is informally estimated to be around 3,000 to 5,000 head, with herds found primarily in Tennessee and Texas.

The Piedmont Pygmy Goat club has three sanctioned shows a year: the NC State Fair Pygmy Goat Show and two other shows held at the Agricultural Barn in Greensboro in spring and fall.

Adaptability is a lowly heritable trait because natural selection has already reduced the genetic variability. Therefore, adaptability will respond slowly to selection.

In general, goats have a high reproductive rate with conception rate not being a problem. Several studies have demonstrated that although twins and triplets have lower birth and weaning weights and slower growth rates, they produce more total weight of kid per doe per year. Therefore, prolificacy, defined as the number of kids born per doe, is an important reproduction trait. Goats that have evolved in the temperate zones of the world tend to be seasonal breeders, with females coming into estrus in the fall and anestrus occurring in late spring. This breeding pattern does not always coincide with the optimal marketing period of weaned kids. On the other hand, goats from tropical regions are non-seasonal breeders and kid all year-round. Therefore, incorporating this trait of non-seasonality into a meat goat enterprise would be advantageous.