Dairy goat farming
Resources on starting and managing a dairy goat farm, producing goat milk, health and nutrition, and meeting regulatory requirements.
Overview
There are approximately 230 commercial dairy goat farms in Ontario, most of them in Southwestern Ontario. Goat breeds that are typically used for milk production in Ontario include:
- Saanen
- Alpine
- Nubian
- Toggenburg
- La Mancha
General
Learn about regulatory requirements, milk grading and best practices for animal care.
Breeding and reproduction
Learn about breeding strategies for off-season milk production and how to rear buck kids.
Health
Learn about planning and maintaining good herd health to promote production and avoid losses.
Read the Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Goats for information on proper goat care and herd management.
Disease
Learn how to manage diseases that commonly impact goats.
- Coxiellosis (Q Fever)
- Coxiella burnetii in small ruminants and Q fever in humans
- Ontario Animal Health Network: Toxoplasmosis in sheep and goats
- Ontario Animal Health Network: Guide to safe handling of sheep and goat placentas
- Ontario Animal Health Network: Campylobacter abortions — emerging resistance to antibiotics
Biosecurity
Create a biosecurity program to prevent the spread of disease and maintain herd health.
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: National farm-level biosecurity standard for the goat industry
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Biosecurity planning guide for Canadian goat producers
Transportation
Learn about animal health regulations and techniques to transport goats to reduce stress.
- National Farm Animal Care Council: Code of practice for the care and handling of farm animals: transportation
Business and marketing
Learn how to evaluate production efficiency on your farm, and forecast and plan goat production to increase revenue and mitigate losses.
Publications
Publication 855: Kidding Diary
Order a free copy of the Kidding Diary, a booklet to record kidding activity in the barn.
It contains charts to record kids born, breeding records, record deadstock information, health treatments and cull. It also has information on caring for hypothermic kids and a kidding date calculator.
Publication 850: Dairy Goat Management Journal
Order a free copy of the Dairy Goat Management Journal, a book for goat producers to record animal management and health information, as well as pasture and feed management.
It contains pages to record deadstock information, health treatments, cull animals, pasture movements and feed mixing information.