Goat Basics and Care Foundations

This unit introduces essential knowledge and practical skills for starting and managing a small goat enterprise, including breed types (dairy, meat, fiber), basic anatomy, behavior, nutrition, housing, fencing, health recognition, reproduction, and primary products. It builds on foundational agricultural literacy and prepares students for more advanced herd management, production, and processing units that follow.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze characteristics of dairy, meat, and fiber goat breeds and match breed selection to specified production goals and resource constraints
• Apply principles of nutrition, stocking density, shelter design, and fencing to calculate carrying capacity and produce a basic site-specific management plan
• Demonstrate identification of normal anatomy and behavior, recognition of common signs of illness and parasite infestation, and execution of a basic health-check and recording protocol
• Evaluate introductory reproduction, kidding, milking, grooming, and primary product options (milk, meat, fiber) to recommend appropriate next-step management and basic biosecurity practices