Customer Reviews

Goat Husbandry

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a gem this book is. It contains information on everything you could possible want or need to know about goats. My goats are pets and this book - although not geared toward goats as pets, but as dairy producers -- contains more information than I was able to find in days upon days of internet searches, 3 other books I purchased, and from picking the mind of people who 'know goats'. It contains many different housing situations and options, goat behavior, herd behavior, nutrition, health, disease, -- just to name a few. I highly recommend it to anyone keeping goats for any reason.

This is a reference for a serious goat owner. It is not one I'd recommend for someone just getting into goats. But if you're really serious about your caprines, this book is a must-have.

The topics covered include: Control and Housing of Goats; Principles and Practice of Feeding; Selection of Breeding Stock; Breeding Problems; Disease and Accident; Milking and Dairy Produce; Meat, Leather, and Fleece; Goat Farming Systems; Crops for Goats; Goats for Export; Harness Goats; and more.

There is a thorough index, a bibliography, and several appendixes. The info is presented in a rather dry manner, but is very useful. There are lots of great diagrams, charts, and pictures. It's just a ton of good information. The only major fault I can find is that being published in Great Britain, it does use some terminology unfamiliar to most Americans, and doesn't deal with the US at all. But that's ok, we have enough other books which cover those topics.

Bottom line, if you're looking for a really good, technical reference book on goats of all types, this is an important one to add to your library.

Lots of good anecdotal advise, even humourous at times. The chapter on goat health problems, poisons, and antidotes has proven useful, and is well organized. Genetic discussion on link between hornless goats and sexual malformity is thorough and necessary.

However, the book is written for a British reader, and lots of the medicines, practices, and even forage crop names, are different in the US. (e.g. lucerne = alfalfa) Delves heavily into dairy goats and dairy farming, but meat goat farming (Boers, Kikos, etc.) is only cursorily mentioned. The section(s) on nutrition is excessive for the average goat farmer, and the copious information about UK regulations is useless to the US reader.

This is a highly technical treatise oriented especially for Brits. Don't let that scare you though - it is a terrific book worthy of shelf space on any serious goatkeeper's library.

I have not found a better source within one book for dairy goat information.

You'll find a lot of useful information if you're wishing to learn about dairy goat farming. If, however, you also want to learn about meat goat production, buy Raising Meat Goats For Profit by Gail Bowman.

I've had a copy of this book for at least 25 years and read it over and over. It is by a Brit, but so what? Make the stretch. It covers so many aspects of the subject that transcend goats that it would be informative to anyone interested in land management and animal husbandry in general. He deals with concepts of nutrition ecology and health hardly ever dealt with today, such as alternatives to the use of mainstream comercial feeds, rearing methods and things too numerous to mention, and all from a unique perspective. A true lover of goats. It's THE Bible of goats, written back in 1957 and never equaled to my knowledge.

I've had a copy of this book for at least 25 years and read it over and over. It is by a Brit, but so what? Make the stretch. It covers so many aspects of the subject that transcend goats that it would be informative to anyone interested in land management and animal husbandry in general. He deals with concepts of nutrition ecology and health hardly ever dealt with today, such as alternatives to the use of mainstream comercial feeds, rearing methods and things too numerous to mention, and all from a unique perspective. A true lover of goats. It's THE Bible of goats, written back in 1957 and never equaled to my knowledge.

The great thing about this book is if you sort of read between the lines it covers the "art" of breeding good, easy keeping goats as much as the science of it.

EASY READING FOR A BEGINNER, DIRECT AND WELL ORGANIZED. I RECOMMEND IT. HAVE PURCHASED AND READ SEVERAL BOOKS ON GOATS. THIS IS MY FAVORITE BY FAR.

This is the best book about goat husbandry that I've ever read