Goats are considerate kidders

Goats keep quite civilised hours when it comes to kidding, according Kerry Averill of Goatland Farm at Morrinsville.



“They tend to kid between 11am and 7pm, which means you don’t have to stay up all night checking them,” says Kerry.

However, with 1300 milking goats producing twins and triplets at Goatland Farm those daytime ‘maternity’ hours are intense for Kerry and his wife Robyn and their staff.

“It’s full on during kidding and we need extra staff to cope with the kids and record-keeping,” says Kerry.

Kids stay with their mothers for the first 24 hours, to ensure they receive colostrum milk to help establish their natural immunity, and are then moved to small warm pens where
they learn to feed from an “on-tap” milk feeder system.

“Kids learn really quickly; far faster than calves,” says Kerry.

Some kids will become replacements for the Goatland herd, some will be sold to other farmers; and bucks will be sold for meat.

However, despite demand for it, the goat meat industry is still relatively undeveloped in New Zealand, says Kerry.

Very demanding
Robyn and Kerry switched from cows to goats 10 years ago on their 50 hectare farm 10km from Morrinsville and have no regrets – despite the pressures of goat farming.

“Goat farming isn’t for everyone,” says Robyn.

“It’s very demanding and goats are completely different to handle than cows.”

Kerry agrees. “Goats are intelligent, inquisitive and affectionate animals.”

The Averill farm is part of the Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has limited membership, currently to 70 members milking between them 40,000 goats – and there’s a waiting list to join.

“The co-operative’s aim is to match supply with market demand, however it’s possible we may require up to 100 members in five years,” says Kerry.

The co-operative makes and cans infant milk formula from its Hamilton dairy factory, exporting it to more than 20 countries.

Part of the success of the infant formula is down to the on-farm ‘formula’ for caring for, feeding and milking the dairy goats.



Grass fed
Goatland’s goats are housed indoors year-round in large, light, airy pens and are fed grass and Lucerne grown on the farm, supplemented with New Zealand grown maize, canola and hay. No imported supplements, including PKE, are fed to the herd.

The goats – each of which are named –  wear collars and ear tags as well as a leg tag, which is read when they enter the 100-bail iCONVEYERS rotary installed five years ago.

“I know what each goat is producing and when some are drying off – it’s not always visibly obvious because there can be little change in the udder appearance,” says Kerry.

The rotary is the same size as a 50-cow rotary, with smaller bails to accommodate the does, which produce between three-four litres of milk daily.

Because of the inquisitive nature of goats and their tendency to chew almost anything in their reach, the dairy had to be re-designed – and not just to accommodate their smaller size.

“We had to put the electronic equipment up high out of their reach,” says Kerry.



Environment rules
Milking takes about two-and-a-half hours in the morning and about one-and-a-half hours at night.

A cooling system lowers the milk temperature to seven degrees Celsius when it enters the vat, and down to four degrees Celsius shortly after. Milk is collected every two days.

Kerry has installed a lab in the dairy to test the milk, ensuring it meets high standards demanded by the co-operative.

While goats don’t produce the volume of effluent dairy cows do, farmers are under the same regional council environmental rules and scrutiny as their dairying counterparts.

On the Averill farm, liquid waste is sprayed onto pasture and bedding from the barns is used as compost for maize crops – and the family vegetable garden.

Robyn and Kerry open their farm to visits, by appointment only.


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