Egg counts go back up

For the fecal samples collected on August 18, fecal egg counts (FECs) ranged from 0 to 5,100 and averaged 887 epg, compared to 338 epg on August 4.

Egg counts for some of the goats went up.  No goat experienced a significant reduction in fecal egg count, as compared to two weeks ago.

Twenty-two goats had fecal egg counts above 1,000 epg.  These goats, which represent 28 percent of the goats in the pasture test, accounted for 69 percent of the total egg output.  The twenty percent of the goats (n=16) with the highest egg counts accounted for 60 percent of the total egg output.

Individual bucks are represented on the horizontal axis

Ten goats had fecal egg counts above 2,000 epg.  These goats, which represent 13 percent of the goats in the pasture test, accounted for 48 percent of the total egg output.

Thirty-eight percent (n=30) of the bucks are still meeting the Gold standard of performance for parasite resistance, failing to have an egg count above 500 epg.  All of the bucks consigned by Jeanne Dietz-Band (MD, n=3) and Mike and Lorie Renick (WV, n=5) are meeting the gold standard for fecal egg counts.

All of the Renick's bucks are low egg shedders

For the goats in the pen, fecal egg counts ranged from 0 to 771 and averaged 313 epg, as compared to 140 on August 4.

Download latest fecal egg count report  

Day-70 Leader Boards

The following table shows the ten top-performing bucks as of day 70 of the test.  The second table shows the top consignments as of day 70.  The top consignment is based on 3 bucks or the best 3 bucks in a consignment.

Top-performing bucks

Rank	ID	Consigner	Breed	Start wt	d-70 wt	d-70 ADG	No. Tx	High FEC
1	47	Miller	Boer x Kiko	44	63	0.271	0	125
2	34	Garrett	Savan x Span	36	55	0.271	0	520
3	15	Burke	NZ Kiko	44	62	0.257	0	367
4	12	Burke	94% Kiko	49	67	0.257	0	475
5	11	Burke	75% Kiko	48	66	0.257	0	771
6	13	Burke	75% Kiko	50	68	0.257	0	800
7	14	Burke	86% Kiko	50	68	0.257	0	1000
8	67	Smith	PB Kiko	43	60	0.243	0	1000
9	48	Miller	Boer x Kiko	38	53	0.214	0	1025
10	4	Adams	PB Kiko	38	53	0.214	0	2650*

* This egg count would disqualify this buck for the sale.  The bronze standard for high egg count is 2000 epg.

9th ranked buck - Boer x Kiko consigned by Luke Miller

Top Consigners (top 3 bucks)

Rank	Consigner	Breed	Avg. ADG	No. Tx	High FEC
1	Burke	% Kiko	0.271	0	1000
2	Miller	Boer x Kiko	0.228	0	1025
3	Allen	Kiko	0.195	0	775
4	Ozkum	Myotonic	0.186	0	600

Data will be collected on the goats two more times (September 1 and 15). Three more fecal egg counts will be added to the data set.  The goats will be scanned via ultrasound (for rib eye area) on September 1. They will be evaluated for structural correctness and reproductive soundness on September 1.

A lot can still change, especially if the bucks are able to put on some meaningful gains during the last 28 days of the test.   Of course, rutting behavior may also be a factor for many of the bucks, especially the older, bigger ones.

A buck from Kent Ozkum's consignment of Myotonics

The pastures are generally in good condition.  It has not been an overly moist summer, but it is much better than last year.  There has been no need for supplemental nutrition.

Better gains

The goats posted the best gains since the test began on June 10.  For this 14-day weigh period, gain ranged from -3 to +8 lbs. and averaged 3 lbs. or 0.212 lbs. per day. Only two goats lost weight. Seven goats maintained their weight.  The rest of the goats (n=69) posted positive weight gains.

For the period, the two top-gaining goats were Kiko and percentage Kiko bucks consigned by Merritt "Sam" Burke (DE). Four additional bucks consigned by Craig Adams (IL), Sam Burke, P.J. Murphy (NJ), and Kent Ozkum (MD) gained 0.5 lbs. per day from August 4 to August 18.

Luke Miller's top-gaining Boer x Kiko buck (August 18)

As of day-70, two bucks are tied for having the highest rate-of-gain (ADG):  a Savanna x Spanish buck consigned by Stephen & Janet Garrett (VA) and a Boer x Kiko buck consigned by Luke Miller (IN).  Since the test began, these bucks have gained 19 lbs. or 0.271 lbs. per day.

The next five top-gaining goats are Kiko and percentage Kiko bucks consigned by Sam Burke.  Burke's entire consignment of five bucks is gaining 0.257 lbs. per day. As of day-70, Burke is the top-consigner.

A Kiko buck from Sam Burke's top consignment (August 18)

No worm problems
Clinical parasitism is currently not a problem for the goats in the test.  Today's FAMACHA© scores ranged from 1 to 3 and averaged 1.56 compared to 2.22 on August 4.  Some of the improvement in FAMACHA© scores may be attributed to scoring "bias," as Jeff (not Susan) scored the goats on August 4.  One goat was dewormed with levamisole (3 ml per 50 lbs.).

Body condition scores ranged from 1.5 to 3 and averaged 2.65 compared to 2.17 on August 4.  Again, some of the differences may be due to differences in scorers. Coat condition scores ranged from 1.5 to 2.5, with a similar average as recorded on August 4. Only one goat had a positive (1) dag score.

Grazing cool season grasses on August 18

After working today, the goats were given access to a 2-acre paddock of cool season grasses.  It is a good pasture, but also shorter than some of the others, which should result in the goats ingesting some infective worm larvae.

It is not possible to detect genetic differences in parasite resistance (fecal egg counts) and resilience (FAMACHA© scores) unless the goats are sufficiently "challenged."

Penned goats
Most of the goats in the pen are starting to gain better.  They are eating a lot of hay and consuming more pellets (ADM Goat Power) during their once-a-day feeding.  For this weigh period, gain ranged from 0 to 9 lbs. and averaged 5.4 lbs. or 0.386 lbs. per day.

Goats in the feed pen on August 15

For the first 70 days of the feeding period, gain has ranged -7 to +26 lbs. and averaged 0.193 lbs. per day.  As would be expected, the goats in the pen have higher body condition scores and lower FAMACHA© scores than the goats in the pasture test.

Download August 18 report

Fecal egg counts go down

Fecal egg counts for the samples collected on August 4 ranged from 0 to 2,650 epg and averaged 338 eggs per gram, compared to 876 on July 20.  Only 7 goats had egg counts above 1,000 epg.  Only 1 goat had a fecal egg count above 2,000 epg.The seven goats with higher egg counts accounted for 42 percent of the eggs shed onto pasture while only representing 9 percent of the herd.

Anthelmintic treatment (levamisole @ 3 ml/50 lbs) was extremely effective for the three goats that required deworming on July 20.

ID	July 20 FEC	Aug 4 FEC	% Reduction
16	900	25	97.2
76	4275	50	98.8
0	7750	75	99.0

Several goats may be showing evidence of the "self-cure" phenomenon, whereby animals expel adult worms after ingesting large numbers of infective worm larvae.  The self-cure phenomenon is well-documented in sheep; less so in goats. At the same time, there could be other factors, even a combination of factors, which caused some egg counts to decrease significantly without any anthelmintic treatment.

ID	July 20 FEC	Aug 4 FEC	% Reduction
1	1,475	100	93.2
2	1,429	75	94.8
5	1,033	375	63.7
14	1,000	50	95.0
20	1,229	300	75.6
48	1,025	100	90.2
51	1,733	275	84.1
52	2,550	225	91.2
54	2,960	575	80.6
79	3,300	425	87.1

So far, almost half (n=36) of the goats on test are meeting the gold standard of performance for parasite resistance.  All of their fecal egg counts have been below 500 epg and their average fecal egg counts are below 500 epg.

#46 is a low egg shedder
Boer buck consigned by Sherrie Losch (PA)

Test	Consigner		6/23	7/7	7/20	8/4
ID		Breed	FEC	FEC	FEC	FEC
3	Adams	PB Kiko	0	75	40	25
6	Allen	75% Kiko	28	50	300	150
7	Allen	88% Kiko	0	0	400	125
9	Allen	PB Kiko	0	240	375	300
10	Allen	88% Kiko	0	67	0	125
12	Burke	94% Kiko	0	0	475	50
15	Burke	NZ Kiko	0	367	100	25
17	Cooper	Spanish	28	160	0	75
18	Cooper	Spanish	0	125	50	50
19	Cooper	Spanish	0	0	75	150
21	Cooper	¾ Spanish	0	75	150	250
27	Dietz-Band	% Kiko	0	25	200	275
28	Dietz-Band	% Kiko	0	0	343	50
29	Dietz-Band	% Kiko	0	0	200	300
30	Francis	PB Kiko	0	0	67	75
31	Francis	PB Kiko	0	0	50	100
32	Garrett	Sav x Kiko	0	0	160	57
33	Garrett	Sav x Kiko	0	0	na	350
34	Garrett	Sav x Span	0	50	520	250
37	Gladstone	Kiko x Nubian	0	80	300	50
38	Gladstone	Boer x Kiko x	0	0	280	25
42	KSU	Spanish	0	75	25	50
46	Losch	Boer	25	0	175	0
47	Miller	Kiko x Boer	0	0	125	75
49	Miller	Kiko x Boer	0	400	80	575
50	Murphy	PB Kiko	0	400	250	300
57	Ozkum	Myotonic	40	67	na	325
58	Ozkum	Myotonic	0	125	33	0
62	Renick	NZ Kiko	0	25	125	50
63	Renick	75% Kiko	0	0	100	125
64	Renick	75% Kiko	0	na	133	0
65	Renick	PB Kiko	0	0	75	150
66	Renick	75% Kiko	50	67	67	450
71	Sweitzer	Kiko	200	120	200	75
72	Sweitzer	Kiko	0	86	120	50
74	Thorne	Boer	0	0	0	25

Download Aug 14 FEC report