Meat Goat 4-H Project Area

The 4-H Meat Goat project area consists of three project manuals. Each manual covers three years of activities.  

• Just Browsing (Meat Goat 1) explores meat goat body parts, meat goat selection, breeds, record keeping, meat goat and dairy conformation, show preparations, sportsmanship, meat goat health, feed selection and several management skills.
• In Get Growing with Meat Goats (Meat Goat 2), you will explore meat goat diseases, selecting stock, poisonous plants, body condition, water quality, goat predators, kidding, meat goat reproduction and showing meat goats.
• In Meating the Future (Meat Goat 3), you discover how to select breeding sires, balance a ration, prevent diseases, control internal and external parasites, practice biosecurity, practice sound ethics, conduct a meat goat judging clinic, judge goats, give oral reasons and explore meat goat products.

If a member completes the 9 years of project manuals, they can work with their county Extension professionals to determine their learning opportunities for their remaining 4-H years.

Scoresheets

Record Guides

Youth who has selected a Meat Goat 4-H project typically are raising an animal as part of their project work. A project record guide is part of the animal science project experience.  If you enroll with an animal, you will need to select the Breeding Livestock Record Guide (Breeding Meat Goat) or Market Livestock Record Guide (Market Goat) to accompany this project. Record guides are available in both a print and electronic format.

Paper Record Guides

• Ages 8-10 – Beginner Market Livestock Record Guide
• Ages 11-13 – Intermediate Market Livestock Record Guide
• Ages 14-20 – Advanced Market Livestock Record Guide

Breeding Livestock Record Guides (ages based on Jan 1st of current 4-H year)

• Ages 8-10 – Beginner Breeding Livestock Record Guide
• Ages 11-13 – Intermediate Breeding Livestock Record Guide
• Ages 14-20 – Advanced Breeding Livestock Record Guide

For most species, the supplement records are lifetime production records, so the 4-H member updates these each year that an animal is a part of their project. Members will need to complete a supplement sheet for each animal included in their record guide. These supplement records will be available online only.

• Meat Goat
• Individual MEAT DOE Record

Exhibit Ideas

• Most youth in this project area will exhibit an animal at a livestock show.

• Poster, Story, and/or Model on one of the following topics:

• Meat Goat 1 - meat goat body parts, meat goat selection, breeds, record keeping, meat goat and dairy conformation, show preparations, sportsmanship, meat goat health, feed selection and several management skills.
• Meat Goat 2 - meat goat diseases, selecting stock, poisonous plants, body condition, water quality, goat predators, kidding, meat goat reproduction and showing meat goats.
• Meat Goat 3 - breeding sires selection, balance a ration, prevent diseases, control internal and external parasites, practice biosecurity, practice sound ethics, conduct a meat goat judging clinic, judge goats, give oral reasons and explore meat goat products.
• Examples of Blue Ribbon Exhibits

How Do I Sign Up?

Project Videos

Related Events & Camps

Animal Health & Quality Assurance (AH&QA)

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