Goat Health Records: A Complete Guide for Small Herds

Updated June 2026 · 8 min read

Good records are the foundation of a healthy goat herd. They tell you when your last CDT was due, which goats have FAMACHA scores trending toward treatment, and which doe needs a breeding booster next month — without keeping all of it in your head.

This guide covers what to track, how to organize it, and the most common mistakes that let problems slip through the cracks.

1. Individual Animal Records

Every goat needs a permanent record that travels with them for life. Create a file — physical or digital — for each animal when they're born or when you acquire them.

What to include in the base record:

• Name and ID: Ear tag number, tattoo, or microchip
• Date of birth
• Breed (purebred or percentage)
• Sex and reproductive status (intact doe, wether, buck)
• Dam and sire — critical for pedigree and avoiding inbreeding
• Color and markings — helps when you have multiple goats with similar ear tags
• Purchase date and source (if acquired)
• Registration number (ADGA, AGS, etc. if registered)

The dam/sire link becomes critical when you're making breeding decisions 2-3 years down the line. An animal that looks like a great breeding prospect but shares a grandfather with most of your does is a problem you won't catch without records.

2. Vaccination Records and Schedules

The most important vaccine for goats in the US is CD&T (Clostridium perfringens types C and D, plus tetanus). It's the one vaccination that applies to virtually every goat operation regardless of size, region, or production type.

CD&T Schedule

What to record for each vaccination:

• Date given
• Product name (Bar-Vac CD/T, Colorado Serum CD/T, etc.)
• Lot number and expiration date
• Route and injection site (SQ in neck or behind shoulder)
• Who administered it
• Next due date

Other Vaccines to Consider

Talk to your vet about whether any of these apply to your situation:

• Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL): Cases-Bac vaccine is available if CL is present in your herd or region
• Rabies: Required in some states, especially if goats are near wildlife
• Footrot vaccine: For herds with persistent footrot problems
• Soremouth (Orf): Modified live vaccine — use with caution, it can spread to humans

3. FAMACHA Scoring and Deworming Logs

Internal parasites — specifically Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm) — are the #1 health threat to goats in warm, humid climates. The FAMACHA system lets you make targeted deworming decisions based on each animal's actual need, rather than treating the whole herd on a calendar schedule.

FAMACHA Scale

What to record for each FAMACHA check:

• Date
• Score (1-5)
• Any treatment given (product, dose, weight-based calculation)
• Withdrawal period if applicable

When you track scores over time, patterns emerge. An animal scoring 3-4 repeatedly despite treatments may be harboring resistant worms — or may just have poor genetics for parasite resistance. Either way, it's a culling candidate, but you won't know without the records.

4. Breeding and Kidding Records

Breeding records let you calculate expected kidding dates, plan pre-kidding vaccinations and nutrition changes, and build a pedigree database over time.

What to Record at Breeding

• Doe's name and ID
• Buck's name and ID (and registration number if applicable)
• Breeding date (use the first date they were together if running with a buck)
• Breeding method: natural service, AI, or embryo transfer
• Expected kidding date (+150 days average; use our free goat gestation calculator)
• CDT booster reminder set for 4 weeks before expected kidding

What to Record at Kidding

• Date and time
• Number of kids
• Birth weight of each kid
• Sex of each kid
• Colostrum intake (how much, from dam or bottle)
• Any complications (dystocia, retained placenta, weak kid, etc.)
• Dam's body condition score post-kidding

Birth weight is one of the strongest predictors of survival in the first week. Kids under 4 lbs need intervention — supplemental colostrum, warming, and monitoring every few hours.

5. Milk Production Tracking (Dairy Goats)

If you're milking, production records tell you which does are your highest producers, when production is declining, and whether a drop in production is seasonal or a sign of a health problem like mastitis.

Minimum to track:

• Date and milking (AM/PM)
• Pounds or pounds per day per doe
• Days in milk (days since kidding)
• Any mastitis observations (California Mastitis Test results, changes in milk appearance)

Most homestead dairy operations track morning and evening milkings separately. You can simplify this to a daily total once you have a baseline for each doe's AM/PM split.

6. Vet Visits and Illness Records

Every vet visit, illness, injury, and unusual observation goes in the record. The pattern matters as much as any individual event.

For each incident, record:

• Date and animal
• Signs observed (when started, severity, what you tried first)
• Diagnosis (if confirmed)
• Treatment: medication, dose, route, duration
• Withdrawal period (critical for meat and milk)
• Outcome and follow-up

7. Tools for Keeping Goat Health Records

You have several options, ranging from paper to dedicated software:

• Paper binders: Free, works without power. Hard to search, easy to lose, no reminders.
• Spreadsheets: Better than paper for searching. Still no reminders, no mobile access, manual work.
• Farm management apps: The only option that gives you reminders, pedigree tracking, FAMACHA history, and access from the barn with your phone.

Mind the Farm tracks all of the above — FAMACHA scores, vaccinations with lot numbers, breeding records, kidding outcomes, milk production, and vet visits — for every goat in your herd. You can log events by talking to it: "Rosie scored a 3 on FAMACHA today" creates the record automatically.

It's free for your first 2 species, which means if you have goats and chickens, you can run the whole operation for free.

Frequently Asked Questions