Learn to Keep Goats
People keep goats for a variety of reasons e.g. for milk, meat, fibre, controlling weeds, or as a pet. They are actually quite amusing creatures to observe and can make good company. Whatever your reason for keeping them, there is a lot to know if you want to provide them with optimal care and wellbeing.
In this course students learn about different goat breeds and their usefulness. You'll find out how to breed them and suitable diets to keep them in tiptop health. Discover how to set aside areas for your goats, what their everyday needs are, and some of the common ailments which can affect them. Gain insight into how goats can contribute to dairy and meat industries and how you might profit from a goat keeping enterprise.
What the Course Covers
There are 9 lessons in this course:
1. Nature and Scope of Goat Production
2. Goat Breeds and Breeding
3. Feeds and Nutrition
4. Health Management
5. General Husbandry - Housing, Fencing, Grooming
6. Kids and Kidding
7. Dairy Production
8. Meat and Fiber Production
9. Goat Farm Management
Workload
Study when, where and however much you want. For most students, the course can be completed with a total of around 100 hours of study; and a commitment close to that may be needed to achieve desired learning outcomes.
Extra Reading
The following books, available through this web site are relevant supplementary reading for this course:
Profitable Farming
Animal Feed and Nutrition
Animal Health
Farm Management
Assessment
Self Assessment Tests are presented throughout the course. These are essentially an automated quiz. When you undertake a "SAT" or "Self Assessment Test", you will be able to see what you got correct, and what was incorrect; and in that way, you can identify your weaknesses.
Assignments are given at the end of each lesson. You should complete this assignment, paying careful attention to follow what is asked of you. It can be just as important to learn to work to specification, as it is to learn about the topic you are studying. Graduates who develop a habit of working to specification in the field of cattle farming, will impress employers, and will be more efficient when self employed.
A Final Exam is offered upon satisfactory completion of all assignments. This is optional. If you choose to apply for and do this exam, you will have the possibility of obtaining a "formal credit" or "Pass Certification" for this course. A fee applies. The exam may be sat under prearranged conditions anywhere in the world. This college will award you a formal transcript, upon successful completion of the exam, as proof of your results.
Recognition and Ethics
This college is a member of the ACS Affiliates Network; a group of colleges from several countries, affiliated with each other through ACS Distance Education.. Courses are developed with input from all of these colleges, aspiring to reflect internationally accepted standards and needs.
A strict "No Plagiarism" and "No fraud" policy exists. Assignments are checked for plagiarism, and assignments will not be deemed to have been completed, if work is not your own original creation, and is found to have been copied from elsewhere. If the person doing the course is discovered to be different to the name enrolled, the enrolment and any results will be recorded as invalid and any fees paid will be forfeited.
Refund Policy
A full refund less expenses (up to 15% of fees applied) is provided to anyone wishing to withdraw from a course, within 2 weeks of enrolment. This does not apply after the first assignment has been submitted and marked; or after the two weeks has expired.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS INSTITUTION?
We believe that we have an ethical responsibility to make good use of the fees you pay and the time you invest into an education through our college. To this end, our first priority is always your learning. This comes before issues such as formal accreditations, speculative marketing and bureaucratic processes which all too often add considerable costs to the running of colleges, and take resources away from the provision of more valuable services to the student.
This college focuses on facilitating your learning and support to optimise that learning. We recognise that learning is all about improving knowledge and skills in your long term memory. While some colleges may focus on getting you to pass exams, by committing knowledge to short term memory; we understand that such an approach is not true education, and does little to improve your long term career or business prospects.
How This Course Could Help You
Whether you're just curious about keeping goats in your back yard or you're serious about breeding, this course is bound to be of use. The more you can learn, the more you can provide optimal conditions for your goats.
This course will be of benefit to those seeking a rural lifestyle, hobby farmers, goat breeders, commercial farmers, and anyone involved in agricultural industries. Study it by itself or as part of a higher level qualification along with other animal and farming studies.