Goat Keeping : Paperwork

Being animal mad as I am and the comments I've had from my previous chicken care posts (Winter Wonderland and Looking after chickens and geese in Winter), I thought it would be good to share my experiences in goat keeping. Granted, its still early days but we're now settled into a routine and have gained so much information it seems right to share and I'm planning on doing so in a series of posts.

Please remember, although I'm happy to chat away and share what I know, I'm not an expert! Before we take on any new animals I spend hours trawling through pages on the internet looking for as much information, good and bad, so that we can make an informed decision and can gain as much knowledge about what we are doing as possible. Choosing a breed, knowing the health requirements, potential problems and costs are all important items to consider. If you are thinking of following the goat keeping (or any animal keeping, for that matter!) route, I highly suggest you do the same.

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Unlike with chickens, if you decide you want to start keeping goats there is a bit of paperwork that needs to be dealt with beforehand.

Because they are classed as livestock (even if kept as pets) you first of all need to register for a CPH number with The Rural Payments Agency (who work alongside Defra). CPH stands for County Parish Holding. It allows the authorities to track down who holds livestock and where in the case of an outbreak of disease (e.g. foot and mouth).

To get your CPH number you must contact the Rural Payments Agency (“RPA” - 0845 603 7777) who will ask a number of questions about where you are located, who owns the land and how many animals you have (or will have). Once they have your application they will register your details and send paperwork out to you, usually within 10 working days. You will not be able to take your goats home without a CPH number.

At this point, it is also worth looking for and registering with a farm vet as you will need to advise Animal Health of their details. (If you are based in Cambridgeshire or West Norfolk, I can highly recommend Isle Vet Group).

Once you have a CPH number, you will need to contact your local Animal Health Department. The RPA should be able to point you in to the correct Animal Health Department for your area. I’ve found both the RPA and Animal Health to be very friendly and helpful and only to happy to help with any questions you may have, no matter how daft you think they might be! (The questions, that is!). Animal Health will also register your details and will write to you with a herd/flock number, together with a unique customer ID.

My tip:

As the paperwork starts to come through, its worth making up a file to keep it all in a safe place. That way you have everything to hand ready for when you need it. Not only that but if I'm not about and someone else needs to look for a piece of paperwork they can find it easily (particularly important as they will ask for memorable information). I have a large bright pink folder which has various dividers. These are marked up as follows:

Animal Health - notes of phone calls made and received (noting the time, date and name of person I've spoken to). Also contains Movement Licences, which will be explained in a future post.

Chickens - I've listed the names and breeds of our chickens and where they were purchased from, together with a note of any medication they've had or visits to the vets.

Defra - As with Animal Health.

Geese - As with chickens.

Goats - As with chickens and geese.

RPA - As with Animal Health and Defra.

Vets - notes of phone calls made and received (noting the time, date and name of person I've spoken to). Also contains bills which show the work carried out on our animals.

You will need the CPH number for bringing your goats home, which will be explained in a future post about transporting your goats home.

PS - If you find this post useful please do leave a comment and let me know. If you think I've missed anything out or would like to add anything, again please let me know.