Kern County Fire Department Goat Program Update

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The use of goats in helping to reduce and maintain fuel breaks in Kern County began several weeks ago with the introduction of 15 goats. At first the animals were kept at one of our facilities in Bakersfield so that they could be monitored and also receive standard inoculations. In the herd were 3 females that were pregnant and subsequently produced 5 healthy offspring, we also needed to slowly introduce the type of food that they were going to eat to ensure that their digestive system would be able to cope before being introduced to the work area.

As part of the pilot program we are continuing to learn about goat husbandry, unfortunately 3 goats were found to have Caseous Lymphadenitis, a contagious disease which affects their lymph nodes. This disease does not manifest itself until the animal is about 18 months old, and although treatable, to prevent any suffering of the affected goats and for the safety of the remainder of the herd the advice taken was to euthanize those that were affected.

This program has proven very successful in many areas and it is one that we would like to benefit from too. As a pilot program we will continue to learn and adjust as necessary.



Author:Kern County Fire Department Press Release