NORTH BALTIMORE – When Zach McCoy couldn’t take his sick goat to market, he put him in the spotlight
instead.
While livestock operations normally focus on meat, dairy and egg production, breeding, wool, or similar
products, performance goats are seen as a bit more unusual.
McCoy, a member of the 4-H Way club became interested in that aspect of raising animals when his market
goat, Dylan, got sick three days before the Wood County Fair a few years ago. Unable to go to market,
Estelle Dobbins suggested to McCoy that he enter Dylan as a performance goat.
McCoy is now a regular in the class in both the 4-H and open divisions.
"I decided it’s a lot more fun. There is less competition and it’s more of a fun class," he
said.
The 17-year-old senior at Penta Career Center, whose home school is North Baltimore, decided to try it.

During performances, goats are led through an obstacle course and also pull carts or wagons while in a
harness.
"I didn’t do anything to prepare Dylan that first year," McCoy said. The goat is now a veteran
and frequent award winner, and Dylan has won the high-point championship at the fair three years in a
row.
In 2013, McCoy and Dylan were the high point champions, and his second goat, Tucker, earned reserve
high-point honors giving McCoy a rare sweep.
McCoy now sets up an obstacle course similar to the fair event and walks his goats through the course at
the family property located on 30 acres of woods.
Tucker, his first market goat, became too big too quick, so he didn’t make weight for the fair. Tucker
then joined Dylan as a performance goat and showed in McCoy’s second year in the class.
Jackpot became McCoy’s third performance goat and debuted at this summer’s fair. Most of his training of
the goats focuses on Jackpot.
"The other two have been doing it for a few years now. I walk Jackpot around most every night,"
McCoy said. "They will walk with you on a rope and you can get them to do anything you want them
to. But you have to get them to trust you first."
McCoy said caring for the goats is similar to taking care of any other family pet. Additional
responsibilities include the need to be wormed every month and have their hooves trimmed every three to
four weeks.
"We had horses, and compared to the horses, the goats are a lot easier to care for."
McCoy said his goats are often turned out on pasture and they also are fed grass, hay and goat feed.
During the winter, they are bed down with a lot of straw and heat lamps are placed over the water
buckets.
"They all huddle under the heat lamps," he said.
When not in school or working with the goats, McCoy works at Mid-Wood in North Baltimore and also helps
out on an area farm.SClBAfter graduation, he hopes to get his welding inspection license and pursue a
job in that field.
As for the goats, McCoy summarizes, "You have to love it to do it, because you’re not going to make
any money from it."