In the Virgin Islands four different goat management sys- tems are practiced. The first and most common is tethering, with animals tied every morning in a selected place where they can have easy access to grass. They are normally untied in the evening and penned to prevent predation and stealing. If you utilize this practice, please make sure the animals have access to shade and plenty of clean water. The second is "cut and carry" where farmers without land go out and cut grass from government land and other properties to feed their animals daily, or buy chopped guinea grass with tantan (leucaena) from the Dept. of Agri- culture when available. This is a good practice for there seems to be plenty of guinea grass all over the island that could be utilized. The third is confinement where goats are kept in fenced pastures and are rotated on a schedule basis or should be. The fourth is unconfined herding, where the goats are allowed to roam freely, normally with the owner close by. Goats are basically hardy and do not have as many diseases as other animals. In the Virgin Islands, they are dis- turbed more by internal parasites than diseases. Stomach and intestinal worms usually cause the most damage. Important symptoms of worm infestation are loss of weight and digestive disturbances such as diarrhea and/or consti- pation in alternation. You can control worms by following a routine deworming schedule with medicines prescribed by a veterinarian. Also, practicing good sanitation such as re- moving manure where goats are penned will help decrease the incidence of these pests. Pasture rotation done a regular basis will also help decrease worm infestations. Finally, there is a great demand for goat meat. Virgin Islanders love "goat water" (stewed goat) and taste pre- ferences seem to be for the local produce. Sheep. In the Virgin Islands sheep are valuable for their meat and, like goats, have a wide ecological range. The Virgin Islands are known for the wool-less white hair sheep. These sheep are prolific and have a lambing rate of over 200% (i.e. two lambs per birth). They breed out of season unlike temperate wool sheep, have two gestations (preg- nancies) a year and normally have twins or triplets. Studies conducted at the Virgin Island Agriculture Experiment Station on the Virgin Islands white hair sheep have shown that they exhibit puberty at a younger age as compared to other tropical sheep, have a higher litter size at birth and a lower lamb mortality. They are also heavier, and have a higher growth rate. Other sheep breeds found in the Virgin Islands are Barbados Blackbelly and local Creole breeds. Sheep are efficient converters of forage to meat. They can produce a consumable lamb within seven or eight months after conception without it having to be fed any concen- trates. In the Virgin Islands, sheep management is similar to that of goats. Thus, a small farmer with a small flock of our own Virgin Islands prolific sheep can produce adequate quantities of meat for the family and for additional income. Poultry. Great strides in recent poultry research have made it possible to economically raise birds in every part of our islands, anytime of the year. In the Virgin Islands many families find it profitable to keep a few chickens to produce fresh eggs and meat for themselves and a few to sell to neighbors. Others who live Chicken coops protect poultry from predators and weather. Coops also make it easy to gather eggs from the nests, and prevent breakage. in residential areas and do not have the land to raise sheep or goats but still want to cut down on food costs can raise poultry as an alternative. Although poultry farming is quite common in the Virgin Islands, it could be improved with a few inexpensive managerial inputs. For example, I have noticed that most small backyard flocks on our islands con- tain old hens whose production is negligible. Laying hens should not be kept for more than two laying years for a small family because egg production decreases 20 to 25 percent in each successive year. A simple improvement in management, consisting of replacing old hens with young ones (which could be purchased from time to time at the Dept. of Agriculture) would tend to increase egg produc- tion as well as provide more birds for consumption or sale. Pigs. Pigs are more efficient converters of feed to meat than any other red-meat producing animal. Pigs can thrive on a variety of feeds including pasture. They have a de- served reputation for their ability to consume agricultural and industrial by-products, garbage and other such feeds that would otherwise be wasted. With the numerous super- markets, schools and hospitals in the Virgin Islands that provide a lot of waste produce and garbage it is not sur- prising that all our pigs are raised under backyard conditions. Pigs normally complement vegetable farming in the Virgin Islands where small farmers use them as a hedge against crop failure and also as a means of disposing of blemished vegetables or those they cannot sell easily. Sows (females) can be bred at around eight months of age, and two gestations per year are normal. They are prolific and can produce up to 12 piglets per birth. The piglets can reach 70 to 90 pounds within three months and 160 pounds or more within six months. Although it is easy to raise pigs, a few sound management practices can reduce piglet death rates, and increase productivity. Dressing percentages for pigs are 65-80 percent compared with 50-60 percent for cattle and 45-55 percent for sheep. Other small livestock that could be raised successfully in our islands are rabbits and pigeons. Because of problems associated with marketing of these animals, I have decided not to discuss their production and management here. If you desire to raise rabbits or pigeons or have any ques- tions concerning any of the other species discussed in this article, please feel free to contact me at the Cooperative Extension Service livestock program, telephone 778-0246.