Goat Rearing

Goat is a multi functional animal and plays a significant role in the economy and nutrition of landless, small and marginal farmers in the country. Goat rearing is an enterprise which has been practiced by a large section of population in rural areas. Goats can efficiently survive on available shrubs and trees in adverse harsh environment in low fertility lands where no other crop can be grown. In pastoral and agricultural subsistence societies in India, goats are kept as a source of additional income and as an insurance against disaster. Goats are also used in ceremonial feastings and for the payment of social dues. In addition to this, goat has religious and ritualistic importance in many societies.

The advantages of goat rearing are :

• The initial investment needed for Goat farming is low.
  
• Due to small body size and docile nature, housing requirements and managemental problems with goats are less.
  
• Goats are friendly animals and enjoy being with the people.
  
• Goats are prolific breeders and achieve sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 months gestation period in goats is short and at the age of 16-17 months it starts giving milk. Twinning is very common and triplets and quadruplets are rare.
  
• In drought prone areas risk of goat farming is very much less as compared to other livestock species.
  
• Unlike large animals in commercial farm conditions both male and female goats have equal value.
  
• Goats are ideal for mixed species grazing. The animal can thrive well on wide variety of thorny bushes, weeds, crop residues, agricultural by-products unsuitable for human consumption.
  
• Under proper management, goats can improve and maintain grazing land and reduce bush encroachment (biological control) without causing harm to the environment.
  
• No religious taboo against goat slaughter and meat consumption prevalent in the country.
  
• Slaughter and dressing operation and meat disposal can be carried without much environmental problems.
  
• The goat meat is more lean (low cholesterol) and relatively good for people who prefer low energy diet especially in summer and sometimes goat meat (chevon) is preferred over mutton because of its "chewability"
  
• Goat milk is easy to digest than cow milk because of small fat globules and is naturally homogenised.
• Goat milk is said to play a role in improving appetite and digestive efficiency. Goat milk is non allergic as compared to cow milk and it has anti-fungal and anti bacterial properties and can be used for treating urogenital diseases of fungal origin.
  
• Goats are 2.5 times more economical than sheep on free range grazing under semi arid conditions.
  
• Goat creates employment to the rural poor besides effectively utilising unpaid family labour. There is ample scope for establishing cottage industries based on goat meat and milk products and value addition to skin and fibre.
  
• Goat is termed as walking refrigerator for the storage of milk and can be milked number of times in a day.

Package of Common Management Practices Recommended for Goat rearing
Modern and well established scientific principles, practices and skills should be used to obtain maximum economic benefits from goat rearing. Some of the recommended practices are given here under :

I. Housing management:
1) Construct shed on dry and properly raised ground.
2)  Avoid water-logging, marshy areas.
3) In low lying and heavy rainfall areas the floors should be preferably elevated.
4) In temperate Himalayan region the floor may be made of wood.
5) The shed should be 10 ft. high and should have good ventilation.
6) Bucks should be housed in individual pens.
7) Does can be housed in groups upto 60 per pen.
8) Provide proper shade and cool drinking water in summer.
9) Dispose of dung and urine properly.
10) Give adequate space for the animals. The housing space required for
11) goats of various age groups is given in Annexure VIII.
12) Avoid over stocking or crowding

II. Selection of breeding stock and it's management:
1. Immediately after release of the loan purchase the stock from a reliable breeders or from nearest livestock market.
2. Animals in good health and having good physical features must be purchased in consultation with Veterinarian/ Bank's technical officer.
3.Purchase animals which are ready to breed and in prime stage of production.
4.Identify the newly purchased animals by suitable identification mark.
5. Vaccinate the newly purchased animals against the diseases
6.Keep the newly purchased animals under observation for about 15 days and then mix with the general flock.
7.Unproductive animals should be culled promptly and should be replaced by the newly purchased animals or farm born one
8. Animals are to be bred at the interval of 8-9 months for maximum productivity.
9. Cull the old animals at the age of 6 years and above.
10.  Avoid the kidding during peak periods of summer and winter.

III. Feeding management:
1.Ensure Bushes/shrubs for browising of animals
2.As an alternative to above, supply of cultivated fodder from own farm or from surrounding farms may be ensured.
3.Offer roughages adlib.
4.As a thumb rule 2/3rds of the energy requirements should be met through roughages. Half of the roughages should be leguminous green fodders and rest half should be grasses/tender tree leaves.
5. In the absence of good quality green fodders, concentrates must be considered to replace them.
6. Kids should be fed colostrum upto 5 days of age. Later on they can be put on Kid starter rations.
7.Green leguminous fodders should be offered adlib. to kids from 15 days onwards.
8.Provide salt and water to kids at all times
9. Additional concentrates should be given to bucks and does during breeding season.
10.Care should be taken to meet the nutrient requirements as recommended

IV. Protection against diseases:
1.Be on the alert for signs of illness such as reduced feed intake, fever, abnormal discharge or unusual behaviour.
2.Consult the nearest veterinary aid centre for help if illness is suspected.
3. Protect the animals against common diseases.
4. In case of outbreak of contagious diseases, immediately segregate the sickanimals from healthy one and take necessary disease control measures.
5.Deworm the animals regularly.
6.Examine the faeces of adult animals to detect eggs of internal parasites and treat the animals with suitable drugs.
7.Provide clean and uncontaminated feed and water for minimising the health disorders.
8. Strictly follow the recommended vaccine schedule as given below

V. Breeding care:
1. It should be planned to obtain 3 kiddings in 2 years period by adopting optimal management conditions.
2. For every 25 does one buck should be provided in one breeding season.
3. Breed the animals 12 hours after the onset of the first symptoms of heat for maximum conception.
4. Unbreedable animals must be examined thoroughly as directed by veterinary doctor for prompt elimination of causes for anoestrum or cull them if necessary.

VI. Care during pregnancy:
In advanced stage of pregnancy the does must be transferred to either kidding pens or separately earmarked space for kidding with in the main shed after thoroughly disinfecting it. After kidding, the does should be provided with warm bran mash for two days.

VII. Care of kids:
1. Take care of new born kids by providing guard rails.
2.  Treat / disinfect the naval cord with tincture of iodine as soon as it is cut with a sharp knife.
3.  Protect the kids from extreme weather conditions, particularly during the first two months.
4.  Dehorn the kids during first two weeks of age
5.   Male kids should be castrated for better quality meat production.
6. Vaccinate the kids as per the recommended schedule
7.  Wean the kids at the age of 8 weeks
8. Proper selection of kids on the basis of initial body weight and weaning weight should be initiated by maintaining appropriate records for replacing the culled adult stock as breeders.
9. Additional feed requirements of lactating does must be ensured for proper nursing of all the piglets born.

VIII.Marketing:
The marketable products of goat farming includes the fattened kids, manure, culled animals. Marketing avenues for the above products are slaughter houses and individual meat consuming customers and agriculture farms. Therefore availability of either slaughtering facilities or traders who will purchase live animals should be ensured to convert the fatteners into wholesome meat and meat products. Further, demand for manure from nearby agriculture farms must also be ensured.

STATEWISE GOAT POPULATION IN INDIA (1997) (in thousands)

GOAT MILK, MEAT, SKIN AND MANURE PRODUCTION IN INDIA

Goat breeds of India and their description

Source : CIRG, Makhdoom

MILK PRODUCTION PARAMETERS (TRAITS) OF IMPORTANT GOAT BREEDS

Nutrient requirements of goats in percentage or
Amount per Kg of dry feed

Source: http://www.nabard.org/