Goat Farming
Goat is known as ‘Poor
man’s cow’ in India and is a very important component in dry land
farming system. Marginal or undulating lands unsuitable for other types
of animals like cow or buffalo, goat is the best alternative. With very
low investments goat rearing can be made in to a profitable venture for
small and marginal farmers.
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- Small and marginal farmers
- Landless labourers
- Availability of common grazing lands
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- Low capital investment and quick return
- Simple and small shed is enough
- Profitable under stall fed condition.
- High prolific rate of goats
- Year around job
- meat is lean & has low fats and is liked by all people
- Can be sold and encashed anytime
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Jamunapari
- Fairly tall animal
- Has a strongly arched Roman nose and long pendulous ears which are
about 12 inches long in adult Jamunapari.
- Buck weighs about 65-85 kgs and does weighs about 45-60
kgs
- one kid per kidding
- six months kid weighs about 15 kg
- Milk production is about 2-2.5 lit/day.
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Tellichery
- Goat are in white, brown and black colors
- Kidding size is 2-3 kids
- Buck weighs about 40-50 kgs and does weighs about 30 kgs
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Boer
- Rearing for meat all over the world
- Has a fast growth rate
- Buck weighs about 110-135 kgs and does weighs about 90-100
kgs
- Kids weighs about 20-30 kgs at 90 days of age
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Does
- should have kidding size of 2- 3 kids
- should mature at 6- 9 months
Bucks
- Tall with broad chest and slender body
- matures at age of 9- 12 months
- Select kids with good body weight at 6 months of age
- select from dam of 2- 3 kidding size
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- Grazing along with concentrate feeding gives maximum growth
rate
- Feeding protein rich green fodder such as acacia, leucerne
and cassava and are important sources of dietary nitrogen.
- Farmers can cultivate agathi, subabul and glaricidia trees along
the border of the farm and used as green fodder
- Fodders and trees cultivated in one acre of land is enough to feed
15-30 goats
- Concentrate feed can be prepared as follows.
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Ingredients
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Kid ration
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Growing Ration
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Lactating Goat Ration
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Pregnant goat Ration
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Maize
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37
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15
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52
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35
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Pulses
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15
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37
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---
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Oil Cakes
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25
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10
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8
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20
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Wheat Bran
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20
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35
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37
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42
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Mineral Mixture
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2.5
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2
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2
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2
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Common salt
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0.5
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1
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1
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1
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Total
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100
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100
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100
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100
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- Kids should be provided with 50- 100 gms of concentrate for
first 10 weeks.
- For growing ones concentrates should be provided 100 -150 gm daily
for 3-10 months.
- For pregnant goat concentrates maybe given upto 200 gm daily.
- Milch goats producing 1 kg milk are provided 300 gms of concentrate
daily
- Mineral blocks with rich copper (950-1250 ppm) should be provided
in the goat stalls.
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For a profitable goat farming there should be 3 kidding for 2
years
- Goats with faster growth rate and larger size should be used for
breeding.
- Does of one year of age should be used for breeding
- Does should bred after 3 months of kidding then only there will be
3 kidding for 2 years.
- Goats come into heat or estrus approximately every 18 to 21 days
and the heat will last for 24-72 hours.
- Does in heat become vocal and some bleat very loudly as if in
pain. Constant tail wagging from side to side is another sign of heat.
In addition, the vulva will appear slightly swollen and reddened and
the area around the tail may look wet and dirty because of vaginal
discharge. There is decreased appetite and an increased frequency of
urination. Doe in heat may mount another doe as if she were a buck or
let another doe mount her.
- Does can be bred 12-18 hours after the starting the estrus
symptoms
- In some does the estrous period will last for 2-3 days. So they
should bred again in the next day.
- Gestation period is approximately 145-150 days, but up to one week
either way is fairly common. Better to be prepared well in
advance.
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- Before breeding the doe should be dewormed. Those goats affected
with worm infestation are lean and dull
- Kids should be dewormed at one month of age. The life cycle of
worms is three weeks, so de-worming again at two months of age is
recommended
- Pregnant does should be dewormed 2-3 weeks before kidding.
- Does in early pregnancy (upto 2 months) should not be dewormed to
avoid abortion.
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- Kids should be given first dose of Enterotoxaemia and Tetanus
vaccination at 8 weeks of age and again at 12 weeks of age..
- Does should be given Enterotoxaemia and Tetanus vaccination 4-6
weeks before breeding season and 4-6 weeks before kidding.
- Bucks should be vaccinated with Enterotoxaemia and Tetanus once in
a year
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1. Deep litter system
- A small shed with good cross ventilation is enough to keep a small
herd.
- Litter height should be atleat 6cms.
- Litter material maybe of sawdust, paddy husk and groundnut
shell.
- The litter material has to be turned periodically to remove the
foul odour in the pen.
- Litter material should be replaced once in every 2
weeks.
- Each goat requires about 15 sq.ft area.
- care should be taken to reduce the external parasitic
infestation.
- An adult goat produces about a tonne of manure in a year.
2. Raised platform system
- wooden plank or wire mesh is placed about 3-4 ft from the ground
level
- External parasitic infestation is usually less in this method
 
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1. Semi intensive system
- Places where less grazing lands, goats can be fed intensively with
green fodders and concentrates after grazing
2. Intensive system
- Goats are fed with green fodder and concentrates in the shed.
- No grazing
- house maybe of deep litter system or raised platform system
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- Goats can be insured from 4 months of age through General Insurance
companies
- Insurance can be claimed if death due to accident or diseases.
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Model Bankable project on Commercial
Goatery
Commercial
goatery
