Goat farming and management

Gaanpuilu Rwangmei / Nadia Pukhrambam / SM Zulekha *

Introduction : Goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) are small ruminants of the family Bovidae . They are known as poor man’s cow as they are the key in ensuring the socio economic sustainability in villages of developing countries like India. Population of goat is considered approximately to be 11 lakh in Manipur.

Breeds of goat in manipur:
Manipuri goat breed
Bengal goat breed
Assam hill goat breed
Ganjam goat breed

Feeding

Feeds should be given per age. Feeds include hay, grass fodder, tree fodder, concentrate, legumes etc

Housing Management : Intensive and proper housing is very important. While constructing the house, their comforts and facilities should be considered, as this will help the farmer to get good returns.

Basic requirements of housing: Good location of the shed, milking barn, storage, food trough, floor, doors, fencing, ventilation, proper drainage.

Space requirement: Floor space for one adult goat is generally recommended in goat shed is 1-1.5 m² inside shed. The lactating females and adult males require 1.5 – 2.0 and 2.0 m² floor space.

Breeding: There are two types of breeding techniques:

1. Natural insemination
2. Artificial insemination

For commercial goat farming, artificial insemination is much more preferred.
Gestation Period: 150 – 155 days
Breeding Age: 5 – 17 months
Breed Ratio: 1:25 (one goat and 25 female goats)
Chromosome no of Goat: 60
Breeding season : Summer Season – March to April (Heating season) August to September (Kidding season)
Rainy Season – June to July (Heating season) November to December (Kidding season)
Winter Season – October to November (Heating season) January to February (Kidding season)

Advantages

1. Weed control as it consumes the weed thus helping the farmers in controlling the weed.
2. Milk of goats can be stored for a long time.
3. Fibre or skin can be used for our needs.
4. Dung and waste material can be used as manure
5. Meat has a high demand in market.
6. Employment of farmers to look after the goat farming.
7. Goat meat are a good source of protein and are rich in vitamin B12, Zn and Pottasium.

Health care: Goats are susceptible to viral diseases like Foot and Mouth Diseases, Peste Des Petits ruminants and Goat pox, Bacterial diseases like Entertoxaemia, Brucellosis, Mastitis etc, Ecto–parasitic infestations from tick, lice etc and Endo-parasitic infestations from Tapeworm, Roundworm, Fluke infection and Coccidiosis.

Goat Farming and Rearing Tips

o Before starting a goat farm, one must know the basic knowledge regarding the goats and farm.
o While purchasing the goat, we need to buy goat which perform the best in breeding.
o Goat farm should be hygienic.
o Goats belongs to the herd.
o Good drainage facility and good ventilation is required the most in goat farm.
o Floor of the shed should not be slippery. And hence should always be dry.
o Goats should be vaccinated regularly as per the season to prevent any outbreak of any kind of diseases in the goat farm.
o The housing should be maintained properly to withhold all uneven climatic conditions.
o The goat should always be kept in observation to check if there’s any change in their physical appearance and their behaviour.
o Trimming of hooves should never be neglected as this might lead to a major loss. It should be done for every 4-6 weeks regularly.