Goat Farming India Development Gateway

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Goat Farming
Goat is known as Poor mans 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.
Who can start this?

Small and marginal farmers

Landless labourers
Availability of common grazing lands

Reasons to start

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

Which Breed is Right for You?

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.

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

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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Selection of goats for breeding

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

Feeding management

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.
Ingredients

Kid ration

Growing
Ration

Lactating Goat Ration Pregnant goat Ration

Maize

37

15

52

35

Pulses

15

37

---

---

Oil Cakes

25

10

20

Wheat Bran

20

35

37

42

Mineral Mixture

2.5

Common salt

0.5

Total

100

100

100

100

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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Breeding Management

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.

Deworming

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.

Vaccinations

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

Housing for goats

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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Raising methods

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

Goat Insurance

Goats can be insured from 4 months of age through General Insurance companies
Insurance can be claimed if death due to accident or diseases.

Goat farms in India

Nadur Goat Farm

Shivaji Park Goat farm
Indian Goat farm

Model Bankable project on Commercial Goatery

Commercial goatery
A guide on Goat farming in Sikkim

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