Goat Farming in India IV: Recommendations

This article is part of a series I am writing on goat farming that will provide basic introduction, information about a centrally sponsored scheme, project cost at a glance, goat farm register for record keeping, and general tips on goat farming. (Also see part I, part II, part III)

Here are some general recommended practices for goat farming regarding housing of goats, feed and fodder, and vaccination and deworming schedule.

Housing of Goats

  1. The houses should be semi-closed type and orientation should be along the east-west direction. Sloped roof is best for the comfort of the goats.
    1. Maximum length of shed = 100 ft.
    2. Width of the shed = 15-20 ft.
    3. Central height = 3 m
    4. Side height= 2 m
    5. Height of north/south side walls=1 m (50% of side height)
  2. There should be separate houses for keeping different category of goats such as:
    1. dry,
    2. pregnant,
    3. lactating,
    4. sick bucks, and
    5. kids.
  3. Shed premises should have sufficient plantation which protects the animals from direct wind and scorching sun during summer. At least two trees should be planted in each paddock.
  4. Shed area specifications
    S.No. Type of Goat Floor Space (sq. m) Goats per Shed
    a Dry Goat 1-2 60-80
    b Buck 1.5-2 Individual pen
    c Milch Goat 1.4x1.2 50-60
    d Kids (3-6 months) 0.5-0.6 75-100*
    e Kids (6-12 months) 0.8-1 60-80*
    • Open yard/paddock : 1.5-2.0 times of floor space in shed
    • * With 3-4 partition & 20-25 kids in each portion
  5. Feeding Mangers
    1. Made of concrete/bricks partition with GI pipe at a distance of 30 cms. are cheap and last long.
    2. Outer dimensions**: 8.2x0.8x0.3 m
    3. Inner dimensions**: 8.0x0.6x0.2 m
    4. A manger of same dimensions is also required in each paddock.
  6. Watering
    1. For adults
      1. Made of concrete/bricks.
      2. Size**: 4.80x0.90x0.37 m
    2. For kids (3-6 months old)
      1. Size**: 3.60x0.75x0.30 m
    3. For kids (0-3 months old):
      1. Plastic tubs of 8-10 litre capacity may be used

** Height of water tank from ground level should be 30cm & 15 cm. respectively.

Feed and Fodder

Goats are fastidious eaters and prefer browsing over grazing. Common feeds and fodders for the goats are as follows:

 

Roughages

  1. Tree/Bushes/Shrubs leaves, Neem, Peepal, Bargad, Golar, Jamun, Angir, Babul, Jharberi, Bhimal, Ber, Mulberry, anjan, Bamboo, Subabul, Karonda, Gokhuru etc.
  2. Hays - Cowpea, Berseem, Oats.
  3. Straws - Arhar, Gram, Wheat and Paddy.
  4. Grasses - Dub, Anjana, Sawain, Zarga, Kankunwa etc.
  5. Cultivated fodders & their hay/bhusa- Lobia, bereseem, Lucerne, oats, maize, bajra, para grass.

Concentrate

  1. Cheap and easily available feed ingredients shall be used for computing concentrate feed for goats.
  2. Babul Pods, Gram, Wheat Bran, GNC, Sesame Cake, Arhar Grain, Maize, owar, Bajra, Barley and Guar, Jungle Bean Pods.
  3. Mineral mixture 2% and Iodized common salt 1% shall be mixed.

Vaccination and Deworming Schedule

Vaccination

    S.No. Disease and Vaccine Immunity Period Month of Vaccination
    1 ETT- Enterotoxaemia 1 year Feb
    2 HS - Haemorhagic Septicaemia 1 year June
    3 FMD - Foot & Mouth 6 months Dec and July

Deworming

    S.No. Name Month
    1 Anthelmintic (Panacur) Nilzan Analgon etc July and Sept
    2 Drenching Sulmet April and Nov
    3 Drenching Aprosol 1 month old kids
    4 Dipping Cythion 0.5% solution April and Oct

 

Also read:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...