Goats belong to the class of small ruminants and goat farming is a very profitable agriculture business in Nigeria.

Breeds of Goat

Breeds of goat are specialized for wool production, meat and milk. The following are the breeds of goat used in goat farming:

• Maradi (Red Sokoto) used for meat and skin
• West African Dwarf (meat)

• Boer (from South Africa kept for meat, milk and skin)
• Kalahari

• Sahel-West African Long Legged (they are prone to trypanosomiasis and not good for milk)
• Nubian goat (Large breed for meat and milk)
• Boran (breed of East Africa, late maturing, produces large litter size)
• The Saanen (white exotic breed good for milk production)
• Tongenburg
•  Anglo-Nubian
• Angora
• East African small goat
• Borno white/red

 

Housing for Goat

There are five principal reasons why housing should be provided for goats. The housing requirements are for lodging, feeding, water accessibility, healthcare and exercise. The shelter for goat farming should be simple and should provide protection and a place to rest, ruminate, sleep and possibly parturate (give birth), if parturition will occur during periods of inclement weather.

 

An existing or abandoned building can be restructured to house the goats. Three-sided shelters work well in many areas. Greenhouses, hoop, houses, shade structures and poly hutches may offer low-cost alternatives to traditional housing for goat farming.

 

Fencing is paramount in small ruminant production as they are ubiquitous animals. Fencing for goat farming is capital intensive but can be achieved moderately. The main essence of fencing is to accomplish two goals: keeping the animals in and keeping predators out.

 

Goats can fall prey to free range dogs and snakes. High fencing is considered to be the best type of fencing for all classes of livestock. Woven wire fences are popular with many small ruminant producers, but their cost is much higher. Live fencing is also adequate and can also serve as browse trees for the goats. This is a common method of fencing in developing countries, especially in backyard goat farming.

 

If you observe a goat when it rains, you will notice how frantic it would run for shelter. Goats do not like to be drenched in the rain. Goats tend to climb warm places to sleep. Also, kids (young goats) can be killed by preimonia caused by wetness or dampness of the environment. These considerations are necessary in constructing goat houses. Goats are very susceptible to diseases in damp conditions so care must be taken to avoid damp conditions.

 

The location for a goat house must be well drained with accessible water sources. An open barn can be constructed. Individual mobile units or stalls that can take 4-5 animals can also be constructed. Feed and water troughs and boxes for salt lick should be provided.

 

Other types of housing for goats

1. Ground level floor housing: In this case, the floor, made up of clay or cement, is covered with bedding materials like wood shavings, crop residue or dried straw. This can have capacity of about 10mx20m for 100-200 goats

 

 

2. Raised floor housing: Wooden slates may be used to produce platforms for goats. Goats kept on raised floor are exposed to better sanitation as dung and urine will drop through the slates making way for easy removal

 

 

3. Tethering: In this method, the goat is tethered to a stake or tree by means of a rope. The goat moves according to the radius of the rope. Feed and water are provided. This method of management is common during the planting season to prevent destruction of cultivated crops.

 

Goat Breeding and Reproduction

The normal breeding season for goats is August to March, though some people will cycle at other times during the year. Goats are seasonal breeders. The heat (estrus) period averages 21 days. The doe (female goat) will be in standing heat i.e. receptive to the buck (male goat) for 12 to 48 hours. Ovulation (egg release) occurs 24 to 36 hours after the onset of heat.

 

The gestation length of goats is approximately 150 days. They typically give birth to one, two or three kids. Quadruplets are possible but uncommon. Goats should be made to give birth in a clean environment, either a well-rotated pasture or a stall bedded with straw or other absorbent material.

 

Normal delivery is the nose between the front legs. A breach birth (hind legs coming out first) is also considered normal. If a goat has made no progress within an hour after hard labour (after the water sac breaks), her birth canal should be assessed and the status of delivery determined.

 

Newborn kids should have their navel cords dipped in a solution of tincture or iodine to prevent entry of pathogens (disease-causing organisms). If necessary, the navel cord should be cut to 7.5cm to 10cm. It is important that new-borns consume adequate amount of colostrum during the first three hours of life. The colostrum or first milk contains antibodies that are essential for the development of immunity in the kids. It is a good idea to strip the doe's teats to make sure the teat canals are open and the flow of milk is adequate.

 

It is common to wean kids when they are about 3 months old. Buck and doe should be separated to prevent unwanted pregnancies. If grain is being fed to the does, it should be reduced five days prior to weaning, to help prevent mastitis (infection in the udder)

 

Goat Nutrition and Feeding

The nutritional needs of goats vary according to weight, age and stage of growth and/or breeding cycle. They can be met by a variety of feedstuffs and feeding programmes. There is no perfect feed or feeding programme. Ration formulations are usually based upon a combination of the goat's nutritional needs, feedstuff, availability, chemical composition of feedstuff, age of goat, goat type (meat, milk and wool/fur) and cost of feedstuff.

 

Goats require water, protein, energy, minerals and vitamins in their diets. Water is by far the most important nutrient. Goats can go for a long time without food but not without water. Energy is usually the most limiting ingredient in small ruminant rations while protein is the most expensive. Calcium and phosphorus are the two most important minerals to be included in the diets. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the diet should be at least 2:1 to prevent urinary calculi, the formation of kidney stones in the bladder of male goats. Selenium is another important mineral. Goats require vitamins A, D, E and K in their diets, but synthesize the B vitamins in their rumens.

 

Pasture should comprise the larger portion of the diets of goats. When fresh forage such as grass, legumes, fodder crops and browse trees cannot meet the nutritional needs, supplemental feeding such as concentrate may be necessary.

 

Supplements should only be fed to the point where they support profitable levels of production. It is questionable as to whether goats can be grain fed profitably to the extent that other livestock can. The amount of pasture needed to support doe with their offspring will differ, depending on the quality of pasture and the management systems.

 

Goat Health Management

Goats experience health problems. Adult goats should be vaccinated annually for enterotoxemia (overeating disease), Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and tetanus. Does should be vaccinated prior to kidding so that the kids (baby goats) receive temporary immunity through the colostrum. Kids should receive their first vaccination at approximately 30 and 60 days of age. Vaccines against other diseases will depend on the incidence of the diseases in the herd. A large animal veterinary or state animal health laboratory can help diagnose disease problems in the goat farm.

 

The most common health problem affecting goats is internal parasites. Essentially, all healthy goats also have worms present in their guts. Effective parasite control is best achieved through a combination of strategic deworming and pasture management. Frequent anthelmintic treatments, without regard for pasture conditions, are costly and may lead to a false sense of security. Moreover, frequent exposure to anthelmintics causes worms to become resistant to the drugs.

 

 

Does should be dewormed prior to or shortly after kidding. Anti-parasitic drugs are available in many forms of administration (oral/drench, paste, gel, bolus, injection, pour-on and feed additive). Oral drenching is the recommended method for deworming goats. Oral products clear the goat's system faster and are more effective than other methods.

Marketing of Goat

A marketing channel for goats describes the movement of the product from the site of production to the place of final consumption. It may include transportation, handling and storage, ownership transfers, processing, wholesale distribution, retailing etc. Farm-raised small ruminants may be marketed on-farm for slaughter and consumption. Alternatively, goats may be sold to a second owner who then slaughters them and consumes the carcass and the offal. In many markets, goats are sold at all times of the year for various reasons including income, festivals, religious purpose, gifts, consumption and ceremonies.