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NUTRITION: Inside a Goat’s gut

Nutrition Nutrition, or feeding, is the single largest cost associated with raising goats, typically accounting for 60 percent or more of total production costs. Animals receiving inadequate diets are more prone to disease and will fail to reach their genetic potential.

What Do Goats Eat? Goats are primarily browsers (picky eater); they prefer to eat the leaves and buds of tree and shrub species. This, however, is not the entire story because goats will eat grasses, broadleaf herbs, shrub leaves and twig ends of many tree species.

Pasture or Hay (90-100% of their diet) – Pasture is fresh land that is filled with lots of various grasses & weeds.

Grain – (0-10% of their diet) – Goats don’t need grain to survive, in fact, they can live happily on pasture or hay, or a combination of both. When they are pregnant or lactating, grains can help provide extra vitamins & minerals, as well as 12-16% extra protein.

Minerals – (1-2% of their diet) – Minerals are an important part of a goat’s diet. Like I said before, with the soil depletion of today, you need to make sure that your goats aren’t missing out on any essential elements.

Forage – Foraging for food is something goats love to do, but in a domestic setting, don’t get around to it much.

Treats – Goats love carrots, greens, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins.

Goat's Nutrient Requirements Meat goats require nutrients for body maintenance, growth, reproduction, pregnancy, and production of products such as meat, milk, and hair. The groups of nutrients that are essential in goat nutrition are water, energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.

Water Water is the cheapest feed ingredient, yet often the most neglected. Insufficient water intake will depress a goat’s performance earlier, and more severely, than any other dietary insufficiency. Adequate water is the paramount management concern. Goats should be consuming more water with high protein ration feedings. Decent water quality, not just quantity, is a must.

Energy (Carbohydrates) Sugars, starches (found in grains) and fibre (cellulose) are the carbohydrates that convert into volatile fatty acids (energy) by rumen flora (beneficial bacteria). Normal goat diet (browse, forbs, and grasses) is high in cellulose and requires digestion by rumen flora to be converted into energy. Fresh pastures and young plants may have highly digestible fibre and provide high energy compared to older plants.  

Protein Protein feeds contain high levels of protein (more than 15 percent) and may be of animal or plant origin. Plant proteins include soybean meal and cottonseed meal. Some meat and bone meals are available on the market, but ruminant-derived meat and bone meal cannot (by law) be fed to other ruminants, including goats. Protein quantity is generally more important than protein quality in ruminant livestock, since the microorganisms in the rumen manufacture their own body protein.

Vitamins and Minerals Goats require many minerals. The most important minerals are salt, calcium and phosphorus. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be kept around 2:1 to prevent urinary calculi. Vitamins also are needed in small amounts. Small ruminants require vitamins A, D and E, whereas vitamin K and all the B vitamins are manufactured in the rumen.

Suggested feeding guides for goats.

What Should Not Give to Goats Many farmers give unhygienic and outrageous things that are not suitable for goats. The farmer should not feed these foods and should concern about this matter. Besides, some poisonous plants such as wilted cherry, peach, and plum leaves poke weed, nightshade, crotalaria are too much harm to goat.

Remember that Poor nutrition results in: – Poor productivity – Poor conception rates – Lower birth weight of kid – Poor weaning weights – Difficult births – Higher feed bills – More infectious disease due to decreased immune system protection

Other Factors to Consider in Goat's Nutrition

Body Condition Producers should be concerned with the body condition of their breeding animals. The term body condition refers to the fleshing ability of an animal. Does should not be allowed to become too thin or too fat. Failure in reproduction, low twinning rates and low weaning rates will result if does are too thin. Overly fat does can suffer pregnancy difficulties.

Simply looking at an animal to determine its body condition can be misleading. Rather, animals should be touched and evaluated in a chute. The easiest areas to feel and touch to determine the body condition of an animal are the rib areas on either side of the spine. By running a hand over those areas and pressing down with a few fingers, the producer is able to determine the amount of fat covering the ribs.

Flushing Flushing means increasing the level of feed offered to breeding does, mostly energy feeds, starting about one month prior to the introduction of the bucks, to increase body weight, ovulation rate and possible litter size. Flushing can be accomplished by moving breeding does to a lush nutritious pasture three to four weeks prior to the introduction of the bucks.

The primary goal is to increase condition of thin does, so they should be grouped according to their body condition and fed accordingly to first improve their body condition, then maintain it.

Some Inevitable Rules of Goat Feeding

The farmer should concern about the good bodily condition of every goat in the herd so that no goat become too thin and too fat.

Goat feed must be stored in a safe place before feeding.

Make sure that stored feed is protected from vermin, damp, contamination.

Provided food must be hygienic and it should be presented in a hygienic way so that every goat can share it.

Make ensure that half of the diet is coming from forage.

Adequate green feed, vitamins, concentrates, minerals, water, balanced diet is the key to success of a goat farming.

Any change of feed habit must occur gradually.

Make ensure colostrum for kids without delay after giving birth kids.

Availability of pure drinking water is inevitable for goats.

To ensure feed for all goats, make a notice and routine so that no goat abstains from taking feed.

The farmer must keep contaminated feed and water away from goats.

A GOAT’S DIET IS VERY SIMPLE. Don’t over think your goat’s diet. They should thrive on a diet of a variety of green plants, whether they be pasture, hay or forage. Remember that grains should be kept to a minimum and that they shouldn’t be fed tin cans and you’ll be good!

Sources:  https://www.weedemandreap.com/what-do-goats-eat/ http://agecon.okstate.edu/meatgoat/files/Chapter%205.pdf http://www.roysfarm.com/what-to-feed-goats/ https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/production/goat/pubs/goats-and-their-nutrition.pdf

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The Good, the Bad and the Healthy

Of first importance is the health status of the animals, and to be successful it is critical that you maintain a healthy herd. To do this you need good genetics and nutrition for your animals. However, the best genetics and nutrition are useless without a good herd health plan.

A health plan includes:

1. Biosecurity Plan - for the reduction of risk of exposure or spread of diseases on your farm. This includes disease, parasites, and poisons. Basic biosecurity plans are used to help reduce exposure risk and spread of different diseases and parasite problems between and within farms and should be in place before you purchase your first animal.

The place to start is with the construction of a quarantine (isolation) facility. This is a location where animals can be held separate from the rest of your herd. The quarantined animals should have no direct contact and should not share a common food or water source with other animals on the farm. This should also be an area that is easy to clean and sanitize. This area can be used for housing of sick animals as well. This facility will be used for all newly purchased and returning animals (from shows or exhibits) before they are added to the production herd.

a housing of sick

newly purchased 

returning animals

2. Vaccination Program - to protect your animals from the most common diseases and if exposed or contracts the disease, previous vaccinations help reduce the recovery period

Common Diseases and Vaccination Programs

Enterotoxemia - commonly called “overeating disease” and is caused by Clostridium perfringens. This bacteria is almost always present in the environment and in the ruminant digestive tract.  

Urinary Calculi - This condition also is called urolithiasis or urinary stones. It is caused by an imbalance of phosphorous and calcium. 

Tetanus - caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. These bacteria live in the soil, in faeces and in dust on the goat’s skin.

Contageous ecthema - commonly called soremouth or orf, is caused by a virus and affects predominately younger animals. In kids, scabby lesions develop on the lips, gums and sometimes on the eyelids and ears.

Contagious foot rot -  also known as virulent foot rot or malignant foot rot is a specific, lingering or reappearing, tissue-destroying disease affecting the outer skin between the toes and hoof matrix .

Caseous lymphadenitis (CL or cheesy gland or abscess disease ) - caused by a bacteria invading the lymph nodes of goats and sheep, causing abscesses. These lesions show up as lesions under the skin in various areas of the goat’s body and grow in size until they rupture and spread infection in the herd.  

White muscle disease in kids - does occur in areas where does have been subjected to selenium-deficient and/or vitamin E-deficient diets during or prior to gestation.

Floppy kid syndrome - more appropriately called acidosis of newborns. Unlike white muscle disease, which affects kids from birth, with this syndrome, the kids are normal and active after birth and for the first 3 to 5 days.

3. Parasite Control Program -  to prevent high mortality rate

Common Internal Parasites and Deworming Programs

- The predominant parasite problem is Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm). Common roundworms of cattle feed on mucous and protein in the digestive tract causing unthriftiness, while the barber-pole worm feeds on whole blood, causing death due to anemia.

The following suggestions are made to minimize the occurrence of experiencing a serious internal parasite infestation. 

Do not use the same pastures for kidding every year.

Rotate pastures used for grazing every three to six months.

If possible, all animals that are de-wormed should be held in a dry lot for at least 24 hours. This is because most de-wormers do not kill the parasite eggs, just the adult worms. Waiting 24 hours will help the animal eliminate most of the parasite eggs in the dry lot and not on pastures, where other animals may ingest the eggs.

Prevent the post-kidding rise in parasite egg production because goats are very susceptible to worms while lactating

Have a veterinarian perform a fecal egg count to check the effectiveness of any de-worming or parasite control programs. This should be done before and 10 to 14 days after de-worming. The amount of fecal egg reduction will show if that dewormer is effective on the farm. 

Select animals that are parasite-resistant. These are goats that have a natural resistance to internal parasites. These animals are often identified through the use of fecal egg counts and Faffa Malan Chart (FAMACHA) eye scores.  

  Common External Parasites and Control Program

Goats are susceptible to many of the same ectoparasites as other livestock species, such as flies, lice and ticks. Many of the ectoparasites are spread by direct contact, or having infested animals in close association with other animals. To reduce the unwanted parasites you should control by:

Keeping barns and pens cleaned 

Insecticide dispensers that can be placed in barns, sheds and other structures occupied by goats can be purchased that will emit small doses of insecticide automatically 

Signs of a Healthy Goat

look vigorous and stand correctly. 

attentive and its hair coat will be smooth. 

have alert “shiny” eyes.

Signs of a Poor Health  Goat

animals that do not wish to stand

separate themselves from the herd

look depressed

Normal Vital Signs of a Goat

Critical to the success of a goat operation is the attention and effort provided to the proper care and maintenance of a whole herd health program which includes the following:

establishing goals and objectives for the operation

developing a relationship with a local veterinarian who can help in outlining the health management protocols for the different production phases of the operation

following proper sanitation procedures throughout the operation, 

developing sufficient herd immunity through appropriate vaccination procedures,

assuring adequate nutrition and providing for effective parasite prevention and control. 

Sources: 

http://articles.extension.org/sites/default/files/GoatProduction_KY_RevENE.pdf

http://agecon.okstate.edu/meatgoat/files/Chapter%206.pdf

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Choosing Your Breed

The first step to choosing your breed is to define your purpose.

Do you want an animal that provides you with milk?

Are you looking for a meat production animal?

What kind of space will the goats have access to?

What size of herd do you plan on having- are you a backyard homesteader or do you plan on selling goats/milk/cheese/meat?

Once you have a basic idea, try and dig a little deeper.

Are you wanting to make a lot of cheese? You'll want a breed with a high butterfat content.

Do you want meat and milk? Check out some of the dual-purpose breeds.

Do you plan on selling milk? You'll want a large breed with a high production rate.

Do you live in an area with extreme weather and temperatures? You'll want to seek out breeds that are hearty in your area.

Do you simply want goats as pets and weed-eaters? You'll probably want males, castrated or not, and a breed is known for its high consumption of forage.

** Table 1. Common breeds of Goats.

Bottom line is that everyone has their preferences on all the different breeds, so read up on your choices and start prioritizing what you want in a goat to help you make your final decision.

For the next blogs, we will focus on BOER for Meat production. For other details of breeds refer to the link below.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/goats/

 Source:  * The Free Range Life ** Basic Goat Production for Kentucky by Ken Andries

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Goat Farming Business Plan For Beginners

http://www.roysfarm.com/goat-farming-business-plan-for-beginners/

A suitable and effective business plan is a must for starting any business. As goat farming is a proven highly profitable business idea so, it is very necessary to make a proper goat farming business plan before starting this business. Make a clear and up to date plan before investing your money in this market. Although goat farming project requires less capital and investment than raising any other livestock. You can start goat farming business with a very small investment. But in the result, you will get more profits than any other livestock farming projects.

High profit within a very short time, little investment, huge global demand are the main reasons of spreading this business rapidly throughout the world. If you want to start this business and if you have the ability to make a plan perfectly then you will defiantly be able to achieve the highest profit from goat farming business. If you are a beginner in this market then, first of all, meet with some successful goat producers and visit some farms. By visiting some farms and producers you will get some clear idea about the pros and cons of this business. This will help you run your business perfectly. However, for making a suitable goat farming business plan read the following criteria very carefully.

Goat Products First of all, make a clear decision of what do you really want to produce and sell from your goat farming business. Goats are multi-purpose animals. You can produce the products like milk, meat, fiber, manure and skin from goats. Go to your nearest market and try to understand which goat products have a high demand in the market. Try to produce those products which you can sell easily in your local area and in the market. Otherwise, you will lose money instead of being benefited.

For an example, you have established a dairy goat farming business. And your goats are producing milk highly. But there are a little or no goat milk consumer in your local market. Then what will you do with your production? So, always keep in mind this factor and try to produce those products which you can sell easily in your local market. If you have a good facility of marketing your products internationally then you can produce any product from your farm. However, make a good decision of what you are going to produce from your goat farming business.

Meat: Nowadays goat meat has a great demand internationally. And this rate is increasing rapidly day by day. A report shows that about 70% of total consumed meat globally comes from the goat. If you have sufficient facility of selling goat meat in your local market then you can start raising some highly meat productive goat breeds. Boer, Beetal, Matou, Black Bengal etc. are highly meat productive goat breeds.

Milk: Goat milk is enriched with many necessary nutrition elements and it is easily digestible. As a result, it has a huge demand in the local and international market. Goat milk is also very suitable for making all types of dairy products. If you can sell goat milk in your nearest market easily then you have to choose some highly milk productive goat breeds. Some highly milk producing goat breeds are Saanen, Jamunapari, Toggenburg, Anglo Nubian, Alpine etc.

Fiber: If you want to produce fiber from your farm then Cashmere and Angora goat are very suitable. Both are highly fiber productive.

Skin: All goat breeds produce skin. But few of them produce high-quality skin. For business purpose, Black Bengal goat produces high-quality skin. And their skin has a high demand and value in the international market. Before start raising goats for a skin to be sure that there is a market available for selling your product.

Manure: Some crop farmer uses goat manner in their field. It is a very high-quality organic fertilizer. You can earn some extra money by selling the manure of goat.

Goat Housing Commercial goat farming needs a suitable house for profitable production. Serious goat producers make a separate house for their goats. You should make such a house which can provide all types of facilities for your goats. Good house keeps the goat healthy and free from diseases. This directly increases the production. So, before starting consider how comfortable house can you make for your goats. Investment in housing is fixed. And you can use one house for several years.

Feed Management Goats are ruminants. They eat almost all types of crop, corn, and leaves. It would be better if you have a grazing place where your goats can roam freely. In this system, your goat will get food from natural sources and it also reduces your food cost. In the case of raising goats by providing them home made supplementary feed be sure that all feed elements are easily available in your local market. Also, ensure sufficient supply of clean and fresh water.

Health & Care Always try to raise your goats hygienically. Sometimes your goats may suffer from various diseases. Make sure that a veterinarian doctor is available near your farm. If possible stock some necessary vaccines and medicines in your farm. And always vaccinate your goats timely.

Tips & Suggestions There are many factors related to this business. Before starting goat farming business, ask some questions to yourself.

Do you love goats? Loving the animals that you are raising is very important for success-fullness in any business.

Do you have any experience in this business? If not, contact your nearest animal husbandry training centers or visit some farms.

Do you have enough capital for setting up your farm? You can also apply for bank loan.

Do you have enough facilities for goat farming? For example, clean and fresh water source, cultivation of green feeds like plants or grasses, proper marketing, medication etc.

What is the market condition of your location? Try to understand the market demand and price of your products.

Do you have enough time & interest? This is very important for beginners.

Can you personally take care of your goats? Don’t depend on labors. Try to take care of your goats personally along with your labors. Learn more about their health and diseases management. If possible visit some farms practically for several days and try to learn everything related to this business.

Before starting goat farming business plan consider your budget and some other factor related to this business. How much capital do you have? How many facilities can you provide to your goats with this capital? Which product do you want to produce from your farm? What are the natural facilities available there for goat farming? Is there any market for selling your products at a proper price? Is there any grazing place near your farm? Can you provide proper treatment and medicines? If all the answers become positive then you should start goat farming business immediately. Wish your happy and profitable goat farming business.