Keeping Goats
If you are new with goats and planning to start a goat farm; my advise to you to simply follow these minor but important notes:
*Start with two goats; 1 male and 1 female
They should be local breeds.(e.g. If you are staying in Maharashtra then select Osmanabadi, Sagamneri or any local breed from surrounding region.) Purpose behind selecting local breed is, they are well suited to environment, easily available in nearby markets.
* Start with kids- should be above 3 months. Choose healthy one. With kids at start one can observe their growth, health/physiological status,feeding habits, behaviour (normal/abnormal- as this is important to management point of view). Also kids are cheaper than adults and pregnant females.
* Why above 3 months:
First 3 months of life are very crucial. Kids are still dependent on doe for milk.Immune system is still developing. Any stress may cause death in kids.
Keeping records
This is the most important aspect of any type of farming. Maintaining various records will help one to calculate profitability, future financial planning and in defining management strategies.
Records to be kept:
1)Weighing data
To check the growth of kids they can be weighed monthly. Spring balance can be helpful. Following columns can be added to the table.
Date
Kid name/no.
Wt.(Kg)
Health status
Remarks
2) Medication/ Vaccination
treatment charges are essential while calculating final cost. Columns which can be added.
date
Kid no
Medication/vaccination
Remarks
Charges
3) Daily Feeding
70% of the total cost comes through feed. Thus maintaining this data is must.
date /(Week)
Kid name/no
Grazing time
pasture
other feeds given
quantity
Other observations
As the kids will grow, female may come in heat around 8-9 months of their age. Observe the signs of heat- belching, not interested in feed, may remain close to male, discharge from vulva etc.
*Start with two goats; 1 male and 1 female
They should be local breeds.(e.g. If you are staying in Maharashtra then select Osmanabadi, Sagamneri or any local breed from surrounding region.) Purpose behind selecting local breed is, they are well suited to environment, easily available in nearby markets.
* Start with kids- should be above 3 months. Choose healthy one. With kids at start one can observe their growth, health/physiological status,feeding habits, behaviour (normal/abnormal- as this is important to management point of view). Also kids are cheaper than adults and pregnant females.
* Why above 3 months:
First 3 months of life are very crucial. Kids are still dependent on doe for milk.Immune system is still developing. Any stress may cause death in kids.
Keeping records
This is the most important aspect of any type of farming. Maintaining various records will help one to calculate profitability, future financial planning and in defining management strategies.
Records to be kept:
1)Weighing data
To check the growth of kids they can be weighed monthly. Spring balance can be helpful. Following columns can be added to the table.
Date
Kid name/no.
Wt.(Kg)
Health status
Remarks
2) Medication/ Vaccination
treatment charges are essential while calculating final cost. Columns which can be added.
date
Kid no
Medication/vaccination
Remarks
Charges
3) Daily Feeding
70% of the total cost comes through feed. Thus maintaining this data is must.
date /(Week)
Kid name/no
Grazing time
pasture
other feeds given
quantity
Other observations
As the kids will grow, female may come in heat around 8-9 months of their age. Observe the signs of heat- belching, not interested in feed, may remain close to male, discharge from vulva etc.
Comments
" I need 100 goat farm(shed) plan and sample of records table ....pls help us....
e mail :triplerbrothers@gmail.com
Good blog
Thanks for wrieting on agro.or on goat