An Introduction to Goat Farming

In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see Goat Farming.

In this blog, we will see the important aspects of Goat Farming targeting the meat production.  The entire blog will be presented in a Question & Answer format.  While it will be beneficial for the first time user to read the entire blog, the frequent users of this blog can just focus on their specific needs.

The entire focus of this blog is towards the traditional or indigenous or desi or local breeds.

1. How many goats can be fed using 1 Acre?
• Generally, on an average 20-25 goats can be grown using feed from 1 Acre of land
2. When should the goats be brought into the farm?
• The farm should have planted grasses, trees etc 1 year before the first goat enters the farm.  This is applicable only to those farm where the grazing does not happen outside the farm
3. What are the feeds that goats eat?
• Generally goats eat anything and everything
4. What are the feeds that are dangerous to the goats?
• Nerium Oleander (Arali)
• Puscilla spp
• Lantana Camara (Unni Chedi)
• Ipomea Carnea (Neyveli kattamanakku)
5. How much to feed per day?
• Option 1
• Fresh Grass & Fresh Fodder - 3 Kgs
• Dry Grass & Dry Fodder ----- 300 Grams
• Concentrate -------------------- 250 Grams
• Option 2
• 4-5% of body weight
6. What is the ratio of the feeds?
• As a thumb rule 2/3rds of the energy requirements should be met through roughages. Half of the roughages should be leguminous green fodders and rest half should be grasses/tender tree leaves
7. How many times to feed in a day?
   • Feeding needs to be provided 3-5 times a day
8. What is the % of expenses that goes towards feed?
• 75% of the expenses goes towards feeding the goats
9. How much water is required per goat?
• Goats require 3 litres of water per day or 4 times their feed intake in relation to dry matter
10. What is the average Male:Female ratio?
• 1 (M):20-25 (F) is the average ratio
11. What is the parameter for buying a goat?
• A female goat which produces more kids than the average in a single delivery is always better
• A male goat which has fathered and delivered more kids than the average in a single delivery is always better
12. How much manure does a goat produce in a year?
    

    • On an average, 0.3 to 0.7 tonne manure is produced by a goat in a year
    • 2 Goats manure (including the urine) is good enough for 1 Acre for a year
13. What is the average weight of a fully grown goat?
    

    • Generally, the average weight will be 25 kgs
14. How long should we keep a new goat separately before it can be introduced with other goats?
    

    • New Goats should be kept under observation for about 15 days and then only should be allowed to mingle with other goats in the farm
15. How long a goat can be kept in the farm?
    • A goat can be kept for up to 10 years
16. What is the age for attainment of  puberty?
    • The female goats will reach puberty in 10 to 12 months age
    • The male goats will reach puberty in 12 to 14 months age
17. When should the first mating be allowed in a Male Goat?
• The first mating should happen during 12 to 14 months.  It would be even better if they are allowed to mate only after 2 years
18. What is the right age for castrating Male Kids?
    

    • Castrating of Male Kids should be done within 1 month of their birth
19. When to retire the male goat?
    • Male Goats should be retired each year
20. What is the maximum age for a Male Goat to be used for service?
    • 6-8 Years of age is the maximum age a male goat can be used for service
21. What is the average age of Male Goats and how many Female Goats can they service?
    • A Male Goat of 6 Months can service 5-6 Female Goats
    • A Male Goat of 18-24 Months can service 25-30 Female Goats
    • A Male Goat of age beyond 24 Months can service 50-60 Female Goats
22. What is the ratio of Female Goats to be maintained?
• Option 1
• 75% - 1.5 to 2 Years of age
• 20% - 2 to 4 Years of age
• 5% - 4 to 6 Years of age
• Option 2
• 1:2 ratio meaning 1 mother and 2 kids
• For ex., you should keep 20 kids for 10 female goats.  This way, the ratio can be maintained after every delivery assuming the average is 2 kids per delivery
23. What is the best age for procuring a goat for growing or breeding purposes?
• The best age a goat to be bought is 1.5-2 years
24. When should the first mating be allowed in a Female Goat?
• The first mating should happen during 10 to 12 months.  It would be even better if they are allowed to mate only after 1 year
25. When is the first delivery expected?
• The first delivery can be expected in 15 to 20 months
26. What is the best age for procuring a goat for growing or breeding purposes?
• The best age a goat to be bought is 1.5-2 years
27. When is the first delivery expected?
• The first delivery can be expected in 15 to 20 months
28. What is the pregnancy time?
• The pregnancy period is usually between 145-156 days
29. How much time is preferred between pregnancies?
• 34-99 days is the time gap required after birth
30. When to retire the female goat?
    
    • After the 6th Year, the female goats can be retired
31. What is the yield per pregnancy?
•  On an average, 1 to 2 kids can be expected per pregnancy.  Sometimes, it may be 3 to 4 kids also.
32. How long should the kid be allowed to drink milk?
    
    • The Kids should be allowed to drink milk for 2-3 months.  The kids will start eating grass from the 21st day onwards
33. What are the indigenous breed varieties of goats of Tamilnadu?
• Kanni Adu
• Kodi Adu
• Moolai Adu
• Pallai Adu
• Salem Karupu Adu
34. What are the indigenous breed varieties of goats of India?
• Indigenous Goats of India
35. What to sell?
• Female or Male Kids can be sold after 3 months for growing purposes
• Female Goats should be sold after 6 years of age or after 10 pregnancies
• Male Kids can be sold just before the next delivery or 8-9 months of age and above
• Adult Male Goats should be sold after keeping 1-1.5 year in the farm
36. When to sell?
• Should plan to grow in such a manner to sell them during religious festivals like Deepavali, Bakrid etc will fetch handsome returns
37. What basis to sell?
• Goats to be sold on Live Weight basis for meat purposes for better returns
• Goats to be sold at 3/4 of market rate
• If the market rate is 400 Rs, the farmer can sell at 300 Rs leaving a margin of 33.33% to the buyer
• Goats to be sold on Live Weight basis for growing purposes on par with the market rate or even 25% above the market rate
38. Misc
• Male goats to be kept separately from the herd as they normally stinks a lot
• Male goats kids and Female goats kids to be separated by the 4th month
• Kids to be separated from their mother after the 3rd month
• The fastest weight gain happens during the first 3-6 months of age
• Pregnant goats to be kept separately and not be allowed for roaming before 2 weeks of delivery
39. What are the important appliances required?
• Feeders
• Water Troughs
• Weighing Machine
• Chaff Cutter
• Burdizzo
40. How much space is required for goats?

Age groups	Covered space (sq.m)	Open space (sq.m)
Up to 3 months	0.2-0.25	0.4-0.5
3 months to 6 months	0.5-0.75	1.0-1.5
6 months to 12 months	0.75-1.0	1.5-2.0
Adult animal	1.5	3.0
Male, Pregnant or lactating ewe / doe	1.5-2.0	3.0- 4.0



41. What are the diseases that occur commonly in goats?
• Goats are hardy animals and they are usually disease free.  But it is generally accepted to vaccinate them for reducing the economic loss
42. What are the vaccination schedule?

    S.No.	Name of Disease	First Vaccination	Next Vaccination	Vaccine	Dosage	Immunity	Time of Vaccination
    1	Anthrax	At the age of 6 month for kid or lamb	Once Annually (In Affected area only)	Anthrax Spore Vaccine	1 ml S/C	1 Year	May-June
    2	Black Quarter(BQ)	3 months of age	Once Annually(Before monsoon)	BQ Vaccine	5 ml S/C	6 month & 1 Year	May-June
    3	Contagious Caprine Pleuro Pneumonia (CCPP)	At the age of 3 month & above for Kid or lamb	Once Annually(January month)	IVRI Vaccine	0.2 ml S/C	1 Year	--
    4	Enterotoxaemia (E.T)	At the age of 4 month for kid or lamb (If dam is vaccinated) At the age of 1st week for kid or lamb (If dam is not vaccinated)	Before monsoon (Preferably in May) Booster vaccination after 15 days of first vaccination	ET Vaccine	5 ml S/C	1 Year	May-June
    5	Foot & mouth disease (FMD)	At the age of 4 month for kid or lamb & above	Twice in a year (September & March)	Polyvalent FMD vaccine	3 ml S/C	1 Year	Feb & Dec
    6	Goat Pox	At the age of 3 month & above for Kid	Once Annually(December month)
    7	Haemorrhagic Septicemia (HS)	At the age of 6 month for kid or lamb	Once Annually Before monsoon	HS Vaccine	5 ml S/C	6 month & 1 Year	May-June
    8	Peste des petitis ruminants (PPR)	3 months of age	Once Annually	PPR Vaccine	1 ml S/C	1 Year
    9	Sheep Pox	3 months of age	Yearly Once		Adult - 5 ml S/c Kids - 2.5 ml S/c		Feb-Mar
    10	Tetanus	At the age of 3-4 months	repeat at 6 months and then annually		0.5 - 1 ml s/c or i/m