BLACK BENGAL GOAT REARING IN JHARKHAND: AS ATM IN AGRI-BUSINESS
Post no-1453 Dt-28/02/2020
Compiled & shared by-DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH,
JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND,INDIA
9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com
Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in India, whose meat (chevon) is one of the choicest meats and has huge domestic demand. Besides meat, goats provide other products like milk, skin, fibre and manure. Goats are important part of rural economy, particularly in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous regions of the country. They provide food and nutritional security to the millions of marginal and small farmers and agricultural labourers. However, the productivity of goats under the prevailing traditional production system is very low . It is because they are maintained under the extensive system on natural vegetation on degraded common grazing lands and tree lopping. Even these degraded grazing resources are shrinking continuously. Moreover, adoption of improved production technologies/ management practices in the farmers’ flock is very low. Therefore, rearing of goats under intensive and semi-intensive system using improved technologies for commercial production has become imperative not only for realizing their full potential but also to meet the increasing demand of chevon (goat meat) in the domestic as well as international markets. Of the total meat production, more than 70 per cent comes from cattle (Now ban in India), buffalo and pig and for that preference is limited due to socio-religious factors. Therefore, burden lies on goat and sheep meats. Rising per capita income, growing urbanization and unfolding globalization are boosting the demand for high-value commodities including meat . Due to these fast socio-economic changes in the recent past, a rapid shift has taken place in the dietary habits in favour of non-vegetarian diet. As a result, the demand for goat and sheep meats has swiftly increased and the domestic market price for chevon/mutton has risen from Rs 300 per kg to Rs 600-700 per kg over a decade. Moreover, huge expected increase in the demand for meat in developing countries (by 100%), especially in the East and SouthEast Asia in the next 20 years presents an excellent opportunity for enhancing export of live goat/sheep and their meat from India . Responding to the market signals, the goat production system in India has been slowly moving from extensive to intensive system of management for commercial production.
India occupies first position in terms of goat population and milk production. Chevon (goat meat) is most preferred and widely consumed meat in the country. Since ancient times goat milk has traditionally been known for its medicinal properties and has recently gained importance in human health due to its proximity to human milk for easy digestibility and it‟s all round health promoting traits. Still research is needed to explore and validate medicinal properties of goat milk for projecting it as therapeutic milk for human health. Demand for goat milk and milk products for internal consumption and export is expected to rise in coming years. Goat husbandry provides glimpses of future hope for employment generation, nutritional security and prosperity to the millions of small and marginal farmers in the country.
Role in Rural Economy :
Among all species of farm animals, Goats have the widest ecological range and have been poor people‟s most reliable livelihood resource since their domestication during Neolithic Revolution about 10 millennia ago. Goat plays a significant role in providing supplementary income and livelihood to millions of resource poor farmers and landless laborers of rural India. Small ruminant rearing ensures self-employment and acts as a cushion in distress situations like drought and famine.
Role in entrepreneurship:
In last few years, goat production in the country gained momentum in the form of a commercially viable enterprise as evidenced by increasing interest of young entrepreneurs to develop knowledge and skill in this species. In many small-herd dairy goat enterprises, not all does must be milked, so meat is often the main product. Along with meat, the sale of breeding stock from small herds of dairy goats may be an important income source. This versatility allows the producer to plan and operate a more stable economic production unit. In some parts of the world, all breeds may be raised for fiber, meat, and milk and cheese production. Kids of all breeds can be used for meat. However, meat goat carcasses are generally leaner and more muscular than dairy goat carcasses.
Role in global scenario:
India ranks on top in goat population. The demand for meat, milk and fiber is increasing progressively and expected to further rise in future in view of sizable increase in per capita income and health consciousness of people. Worldwide consumers are preferring products that are “clean, green and ethical”. As such goat producers are shifting to husbandry practices that do not compromise the welfare of animals. Medicinal properties of goat milk increased the interest of society to use it as therapeutic health food neutraceutical; moreover, biotechnologists are focusing on designer milk for human health.
Role in Nutrition and Health:
Goats possess distinct social, economical and biological advantages. They can be maintained on a limited area and can sustain on wide variety of vegetation in varied agro‐climatic conditions. Goat meat (chevon) is one of most preferred meat type by the consumers in several countries including India. The goat milk is easily digestible due to smaller size of fat globules and serves as a ready source of family nutrition. In India, both demand and production of goat meat have shown steady increase during the last decade and despite the rising production trend, country would need to double the number of goats to meet the projected requirement of goat meat for growing human population in the coming decades.
Traditionally goat has served as source of livelihood and financial security to large section of society, mainly comprising of resource‐poor people. In the present scenario of changing agro‐climatic conditions, this small ruminant farm animal has tremendous potential to be projected as the „Future Animal‟ for rural and urban prosperity. The backyard goat rearing is steadily turning as the fast growing „livestock industry‟ in the country. Goat husbandry in India is essentially an endeavor of millions of small holders who rear animals on “Crop Residues” and “Common Property Resources”. The small holders produce milk, meat, fiber, skin etc for the community with virtually no capital, resource and formal training. More often goats are reared for production of meat, but they also serve as ready source for milk to meet the family requirement.
Goat Production Systems in India
In our country, goats are reared by men and women with diverse working and professional background. The production systems are as numerous as the socioeconomic and varied agricultural situations in the country. However, they can be broadly classified into the following:-
1Tethering: This is common in the sub-humid and humid zones, where probably because of intensive cropping, it is a convenient means of rearing goats from the stand point of control, minimum labour input and utilization of feed in situ. It is thus a sedentary system. A variation of this method is combining tethering with grazing up to 5 goats at a time, led by ropes held by women and children.
2 Extensive production : This involves low carrying capacity in situations where land is marginal and is plentiful. It is characterized by low rainfall and various browse plants. The system is used by nomadic people, usually in very low rainfall areas or during winter months when crop resides are available.
3 Intensive production: The goats are fed in confinement with limited access to land. It involves high labour and cash inputs. Cultivated grasses and agroindustrial byproducts are fed in situ. This system also has the advantage of allowing control over the animals.
4 Semi-intensive production: This system is practiced to some degree in most of the situations, but the nature and extent of integration depend on the type of crops grown and their suitability to goats. The advantages of this system are increased fertility of land via the return of dung and urine, control of waste herbage growth, reduced fertilizer usage, easier crop management, increased crop yields, and greater economic returns.
The climate of Jharkhand is known for its warm, humid and moderate summers, mainly tropical. The perfect climate for Goat Farming. Goats love the dry and warm climate, which makes Goat farming in Jharkhand successful.
Goat farming is done through ages in India. Not a new skill for an Indian farmer. But most of the farmers have a smallholding of Goats and follow open grazing. Open grazing attracts a lot of diseases. To make a successful Goat farming business, Intensive or semi-intensive grazing is the key.
Farmers should require a little training on best farming practices, to raise Goats under semi or intensive grazing. Below are the best practices which any farmer can follow
Grazing methods suitable for Jharkhand
Every Goat farmer should have practical knowledge of grazing options available on how to increase the productivity of their Goats. Two best methods of grazing are Semi-Intensive grazing and Zero grazing.
a) Semi-Intensive grazing
Semi-Intensive grazing, practice Goats are allowed outside for grazing and exposure to the sun during the day time in a fenced field. It consists of the provision of stall feeding, shelter at night under shed and 3 to 5-hour daily grazing and browsing on pasture and range.
Advantages of Semi-Intensive Grazing:
• Highly productive.
• Allows the monitoring and controlling diseases.
• Exposure to the sun will reduce a lot of disease attacks.
• Reduces the missing Goats.
• Controlled feeding according to their diet, can be monitored.
• Meeting the nutrient requirement both from grazing and stall feeding.
• Managing medium to a large flock of 50 to 350 heads and above.
Disadvantages of Semi-Intensive Grazing:
• Labors are required – for cutting forage and transport.
• Management and knowledge of forage storage are necessary.
• The initial investment is high.
b) Zero grazing or Intensive farming
Zero grazings, the Goats are not allowed to go out in the pasture to graze. Instead, the forage is cut and brought to the shed.
Advantages of Zero Grazing:
• Highly productive.
• It requires very little space.
• Complete control and monitoring of diseases.
• Reduces the theft of agriculture produce.
• No fencing is required here, Goats are never let outside of their shed.
• In the Zero grazing method, the dung is collected in one place and used as a good fertilizer.
Disadvantages of Zero Grazing:
• More Labors are required for Forage harvesting and transport.
• More time spent on harvesting the forage.
• Knowledge of the time to harvest and proper management of forage storage is required.
Stall-fed goat farming shed design
The best suitable design is Stall Feeding for both semi-intensive and zero grazing. The Goats are kept in a Shed (Ground level or Elevated Slotted level) separately depending upon the sex, Breed, Age, and Weight.
Inside the shed or house, the goats are cared for and kept separate depending on their age, breed, sex, and weight. The stall-fed goat farming system is becoming popular day by day. It’s a pretty new system and has many advantages compared to the traditional goat farming system.
High profit, fast growth, less care are some main advantages of a stall-fed goat farming system. If you are planning for starting a goat farm project in a controlled but professional manner, then a stall-fed goat farming system is the most practical and the best system to follow.
Stall feed goat farming system is most suitable for meat production purpose. That means this system makes more profit if you plan for a commercial meat production business.
The advantage of Stall-fed goat farming
• Bucks (male goats) and Does (female goats) are kept in separate rooms and allowed to mate at the desired time with desired Bucks.
• Quantity and Quality of Feed can be differentiated according to the Stage and Nutritional Requirement of different age groups of goats.
• Goats get better body weight and healthier, which will bring more profit to goat farmers.
• Wastage of energy during grazing is avoided.
• Disease transmission is prevented from outside animals and outside plants.
• Its initial investment is high.
• In the wooden floor sheds, at a distance of 3m from the floor, the animals are reared.
• This requires less labor and more irrigation land for fodder production.
• The elevated sheds will be clean and urine and dung will be collected in the floor and periodical removing is required once in six months
Which goat breed is best for meat in Jharkhand
In the stall-fed goat farming system, you have to select those goat breeds which are highly meat productive. Black Bengal,Boer, Jamunapari, and Sirohi,Barbari, Beetal are some meat producing goat breeds and are suitable for stall-fed goat farming system.
Whichever breeds you select, don’t forget to select and purchase disease-free and quality goats. It will be better if you can purchase does age around 12 months and bucks aged 6 months. The does udder is a very important aspect to look for. Purchase Goats from a single farm, do not mix the new ones from different farms.
Black Bengal goats are the dwarf goats which are a good source of meat, milk, and leather. Majorly seen in northeastern India like West Bengal, Odisha, and also in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has only one goat breed of its own, known as the Black Bengal goat. Their small size is an advantage for many farmers, easy to breed and also requires less feed. Kidding is twice a year and on each kidding the twins and triplets are common.
Black Bengal goat plays a vital role in the lives of small farmers in Bangladesh. Goat farming has reduced poverty and created economic freedom in the lives of many farmers in Bangladesh. They have a very low demand for food and are not fussy grazers, eating most grasses, leaves, and vegetables. For their less expensive maintenance and ability to produce more kids, makes farmers economically viable option.
Physical characteristics of the Black Bengal goats
1. Black Bengal Goats are mostly in black color but sometimes a mix of white, grey and brown can be seen.
2. The Goats are small in size (dwarf goat).
3. Both male(buck) and female(doe) Black Bengal Goats have small ears and legs.
4. Both sexes have short cylindrical horns.
5. The bodyweight of an adult Bucks and Does varies from 22-25 kg and 15-18 kg respectively.
6. The age at sexual maturity in males and females varied from 6 to 7 months.
7. Older bucks and does have beards.
Production characteristics of the Black Bengal goat
The growth rate, milk yield, milk composition and reproductive(kidding) efficiency of Black Bengal goats are high.
1. Growth rate
• The bodyweight of an adult Buck and Doe varies from 22-25 kg and 15-18 kg respectively.
• Wethers (castrated males) weigh typically weigh around 16 kg at one year of age.
• The newborn kid of Black Bengal goat weighs around 800g to 900g on an average.
• The average growth rates of male and female kids were 65g/day and 45g/day
• In just 12 months, the buck can gain around 16kg and doe can gain up to 12kg.
2. Milk yield
• The milk yield ranges from 400ml to 700ml a day.
• The milk of Black Bengal goat is a very tasty and nutritious nature.
• Does with multiple kids produced more milk than those with single kids.
• Milk will be thicker than other goats.
3. Reproductive efficiency(kidding)
• Twinning/Triple kidding Percentage is 80.
• They breed around the year.
• There can be 2 kidding cycles in a year.
• There is a high chance to have 3 to 5 kids a year.
• The age at sexual maturity in males and females varied from 6 to 8 months.
• The average age of the first conception is the 7th month.
• The preweaning kid survival rate is 85%.
Advantages of Black Bengal goat
1. The Black Bengal goat’s meat is tastier and always in demand.
2. Due to their small size, feed consumption is less.
3. They require less space due to their small size. More Goats can be rared in a Goat Shed.
4. Black Bengal goats mature sexually quite early, at 6-8 months of age, and breed around the year.
5. They are reported to have resistance against common diseases.
6. It can reproduce in a very low plane of nutrition and are well adapted to the local environment.
7. They kid twice a year or more commonly thrice in two years.
8. Meat and skin obtained from the Black Bengal are of excellent quality and fetch high prices.
9. Twins and Triplets are common, so more profit in breeding Bengal Goats.
Brief characteristic of Black Bengal goat
Breed Name Black Bengal goat
Country/Place of Origin India and Bangladesh
Breed Purpose Milk, Meat, and leather
Breed Size small
Weight Buck(Male)
(in one year) 16 kg
Doe(Female) 12 kg
Kidding Twins and Triplets are common
Milk Yield 400ml – 600ml
Good for Stall Fed Yes
Climate Tolerance All Climates
Challenges in Black Bengal Goat Farming
As the meat industry is lucrative towards the black Bengal meat. The healthy Buck always gets sold to the market. The fastest-growing males should be used for the breeding purpose, but instead, they get sold to the market first.
Due to this, the Black Bengal Goats are losing their best Bucks. In fact, often the poorest males are used for breeding, leading to negative selection. The quality of kids is going down, common knowledge on the breeding should be given to the farmers. With minimal knowledge on the commercial Goat, farming will increase their income and improve their livelihood.
How to Choose Better Quality Female(Does) Goats?
Before buying the Doe(Female Goat) :
1. If the Doe is young, they need to check their parents. Examine her mother’s udder and her father’s teats; this will give you a preview of what’s to come.
2. Without a better Udder, the quality of their kids will deteriorate.
3. It’s important to check a buck’s teats before buying his daughters or when choosing a mate for your doe. He should have the correct number of teats for his breed.
4. Examine a doe’s udder before you buy her. It should be globular, soft, pliable and free of lumps. It should have held the udder up high and tight to her body.
5. Doe’s should have two normal, shapely teats with no spurs or outgrowths. Both sides of the udder should be the same size and both teats the same size or almost so.
How to Find Best Male Goats(Buck)?
Selecting a purebred Buck(Male goat) is the best decision any goat farmer can do. Though it’s expensive, in the long run, you will be blessed with better quality kids.
1. Prefer the Male kid born as single. second priority can be given to those born as twins. Never ever go with triplets or more.
2. Always choose from the purebred.
3. Check the lineage, their father(buck) and mother(doe) should be healthy.
How to find the age of Goat?
It’s easy to estimate the Goat’s age just by examining the eight teeth in the front of its mouth
1. Less than 1 year: All the teeth are small and sharp(only baby teeth present).
2. Between 1 and 2 years: The center two teeth are big(permanent teeth) and the rest are small.
3. Around 2 years: The center four teeth are big and the rest are small.
4. About 2.5 years: The center six teeth are big and the rest are small.
5. About 3 years: All eight teeth are big.
6. Older than 3 years: The teeth gradually spread and may eventually fall out in old age.
Goat Feed per Day
Besides grazing goats were being fed concentrate mash feed consisting of
• 40% maize crust
• 30 %wheat bran
• 20 % pigeon peas (toor dal)
• 7 % mustard oil cake
• 2 % vitamin and mineral mixture
• 1 % common salt @ 100 g / head / day to grower, @ 150 g / head/ day to adult and @ 200 g / head / day to breeder and nursing.
• Weaning was practiced at two months of age.
How to Choose Better Quality Female(Does) Goats?
Before buying the Doe(Female Goat) :
1. If the Doe is young, they need to check their parents. Examine her mother’s udder and her father’s teats; this will give you a preview of what’s to come.
2. Without a better Udder, the quality of their kids will deteriorate.
3. It’s important to check a buck’s teats before buying his daughters or when choosing a mate for your doe. He should have the correct number of teats for his breed.
4. Examine a doe’s udder before you buy her. It should be globular, soft, pliable and free of lumps. It should have held the udder up high and tight to her body.
5. Doe’s should have two normal, shapely teats with no spurs or outgrowths. Both sides of the udder should be the same size and both teats the same size or almost so.
How to Find Best Male Goats(Buck)?
Selecting a purebred Buck(Male goat) is the best decision any goat farmer can do. Though it’s expensive, in the long run, you will be blessed with better quality kids.
1. Prefer the Male kid born as single. second priority can be given to those born as twins. Never ever go with triplets or more.
2. Always choose from the purebred.
3. Check the lineage, their father(buck) and mother(doe) should be healthy.
How to find the age of Goat?
It’s easy to estimate the Goat’s age just by examining the eight teeth in the front of its mouth
1. Less than 1 year: All the teeth are small and sharp(only baby teeth present).
2. Between 1 and 2 years: The center two teeth are big(permanent teeth) and the rest are small.
3. Around 2 years: The center four teeth are big and the rest are small.
4. About 2.5 years: The center six teeth are big and the rest are small.
5. About 3 years: All eight teeth are big.
6. Older than 3 years: The teeth gradually spread and may eventually fall out in old age.
Goat Feed per Day
Besides grazing goats were being fed concentrate mash feed consisting of
• 40% maize crust
• 30 %wheat bran
• 20 % pigeon peas (toor dal)
• 7 % mustard oil cake
• 2 % vitamin and mineral mixture
• 1 % common salt @ 100 g / head / day to grower, @ 150 g / head/ day to adult and @ 200 g / head / day to breeder and nursing.
• Weaning was practiced at two months of age.
Multiple Goat feeding – Learn Natural Farming
Goat Marketing in Jharkhand
India has got a huge advantage in the marketing of Goat meat. As Goat meat is not a taboo for any religion, it can be consumed across all people. India is a country which celebrates a number of festivals all through the year, during most of the festivals Goat meat is consumed. So it’s always good to market Goats during these festivals.
1. The right age to sell the goat for meat is around 6 months to 9 months of age. The Jamunapari Goat would have gained around 25kgs of live weight. Similarly, Boer and Tellicherry goats will gain around the same weight.
2. Always plan the nutrient intake before 3 months of marketing.
3. Plan to sell during the festival season, to fetch a high price.
4. Discuss with your butcher, what is required for the market. Sometimes he requires young goats and sometimes with higher meat content.
5. A few of them were giving advertisements in the local newspapers, especially for the sale of males during the Eid festival. The other important modes of publicity and extension included the publication of pamphlets and organization of training for local farmers. The farmers felt that the advertisement and publicity had increased their visibility, resulting in increased demand and better prices for their goats.
Generally, goats are sturdy and resistant to many diseases. However, when we rear the number of goats under one roof, there are a lot of chances to get a Disease attack. Due to insufficient fresh air, feed contamination or even due to bacterial infection. Disease management should be given higher priority in intensive farming.
Even the minutest carelessness will spread the disease at a faster pace. This will reduce the production potential and also leads to more mortality which in turn causes economic losses to the farmers. Below are some of the common diseases in Goat.
Common Goat Diseases
Common Goat diseases, their symptoms, and the prevention are discussed below. The Symptoms are more self-explanatory if you come across any of these diseases in your goat alert your veterinarian. Some of the below diseases are deadly and also spread fast among other goats, so you should be cautious.
Disease Symptoms Prevention
Anthrax—– Sudden fever and death
Dark color bloody discharge from the natural orifice such as nose, anus, and vagina Vaccination once a year in the affected area
Disposal of carcass either by burying or burning
Don’t open the carcass as the germ spread through the air
Haemorrhagic Septicemia—- Fever, dysentery, swelling of lower mandible and death
More occurrence in rainy season Vaccinate the animal once a year before the onset of the rainy season
Brucellosis—– Abortion during late pregnancy, infertility, scrotal swelling in male, joint swelling Disposal of dead fetus and placenta
Use gloves while handling infected items as it affects human beings
Enterotoxaemia—— Sudden death in young growing kids. Mucous diarrhea may also be seen during death Vaccinate the animals once a year before the onset of monsoon
Don’t feed on young grass
Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR)———— Fever, Ocular and nasal mucous discharge, mouth lesion, respiratory distress Yearly vaccination
Separation of infected one from healthy animals
Foot and Mouth Disease ——Fever, wound lesion in foot and mouth, excess salivary secretion, difficulty in walking First vaccination at the 3rd month and then once in 4-6 months interval
Fluke infection ——Emaciation, anemia, edema in the lower jaw Control of snails, avoid grazing in the early morning and late evening, deworming of animals periodically
Tapeworm—— Reduced growth, fever, kid mortality Deworming of animals periodically
Roundworm——- Fever, anemia, edema in the lower jaw, reduced the growth deworming of animals periodically
Coccidiosis—– Blood tinged brownish diarrhea, anemia, kid mortality Clean house, a spray of 10% ammonia solution, administration of anticoccidial drugs
Common Vaccinations for Goats——-
Mostly in goats, 5 major vaccinations are needed to be done. All major vaccines their doses and their repetition schedules are given in the table.
Vaccine Name Dose Immunity Repetition Age
PPRPeste Des Petits Ruminant 1 ml 4 year 4 year Above 3 month
FMDFoot and Mouth Disease 2 ml 6 month /1 year 1 year Above 3 month
HSHemoregic septicemia 2 ml 1 year 1 year Above 3 month
ETEnterotocimia 2 ml 1 year 21 Days (Buster dose)1 year after Buster Above 2 month
G.POXGoat pox 2 ml 1 year 1 year Above 3 month
Note :
• The age of goats should be above 3 months for the first vaccination.
• Minimum 21 to 30 days interval is mandatory/compulsory between two vaccines according to veterinary protocols.
• For safety and good results of the vaccine, we should maintain a one-month interval between two vaccines.
Disease Management in Goats
• Be on the alert for signs of illness such as reduced feed intake, fever, abnormal discharge or unusual behavior.
• Consult the nearest veterinary aid center for help if the illness is suspected.
• Protect animals against common diseases.
• In case of an outbreak of contagious diseases, immediately segregate the sick animals from a healthy one and take necessary disease control measures.
• De-worm the animals regularly.
• Examine the feces of adult animals to detect eggs of internal parasites and treat animals with suitable drugs.
• Provide clean and uncontaminated feed and water for minimizing health disorders.
• Strictly follow the recommended vaccine schedule.
Preventing Diseases in Goats
Dirty surroundings
If goats are kept in a dirty kraal, they could wind up drinking water contaminated with droppings. These droppings may contain germs that could make them sick.
Solution: Try to clean out kraals where possible. Remove manure regularly.
Poor condition
If your goats are in poor condition and if you aren’t feeding them well, they can become sick easily.
Solution: Supplement rations with extra feed during winter and remember that pregnant females need more feed to produce healthy offspring.
Stress
Overcrowding, underfeeding, poor transportation methods and management procedures (tail docking, castration, ear-tagging, and shearing) cause stress, which can make animals ill.
Solution: Avoid overcrowding and treat the animals in a relaxed manner. If you are transporting them, make sure they have enough water, and that they are not too hot or too cold. Avoid loading too many animals on one truck.
New animals
Buying goats without checking them carefully could bring all kinds of diseases onto your farm.
Solution:Buy from a farmer you can trust and check the animals properly to ensure they are free of diseases. If you’re unsure about what to look for, consult your local animal-health technician or vet.
