Goat Nutrition : An Analysis

Goat Nutrition : An Analysis

Goat, the poor man’s cows, fit in amicably to achieve the inter-dependent objectives of poverty alleviation, availability of food, creation of employment and growth in rural income. The livelihood security of an incredibly large number of farm families is linked to livestock. Majority of small and marginal farmers derive their livelihood from goats. India with 148 million goats is one of the largest goats owning country in the world and playing a significant role in livelihood and nutritional security as well as providing supplementary income to nearly 70 million farmers of over 5,00,000 remote villages. Goat meat production in the country has increased from 0.47 to 0.59 million tons during the last decade (2002 to 2011) with an annual growth rate of 2.4%.

Goat Nutrition

Goat is an excellent browser by nature which feeds leaves and soft shoots of high growing generally woody plants such as shrubs. Goats belong to the class of small ruminants which has four chambered stomach namely rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Rumen is the largest among them. Goats are able to digest large amount of roughages with the help of bacteria’s and protozoa’s present in its stomach. Goats are having better crude fibre digestibility compared to sheep. Food is broken down to volatile fatty acids in the stomach along with vitamins and amino acids. Goats need dry matter intake of about 5-6% of their body weight. Feed intake is influenced by body weight, dry matter present in the food taken, palatability and physiological state of the animal. Most important factors affecting the nutrient requirements of goat include the productivity of animal and the animal biotype. Weight of the animal, sex, maturity and body condition also affect the requirements.

 ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS

Essential nutrients include water, energy, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Water is the cheapest nutrient but the most essential one. Mature goats consume 3 to 6 litres of water every day. According to Giger – Reverden and Gihad (1991), the factors influencing water metabolism and free water intake in goats include dry matter intake (water intake is about 3 times dry matter intake), composition of feeds and especially their water, salt and mineral contents; taste factors, live weight, level of milk production (water required is 1.28 kg/kg of milk), physiological status (maintenance water intake is 107 g/kg0.75 for a dry and non-pregnant goat, 140 g/kg0.75 at mid-pregnancy and 165 g/kg0.75 at mid-lactation) and environmental factors. On hot days the water consumption may increase up to 9 litres. Salinity of water had a control over the feed intake of goats. Goats prefer saline water with up to 12,500 mg/l TDS compared with fresh water. Higher TDS in water results in lower feed intake. Goat shows higher tolerance of acceptance towards sweet and salt tastes compared to sour and bitter tastes. Sugars, starch and cellulose are broken down to volatile fatty acids by rumen micro flora. Goat diet contains higher amount of cellulose compared to sugar and starch because of browsing nature. If the diet of goat contains higher amount of easily digestible carbohydrates it will lead to digestive problems. So it is better to have 12% crude fibre in goat diet. Energy requirements for goats during different stages of life like growth, gestation and lactation vary. High energy is required at the time of late gestation and lactation. But the maintenance requirement remains the same for most of the goats. Various authors had recommended different values for maintenance requirement of goats. Rindsig (1977) had given maintenance energy requirement of lactating goats as 43.04 TDN g/kg W0.75. Kurar and Mudgal (1980) had given value for dry goats as 34.55 TDN g/kg W0.75. Proteins are broken down to amino acids and got absorbed in the small intestine. Also proteins got degraded in the rumen by bacterial fermentation to form bacterial protein. Proteins are required for normal functions of the body like maintenance, growth, reproduction, lactation etc. Dietary protein requirements are higher for growth, reproduction and lactation. Percent protein requirement is lower for large animals compared to young ones but total protein requirement is high. Different protein sources influence amount of protein required in the diet. For maintenance of a mature animal a minimum of 7% crude protein is needed in the diet. Diets fortified with legumes and protein supplements are required for lactating, growing, sick animals. Internal parasites can be controlled to an extent by feeding slightly higher amounts of protein in the diet. Fats can act as a source of energy when the animal is in extra need, but supplying fat in goat ration is not cost effective during commercial goat farming. Rumen can produce enough vitamin B complex but fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K should be supplied through the diet. Macro minerals like Ca, P, Mg, S, Na, K should be included in percentages and micro minerals like Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, Se had to be included in ppm quantities. Ca requirement is more for high producing goats. Legumes are good sources of Ca. P deficiency results in lower growth and appetite. Longer periods of P deficiency results in decline of milk production by about 50%. Ca, P ratio maintenance is an important factor. It should be maintained at around 2: 1 ratio. Alteration in this ratio results in urinary calculi. Mg deficiency is less common in grazing goats. Over consumption of salt results in poor appetite. Forages are rich in K, so a deficiency of K is rare in grazing goats. Fe deficiency is seen only in kids. I deficiency results in poor growth, reproductive ability and enlarged thyroid. Around 10 ppm of Zn in diet reduces risk of Zn deficiency. Cu deficiency causes anemia, poor growth and infertility. Cu deficiency in a diet may be caused by inadequate intake, a lowered Cu- Mo ratio, or excessive dietary S. Cu should be included in goat diet at about 10 – 80 ppm as goat had a tendency to become Cu deficient. Se (0.3 ppm) is another important trace mineral which helps in boosting immunity. Rotational grazing is a method used in grazing goats for successful management of commercial goat rearing. This practice includes dividing pasture area into smaller regions and controlling goat movement to these smaller units across time. Normally grazing durations of 5-7 days were allowed for grazing of 10 – 50 goats/acre.

NUTRITION OF KIDS

Within 2-3 hrs after birth the kids should consume colostrum at a minimum rate of 10-20% of their body weight. Colostrum contains large quantities of vitamins and immunoglobulin’s that improve the health and immunity. Moreover the colostrum absorption capacity of kids are very high during the first 24-36 hours of birth. In case of triplets extra colostrum had to be fed. Colostrum can be collected from does having dead kids and can be kept in deep freezer. No need to heat it up, just thaw and can be fed. Cow colostrum can also be fed to kids. Kids will start their grass feeding from about 15 days of age. Creep feed can be introduced at the same time. Creep feed can be fed up to age of 2-3 months. Creep feed should contain high protein (22%) for kid’s rapid growth. Around 50- 100g/animal/day can be fed.

FEEDING OF GOATS DURING DIFFERENT STAGES

Ideal thing to do is to allow the animal to graze for about 6-8 hours per day. Concentrate feed can be given at the rate of 100-200 g/animal/day. Protein content of concentrate feed should be about 16-18 percent. If the availability of pasture is adequate, then there is no need for concentrate supplementation. If the availability of pasture is less then there is need for supplementation of concentrate feed at around 200-300 g/animal/day. During pregnancy animal should be fed with good quality pasture (5 kg/animal/day). Animal also should be provided with concentrate mixture. High energy feed had to be given since 60% of fetal growth occurs in the last month of pregnancy. Light feed had to be provided during the day of kidding. Soon after kidding animal can be given with warm water. Laxative foods had to be introduced in the ration during the first few days. Lactating does can be fed with around 10 kg of fodder and 500g of concentrate feed per day.

Fodder crops suitable for sheep and goats

Legume fodder crops

• Hedge lucerne
• Desmanthus
• Cowpea
• Stylo

Grass fodders

• Co F.S-29, Co.27, Co-4, Co.7, Co.10.
• Fodder Maize

Tree fodders

• Subabul
• Neem
• Agathi
• Glyricidia
• Kodukapuli
• Arasu
• Vagai
• Karuvel
• Velvel
• Seemaikaruvel

Concentrate feed ingredients

• Sorghum
• Maize
• Broken rice
• wheat
• Groundnut cake

Feeding schedule for different age of sheep and goats

Feeding of lambs/kids (birth to three months)

• Immediately after birth feed the young ones with colostrum.
• Up to 3 days of birth keep dam and young ones together for 2-3 days for frequent access of milk.
• After 3 days & up to weaning feed the lambs/kids with milk at 2 to 3 times a day.
• At about 2 weeks of age the young ones should be trained to eat green roughages.
• At one month of age the young ones should be provided with the concentrate mixture (Creep feed).

Colostrum feeding of lambs/kids

• The kid should be allowed to suck its dam for the first three or four days so that they can get good amount of colostrum.
• Colostrum feeding is a main factor in limiting kid losses.
• Cow colostrum is also efficient for lambs and kids.
• Colostrum is given at the rate of 100 ml per kg live weight.
• Colostrum can be preserved with 1-1.5% (vol/wt) propionic acid or 0.1% formaldehyde. Propionic acid is preferred for preservation as it keeps the pH value low.
• The chemically treated colostrum is kept at cool place to ensure better quality.

Creep feeding for lambs/kids

• This creep feed may be started from one month of age and up to 2-3 months of age.
• The main purpose of creep feeding is to give more nutrients for their rapid growth.
• The general quantity to be given to the lambs/kids is 50 – 100 gm/animal/day.
• This should contain 22 per cent protein.
• Antibiotics like oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline may be mixed at the rate of 15 to 25 mg/kg of feed.

Composition of ideal creep feed

• Maize  – 40%
• Ground nut cake -30 %
• Wheat bran – 10 %
• Deoiled rice bran- 13 %
• Molasses – 5%
• Mineral mixture- 2%
• Salt – 1% fortified with vitamins A, B2 and D3 and antibiotic feed supplements.

Feeding schedule for a kid/lamb from birth to 90 days:

Three months to twelve months of age

• Grazing in the pasture for about 8 hours per day.
• Supplementation of concentrate mixture @ 100 – 200 g/animal/day with protein of 16-18 per cent.
• Dry fodder during night in summer months and during rainy days.

Adult animals

• If the availability of pasture is good there is no need to supplement concentrate mixture.
• In poor grazing condition animals may be supplemented with concentrate mixture @150 – 350 g of concentrate / animal/day depending up on the age, pregnancy and lactation.
• The digestible crude protein level of concentrate mixture used in the adult feed is 12 per cent.

Non pregnant animals

• If the availability of pasture is good no needs to supplement with concentrate mixture.
• In poor grazing condition animals may be supplemented with 150 – 200 g of concentrate / animal/day.

Feeding of ewes from lamb-weaning till flushing

• This is the least critical period with respect to nutrient requirements.
• Ewes may be maintained entirely on pasture.
• Poor quality pastures and other roughages of low quality can be advantageously utilized during this period.

Pregnant animals

During the first four months of pregnancy:

• Pregnant animals should be allowed in good quality pasture 4-5 hours per day.
• Their ration must be supplemented with available green fodder at the rate of 5 kg per head per day.

During the last one month of pregnancy:

• In this period fetal growth increases 60 – 80 per cent until parturition and lack of enough energy in the feed can cause pregnancy toxaemia in ewes.  So during this period animals should be allowed in very good quality pasture 4-5 hours per day.
• In addition to grazing, animals should be fed with concentrate mixture @ 250 –350 g/animal/day.
• Their ration should be supplemented with available green fodder at the rate of 7 kg per head per day.

Feeding at lambing time

• As lambing time approaches or immediately after lambing the grain allowance should be reduced but good quality dry roughage is fed free choice.
• It is usually preferable to feed lightly on the day of parturition, but allow plenty of clean, cool water.
• Soon after lambing the ewe must be given just enough of slightly warm water.
• After parturition the ration of the ewe may be gradually increased so that she receives the full ration in divided doses six to seven times in a day.
• Bulky and laxative feedstuffs may be included in the ration during the first few days.
• A mixture of wheat bran and barely or oats or maize at 1: 1 proportion is excellent.

Lactating animals / for 75 days after lambing

The following rations may be recommended,

• 6-8 hours grazing + 10 kg cultivated green fodder/day
• 6-8 hours grazing + 400 g of concentrate mixture/day
• 6-8 hours grazing + 800 g of good quality legume hay/day

Feeding rams for breeding

• The common practice is allowing the rams to graze with ewes.
• Under such conditions the rams will get the same ration as the ewes.
• Usually, it will meet the nutritional requirements of the ram.
• Where there are facilities for separate feeding of the ram, it may be given half a kilogram of a concentrate mixture consisting of three parts oats or barley, one part maize and one part wheat per day.

Feeding Management of Goat

Feeding Management of Goat

Compiled  & Shared by- This paper is a compilation of groupwork provided by the Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)

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 Reference-On Request

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