SOME USEFUL FACTS ABOUT GOAT FARMING

                          SOME USEFUL FACTS ABOUT GOAT FARMING

                        Aparna Hebbar H¹ and Siddalingswamy Hiremeth²

(¹Assistant Professor and Head (I/c), Dept of VPB, Veterinary College Athani, KVAFSU, Bidar, Karnataka ²Associate Professor and Head (I/c), Dept. LPM, Veterinary College Gadag, KVAFSU, Bidar, Karnataka) ¹appehebbar@gmail.com, ² sidduvet123@gmail.com

Zoological classification of goat:

Kingdom         :           Animalia
Phylum            :           Chordata
Class                :           Mammalia
Order               :           Artiodactyla
Family             :           Bovidae
Subfamily        :           Caprinae
Genus              :           Capra
Species            :           C. aegagrus
Subspecies       :           C. a. hircus
Trinomial name:          Capra aegagrus hircus

Why it is called as Poor man’s cow?
Goats are a very important component of the dry land farming system and have immense contribution to the economy of the poor. Goat is the best alternative for marginal or undulating land farmer. Compared to cows and buffaloes, very little investments are required. Goat’s milk is highly nutritious, wholesome, easily digestible and possesses medicinal value. Hence goat is called as the “poor man’s cow in India and “wet nurse of infants” in Europe. It is a multipurpose animal that provides milk, meat, hair and skin.

Advantage of goat farming:

1. The initial investment required for Goat farming is low.

2. Due to small body size and docile nature,

Housing requirements are economical

Management problems are less.

3. Goats are prolific breeders:

Age of sexual maturity- 10-12 months,

Gestation period-short, (145-149days)

4. At the age of 16-17 months, they begin to give milk,Twinning is very common,Triplets and Quadruplets are rare.

   5. Unlike large animals on commercial farm, male and female goats are equally valuable.

   6. Goats are ideal for mixed species grazing

   Why goat rearing is important?

Goat is a versatile animal and plays a significant role in the economy and nutritional security establishment. Goats are the most important meat animals in India, whose meat (chevon) is one of the choicest meats and has a high domestic demand.  Besides meat, goats provide additional products such as milk, fiber, skin and manure. Goats are an important part of the rural economy, especially in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous regions of the country. With a population of over 124 million, goats constitute over 25 per cent of the total livestock of the country and contribute Rs 1, 06,335 million per year to the economy. They provide food and nutritional security to the millions of marginal and small farmers and agricultural workers. However, the productive performance of goats under the prevailing traditional production system is very low.

Goats can efficiently thrive on available shrubs and trees in harsh environment.
Goats are good browsers and can selectively utilize a wide variety of shrubs, woody plants, weeds, and briars. The owners must allow the goats to roam the forest ensuring that there is no wild cherry, hemlock, azaleas, or species of laurel family nearby as they are poisonous. Although this type of grazing makes management simplifier, it can lead to poor condition of the animals. The goat is more likely to be owned by the poor since they cost less, are more convenient for domestic consumption or sale and reproduce and grow faster. Under proper management, goats can improve and maintain grazing land and reduce bush and weed encroachment (biological control) without harming the environment. Goat population grew at faster rate (2.10 per cent) compared to sheep population (0.88 per cent), indicating importance of goat for meat purpose

Table 1. Some common terms related to goats:

^*These terms can be used from 6 months of age.

 What are the major differences between sheep and goat?

Table 2.  Differences between sheep and goats

*Hence, sheep move in flocks
Dental formula and eruption of teeth

 Dental formula

Goat (Permanent): 2 I 0/4, C0/0, PM 3/3, M 3/3) 32

Sheep (Permanent): 2 I 0/4, C0/0, PM 3/3, M 3/3) = 32

Eruption of teeth in sheep and goats:

Table 3: Eruption of teeth in sheep and goats (age in months)

Meat
Goat meat is referred to as “Chevon” and is the costliest meat in India. Meat from sheep is referred to as “Mutton” and it is also costlier than chicken or beef (meat from cattle). The differences between Chevon and Mutton (sheep meat) are as below.
Table 4. The general composition of mutton and chevon is as follows:

Table 5: Composition of Mutton and Chevon (per 100 g)

Goat Fibre

There are three different types of goat fibers namely, Common goat hair, Mohair and Pashmina.

Common goat hair

Common goat hair consists of fibers that are usually multi-fibered, straight, non-elastic, very coarse and medulated. In many countries, goat hair is clipped and used for making ropes. It can also be used for the manufacture of coarse blankets and carpets.

Mohair
Mohair is the fine, lustrous hair fiber obtained from Angora breed of goats. It is an exceptionally beautiful quality of textile fiber. This differs from wool in not having the outside layer (cuticular) development. Therefore, clothing made from mohair will have a harder finish and can be easily dyed in any color. Good quality mohair is soft, fine, bright, wavy, twisted with ringlets throughout its length and should be entirely white. Removal of hair by use of “shearer” is called “Shearing”. Angora goats are shorn once or twice in a year. Some goats shed mohair during the spring season. Some goats are not shorn normally and the fibers are left to grow for about 2-3 years. This allows mohair to grow to a length of 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 feet). This special mohair fetches a very high price. The finest quality of mohair is obtained from young goats and kids. This is very costly and is mostly used for fashion fabrics. Older goats produce coarse mohair that is generally used for mixing with wool of sheep.

Pashmina
Pashmina is the fine undercoat obtained from certain breeds of goat’s native to Central Asia. It is considered the finest natural fiber with very high softness and warmth.  Fibers are obtained by combing the under and by hand picking. The average yield is about 100- 120 grams per goat per year. Because of its very low yield, it is very expensive. Pashmina is used for manufacturing expensive shawls and suiting. These are also blended with wool and other fibers to produce a variety of textiles.

Slaughter house by – products

In the process of slaughter of sheep and goats, the following by- products are obtained: Tallow (fat), Intestine, Bone, Blood, Hoof, Horn and Skin. Use(s) of each of these is mentioned below:

Table 6: Slaughter house by – products

Status of Goat industry: The goat industry in India is not yet anchored on scientific level. Goat farmers are maintaining goats in all types of situations depending upon their circumstances and the ecology. The minimum goat unit may range from one goat to a few hundred under range management. Goat farming in the country is mostly based on “zero input.” The fear of mortality was perhaps been the biggest reason why many large goat farms were not established.  However, large-scale goat farms have successfully operated since last 30 years at the CSWRI Avikanagar, MPKVV Rahuri, and at Leh.

References

1. Shreedhar, D and Sreenivasaiah, P.V (2015) Small Scale Livestock Production. Write and Print Publications, New Delhi P.No. 63- 67.
2. The handbook of Animal Husbandry, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, New Delhi.
3. Goat farming for improving livelihood security of farm women By Sahoo et al, 2019 Technical bulletin 33, Central institute for women in agriculture.

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