How To Raise Goats For Profits In A Farm

How To Raise Goats For Profits In A Farm

Nowadays people are venturing into ways of making a living due to the COVID – 19 pandemic that has hit hard world- wide.

The new normal has brought out the business side into individuals and ways of making money while feeding the family.

Proper research can definitely groom an individual to embark on goat breeding as a business and this can bring you steady income.

Breeding goats is easy compared to other livestock like chickens and cattle.

Goats can survive on their own as long as they are safe from predators like dogs, have access to water and they feed on grass most of the time but following the animal welfare standard should considered for healthy and animals and better production.

GUIDELINES FOR GETTING STARTED IN COMMERCIAL GOAT FARMING
Below are some of the guidelines to follow for becoming a successful goat farmer:

  1. When starting out in goat farming, have a vision, mission ad goal to achieve from your goat farm. Do you want to raise goats for milk, meat or fiber?
  2. You can raise different types of goats at the same time but you should know that will cost you a lot of money to setup.
  3. So it also advisable that when you are just beginning to start with a small number of goats and at least one type of breed then you can expand as time goes by. This will help you achieve the set production goal.
  4. Choose the right breed for your project.

. The nucleus breeding of goats is not very profitable, and the preservation and protection of local breeds cannot be carried out without significant monetary support from governments.

. The environment has impacts on production systems, and goat farming is not an enemy of the environment. The production system used may be dangerous, but this is because of human rather than goat activity.

Breeds


Venturing in the goat farming business for meat / fiber / milk production can be tricky as you must choose well the breed that is maintainable and the end product can be of good quality.

Your choice in the breed will determine the outcome of your production. The different types of product breed we will look at are;

  1. Fiber Goats:
    A common fiber produced by goats is wool. Mohair (which is produced by Angora goats) and cashmere (produced by cashmere goats) are profitable wool which is prized by their softness and silken texture. This type of wool is the most expensive.
  2. Meat Goats:
    If you want to produce goats for meat then look no further than the South African Boer goats. They are known to yield a substantial goat meat since they have high litter count and fast growth rate.
  3. The young goat meat is pricey because its tender whilst older goat meat is processed into food items like salted, smoked and cured meat.
  4. Milk Goats:
    Goat milk is very nutritious when compared to cow milk and a majority of people favor goat milk over cow’s milk due to the health benefits.
  5. Goat milk can be consumed because it is easier to digest and can be used in making beauty soaps and lotions to name a few products.

Types Of Breed

  1. Nigora
    These are raised for milk and fiber (mohair fiber) though they are small sized. Generally, they are calm, amiable and laid back breed.
  2. Pygora
    Pygora is a domesticated goat developed from crossing and they are raised mainly for fiber production though meat and milk is not that important. They produce cashmere fiber which is expensive and is in high demand.
  3. Anglo-Nubian
    This is a domesticated goat breed useful for meat, milk and hide. They are large sized and carry more flesh than other breeds and the mature doe weighs between 64 kg – 79 kg.
    .
  4. Kalahari Reds
    They are generally raised for meat and adapting well to harsh environments like drought period because their red coat protects them against sunlight, and naturally built to resist diseases.

Goat House / Pen


Goat farming requires that a pen be constructed, proper site selection and the following must be considered;


• Drainage – the area should be slightly sloped for effective drainage.
• Wind direction – goat housesshould be partiallyor totally protectedfrom the directionof strong winddepending on thewind intensity ofthe area.


• Environmental factors – the house should not be placed within 10 meters of springs, rivers/streams or other water bodies.

Bio-security- goat pen should be at least 10 meters away from other animal structures to avoid spreading of diseases between farm animals.

The size of the pen will be determined by the number of goats to be bred but the standard size is 2 square meters for adult goats.
.

Mating


A young goat will be ready for mating when it is 12 months. Mating it earlier than this may result in stunted growth and kidding difficulties as the doe will not be physically matured.

So you advised to minimize handling during the mating season, and for two weeks after the end of the mating season. The heat period lasts between 24 – 26 hours after it has been first noticed to be on heat.
Mating can also be done through artificial insemination and embryo transfer.

Grazing Land

Market And Recommendation


Carry out a feasibility study to know and understand your consumers. This will guide you on your target market and create your suppliers profile. For the business to flourish, always be a hands-on farmer then you will know more about your animals. How to raise goats Enjoy starting your goat farming business venture.
Markets for goat milk products need urgent support in reaching the necessary level of development, and there is need to establish a market for goat meat in this part of the world.

Conclusion

For the past +/- 40 years, the number of jobs in agriculture and livestock has dramatically decreased as a consequence of constantly increasing productivity because modern milking equipment is also required to replace hand-milking because this will encourage innovation goat management and housing in all the studied countries.

Goat farming needs similar help to that available to dairy cattle, chicken or pig farming to improve its ability to survive and be profitable and to preserve local domestic breeds adapted to specific environmental conditions.

Farmers are required and encouraged to attend trainings and seminars to boost their knowledge in goats especially the when they want to venture into crossbreeding.

Ensure that pasture land is close by because of trying to avoid exposing animals to predators.

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