Goat Farming

January
  • Maintain good drainage in goat pens to remove droppings.
  • Keep the floor clean and dry.
  • Prepare the kidding area in advance.
  • Separate the goats ready for kidding and add half kg of extra concentrate in diet per day.
  • The diet of pregnant goats should be balanced.
  • Place a lump of salt or animal-lick in front of the goats for licking.
  • Get animals vaccinated for enterotoxemia.
  • This is the best month to start a new goat business.
  • Also buy new goats at the same time to grow the herd.
  • Keep newly purchased goats in a separate place for about a month.
  • Inspect the water tank and get cracks repaired.
  • Get the hooves fixed.
  • Keep male breeding goats separate from female goats.
  • Cull the male and female goats that are not suitable for breeding.
  • Cut the hair from both sides of the goat's vulva which are ready for kidding.
  • After kidding, dry the kids with a clean cloth and give them plenty of milk.
  • Cut the placenta with clean scissors and disinfect with iodine solution.
  • Feed the goat as per its need after kidding.
  • Disbudding of horns in kids shall be done at the age of one week.
  • Provide palatable fodder (barseem, lucerne, etc.) to three week old lambs.
  • Check eye membranes to check for anemia in lambs.
  • Look closely at the pregnant goats for any signs of abortion.
  • Consumption of meat among migrant workers increases during Holi so, stock should be ready for sale by this time.
  • Give lactating goats concentrate as per their requirement and provide good quality green fodder.
  • Reduce the concentrate quantity when green fodder is in abundance.
  • Be sure to use mineral mixture in diet.
  • In case of diarrhea, give medicine immediately as per doctor's advice.
  • Two-month-old lambs can be left to browse with goats.
  • Select male goats for breeding at age of two and a half months.
  • Castrate rest of the bucks.
  • Be sure to get male animals vaccinated against tetanus before castration.
  • Add a pinch (200-300 mg) of ammonium chloride daily in goat feed to reduce the chances of urinary stones.
  • Deworming of three month old lambs should be done.
  • Get animals vaccinated against goat plague (PPR) and foot-and-mouth disease.
  • Stop suckling of the lambs weighing about 15 kg (about 3 months old). But make sure they are having the right amount of green fodder and concentrate.
  • Weigh the lambs this month and record the same in the register.
  • To dry the milking animals, the concentrate should be stopped.
  • Vaccinate goats at the age of four months to prevent HS and bloody diarrhea.
  • If the problem of hoof rotting in the herd is very serious, make cemented, half a foot deep, 6 × 4 square feet water trough and fill it with a solution of copper sulphate (2-4%).
  • By keeping the goats in this water trough for some time, their hooves can be prevented from rotting.
  • Due to the fact that Eid is in this month, goats can be sold at a good price.
  • Feed the adult does with 250 gm extra concentrate in the first fortnight of.
  • With help of concentrate, the goats will come to heat in the next 15 days.
  • Doe have probability to produce more offspring after they have undergone kidding once.
  • Check the kids for any congenital defects and sell all the kids with defects.
  • Segregate the rest of the flock as well.
  • Cull goats that have weak, crooked legs, defective nipples, repeat breeders and animals showing low milk production.
  • Look closely at the does for signs of heat.
  • The doe in heat should be mated with selected buck.
  • Get medical attention if doe does not come in heat.
  • If goats in the herd are weak or very fat then their diet may be unbalanced, balance the diet.
  • Be sure to check the diet plan.
  • Have a look at the does which have been mated for signs of heat.
  • Mate the does again if symptoms of heat appear.
  • The goats mated in October will kid in March.
  • If the goat does not parturate after completion of gestation, get it checked.
  • FMD vaccination may be given again at this month.
  • Inspect hooves for care.
  • Get a pregnancy test done by a specialist veterinarian for freshly mated does.
  • Animals suffering from repeat breeding should be treated.
  • If too many goats in the herd are facing problem of repeat breeding, replace the flock.
  • Extra 55 grams of digestible protein, 2 grams of calcium and 1.5 grams of phosphorus may be administered to pregnant goats.
  • Fill the holes in the floor with soil.
  • Excreta and waste should not be allowed to be collected inside the shed.
  • Using straw or husk on floor is even better.
  • Kids can be covered with cloth to protect them from the cold.
  • Keep goats away from trees on windy days.
  • Feeding goats with good quality feed can protect them from cold.
  • Lukewarm water can be administered twice a day on very cold days. Small amount of sugar / salt may also be added to the water.
  • Do not cover the shed from all sides.
  • Carefully inspect all goats for signs of pneumonia.