Goat, especially which breed is come from temperate zone has short production time. Goat milk production is seasonal, being greatest in spring and summer, then declining to a nadir in winter. Given adequate nutrition, this seasonal pattern of milk production is a direct reflection of the seasonal pattern of reproduction in goats, as they normally commence regular estrous cycles in autumn, and thus kid in late winter and early spring.
1. THE DAIRY GOAT
Goats are among the smallest domesticated ruminants and have served mankind longer than cattle or sheep. They thrive in arid, semitropical, or mountainous countries. More than 460 million goats in the world produce over 4.5 million tons of milk and 1.2 million tons of meat annually, besides mohair, cashmere, leather, and dung for fuel and fertilizer. Goats are friendly animals; with proper attention they maintain good health and can be managed easily even by children. More people consume dairy products from goats than from any other animal. Goat's milk greatly improves the diet of many rural families. It is traditionally valued for the elderly, the sick, babies, children who are allergic to cow's milk, and patients with ulcers. It is even preferred for raising orphan foals and other young domestic animals. Goat milk is richer than cow's milk in some important nutrients: vitamin A, niacin, choline, and inositol; it is poorer in folic acid.
Goats are browsers, preferring the new growth of shrubs and the seed heads of grasses to the lower quality older growth in a pasture. They are able to select the most nutritious parts of plants, even from thorn bushes and higher tree branches not reached by sheep, and can use a wide range of forage. For this reason, they are able to survive in areas where other livestock do not. As browsers, they are useful for clearing brush in small areas. However, because they strip the leaves and bark of young trees, they should be used in settled areas only if good fences can be provided. One or two animals can usually be controlled with a tether, but they must be watched carefully lest they get tangled in brush or wind their tethers around small trees.
Most efforts to improve dairy goat management have been designed to provide more and better milk. These efforts include:
1. Breeding and selecting to produce more and better milk.
2. Better feeding and pasturing practices.
3. Better housing for extremes of weather and climate.
4. Improved sanitation of milk and milk products.
5. Control of internal parasitic diseases that often lead to poor health and decreased milk production.
6. Improved marketing of dairy goat products.
7. Development of information and research services.
All goats, even those selected for milk production, eventually are used for meat unless they die or are destroyed for other reasons. Many people prefer goat meat to mutton, beef, or pork; it is the principal source of animal protein in many North African and West Asian nations. It is also important in the Caribbean area and in Southeast Asia, and relatively more so in developing tropical countries than in the temperate regions. The world production of edible meat from cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, swine, and horses is estimated at 17.9 million tons, 5.7% of which comes from goats.
2. BREEDS
The major breeds of dairy goats IN Europe,
A. Saanen, originally from Switzerland, where they were bred for odor-free milk, is totally white. Like other Swiss breeds, they may or may not have horns. They are usually short haired. Saanen goats are used around the world as leading milk producers
Toggenburg, brown with white stripes on the face, ears and legs, are mostly short haired, erect eared goats. They too are of Swiss origin and are 10 cm shorter and 9 kg lighter than the Saanen. Pure bred for over 300 years, they are reliable milk producers summer and winter, in temperate and tropical zones
Alpine (including French, Rock and British), another Swiss breed, are short haired and as tall and strong as the Saanen. They are colored white on black, and produce less milk than Saanen or Toggenburg.
Anglo-Nubian is a breed developed in
Oberhasli (: Swiss Alpine. Chamoisie, or Brienz) goats, of Swiss origin, are usually solid red or black, have erect ears, and are not as tall as Saanen. They are very well adapted for high-altitude mountain grazing and long hours of marching. Milk production is variable.
While breed of
Many factors can have major or minor effects on the goal of improving milk and meat production of goats. Computer programs are available (at least for cow) that will solve by least-cost formulation the maximization or the optimization of production. In either case it is important to focus on net return as the ultimate goal. Maximization of production is not guaranteeing maximization of net return. The reason is that the law of diminishing returns governs much of animal production, especially feeding and the relationship to reproduction. It means that for additional units of input, such as feed, there is an ever-decreasing increment of benefits in units of milk and meat dollars or other output, until certain general bases and levels are lifted for a new set of overall conditions. It also means that additional feed will produce additional pounds of milk and meat up to a certain biological limit, but in the meantime may already produce negative income dollars from a certain point on.
JAMNAPARI
The name is derived from the location of the breed beyond the river Jumna (Jamna Par) in Uttar Pradesh 1.It is well known breed exported to Indonesia especially Purworejo district.
a) Distribution. Agra, Mathura and Etawa districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bhind and Morena districts in Madhya Pradesh. However, the pure stocks are found only in about 80 villages in the vicinity of Batpura and Chakar Nagar in Etawa district.
Breed characteristics
| i) Size | Adult male | Adult female |
| Body weight (kg) | 44.66 ± 1.89 (49) | 38.03 ± 0.63 (168) |
| Body length (cm) | 77.37 ± 1.23 (49) | 75.15 ± 0.46 (168) |
| Height at withers (cm) | 78.17 ± 1.25 (49) | 75.20 ± 0.38 (168) |
| Chest girth (cm) | 79.52 ± 1.2 (49) | 76.11 ± 0.38 (168) |
ii) Conformation. Large animals. There is a great variation in coat color, but the typical coat is white with small tan patches on head and neck. The typical character of the breed is a highly convex nose line with a tuft of hair, yielding a parrot mouth appearance. The ears are very long, flat and drooping; ear length: 26.79 ± 0.21 cm (216). Both sexes are horned; horn length: 8.69 ± 0.27 cm (108). Tail is thin and short. A thick growth of hair on the buttocks, known as feathers, obscures the udder when observed from behind. The udder is well developed, round, with large conical teats.
e) Flock structure. The average flock contains 16.0 ± 2.57 individuals (range: 8 to 41), of which 0.25 adult males, 8.65 adult females and 7.1 young.
f) Management and feeding. The flocks, stationary, are maintained primarily on tree lopping, acacia pods and stubble of cultivated crops. Some supplementary feeding (200 to 250 g/day of Arhar and gram) is given to lactating animals. The animals are housed in the courtyard within the living quarters, under a thatched shed with a thorny fence. Most animals are docked. Castration does not take place.
g) Reproduction. In farmers' flocks: kidding percentage: 124.25 ± 6.05 (12); litter size: singles: 69.0 ± 7.1%; twins: 27.8 ± 6.46%; triplets: 3.2 ± 0.0%. Under farm conditions: age at first kidding (14, 30): 737.0 ± 21.25 days (88); kidding interval (14): 229.3 ± 26.71 days (8); service period (14): 101.4 ± 13.03 days (11); kidding percentage (30): 79.6 (339); litter size (16, 30): singles: 56.2%; twins: 43.1%; triplets: 0.7% (329). present Jamnapari goat
h) Mortality. In farmers' flocks: young: 5.75 ± 2.5% (10); adults: 4.21 ± 1.97% (12).
i) Breeding. Flocks are pure-bred. Selection in bucks is based on dam's milk yield.
j) Performance
Milk. Average lactation yield (30): 201.96 ± 6.65 kg (166); lactation length (30): 191 ± 6 days (116); average daily yield (24): 1.752 ± 0.031 kg (434); dry period (30): 115 ± 3 days. In farmers' flocks, average daily yield: 2.15 ± 0.30 kg; average lactation length: 255 ± 6.7
days
Factor influencing production improvement
Other important factors influencing production output and income from goats are genetic merit, udder quality, health and marketing, besides feeding. Genetic merit comes from:
- selection of native goats,
- Crossbreeding with improver breeds.
Selection of native goats can be very effective, because of the inherent adaptation to the climate, especially if it is tropical, hot and humid, and the resistance to native diseases, insects and parasites. Selection requires regular record keeping of each herd animal in terms of production traits, milk, composition, meat, growth. In the
Crossbreeding has the advantage of selecting presumably superior genetic producing ability, but adaptation to climate, diseases, insects and parasites is usually a big, often insurmountable or at least very expensive problem, which may only be solved by using for continued breeding crossbred offspring rather than purebred parents. In either case it is necessary to realize that improved feeding is wasted if there is no simultaneous genetic improvement of the basic producing ability, because
Heritability of milk yield by goats is about 25 percent,
Heritability of goat milk composition about 50%, and
Heritability of goat weight gain about 40%.
Heritability values can be used to predict the expected average progress from selection, assuming that environment, management, feeds and feeding, and climate is not changed between generations. Improvement in milk yield is often the most profitable choice and the predicted progress would be per generation:
Heritability X selection differential or
25% X (milk yield of selected sire - milk yield of dam).
For example, if the selection differential from the buck proof is + 400 lb and the milk yield of the doe is 1,500 lb, and then the expected average genetic improvement in the performance of the offspring in the next generation would be
(25% X 400 lb) + 1,500 lb = 1,600 lb
indicating that genetic selection is important, but 75% of milk yield performance progress is due to management, environment, diseases, climate and especially feeds and feeding.
The udder is the most important part among the inherited physical capabilities of the animal in its body parts and constitution (Haenlein, 1981). For centuries, this was one of the principal goals of attention of Swiss goat breeders, to improve the udder quality and conformation, and they accomplished this without parallel, making the Swiss dairy goat breeds the milk production leaders in the world. Today type evaluation is available, called the Linear Appraisal System, which can effectively aid in the selection for and improvement of goat milk production. Other programs like type judging competitions in the field and in goat magazines, county and state shows and fairs for 4-H, FFA and adults, milk-out programs for champion competitions and star milker recognitions on pedigrees all aim towards improvement of the inherited physical capability of the milking animal.
Health is the other important factor for success in goat management. Elevated, slotted floor barns have become popular in humid and hot climates for better health of goats, especially for internal parasite control. Such barns are easily and cheaply constructed, provide cool shade and dry areas for feeding and rest, they keep udders clean and free from contaminations and infections, and they prevent re infestation from internal parasite eggs in feces, because the goats are resting on the slotted floors away from their feces. Without such basic provisions for optimum health of goats any attempts in feeding improvement are wasted.
Feeding for health of goats
The feeding program needs to aim for more than just higher milk yield or weight gain; it needs to provide the best possible health also through feeding, because this will directly affect readiness and success in reproduction. It has been said often that the goat has been neglected in research and numbers of publications, but this was true only until 30 years ago. Meanwhile there has been a ground swell of efforts recognizing the goat as an important part of agriculture, especially small holder agriculture, and in the production of valuable food for human needs for self-sufficiency, diversification, risk stabilization, natural resource utilization like no other animal, gourmet foods and for people with medical needs like cow milk allergy, digestive malabsorption and cholesterol problems. There have been new research stations and funding for goats, many national and international seminars, symposia and conferences with their voluminous proceedings, nutrient requirement bulletins from the US, British and French national research councils, the USDA Extension Goat Handbook, the monthly international Small Ruminant Research journal besides many new books, videos and trade magazines, and the standard cow research journals, which now also carry articles on dairy and meat goat topics.
GRAZING MANAGEMENT
Under free grazing providing no other sources of nutrients, the grazing strategy must aim towards finding the best pasture in each season without excessive travel and with a stocking rate that is compatible with good renewal of the vegetation and the best sustainability of forages and browse. The presence of a goat herder will assure this and improve productivity over un-supervised grazing. Nevertheless the nutrient composition varies tremendously from season to season and despite the selectivity of grazing goats, the daily supply often falls short of nutrient requirements of production and at times even of maintenance, so that the goats actually lose milk production, weight and potentially health (Table 3) (Ramirez et al., 1991; Papachristou and Nastis, 1996).
CONFINEMENT FEEDING
Confinement feeding abrogates any nutrient supply from pasture, although for better health of udder, feet, vitamin D supply from the sun and control of internal parasites some outdoor yards should be provided. The entire nutrient supply must be calculated from composition and requirement tables. Software programs for dairy and beef cattle are available, which have some scaled-down provision on bodyweight. More appropriate would be goat specific programs based on the current NRC (1981) and up-dated tables. The
The concept of free choice feeding without rationing to individual goats has been tried successfully (Haenlein, 1978). Over a 2-year period 5 Saanen, weighing 133 - 205 lb, produced in 2 lactations from 2,033 - 4,554 lb milk with 3.0 - 3.3 percent fat. Their free choice intake of mixed hay per year ranged from 393 - 459 lb, their grain ration 1,688 - 1,692 lb per year, besides green chop grass, fodder beets and dry beet pulp. The composition of the grain ration was 21 percent crude protein and 10 percent crude fiber. Daily intake between high and low milkers varied from 1 to 8 lb grain; highest daily milk production was 17.8 lb. Production cost analysis in the 2nd year between the highest producer with 4,554 lb milk showed $293.50 for total feed costs vs. $272.19 for the lowest producer with 3,321 lb milk, or $6.44/100 lb milk for the high producer vs. $8.20/100 lb milk for the low producer.
Total mixed ration (TMR) is another approach to free choice feeding, which is very popular in dairy cattle feeding, except that with dairy cattle the major component is silage, mostly corn silage, which is generally not used or available for goats. Grass silage is fed in
A total mixed pelleted ration has been my TMR for years and it is commercially available as a horse "maintenance" ration, designed for horses that are neither pregnant nor nursing nor working more than 1 day per week. Thus this ration is supposed to feed horses correctly without letting them get fat. The major composition was 12 percent protein and 26 percent fiber. The high fiber content prevented over-eating by my goats. This pelleted ration was provided to the goats in gravity-flow self-feeders and I have seen it being adopted by the Texas Goat Experiment Station at Prairie View, where turkey big round self-feeders are used for the goats. In addition to this pelleted ration I always provided mixed hay free choice and the goats usually ate less than under conventional feeding, but they preferred stems to get enough fiber. For very high milkers I would feed an extra quarter to half pound of straight soybean oil meal or sunflower seed at milking time.
Individual feeding is the alternative to group feeding and free choice offer of feeds. It is more labor intensive may save some wasted feed and may better feed according to body condition. It has not been demonstrated whether feeding success in production or profit from the operation is better than in group feeding. Individual feeding requires individual stalls or temporary tie-ups or feeding at milking time or computerized feed dispenser stalls. In any case it also requires detailed calculations of fitting rations according to individual requirements and prevailing feed ingredient prices.
Calculating a ration requires 7 steps (Haenlein, 1995):
- determine body weight to calculate maintenance requirements of energy, protein, fiber, calcium and phosphorus from tables;
- determine milk yield and fat content per day plus a challenge factor in early lactation of 10 percent for calculation of production requirements of energy, protein, fiber, calcium, phosphorus from tables;
- add the two requirement categories for each of the 5 nutrients on a dry-matter basis;
- determine the composition of your eaten hay (minus the refusals) for the 5 nutrients from tables or actual lab analyses;
- determine the daily actual hay intake by your goat in question and multiply this with the nutrient composition on a dry-matter basis;
- subtract the results of step (5) from the total of step (3), giving you the nutrient deficit, which must be provided by a grain supplement on a dry matter basis;
- Determine composition and price of various alternative commercial or farm-grown grain supplements and multiply with the most probable intake level to arrive at the nutrient deficit total, remembering that ration calculations and feeds offered can not exceed the normal level of daily dry matter intake by goats between 3 to 5 percent of body weight. If goats are found to eat less than 3 percent of body weight on a dry-matter basis, they are either starving or their feed is not palatable to them.
PALATABILITY
In addition to including the volume capacity of a goat's rumen when calculating rations (expressed in the 3 to 5 percent/body weight intake range), one must also consider palatability of the ration and the goat's preference for variety and selection of feeds (Table 4). Actually voluntary intake is more important than correct nutrient composition. Unless feed intake is maximized, production improvement in the short and long run is not secured. In a study with weaned kids in
FEEDING STRATEGIES
Feeding strategies under the confinement system can include green chop, agricultural and industrial by-products besides commercial grain rations. This will provide variety, increase intake, lower feed costs, stimulate milk production, but may increase labor costs. Lopping of tree leaves, crop residues from the canning industry like pea and bean vines, fruit pulp, fresh brewer’s grain, fresh distiller’s grain, cotton seed, rice, maize, sugarcane by-products, and straw treatment with ammonia or urea have been successfully used in many tropical countries for goat production improvement
There are many feeding guides now available based on the NRC or similar official foreign tables of requirements and composition (NRC, 1981; Ensminger et al., 1990; Morand-Fehr, 1991; Haenlein, 1995; Peacock, 1996). In combination with regular body condition scoring of growing and milking goats, these tables should be adjusted up or down to provide the right supply of nutrients under the circumstances with enough challenge for improved production and growth, or with enough restriction to prevent over conditioning and health risks. If all this is well accomplished then it is time to negotiate the right price for milk, yogurt, cheese and meat from the goats, to proceed with aggressive marketing and promotion to reap the rewards for all this work and to assure that this farm will continue in business for years to come
Feed Formulation in
Researchers at
Table 7.1 Quality of Roughage and Protein Level Needed in the Concentrate
| Quality | Description | Protein needed, % |
| Poor | Dry wild grasses, maize fodder, millet, wheat or rice straw. | 24 |
| Fair | Late cuttings of legume hay (without leaves) mixed hay, silage from grass or maize. | 20 |
| Good | Alfalfa, berseem, groundnut hay, good pasture | 16 |
| Excellent | Extra leafy fine-stemmed alfalfa hay, berseem, or excellent fertilized pasture containing some legumes. | 14 |
A typical concentrate contains the following ingredients, in percent by weight: maize 40, molasses 8, wheat bran 20, rice polishing 13, groundnut cake 15, salt 2, and mineral mix 2. Another formula contains: maize whole kernels or sorghum or other cereal 60; soybeans raw or (better) roasted, other legume or whole cottonseed 36, dicalcium phosphate 2, salt and trace minerals 2.
Feed materials were classified according to their protein content as low, medium, high, or very high. Examples are listed below:
Low protein: maize, maize and cob meal, wheat, oats, barley, millet.
Medium protein: wheat bran, rice polishing.
High protein: copra meal, brewer’s dry grains, legumes.
Very high protein: cottonseed meal, linseed meal, groundnut oil cake, soybean oil meal, dried milk, meat meal, blood meal.
It was found that, in making up a diet, any item could be substituted for another in the same class. A suitable mineral mix contained the following ingredients, in percent by weight: sterilized bone meal 35, finely ground high-grade limestone or oyster shell 45, iodized salt 20, and trace amounts of copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, zinc sulfate, and iron chloride. This formula can be made commercially or mixed at home.
| TABLE 3.2. Management efficiency from DHIA data of 120 goat herds in the NE-USA (1) |
| ||||
| | | | |
| |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|
| Milk yield/305 days, lb | 1,130 | 1,543 | 1,803 | 2,310 |
|
| Fat, % | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
|
| Protein, % | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
|
| Concentrates, lb | 878 | 950 | 1,022 | 1,121 |
|
| Cost of concentrates, $ | 83 | 91 | 98 | 109 |
|
| NE from concentrates, % | 49 | 51 | 53 | 54 |
|
| Hay fed, lb | 1,655 | 1,583 | 1,599 | 1,580 |
|
| Cost of feed, $ | 141 | 147 | 155 | 178 |
|
| Cost of feed/100 lb milk, $ | 4.25 | 6.84 | 6.94 | 6.77 |
|
| TABLE 3.3. Nutrient intake by free range goats in |
| |||
| | June | August | January | April |
| Organic matter, kg/d | .984 | 1.267 | .412 | .495 |
| Calcium, g/day | 9 | 21 | 11 | 10 |
| Magnesium, g/day | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Sodium, g/day | 9 | 14 | 5 | 4 |
| Potassium, g/day | 17 | 18 | 4 | 11 |
| Copper, mg/day | 15 | 15 | 6 | 4 |
| Manganese, mg/day | 61 | 64 | 37 | 52 |
| Iron, mg/day | 466 | 535 | 267 | 471 |
| TABLE 3. 4. Factors affecting feed intake by goats (1) | |
| FEED FACTORS: |
|
| PRESENTATION FACTORS: |
|
(1) From Peacock, 1996 IN Haenlein, 2005
| TABLE 3.5. Effect of nutrition on lactation milk yield (liter) in dairy goats in |
| |||
| | Barbari | Jamnapari | ||
| Lactation | MH | LL | HH | LL |
| 1 | 101 | 28 | 154 | 44 |
| 2 | 130 | 30 | 196 | 58 |
| 3 | 100 | 22 | 132 | 45 |
| 4 | 107 | - | 128 | - |
(1) From Devendra, 1987; in Haenlein, 2005
MH = medium plane of nutrition before kidding and high plane during lactation;
LL = low plane before and after kidding;
HH = high plane before and after kidding.
| TABLE 3. 6. Improvement potential in indigenous adult Malaysian goats as a result of improved nutritional management (1) | |||
| | Management | Improved results, % | |
| | Conventional feeding | Improved feeding | |
| Live weight at slaughter, kg | 18.6 | 28.6 | 53.8 |
| Hot carcass weight, kg | 8.2 | 14.7 | 79.3 |
| Dressing, % | 44.2 | 51.3 | 16.1 |
| Weight of meat, kg | 5.5 | 8.1 | 47.3 |
| Meat-bone ratio | 4.1 | 4.9 | 19.5 |
| Forequarter, kg | 1.2 | 2.9 | 141.7 |
| Hind leg, kg | 1.2 | 2.2 | 83.3 |
| Total edible weight, kg | 13.2 | 18.2 | 37.9 |
(1) From Devendra, 1987.
| TABLE 3. 7. Effect of feeding urea-ammonia treated rice straw on weight gain of young Indonesian goats (1) |
| |
| | Daily weight gain , g | |
| | 9 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Rice straw 75% + cassava leaves 25% | 53 | 45 |
| Rice straw 50% + cassava leaves 50% | 91 | 92 |
| Treated rice straw 75% + cassava leaves 25% | 93 | 84 |
| Treated rice straw 50% + cassava leaves 50% | 105 | 101 |
(1) From Devendra, 1987
Shelter and Space
Although goats have adapted to diverse and adverse climates without the aid of man-made shelters and support, maintenance of good health and dairy productivity require minimizing the stresses associated with excessive heat, cold, humidity, and wind.
Protection from Cold and Moisture
Shelters are needed where temperatures remain below 5[degrees] C, especially if there are kids. Wooden walls and roofs are better than stone or metal constructions, which tend to accumulate condensation water, thus adding to respiratory and other health problems because of increased humidity. Open buildings or sheds are satisfactory as long as their length and depth exceed the height and the location of exits and open windows does not cause excessive drafts.
The build-up of ammonia in the shelter from the bedding, urine, and feces is easily avoided with small roof vents or rafter louvers that can be opened and shut. Roof insulation is necessary only when condensation cannot be controlled in this way. But the greatest need for insulation is on the floor, where the goats tend to lie against the cold, wet ground. Slatted false floors made of treated 5 cm x 10 cm lumber 2 cm apart on 10 cm x 10 cm cross pieces will reduce the risk of infection. Wooden slatted floors reduce the costs of bedding. Concrete floors must be avoided, even when poured upon plastic insulation sheets. A sleeping platform helps to keep the goats clean and dry.
In parts of
The depth of the litter will partially depend on the price and availability of suitable materials. If they are cheap and available, use 7 to 10 cm. If less than 2.5 cm is used it will not absorb all the urine and the floor may become wet. Used bedding can be spread in fields and vegetable gardens to increase plant growth.
Protection from Heat
Goats, especially dehorned goats or those originally from temperate zones, begin to seek relief when the temperature reaches 32[degrees] C by reducing feeding activity, sharply increasing respiration and open-mouth ventilation, seeking shade, and resting on the north sides of stone walls or buildings, and inside ground-depressions, ditches, and open dirt pits. Goats with horns or coming from hot and arid zones suffer less, use the rumen as a water reservoir, and adapt with more concentrated urine, wool cover insulation and variable body temperature. Shelters in hot climates need to provide shade and plenty of air circulation through open walls. Trees can serve these functions very cheaply. Straw or hay stacks on the upper story of a shelter provide excellent insulated shade below.
Metal roofs should be painted with white sun-reflecting paint. Tropical thatched roofs are excellent if they shed rain and don't harbor too many flies and other bothersome insects. Soil covered roofs, used in some countries, are excellent insulators, but they require strong supports and may grow grass, which invites undesirable grazing of goats on the roof.
Stilted or elevated housing is popular in hot and humid climates. Slatted board walls and flooring provide good ventilation. They also allow for clean maintenance, with easy automatic separation of feces and urine from the goats. This, in turn provides some control of internal parasites and clean udders for low bacterial counts in the milk. Overhanging roofs keep out driving rains. The feeding trough is usually placed on an outside wall and is also covered with an overhanging roof. In the tropics, a typical elevated shelter for 20 or more goats measures 20 to 80 sq m. The shelter is supported 60 to 90 cm above the ground. The roof is 150 to 200 cm above the slatted floor, sloped at about 28[degrees] (53 cm rise for each 100 cm level measure). Roof materials may include clay tiles and palm leaves. Treated floor boards or bamboo pieces are secured a finger-width apart.
Space and Fencing
Goats need and enjoy exercise. The herd manager will have fewer fence problems if space allotments are liberal and daily fresh, palatable feeds are provided generously. The minimal interior space, 2.5 sq m per adult animal, is commonly provided in tropical countries. Ten square meters is considered ideal.
A fenced area that allows 40 sq m per animal with a fence 1.5 to 1.8 m high per animal is common in most tropical countries. Fencing should allow maximum air circulation for hot weather, but should offer some winter protection against cold winds. Posts should be placed not more than 1.5 m apart, and the bottom strand of wire needs to be close to the ground to stop kids from crawling underneath. High-tensile fence, barbed wire, turkey wire, timber bamboo and sticks all have pros and cons. Some sizes of wire mesh fence may be hazardous if they allow kids with horns to insert their heads and become trapped. Vertical wood or bamboo pieces also invite trapped heads. Horizontal wire on fencing invites climbing; vertical-only stockade-type fences may be too expensive or keep out cooling winds in hot weather.
A sheltered container filled with clean water should always be available. Outside hayracks should be sheltered against sun and rain, with a bottom trough to reduce waste. The same applies to outside feed troughs, best placed below hayracks and along fences to reduce hay wastage, keep out feces, and facilitate filling and cleaning.
Extensive goat management systems based upon pasture feeding and migration sometimes uses only night-time shelters. Goats may travel far during day-time grazing; night shelters are traditionally provided in many countries for safety and comfort.
As the interest in dairy goats continues to rise, it is important to address many misconceptions and exaggerated claims. A comparison of cow and goat milk will erase some prejudices against goat milk. And while goat milk is somewhat unique, it is certainly not a magical elixir.
A persistent objection to goat milk is that it has a peculiar "goaty" odor or taste. The presence of a buck among does at milking time can result in this objectionable feature. Another major cause of off-flavored milk is low-grade udder infection (subclinical mastitis).
Diet affects the taste and odor of both goat and cow milk. Goats are often allowed to consume a great variety of materials at any time. Such unmonitored feeding may allow objectionable tastes or odors to be transferred to the milk, if it occurs within two hours of milking. If goats and cows are similarly managed, the smell and taste of both milks are sweet and neutral.
Milking
whether goats are milked by hand or by machine, care must be taken to produce a clean, wholesome product and to prevent injury to or infection of the udder.
Non-commercial herds use mostly hand-milking, which requires few facilities and little equipment. There is no minimum number of goats required for machine milking, because the convenience and reduced discomfort to the person's hands, wrists and arms may outweigh considerations of efficiency or economics. Portable single or double milking machines are easily assembled, washed, and maintained. Although machine milking is not covered in this paper, a brief description of hand milking follows for the goat herder who wants to produce a quality product.
In contrast to cows, the milking of goats is routinely done in different ways and schedules, depending on tradition, convenience, and budget. In most countries goats are milked twice a day, 12 hours apart. Routine, once-daily milking is not recommended. The doe's udder produces milk throughout the day and night, but production is slowed as milk accumulates. During the height of lactation heavy producers can be milked three times a day at eight-hour intervals to relieve pressure in the udder. This procedure often yields more milk.
Milking equipment should include a strip cup, a seamless milking pail, and a milk strainer with a filter that is thrown away after each milking. Goats should be milked in an environment free of dust, odors, dogs, and disturbing noises.
To produce clean milk it is necessary to have clean equipment, a clean area for milking, healthy goats, clean clothes, and clean hands. The milker's hands (short fingernails) should be washed with hot water and soap before starting, and before moving from one animal to another. Hands should be washed after cleaning feces from the udder. The udder can be washed with a clean cloth, but both the udder and hands should be dried before milking.
The first stream or two of milk should directed through a fine wire mesh, such as a tea strainer, into a separate strip cup so that the presence of flaky milk, which is often an indication of mastitis (discussed later) can be detected.
Dairy goats should be milked dry at each milking. When some experienced milkers think they have milked the goat thoroughly they will often push the udder gently a few times and run the index finger and thumb down each teat until they have "stripped" out the last drop of milk. The advantages of this procedure are not entirely clear.
As soon as the milk has been collected from the doe, it should be poured through a single-use filter. The milk should be cooled promptly and rapidly (to as near 0[degree] C as possible) to ensure good flavor and retard the growth of bacteria. Air cooling is not recommended; the closed container may be cooled by immersing it in ice water with frequent stirring. After cooling, the container of milk should be taken promptly to the consumer, stored in a refrigerator, or immersed in ice water. Unnecessary temperature changes can cause bad flavor.
All milking equipment should be rinsed in warm water immediately after use and then washed in hot water to which a mild chlorine solution and detergent are added. Finally the utensils should be rinsed in clean, preferably boiling, water and kept in a dust-free place to dry.
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