REARING GOATS

Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:40:40 +0000

GOATS again are in the media, electronic and print media. The reason, the Middle East countries would like to import a lot of goats and probably sheep from Zambia.

The idea I believe has fallen through.  The onus is now upon us that is our small livestock farmers who own the majority local goats throughout the country.

These farmers with their small livestock especially goats and sheep should take full advantage and pull up and improve the husbandry practices on these animals.

To fulfill the challenge of supplying the required goats to the countries in the Middle East we have to multiply the current production through improved husbandry.

Abundant browsing in Zambia create a good environment for goat farming. In other countries goats and sheep have to scrounge for food to survive.

Therefore, the Zambian situation is unique and farmers owning goats and sheep should take full advantage of the market now available in the Middle East.

The first thing we must do, let us improve our goat husbandry practices, especially among the rural small livestock keepers, these have a lot of such animals to which very little attention is given.

If possible let the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries come up with goat schemes in areas with appreciable numbers of goats and sheep, especially areas along the Zambezi valley from Livingstone to Luangwa district, in some parts of Central and Eastern provinces and indeed Luapula.

The small livestock requirements have been made simpler in that it is not the dairy goat they are after. In this area of production (dairy goat) we are very behind we do not have suitable material to present, it is the meat type that is needed.

For dairy goats Zambia is also importing material to improve our own local breeds to improve milk production as goat milk is believed to have very good health benefits, not only is it a good source of protein but also it has immune –boosting properties.

It is for this reason the government is encouraged to ponder into the production of goat milk by starting dairy goat farming in potential areas for the hospitals, especially for the purpose of good nutrition among the malnourished children.

And for this to work properly the need to establish genetic improvement centres where the nucleus herd can be kept would be very ideal.

Mochipapa Research Station years back attempted to do this, as of today we do not know who has taken up this idea. A number of things would be required when such breeding centres are established. Bucks (young male goats) would have the biggest impact when spreading the dairy breeding activities.

General goat husbandry.

Goats generally can be termed as very destructive; it is this that brings conflicts in the rural farming communities.

For this reason, it is therefore important as the farmers get involved in the supply of goats for export they should take up good husbandry practices.

The schemes if they are to be introduced (as it was with the National Beef Scheme many years ago in the eighties) proper fencing should be reinforced to control these animals. The goodness with controlled way of keeping goats would bring some good benefits, diseases can be minimised and other livestock activities can easily be introduced like dosing for health purposes.  Equally supplementary feeding can easily be introduced and so are veterinary services.

Should they be confined like dairy goats, they will become selective eaters and waste a lot of food. In such a situation proper feeding troughs should be put in place to avoid and minimize food wastage.

Goats are not like cattle which can sleep in a kraal, for them they need to be sheltered whenever need be.  In other words, good housing should be provided as part of good practices in keeping these  animals. They dislike exposure to the elements and immediately head for shelter when it rains. In areas where water is a problem the farmer must provide drinking water. Goats need constant access to fresh water especially if it is during the dry season. Drinking troughs should be available and enough of them so that goats do not compete for drinking space.  Shelter is important because this would keep them safe from thieves and of course from adverse weather conditions. The field livestock extension officer should be in a position to show how such shelters are supposed to be constructed so that maximum benefits in terms of ventilation and the droppings that should collect underneath this structure which can later be used for other farm or garden activities.

Health

Our local goats do not need dousing as much as improved goats. However, improving the flock means trying to increase production. This is helpful especially when ensuring that worms are controlled.  Goats as mentioned do not usually need dousing as often as sheep, but as in all other animals, a farmer will get more output if the goats are worm free.  Worms are parasites that live inside an animal and in this case the worms get the food that should be going to the animal. Goats that are carrying worms are a loss to the farmer. If there are few worms in an animal they may not look sick, but the effect will be that the goat would be growing slowly and would not be strong or as productive as it should be.

A goat with many worms will look sick, its coat will be harsh, it will have a dull look in its eyes and it will be very thin. A very large number of worms can result in an animal dying. Therefore, any number or even a few will result in the farmer losing his profit.

We are looking at making a difference in the farmer’s income when he starts exporting the goats to the Middle East.  As already mentioned, the farmer since he cannot see these worms, he would think they are not there.

Hence, treatment is effected when the goat or an animal looks sick. The small livestock farmer should therefore, understand that by the time that there is something wrong in an animal then it will be too late and profit would have been already lost.

As those livestock farmers are being taught good husbandry practices, they should always assume that the animals they have reared have worms and should be treated accordingly. This way the losses would be minimised.

Worms are not the only problems that can show up during the rearing of animals.  Other diseases or disorders may show up and should be treated with the urgency they deserve.

What should now be remembered is that good healthy looking animals would be bought and be exported to the Middle East. So it is very important to always engage the nearest veterinary staff whenever things are going wrong.

There are so many types of worms and diseases that may show up and should at all times be given attention by the veterinary department.  In this way, we shall export quality goats to the markets in the Middle East.