Dairy Goat production

The increasing human population is leading to increased land pressure. Consequently the smaller land sizes cannot support dairy cattle, making the dairy goat a better option. As a nation by promoting dairy goat’s production we will be addressing the millennium development goals of Alleviating extreme poverty and hunger. Goats are a good pathway out of poverty for smallholders. The high quality of goat’s milk addresses malnutrition at the household level.

Advantages of Rearing Dairy Goats

There are many advantages that can be realised from keeping the dairy goats. These include

• Have a superior production capacity than a cow. A dairy cow is bigger in size and therefore requires more feeds, water, mineral salt and labour than the dairy goat
• Can be reared in urban and peri-urban plots. This is because the faecal consistence (pellets) is easier to handle and dispose than the bulky cow dung of the dairy cattle
• Requires relatively smaller space than a dairy cow
• Dairy goats are much easier to convert to money than a cow
• Dairy goats are less vulnerable to diseases especially tick borne diseases e.g. anaplasmosis, babesiosis and is not susceptible to ECF
• Goats are fastidious feeders as a result they are the last animals to die from drought.
• Goats consume a wide variety of grasses, weeds and small branches of bushes and trees. They also act as scavengers consuming discarded leaves peelings and roots of vegetables, husks of corn, citrus and banana peeling and other waste plant residues that would otherwise cause pollution

Other Products

Other products include. castrates, culls, breeding stock, and skins.

By-products

Include; Hooves , manure,  bones, horns, blood

Opportunities

• Availability of goat rearing space.
• High demand for goat’s milk.
• Availability of goat’s semen at CAIS.
• High nutritional and medicinal value of goat’s milk.
• Highly trained personnel are available.
• Credit facilities available.

Cultural issues

In some communities goat’s milk is not acceptable. Though this is changing with time, there is need for concerted effort from all the stakeholder to promote consumption of goat’s milk.

Training

To support the development of goat enterprise training of farmers on Dairy goat husbandry is essential and dissemination of information on available opportunities

Stakeholders

• Dairy goat association of Kenya (D.G.A.K.).
• Central artificial insémination station (C.A.I.S)
• Government Sheep and goat stations
• Research institutions colleges and universities.
• Farmers
• NGOS-GTZ, Farm Africa, Heifer project international.
• Financial institutions- Banks, AFC.
• Kenya Dairy Board (KDB)
• Ministry of Livestock Development
• Ministry of Cooperative
• Ministry of Gender and Social Development
• FBOs
• CBOs

Breeds

Local Breeds

The Small East African Goat

• These goats occur throughout East Africa from desert to urban and known in tribal or local names. Their colour ranges from pure white to pure black with various intermixes of roan and speckled brown. The tassels (toggles) occur in up to 30% of the population. Adult males can weigh 30- 40kg and female’s 25-30kg.They grow up to a height of 64cm at the shoulders. Both sexes have horns that sweep directly backwards and are often curved upwards at the tip. The horns vary from 2.5 cm to 20cm. The ears are of medium length (approximately 12cm), are slightly pendent and rarely pricked. 40% of the males under 14 months have beards. The coat is short and fine in both males and females but has longer hair on the hind quarters. The males often have a pronounced mane running the full length of the buck. They are mainly kept for meat as their milk is rarely enough for one kid. They are a useful animal to use as a base in an upgrading programme.

The Small East African Goat (Male)

Galla

• The Galla goat is an indigenous to Northern Kenya. It is also known as the Boran or Somali goat. It’s the milk queen of the Kenyan arid and semi arid areas. The female is about 60cm wide at the shoulders and weighs 45-55kgs. The male weighs up to 70kgs. They are white haired with a black skin, on the nose (muzzle) feet and underneath the tail.

 Galla goat (female)

• Another subtype exists that has colour around the neck and lower legs and black stripe down the spine. The females are long-lived and will continue to breed and rear healthy kids up to 10 years of age. They carry better milk genes and give greater opportunity for genetic selection for this trait. The back is fairly long and slightly dipped. They are docile animals easy to handle but do not like cold wet climate, thriving best in low altitude preferably in acacia bush country. They have a higher compensatory growth rate after long dry season. The Galla produces about half litre of milk per day.

Exotic Breeds

Saanen

• This is the milk queen in the goat world. It originated from Switzerland. It’s all white or creamy coloured with pink skin pigmentation. The face is straight, the ears are upright and alert (pricked) the hair is short and fine and the body is long. As a rule Saanen does not carry tassels. Under good management it produces 3-5 litres of milk per day depending on management. They are prolific and have high twinning rate. Sometimes the kids are born with both male and female organs (hermaphrodite). This has been observed on polled goats. Mature male weighs 70-100 kg and mature female weighs 50-70 kg. The female measures 74 -80 cm in height while the mature buck measures 81-92cm. Udders are usually shapely and well attached.

Saanen Goats (Notice the pink pigmentation) 

Toggenburg

• There are two breeds of Toggenburg one originating from Switzerland and the other one from Britain. The British breed is bigger than the Swiss breed with the female of the British type weighing up to 70kg and bucks up to 100 kg. With Swiss type, the female weights are in the range of 50kgs with bucks up to 70 kg. They are brown or greyish brown in colour with distinctive white stripes on the face and legs. They may be horned or naturally polled. Horns in male are long and curving back. They may have toggles (tassels) or not. They are very gentle and quiet in temperament. They are easily handled and can be trained. They have a long body and seem bony. They are bred for milk with average milk yield of 1-3lts per day depending on management. The breed is suited for the higher cooler regions where heat stress is not a problem and good quality fodder is freely available.

Toggenburg goat (female)

Alpine

• The breed originated in French Alps. They are medium to large in size and are hardy and adaptable animals thriving in many climates. They have a varied coat colour with shades of grey, brown, black, redbuff and combinations. They have a pronounced mane in both male and female. They may or may not have horns. The goat is bred for milk with average milk yield ranging from 2.5-4lts subject to levels of management. The Female weighs from 50-60kgs while bucks weigh 65-80kg. The female ranges in height from 70-76.cm and the male 80-90cm when mature.

Crosses

• There are many crosses depending on the breeds used. The exotic breeds have been crossed with the local breeds to get a better adapted and higher yielding animal than the local goats. This is the best starting point for those with the local goats wishing to keep dairy goats. The performance of the crosses has varying degree of success depending on environment and management. There are also crosses between the exotic breeds for instance Saanen and Alpine.

Cross-bred goat

Breeding

Selection of the breeding Buck

There are several important things when selecting for breeding

• A healthy and good quality buck (he goat). The buck must be healthy, strong and should have a well developed body frame. It must be of productive breed. It must have normal sexual organs and well developed testicles. The buck must be selected from does that produce a high volume of milk and are prolific.
• Control mating i.e. Limit the number of does per male (the recommended ratio is 1male for 35 does)
• The Buck must be free of any physical defects e.g. undershot jaws, overshot jaws
• It should have a strong masculine head and neck and noisy and should seek out females on heat and mate them. If it’s shy and timid it should be culled.
• Badly worn teeth indicate old age. Males with split, missing or worn teeth should not be selected for breeding as they are physically unable to browse or graze properly.
• Legs should be checked for deformities and hooves trimmed.

Selecting a Replacement Buck

• A healthy a well developed male for mating should be identified by the second month of birth. It should be used for breeding when it is 11 months old. Depending on the dairy breed the buck should weigh 10-15 kg at six months and about 20-25 kg at 11-12 months of age.
• At the beginning the use of young buck should be limited to 10-15 does per male, but at the end of the second year the number of does can be increased and maintained at 35-40 does per buck. One active buck can deal with 20-25 females per season
• Bucks should be properly utilised to control their temperament. Under-utilised bucks tend to be vicious and very destructive. At least 3 services per week will keep the buck busy.
• Breeding of male and female polled goats may result in hermaphrodite kid(s).
• Replace bucks after 18-24 months of active service to prevent inbreeding.

Selection of the breeding doe

The productivity of a flock depends on the good quality of the mother.
Select does with high milk production and high fertility rate.

• The doe must be well built and healthy. A female should not be mated unless it’s physically fit. Thin females will not come into heat, will be become pregnant and abort, and reabsorb the foetus at early stage. Those which are mated and carry their kid will be unable to rear it satisfactorily.
• Legs should be checked for deformities and hooves trimmed. Good strong legs are essential fro breeding doe. Weak bent hind legs are highly heritable factor and females with this should not be selected for breeding.
• It should produce kids every 8-10 months
• It should produce twins frequently
• It should produce enough milk to rear the twins and for the household consumption
• The udder should be soft to touch with two functional teats. Any hardiness indicates the female has had a problem e.g. mastitis. Long pendulous udder is highly heritable and females with this should not be used for breeding. Big udder is liable to tearing by thorns and kids have difficult in suckling them. It also predisposes the doe to mastitis.
• Badly worn teeth indicate old age. Females with split, missing or worn teeth should not be selected for breeding as they are physically unable to browse or graze properly.
• Any female with physical deformities (e.g. bad feet, hard udders, blind eyes ) should not be selected for breeding

NB. Farmers should seek breeding animals from registered breeding farms.

Breeding systems

There are several breeding systems that can be used in breeding of dairy goats depending on the environment and purpose.
Heritability factors (Inheritable traits)
Many of the qualities in goats are highly heritable and knowledge of those which can be passed on from parents to the progeny is useful to the breeder who wishes to improve his stock
Highly heritability factor             Low heritability Factors
Live weight at 6 months                        Birth weight
Age at first kidding                               Litter size
Body weight                                         Kidding interval
Milk yield                                             Milk flavour

Inbreeding

This is mating of closely related individuals without the introduction of new animals from outside. If the process continues animals with undesirable characteristics are likely to appear e.g. physical deformities, sterility and reduced body sizes.

Line breeding

This is a mild form of inbreeding designed to concentrate the genes of a specific ancestor

Crossbreeding

This is system where two different parent breeds are mated. The first generation crosses are intermediate to the parent breeds. The offspring are superior to the parental breed in some cases (hybrid vigour). The offspring’s displays increase in size better live-weight gains fertility and viability

Backcrossing

This involves crossbred offspring’s being bred to one of the parents

Upgrading

Foundation refers to an F1 (first generation) at 50%, Intermediate (second generation) is at 75%, an appendix (third generation) is at 87.5% and pedigree (Fourth generation) is at 92.5%. The percentage represent the proportion of the exotic blood in the resultant cross (breed)

Signs of a doe on heat

For a doe to come on heat it should be nutritively fed under proper alongside appropriate supplementary feeding of concentrates and mineral licks.
A doe on heat will show the following signs

• The vulva appears swollen and reddened
• loosing of appetite and restlessness
• Frequent urination
• Bleating and nervousness
• Wagging of the tail
• Slight mucus discharge from the vulva

The presence of a buck has been shown to induce heat in a doe that could have been problematic in detection of heat.
Heat can also be induced by rubbing a piece of clothe around the base of the bucks horn and then taking the clothe to the doe.

Mating

For successful fertilisation to occur the doe has to feed well and kept in good shed. She must be in good health. To become pregnant the doe and the buck must mate. A doe noticed to be on heat should be brought to the buck and remain with it for a period of not less than 36 hrs for effective mating to take place. If mating is successful, heat signs will not appear and pregnancy will be assumed to have occurred. The gestation period lasts for 5 months. If mating has not been successful heat signs will occur and a second mating service will be necessary. Repeated signs of heat even when the doe has been mated could be due to a problem with either the buck or the doe and therefore the doe and the buck should be examined by a vet.

A.I. Services

Artificial Insemination services for Dairy Goats are available at the Central Artificial Insemination Station (Kabete). The semen available is for German Alpine sold at kshs 500 per straw.

Feeding

Feeds

Goats require five major classes of feeds,

• Energy
• Protein
• Vitamins
• Water
• Mineral salts

Goats consume a wide variety of grasses, weeds and small branches of bushes and trees. They can consume leaves, peelings and roots of vegetables, husks of corn, citrus and banana peeling and other waste plant residues. Goats are ruminant and therefore chew cud and are able to utilise roughage with high fibre content. They produce protein, vitamin B and K in the rumen.
Goats are fastidious feeders as a result they are the last animals to die from drought

Sources of Protein

Leucaena, Calliandra, Mulberry, Grevellia, Gliricidia, Sesbania, Tithonia, Lantana camara, Siratro, Sweet potato vine, Clitoria tarnatae, Lucerne, Desmodium,
Most of these herbaceous legumes have anti-nutritional factors (eg tannins and cyanides). It’s recommended that these should not exceed 25% of the total feed requirement per day. They should be wilted before feeding.

Agro industrial by products.

Groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, Sunflower cake.

Energy feeds

Rhodes grass, Napier grass, Panicum spp, Cenchrus spp, Sorghum, Bana grass.
Banana stems and leaves should be fed as a last resort to feed demand.

Crop residues;

Maize, millet, Rice, Wheat, Barley, oats Sorghum others include bean haulms, Sugar cane tops, Sunflower heads.

Agro industrial by-products.

Maize germ, maize bran.

Care of Pregnant Doe (She-goat)

• Protein supplements are important during the dry period (non lactating period). This is because the kids are growing faster at this time.
• If you have been feeding legumes which are high in calcium its best to replace these with high energy feeds (e.g. hay) at least three weeks before kidding to prevent milk fever. This forces the doe to mobilise its own body stores and prepare for milking.
• Deworm the doe two weeks prior to kidding
  A goat requires 3% (of its body weight in dry matter approximately 1.5 kg) per day or 5 kg of fresh materials should be availed to the doe per day. The complete meal should comprise of both the protein and energy feed.
• Provide the does with salt lick and at least either half a kilo of dairy meal per day or a mixture of pollard and bran
• Provide adequate clean water all the time.

Care of lactating doe

At the end of the 5th month, check for the following signs of approaching birth;

• Reduced feed intake
• Rapid breathing
• Doe will constantly look back unto her sides as if expecting to see young ones.
• Enlarged udder that may or may not discharging colostrums.
• Swollen vulva
• And thick mucus discharge from the vulva.
• The hair around the tail and the rear should be clipped and fresh beddings (straw or grass) provided.
• The kid is born after short labour but incase of difficult kidding expert (Vet doctor) should be consulted.

Well attached udder of lactating Saanen doe

Feeding lactating doe

• Amount of concentrates fed should be in proportion to the amount of milk being produced.
• A small quantity of concentrates should be fed to the dry doe in order to build up the body reserves and help in the development of her unborn kid.

The following table provides a guide to feeding concentrates to a lactating doe

Feeding of concentrate (dairy meal)

The dairy meal fed should be divided into 2 portions daily.

Care of the kids.

• To prevent naval infection the stump of the umbilical cord should be cleaned and disinfected with iodine, strong salt solution or traditionalherbal remedy.
• The new born kid should be placed in a warm area to protect it from strong winds (draft) and cold that may expose it to pneumonia.
• Kids are allowed suckle the colostrums in the first three days after birth, the colostrums is very important to the health and growth of the kid. The colostrums contain antibodies that protect the new kid against diseases until they are able to protect themselves.
• The kid should be allowed to suckle the mother enough milk so as to have the kid as future basis for breeding stock.
• Fostering is advisable if the mother dies or incase of infection of the udder (mastitis).
• Bottle feeding is also an alternative in the absence of the mother.
• Introduce green chop and water after 1 week.
• Kids can be withdrawn from the mother at night so that the doe can be milked in the morning.
• Kids should be weaned at 4 months. Weaning before this time should be compensated with high protein supplements.
• When bottle fed the kid should be fed as follows;

Production Systems

Goats can be kept in extensive, semi-intensive or intensive production systems depending on the availability of land.

Extensive Production System

Under this system goats are allowed to browse (free range) freely. This system is suited for areas where browsing fields are not a problem. To be effective for dairy goats the flock should have a stockman (herdsman) and the males should be separated from the does to control random mating. Kids should also be separated from the does to avoid suckling while in the field. The goats should be supplemented with concentrate feeds and mineral salts. The goats should be provided with housing (night sheds) with 1m2 for each goat (for instance 10m x 3m housing will hold 30 goats) Good goat housing should be dry, well ventilated and provide kids, does, and bucks a healthy comfortable condition. The housing should also provide security from predators.

Intensive System

This system is suited for areas where browsing fields are limited.
It’s suited for a small size of flock and where land is limited. It involves confinement of the goats. The goats are stall-fed (zero-grazed) exclusively and mating is controlled. Does, bucks and kids are housed separately.

Housing under zero grazing system

Good goat housing should be dry, well ventilated and provide kids, does, and bucks a healthy comfortable condition. The housing should also provide security from predators and thieves.

Siting of the house

Goats shed should be constructed on the leeward side of the residential house to avoid smell.

Types of housing

• Raised floor and slatted raised floor.
• Raised and sloped floor
• It’s easy to build as it requires local materials as enclosures. The floor should be raised 1 foot above level ground and sloped to one side. This allows water and urine to run off. Therefore easy to clean

Parts of a Dairy Goat’s zero grazing unit

Housing plan enough to house 6 dairy goats (8ft by 8ft)

Feeding boxes

Feeding Boxes should be outside the main unit to avoid soiling and wastage

Raised slated floor

The shed is constructed with local material but the floor is fitted with slats placed at a gap of index finger apart (1 inch).
The manure drops to the ground, therefore easy to clean.
Ensures ventilation in the shed.

A goat’s house showing slatted floor

Semi-Intensive System

This system combines the intensive and extensive systems. Goats are allowed to browse but are also stall fed to complement browsing. In addition the goats should be supplemented with concentrates and mineral salts. Water should be availed all the time. Mating is controlled by separating the buck and does by housing the buck and does separately. In most cases the bucks are completely stall-fed and females on heat are brought to the buck for mating. This is important as it helps to control the off-flavour in milk and inbreeding.

Management practices

These are a series of activities like spraying, de-worming, de-budding, castration, hoof trimming, proper milking practices and general hygiene.

Management of parasitic infestation

Most animals carry parasites burdens, but the pressure of parasites is not serious until the population rises to the extent that the host animals start showing signs e.g. weight loss, diarrhoea, unthriftness, bottle jaw, coughs, loss of hair, scratching against the wall.
The parasites are divided into ecto and endo –parasites.
Ecto-parasites  (external)

• These are mainly the ticks, biting flies, fleas, mites.
• This can be controlled by spraying with appropriate acaricide or using a pour-on acaricide.

Endo-parasites (internal)

• These are mainly worms e.g. round worms, tapeworms, lung worms, flukes.

Control

• Regular deworming of goats and kids after every 3 months. Repeat deworming to any animal showing worm infestation.

Hoof trimming

• This is a management practice to control abnormal growth of hooves that may lead to lameness in goats.
• The overgrown hooves can be trimmed using hoof knife and dipping the hooves in copper sulphate solution.
• The stock should have their feet regularly checked for damage due to overgrown hooves.

Castration

• Castrate the young males not intended for breeding at six months
  This can be done by using the rubber-ring elastrator

De-budding

• This done at 3 months of age using hot bars (de-budding irons)
  Its done to both male and female kids

Disease Control

Only healthy dairy goats grow well, produce kids at regular intervals, produce milk and can live long productive life.
And its all due to goat health management and control of diseases.
Some diseases can be controlled by vaccination.
The table below shows some diseases and their control measures & treatment.
Read below for symptoms of specific disease  and their control

Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia

(viral disease)

Symptoms

• High fever.
• Harsh cough.
• A lot nasal discharge.
• Grunting and grinding of teeth.
• High mortality rate
• The lung sounds are raspy (like paper rubbing)
• At post mortem the thoracic cavity contains  a lot of fluid and adhesion of pleural to the lung surface

Treatment

• None

Control

• Vaccination twice a year

Mastitis

(bacterial disease)
Symptoms

• Swollen udder.
• The udder is painful to touch and hot.
• The walking gait is not normal
• The doe refuses to nurse the young

Treatment

• Antibiotics

Control

• Observe general hygiene

Brucellosis

(Bacterial Disease)

Symptoms

• Abortion at around the final 4 -6 weeks of pregnancy
• High fever
• Diarrhoea

Treatment

• Antibiotics

Control

• Vaccination

Abscesses

(Secondary bacterial infection)
Symptoms

• Supurative (pus developing) swellings
• High fever

Treatment

• Draining of pus and use of antibiotics

Control

• Prevention from exposure to injuries and wounds

Foot rot

(Bacterial disease)
Symptoms

• Lameness,
• Foul smell in the foot

Treatment

• Wash with copper sulphate

Control

• Keep the goats in a clean and dry environment

PPR

(Peste des petits ruminants) - Viral disease
Symptoms

• Emaciation,
• nasal discharge,
• Profuse (frequent) diarrhoea,
• High fever

Treatment

• None

Control

• Vaccination

Rift Valley Fever

(viral disease)

Symptoms

• Emaciation,
• nasal discharge,
• bloody diarrhoea,
• High fever

Treatment

• None

Control

• Vaccination

Orf

(Viral disease)
Symptoms

• Occurs in young kids in the first 6 month of life
• Inability to suck or feed
• Lesions (wounds) on mouth nose and on feet and genitals in severe cases

Treatment

• None

Control

• Vaccination

Enterotoxaemia

(Bacterial disease)
Symptoms

• Convulsion,
• Sluggishness,
• Staggers
• Loss of appetite
• Affect animals in good condition
• Death within 24 hrs

Treatment

• Antibiotics in the early stages

Control

• Vaccination  

Milking & Marketing

• Ensure cleanliness in the milking place.
• Clean the udder with lukewarm water and dry with udder towel, strip milk on strip cup to check on mastitis and after milking dip the teats in teat dip solution to prevent infection.
• Milk the doe twice each morning and evening on regular schedule.
• When milking squeeze the teat down and avoid pulling the teat.
• Strain the milk through a filter or cloth into a clean container to remove any hair or dirt that could have fallen into the milk.
• Measure and record the amount of milk produced every time.

Marketing of goats milk

• If the milk is to be sold raw its important to package it depending on your customers.
• There is a ready market for goats milk in various hospitals
• Prices range from Kshs.60-100 per litre

Value addition

• Value addition on goat’s milk can be done to produce yoghurt, and cheese
• Goats milk can also be pasteurised

Nutritive value of goat milk

• Goat’s milk has a high nutritional content -its high in calcium, phosphorous, chlorine and vitamins
• The milk is highly digestible and has a mild laxative effect
• The milk has a high content of Vitamin B1 which is useful in relieving symptoms of stress (Neurotic indigestion, constipation and insomnia)
• Goat’s milk may be used to replace cow milk for those suffering from allergy to cows’ milk
• The milk has a higher fat content than cow milk
• The milk has low cholesterol levels than the cow’s milk hence suitable for people with high blood pressure
• It’s low in sugar than cow’s milk hence good for those suffering from diabetes

Goat milk versus Cow milk

• Goat milk has no cream separation because of smaller fat molecules.
• Goat milk contains pre-formed Vitamin A in the milk fat that allows it to be readily available for use by the body.
• Goat’s milk contains a more highly-evolved cholesterol than cows milk, making it more available for absorption to the brain and body. (Cholesterol is essential to the health of the myelin sheaths “white matter” of the nerves in the brain.)
• Goat milk is closer to human milk and is therefore easily accepted especially by those young or frail.
• Goat milk has an alkaline reaction the same as mother’s milk. Cow milk has an acid reaction
• Goat milk does not form mucous (phlegm) and is therefore better tolerated by asthmatics and those with allergies.
• Goat milk contains more chlorine, fluorine and silicon than any other domestic livestock. Chlorine and fluorine are natural germicides and fluorine assists in preventing diabetes.
• Goat milk contains 2% curd, which precipitates in the stomach. Cow’s milk is 10% curd.
• Goat’s are naturally immune to diseases, such as tuberculosis, and are used in third-world countries to actually cure tuberculosis because of their inherent antibodies.
• Goat’s milk is tolerated by a compromised /damaged liver because of the smaller fat molecules and it’s naturally homogenized.
• Goat’s milk has the ability to “sweeten” the intestinal tract and assist with constipation.
• Goat’s milk contains a higher evolved carotene (pro-Vitamin A). Researchers have found this to have cancer preventing properties.

Economic Analysis

Dairy Goat Gross Margin Analysis

Assumptions

• Lactation period is 240 days
• Daily feed intake 5kg fresh material and 1 kg of fodder legume
• Average production level =3lts per day
• 20 minutes per day for milking
• 1hr per day for cleaning feeding and watering
• The Gross margin was calculated for 1 year
• Lifespan of the goat house is 10yrs (where local materials are used in housing)
• Productive Life of a doe is 8yrs
• Equipments-Milking equipment, hoof trimmers /clippers/knife, drenching Syringe, Rubber-ring elastrator, rubbers, drinking bucket, ear tags/ applicator, Burdizzo, spray pump,