This document discusses goat feeding and nutrition management. It covers the following key points:
1) Feeding systems range from tethering individual goats to intensive stall feeding, with extensive grazing and semi-intensive systems being most common. Nutrition is crucial for health, productivity and reproduction.
2) Poor nutrition can cause low productivity, conception and birth weights. The highest costs in goat production are associated with feeding.
3) Nutrient requirements vary based on stage of production. Creep, grower and finisher rations should be formulated based on protein and energy needs. Close attention should be paid to doe nutrition during gestation and lactation.
4) Rations should be
3. Importance of Nutrition
• Balanced Nutrition
•Maintenance
•Health
•Production
•Reproduction
• Many health, reproductive and production
problems can be prevented with good
nutrition.
4. Poor nutrition results in:
–Poor productivity
–Poor conception rates
–Lower birth weight of kid
–Poor weaning weights
–Difficult births
–Higher feed bills
–More infectious disease due to
decreased immune system protection
6. Feeding systems of goats
1. Tethering
2. Extensive system of feeding
3. Semi-Intensive system of feeding
4. Intensive system of feeding
7. Tethering
• When grazing facilities are limited and one or
two goats are to be kept then tehering is
practiced.
• Animal is tied with a rope of 3-5 m length which
permits the goats to browse over a limited area.
• Change the location whenever necessary so that
goats may get sufficient grass to meet the
requirement.
• Provide a temporary or portable shelter closeby
within reach of animals so that it may turn to it in
case of extreme weather.
• Tethering utilize grasses properly and is easy to
rear goats at low resources.
8. Extensive system/Range system
of goat rearing
• Small farmers and landless labourere take
theig goats and sheep together walking
long distances in search of food and
water.
• Goats find opportunity to browse for about
8-9 hrs/day, which take care of
maintenance but rate of growth slows
down.
9. Advantages of Extensive system:
• Easy and convenient method
• Use of low resources
• Less expensive in rearing of goats
• Capital and labour expenses are low
• Increases fertility of soil by way of manure
and urine dropped by animals.
• Helps in control of weeds by animals
10. Limitation of Extensive system
• Natural potential of range lands is low due
to extreme weather and less nutritious
soil.
• Fluctuation in availability of feeds from
region to region and season to season
• Poor nutritional availability to animals
restricts productivity
11. Grazing management
• Graze to desired stubble height
• Allow adequate rest periods for grass re
growth
• Don’t regraze pastures until key species
has reached the desired height
12. Roughage for goats
Pasture and browse:
• Pasture and browse are the primary and most
economical source of nutrients for goats.
• In extensive rearing system, pasture and/or
browse need to meet all their nutritional
requirements.
• Pasture are high in energy and protein when it
is in a vegetative state. However, it has a high
moisture content, and it is difficult for a high-
producing doe or fast-growing kid to eat
enough grass to meet its nutrient requirements.
• As pasture plants mature, palatability and
digestibility decline.
14. • Goats are natural browsers and have the unique
ability to select plants when they are at their
most nutritious state.
• Browse (leaves & twigs) and forbs (weeds) contain
higher levels of protein & phosphorous during
growing season than ordinary pasture.
-Provide Weed control
• Some browse is unpalatable
-High lignin, silica, essential oils, etc.
• Goats which browse have less problems with
internal parasites
Browsing:
15. Semi intensive system
• Combination of intensive and extensive system.
• Grazing 4-6 hours and then kept in stalls where
they offered roughage and concentrate mixture
depending upon their availability.
• Performance of goats depend upon quality and
quantity of feeds made available through limited
browsing and supplementary feeds.
• Level of nutrition is better then goats find in
extensive system.
16. Intensive system
Keeping goats in stalls and feeding them cultivated fodders
(fresh and conserved) and concentrates to meet their
requirement.
• Goats get optimum nutrition
• Performance of goats is good (growth, milk yieldI
• Doe mature at early age
• Parasitic infestation is low
• Reproductive performance is better
• Twinning percentage is high
• Milk yield is high
• Dressing percentage is high
• Labour and capital cost is more
• Benefits of exercise are less
• Detection of heat by teaser is difficult
17. • Maximize conception rate
• Minimize embryo & fetal mortality
• Birth of viable kids
• Rapid growth
• Heavy milk production
• Minimize feeding costs
Goals for the Scientific Goat Nutrition
18. Animal Productivity
Maintenance and activity level
Stage of Pregnancy
Kidding rate
Stage of lactation
Growth or weight gain
Meat, Dairy, Fiber
Factors affecting the Nutrient
Requirements of Goats
19. Goat Nutrition
Kid Nutrition
Colostrum feeding 3 days
milk feeding upto 60 days (weaning)
Starter ration 15-90 days
Grower ration 90 days onward
Doe Nutrition
Buck Nutrition
20. Feeding schedule
of Kid
Age
(Days)
Milk/colostrum
(ml)
Creep
Feed (g)
Green
Forage (g)
1-3 350, 3 feeding
(Colostrum)
- -
4-14 350, 3 feeding - -
15-30 350, 3 feeding A little A little
31-60 400, 2 feeding 100-150 Free choice
61-90 200, 2 feeding 200-250 Free choice
21. Creep feeding
Start kids on creep feed at 15 days of age:
Advantages:
– Encourages early consumption of solid food
– provides supplemental nutrients for rapid gain
– promotes early weaning
– Contains a coccidiastat
– Maintains a 2:1 Ca to P ratio
– Keep fresh water available in smaller
containers that kids can reach at all times!
22. Creep ration
(16-18%DCP, 70-80% TDN)
Ingredients (%) % %
Maize 40 60
Wheat Bran 17 7
GNC 20 20
Fish meal - 10
Dal chunni 20 -
Mineral Mixture 2 2
Common Salt 1 1
Aurofac 150 g 150g
DCP (%), TDN (%) 18,75 18,80
23. Grower ration
(12-14%DCP, 60-65% TDN)
Ingredients (%) % %
Maize 50 30
Wheat Bran 30 30
GNC 10 -
Dal chunni - 30
Molasses 7 7
Mineral Mixture 2 2
Common Salt 1 1
DCP (%), TDN (%) 15,60 15,65
Low quality roughage should be supplemented with grower
ration @ 350-400 g daily
24. Finisher ration
• At 6 months of age 20-25 kg body weight
is good for slaughter purposes.
• Dressing percentage 45-50%
• 5-6% DCP and 60% TDN is satisfactory
• According to market demand feeding
regime can be regulated
• For fatty carcass cereal based energy rich
feeds are required to be fed.
• Roughage ~20-25% of DM for fatty finish
and 30-40% for lean carcass production.
26. Feeding of Dry Goats
Period between weaning & breeding
Regain weight lost during lactation
Lowest nutrient requirements
Need dry matter 2% of body weight
Need minerals - salt, Ca, P
Good quality pasture should meet most
requirement needs
On pasture pt browsing no supplementary
feeding is required
6-8 hours of browsing will take care of
nutritional needs
27. Feeding of Breeding Goat
Flushing:
Feed breeding age goats extra ration (25%
of maintenance) 2 - 3 weeks before & after
introduction of bucks
• Increase ovulation rate
• Improves fertility
• Increases conception
• Increase Multiple births
Dependent on quantity and quality of
available forage and condition of does
28. Early Gestation..
• Gestation: 150 days
• First 100 days ~Similar to dry feeding
• Very little fetal growth
• Take advantage of forage
• Monitor body condition score
29. Late Gestation..
• Last 50 days
• Most critical time – 70% of fetal growth
– Poor nutrition costs production
• Low birth weights
• Low mothering ability
• Low milk production, ketosis
– Utilize pasture & supplement feeding
• Need 4 - 4.5% of body weight
• 5-6% DCP and 60% TDN
• On good pasture 200 g concentrate mixture is
optimum
30. Lactation..
• Doe nutrition ~ key to early kid growth
• Lactation peaks at 2 - 4 weeks
• Feed at 4 - 5% body weight
31. Buck Nutrition
• Utilize pasture when available
• Monitor body condition 3-4 weeks
prior to breeding
• Feed intake 3-3.5% of body weight
• 4-6%DCP and 50-60% TDN
38. Supplements
• Supplements are extras that supply the body
with additional nutrients.
• Some of the supplements are minerals, salt, vitamins
Salt Copper Iron
40. Balancing Rations
• Balanced to meet the animal’s needs at
the least expense
• Variety of fresh feeds
– More palatable
– Easier to balance
• Bulky
– Filling
– Helps in digestion
41. Balancing Rations…
• Slightly laxative
– Improve feed efficiency
– Prevent constipation
• Economical
– price per unit of energy and protein
• Suitable
– High protein for younger animals
42. Good Rations
1. Balanced
– Has all the nutrients in the right amounts
2. Palatable
– Taste good
3. Low Cost
– Feed is about 75% of the cost of raising
livestock
43. Good Rations……..
4. Not harmful to the health of animals
– Too much cotton seed can cause
reproductive problems
4. Uniformly mixed
– Micronutrients- vitamins and minerals
– Feed additives
44. Methods of Balancing of nutrients:
1. By trial and error method:
Feed ingredients are interchange by trial and error until
the right combination is reached- most practical
2. Pearson square method:
This is simple easy and direct method. But by this
method only one nutrient can be balance (either
protein or energy).
3. Algebric equations
4.By using computer/least cost formulation/
linear programming
45. Pearson Square
1) Draw a square with lines connecting
opposite corners and write the percent
crude protein needed at the cross
12
46. Pearson Square
• Write the feeds to be used and their crude
protein content in the left-hand corners
– lowest at the top highest at the bottom
12
Maize 8.9
Soybean Meal 45.8
47. Pearson Square
• Subtract the smallest number from the
larger along the diagonal lines
12
Maize 8.9
Soybean Meal 45.8
45.8- 12= 33.8
12-8.9= 3.1
49. Pearson Square
12
Maize 8.9
Soybean Meal 45.8
33.8 parts
corn
3.1 parts
soybean
meal
Maize- 33.8 divided by 36.9 multiplied by 100= 92%
SBM- 3.1 divided by 36.9 multiplied by 100= 8%
50. Identify nutritional needs of goats
Remember that nutritional needs
change throughout the production cycle.
Match animal requirements to nutrient value
of feeds.
Always have minerals and fresh water
available.
Conclusions: