UC VI

RAISE
ORGANIC
SMALL
RUMINANTS
Introduction

Goats are amazing animals. They are tough and versatile and have more uses than you could
imagine. Goats can survive and thrive just about anywhere. A goat is a hoofed mammals in genus
“Capra”. Most goats are referred to as domestics goats which sub specie of the wild goats.

Goats are practically raised anywhere in the Philippines. It can be seen grown in both rural and
urban areas due to special delicacy of its meat, goats are one of the favorite food for Filipinos. Many
people believe that goats have medicinal components of its meat because they eat mostly herbs and
grassed in the farm. Raising goat can be a good source for additional income and a hobby to unload
stress.

Goat meat and milk is still consumed today and goats milk is becoming ever popular as a healthy
alternatives to cows milk. Goats milk is easier to digest than cow milk and many call this milk as
“universal milk” as it can be used to bottle feed most animals.

Goats are extremely curios and intelligent. They are easily house trained and you can teach them
pull carts and walk on leads. Goats are also known for escaping their pens, If you have unsecured
fencing, be warned your goats will be inquisive and test it out and soon you will know where the gaps
are. Goat are very coordinated and can climb and hold their balance in the most awkward places.
They are also widely known for their ability to climb trees, although the tree generally has to be at a
slight angle.
Philippine National Standards (PNS) Salient Features on Raising Organic Small Ruminants

Conversion Period
• Goats should be organically reared at least 180days before slaughter.
• Milk from lactating goat will only be considered as organic after 90 days of organic rearing.

Animal Husbandry Management

• Management of the environment of the animals shall take into account the behavioral needs of
the animals and provide for sufficient free movement, sufficient fresh air and natural daylight,
protection against unfavorable weather conditions, free access to fresh water and feeds.

Breeds and Breeding

• Breeding goats are such that animal diversity should be maintained. Indigenous or native
breeds should be preserved and promoted.
• The use of artificial insemination techniques is allowed. But shall not use segregated, separated
or modified sperm.
• Breeding techniques that embryo transfer, genetic engineering, treatments with reproductive
hormones and semen sexing are not allowed.
• The use of genetically engineered species or breeds is not allowed.
Mutilations and animal identification
• Mutilations are prohibited but if it can improved welfare, health, or hygiene of animals or for
safety reasons, castration could be carried out by qualified personnel who shall see to it that
suffering of animals is reduced to a minimum.
• Keeping the animals tethered is prohibited.

Animal Nutrition
• The diet shall be offered to the animals in a form allowing them to execute their natural feeding
behavior.
• Supplementation of vitamins and minerals is allowed for as long as these are obtained from
natural sources.
• Giving due consideration to the low availability of organic feed, the following proportion of feed
ration could be used:
Year 1 50% non-organic feed, 50% organic feed
Year 2 30% non-organic feed, 70% organic feed
Year 3 10% non-organic feed, 90% organic feed
Year 4 onwards 100% organic feed
Animal Health
• Health and well-being of animals must be ensured through preventative animal husbandry
practices.
• The well-being of the animals is superior in the choice of treatment.
• Natural remedies and complementary medical methods have first priority.
• Use of antibiotics for prophylactic purposes is not allowed however vaccinations could be
carried out with direct supervision of duly licensed veterinarian with the condition of it is required
legally or when an endemic disease is known in a region.
• The use of steroids, other synthetic growth promoters or enhancers, hormones, and substances
of synthetic in origin is prohibited.

Transport and slaughter

• The organic integrity of animals must be maintained throughout the entire process of transport
and slaughter.
Breeds

Local Breeds
The Small East African Goat
• These goat occur throughout East African from desert to urban and known in tribal or local
names. Their color range 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 25-30 kg. 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 2.5cm 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 no 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 programmed.
 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 shoulder and weighs-55kgs. The male weight 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
liter of milk per day.
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 liters 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 50-70kg. The female measures 74-80cm in
height while the mature buck measures 81-92cm. Udders are usually shapely and well
attached.

Saanen Goat (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 100kg. With Swiss type, the female weights are in the
range of 50kgs with bucks up to 70kg. 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.
GOATS ANATOMY

EXTERNAL ANATOMY OF GOAT

HOUSING
 Goat housing should be a draught free shelter which will protect them from the elements of
unfavorable weather. It should have plenty of head room for the goat to be able to stand upright on its
hind legs with its neck stretched out.
The goat shelter must also have enough height for you to work on. If you keep more than one goat,
each goat should have at least 4 square meter of floor space. Pen and door heights vary from breed to
breed but 1.3 meters is recommended. Dwarf goats obviously do not require so much height.
Goats do like to see one another, even if they are penned separately, so it is a good idea to
accommodate for this requirements by using gates and partition that the goat can see through. A
secure, well fenced exercise yard is required which should be 3 – 4 times the size of the pen/shelter.

Breeding
Selection of the breeding Buck
There are several important things when selecting for breeding
• A healthy and good quality buck (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.
• Buck should be properly utilized to control their temperament. Under-utilized 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 fetus
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 for
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 gaze properly.
• Any female with physical deformities (e.g. bad feet, hard udders, blind eyes) should not be
selected for breeding

NOTE: Farmers should seek breeding animals from registered breeding farms.
Things to do if the breeding objectives are not met

Evaluate the performance and physical characteristics of breeders and the management
practices (breeding, feeding and health of breeders)

Things to do if the breeder animals are inadequate

Selection of replacement stocks either within the general herd or buy from reputable sources
through judging based from characteristics of a good breeder.

Precaution when handling breeder bucks

• Apply TLC
• Apply the correct ratio and proportion of male and female
Breeding Systems
There are several breeding system 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 flavor

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 from 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)

Prevention of Inbreeding
Practice recordkeeping strictly including proper identification of animals.

Signs of a doe on heat

For a doe to come on heat it should be nutritive 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 fertilization 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 be 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.
Improving breeding efficiency

Proper care and management of breeders (selection of breeders, providing appropriate nutrients for
breeders, providing correct housing requirements and implementation of effective herd health
program).

Alternative breeding system

If the breeder animals are limited, the alternative breeding system a farmer could adopt is the use
of artificial insemination upgrading to produce offspring with superior quality and traits.

Feeding
Feeds
Goat require five major classes of feeds,
• Energy
• Protein
• Vitamins
• Water
• Mineral salts
 Goat 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 utilize
roughage with high fiber 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, Rensonii, Flamengia, Mulberry, Grevellia, Gliricidia, Sesbania, Tithonia, Lantana camara, Siratro,
Sweet potato vine, Clitoria tarnatae, Lucerne, Desmodium,
Most of these herbaceous legumes have anti-nutritional factors (e.g. tannins and cyanides). It’s
recommended that these should not exceed 25% of the total feed requirement per day. They should
be waited before feeding.

Agro industrial by products.

Groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, Sunflower cake.

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.

Scarce Feed Resources

When the feed resources are scarce, silage could be made or processed by treating rice straw with
concoctions and use of agricultural by-products.

Care of Pregnant Doe (She-goat)

• Protein supplement 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 mobilize 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 kilo of dairy meal per day or a mixture of
pollard and bran
• Provide adequate clean water all the time.
Care of Lactating Doe (She-goat)
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 labor 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)

Dry female 0.5 Kg dairy meal

Female milking 1 litre 1.0 Kg dairy meal
Female milking 2 litre 1.5 Kg dairy meal
Female milking 3 litre 2.0 Kg dairy meal
Female milking 4 litre 2.5 Kg dairy meal
Female milking 5 litre 3.0 Kg 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 traditional herbal 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
import 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 a night so that the doe can be milked in the morning.
• 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;
 Weeks Amount of milk (mls)
1 200-600
2 800
3 750
4 750
5 500
6 300
7-14 200
15-16
Management practices 100
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, diarrhea,
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.

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 practices to control abnormal growth of hooves that may lead to
lameness in goats.
• The overgrown hooves can be trimmed using hoof knife.
• 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

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

Let the animal walk. Administer orally mineral oil, massage the rumen and do not let the animal lie
down.

Transporting Animals

A permit from the Municipal Veterinarian or Agricultural Officer must be secured in transporting
animals from municipality to another.