GOAT PRODUCTION

BREEDS OF GOATS KEPT IN BOTSWANA AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

Breed Products Characteristics

Boer Meat • Exotic breed from South Africa.
• White body with dark brown head
• High fertility rate (twins and triplets are common)
• Good mothering ability
• Adults weigh between 55-65 kg.
• Respond well to concentrate feeding.
Angora Mohair • Exotic breed originating from Turkey
• Commonly found in Lesotho
• Body covered with long shiny and wavy hair called mohair
• Can produce 2 to 3 kg of hair per year.
• Fairly adapted to our local conditions
• Has low fertility rate
• Has heavy and droopy ears and spiral horns which point backward away from the head
Toggenburg Milk • Exotic breed from Switzerland
• Brown body with two stripes down its face and white legs, ears and tail
• May naturally be horned or polled
• Needs good management to be productive
• Adults weigh between 50 to 65kg
Saanen Milk • Exotic breed from Switzerland
• Completely white or cream body
• Does are usually polled and bucks horned
• Does have well developed udders which yield 1-3 litres of milk
• Has good temperament and thus easier to handle
• Ears erect and pointing forward
• Good growth and fertility rate
• Adults weigh between 65 -75kg
Tswana Milk, Meat • Indigenous to Botswana
• Body colour varies and can be white, black, brown or combination
• Adapted to local conditions can withstand harsh weather condition such as drought and
high temperature
• Adults weigh between 30 to 45kg
• Males have beard
British alpine Milk • Exotic breed from the Britain
• Has a shiny black body with white or creamy markings on the face, ears, legs and under the
tail.
• Do well under cool climatic conditions
• Grows well and have a good fertility rate
• White stripes on the head and ears

OTHER BREEDS OF GOATS

- Anglo Nubian
- Kalahari red

CLASSIFYING GOATS ACCORDING TO THEIR USES

CLASS OF BREED BREED PURPOSE
Tswana
Meat Boer Meat

Saanen
Milk Toggenburg Milk
British alpine

Fibre Angora Mohair

Dual purpose Tswana Meat and milk

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Goat breeds differ in the following characteristics;
• Place of origin
• Colour of hair
• Size
• Presence or absence of horns

Importance of housing in goat management

• Protects goats from adverse weather conditions e.g. intense heat, cold, heavy rain and strong winds.
• Protects goats from predators such as lions, jackals and hyenas and thieves
• Facilitates general management of goats e.g. vaccination, hoof trimming, dosing, ear marking and easy to observe goats for
diseases and parasites.
• Manure production; a good amount of quality kraal manure can be collected from goat houses.
• Used to separate sick animals with infectious diseases from the healthy ones so as to prevent the spread of the disease.
• Prevents goats from going astray
• Housed goats do not cause damage in crop fields

Importance of feeding goats

• To maintain goats in strong and healthy conditions at all times
• To increase fertility, hence rate of conception in breeding stock.
• To maintain high milk production in lactating goats.
• To allow for rapid growth of foetus.
• Produces fast growth rate
• Reduces mortality among young ones
• Improves resistance to diseases and parasites

TYPES OF FEEDS FOR GOATS

ADULT GOATS
1. Roughage:-Browsing and grazing from natural pastures e.g. hay, silage, lucerne, crop residues etc.

2. Concentrates:-Usually fed to lactating goats e.g. carcass meal, wheat bran, sorghum bran.

3. Supplementary feeds: -bone meal and salt

- Mineral licks

The feeds should provide energy, proteins, minerals and vitamins for;
• growth
• development
• maintenance
• production
• protection from diseases

FEEDING KIDS
✓ Kids must be allowed to suckle colostrum from their mothers. In milk production, kids must suckle colostrum for five (5) to
seven (7) days. Kids may be fed on cows’ milk after this period. This can be done using a bottle or kids are taught to drink from
pans.
✓ Kids should be introduced to grass or pasture or concentrates at three weeks of age.
✓ At three months kids must be weaned. For meat goats, kids must be allowed to run with their mothers until they are weaned.

WATERING - : Goats require about five litres of quality water per day.
- Goats pick up most of their internal parasites by drinking from rivers, dams and grazing in wetlands. To control possible
infestations, goats must be kept away from such areas and only allowed to drink clean water from troughs.

Importance of providing water regularly to goats

• Forms and maintains shapes of body cells.
• A medium for chemical reactions in the body
• Regulates body temperature
• Aids in the excretion of waste products
• Forms 60-70% of the animal’s body
• Forms part of the cell body fluids
• Essential for the proper digestion of food
• For high milk production in lactating does
• Prevents death due dehydration
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MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
✓ Some of them are castration, identification, hoof trimming, deworming and vaccination.

1. CASTRATION:-It is the removal or destruction of testes to prevent a male animal from breeding.

Reasons for castration

• To control unwanted breeding
• It makes male animals docile
• Improve meat quality as unpleasant smell is eliminated
• To avoid fighting in the herd
• To help bucks to grow fast

METHODS OF CASTRATION
a) Using a burdizzo
It is a bloodless method in which a burdizzo is used to crush the spermatic cords, one at a time.

HOW IT IS DONE (procedure)

• Restrain the goat
• Hold the testicles in the scrotum and clamp an open burdizzo midway around the spermatic cords one at a time.
• Close the burdizzo by squeezing it tightly around the spermatic cord until they are crushed
• Open the burdizzo jaws when the spermatic cords have been crushed and take it off.

b) Using a rubber ring (elastrator):-This method is suitable for a buck that is less than 4 months old.

HOW IT IS DONE (Procedure)

• Restrain the goat
• Place the rubber ring on a n applicator that helps to fit it around the scrotum
• Hold the testicles in the scrotal sac and place the applicator with the ring around the scrotum
above the testicles.
• Release the rubber ring above the testicles (It will squeeze the spermatic cords and blood
vessels supplying the testes so tightly that the there will be no blood flow to the
testicles)
• Let the goat go away with the rubber ring around the scrotum above the testicle.
• After a few weeks, the testicles will die off.

c) Using a scalpel/knife
Using a knife / scalpel is a surgical method of castration. This causes a lot of bleeding and flies will be attracted to the wound. This method
is very painful and dangerous for the young animals. It is carried out when kids are 2-3 days old.

HOW IT IS DONE:
• Restrain the goat
• Hold one of the testicles and press it against the scrotum
• Using a knife, cut an opening at the bottom of the scrotum (slit is cut on the lower
third of the scrotum)
• Squeeze the testicles out of the cut.
• Cut the cords attached to the testicles so as to remove it out of the scrotum.
• Do the same for the other testicles
• After removing the testicles, mop off the blood and apply antiseptic to avoid infection.

2. DEWORMING - : It is treating animals with drugs (anthelmentics) that will kill internal parasites.

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 • It is usually done by oral administration, which means the animal has to swallow the drug. The drugs are usually in liquid form
and are given using a dosing gun which places the liquid drug down the animal’s throat.
• Deworming drugs include anthelmentics such as Benzaldehyde (piperazine), copper sulphate, Lintex, Ripercol and Tramisol.
These kill internal parasites such as roundworms, tapeworms and liver fluke.
• Animals infected with internal parasites often eat more than normal but cannot put on weight, and they can easily catch
diseases. This is because the parasites are feeding on the host (goat), therefore deworming needs to done to allow goats to
grow fast and gain weight.

Reasons for deworming

• Ensure maximum production of good quality products
• Ensure animals grow well, faster and attain maturity quickly.
• Prevent spread of worms to other animals or people.
• Improve resistance of goats to diseases.

Tools used for deworming

✓ Dosing gun or drenching gun

Deworming procedure
A goat is backed in a corner, head held up and drug is placed at the back of the throat using a dosing gun.
• Restrain the animal
• Fill the dosing gun with the drug
• Put your hand under the jaw of the animal and insert the gun into the corner of the animal’s mouth.
• Squeeze the gun and deliver the medicine over the animals tongue at the back of the mouth.
• Remove the gun from the mouth when the animal has swallowed all the medicine

3. HOOF TRIMMING:-It is re-shaping or reducing the size of elongated or overgrown hooves of animals.

Reasons for hoof trimming

• To allow goats to walk without difficulties
• Control the disease foot rot
• Prevent build up of dirt and parasites between hooves
• Prevent lameness and stress in goats.

Tools used in hoof trimming

✓ hoof trimmer, knife and rasp

Procedure of hoof trimming

• Restrain the animal
• Remove any dirt, manure, stones, or any material from the hooves.
• Lift the foot to be trimmed and assess the condition of the hoove
• Using a knife or hoof cutter, cut any excess growth from the walls of the foot, the toe, the heel and the sole with great care to
avoid cutting into live tissues and causing bleeding
• Continue cutting or trimming excess growth until the hoof is flat or of the right size and shape. After trimming, the hooves are
washed in a disinfectant

4. VACCINATION:- It is the administration of vaccines (antibodies) in the body so as to produce immunity against certain diseases.

Reasons for vaccinating goats

• To help protect animals from getting the diseases for which they are vaccinated against
• Vaccination can be done as a cost effective method of preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
• To keep animals healthy and productive by providing immunity for certain period of times.

Tools used for vaccination

HOW VACCINATION IS DONE

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 • Retrain the animal
• Draw into the syringe the amount of vaccine you want to inject into the animal
• Hold the syringe firmly and insert the needle under the fold of skin. Push the plunger to release the vaccine until the syringe is
empty
• Pull the syringe with the needle out of the fold of skin and put these away.
• Massage the injected area for the vaccine to be absorbed.

4. IDENTIFICATION-:It means giving each goat a mark or number to distinguish it from all the other goats.

Types of identification
• Ear tags
• Ear notches

Reasons for identification

• To facilitate record keeping
• Prevent theft of stock
• Facilitate sorting out of animals

Tools used
Ear tag applicator and Ear notcher

A) Ear tagging
a) Metal tags
These must be non-corrosive and be easy to apply. They should be applied to the centre of the ear with the number on the outside.

b) Plastic tags
These are often larger than metal tags as a result they can be read from a distance.

Ear tagging procedure

A small numbered strip of metal or plastic (ear tag) is attached to the ear of every kid using an ear tag applicator.
• Identify the animals to be tagged.
• Decide which ear to be tagged
• Position the ear tagger on the area of the ear to be tagged.
• Squeeze the ear-tagger firmly so as to clamp.
• Release the ear-tagger and check if the tag has been properly clamped to the ear.

B) Ear notching:-It is a method of goat identification in which a particular cut is made on the ears of the goat. Small pieces of an ear are
clipped on using an ear notcher.
✓ An ear notch is a hollow cut or slit made at the edge or on the surface of the ear of an animal.
Tools used
A sharp knife, clippers, pliers or punching
PROCEDURE
• Get the tool that you want to use for notching.
• Restrain the animal with the help of an assistant
• Make the notch of the shape you want on the ear of the animal.
_ if it is a cut or slit at the edge of the ear, a sharp knife would.
_If a hole is to be made on the ear, a special punching tool should be used.

PARASITES OF GOATS
✓ A parasite is an organism that depends on other organisms for food, its host (goat). There are two types of parasite; internal
and external parasites.

a) Internal parasites: - These are parasites found inside the body of animals, especially in the intestines. They survive by absorbing food
swallowed by the animal or sucking blood from the walls of the intestine. Common examples are;
• Roundworms
• Tapeworms
• Liver flukes
Liver flukes
They are flat and live in the liver of their host. The flukes have both male and female sexual organs within them, they are hermaphrodite.
They suck blood from the liver of the goat, damaging the liver and eventually killing the host.

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The life cycle of a liver fluke
The stages are;
• Eggs of the liver fluke live in grass for a few months and then hatch into larvae.
• After about two weeks the larvae invade the bodies of water snails.
• Eventually the larvae leave the water snails, and move up the stems of grass
• The larvae attach themselves to the grass stems and enter a resting stage as cysts.
• Goats feed on the grass with cysts, and the cysts enter the animal’s body.
• The cysts hatch into adult flukes and move through the host’s body to the liver.
• The flukes live in the liver of the host and lay eggs
• The eggs pass out of the host’s body together with the faeces
• After a couple of months in the grass, the eggs hatch into larvae

Effects of liver flukes on goats

• Liver fluke damages the liver of goats by sucking blood.
• The animal suffers from diarrhoea, but in some cases they become constipation
• The animal may have anaemia or be weak because the flukes suck blood.
• The animal loses weight
• Slow growth of the goat
• Fall in milk production
• Poor quality meat
• Post mortem examinations show many liver flukes in the bile tubes of the liver.

Control of liver flukes

• Dosing animals with anthelmintics such as thiabendazole and tetramisole
• Avoiding grazing goats in swampy and very wet areas
• Using rotational grazing, because the eggs will eventually die if no hosts are grazing the grass (breaking the life cycle of the
parasite).
• Draining wet and swampy areas to kill the water snail that is the liver fluke’s secondary host

b) External parasites-: These are parasites which live on the body of the animals, especially on the soft and hidden areas e.g. under the
tail, between the hooves. They survive by sucking blood from the host. Common external parasites of goats are;
• Ticks
• Lice
• Mites
• Fleas
• Maggots

External parasites, such as ticks, mites and lice can be controlled by immersing the goats in a dipping tank that contains an acaricide such
as powered or liquid dip (chemical that kills ticks). Alternatively, goats can be treated with tick grease, which is applied to the affected
areas.

DISEASES OF GOATS
Goats suffer from many diseases such as
• Contagious abortion Pulpy kidney
• Heart water Foot rot
• Brucellosis Blackquarter (quarter evil)
• Pasteurellosis Bloat
• Anthrax Aphosphorosis

Name of Cause Symptoms Treatment Control and prevention

disease
Foot rot Bacteria * Lameness and difficulty in * In the early stages of the * Trim the hooves regularly
walking diseases, foot rot can be * Avoid grazing goats in wet areas
* Eventually the animal may treated with antibiotics like * Keep kraals dry
loose its hoof penicillin or oxytetracycline. * Practice rotational grazing
* Unpleasant pus between * The hooves must be kept * Use a foot bath containing 25-30%
the hooves clean using a disinfectant copper sulphate solution
*The area between the and treat with gentian * Isolate all infected animals
animals hooves become red violet. * Inspect the animal’s hooves regularly
and moist and keep them trimmed to prevent
cracking.

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 *Because walking is difficult,
infected animals become thin
and lose condition very
quickly.
*Infected animal may graze
while kneeling.

THE PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS OF GOATS

Products Use of product

Meat • Used as food that provides proteins, minerals and vitamins
• BMC slaughter goats and exports some of this meat to other countries
• Converted into yoghurt and sour milk

Milk • Boiled for drinking

• Processed to make food products such as cheese and butter

Mohair • Processed to make woolen garments and blankets

By-products of goats
By product Use of by-product
Bones ( bonemeal) Supplementary livestock feed
Blood ( blood meal) Supplementary livestock feed
Skins Processed to make leather shoes, bags, mats and garments
Manure Used as organic fertilizer in crop fields or vegetable garden
Horns Processed to make buttons, knife handles, combs, bag handles
Fat (tallow) Used in making glue, cosmetics, soap, candles
Tail ( hair at tip of tail) Paint brushes

PROCESSING GOAT PRODUCTS

Processing meat
1. Stunning
The goat must first be stunned to make it unconscious. The goat must be stunned in the middle of the top of its head

2. Bleeding
The throat of the goat is slit with a sharp knife and the animal is kept upside down so that the blood drips down.

3. Skinning
To skin the carcass, tearing the animal’s skin is called ripping. Skinning is done along the proper ripping lines. This process is done right
after killing when it is easy to peel off the skin. The skin is removed mostly by fisting; this means that we push our fists between the skin
and the carcass to lift the skin.

4. Weight Recording
This is done to determine the price the carcass is worth

5. Inspection
This is done to see whether the carcass is suitable for human consumption. It is inspected for any signs of diseases and parasites.

6. Grading
After inspection the carcass, grading is done from highest to lowest grade according to its quality.

7. Cutting
The meat is then chilled before it is cut, because it is easier to cut when it is cold. Cutting must be done such that bones will not puncture
the plastic packaging and to present the meat in manageable portions. The insides may be completely removed or packaged and sold
separately as Offals.

8. Packaging
The final step before we send the meat to the retailer as weighed portions

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Processing of Goat Milk

The following table shows how to make goat milk cheese

What you will need Method
Stainless steel sauce pan 1. Pour the goat milk into a stainless steel saucepan. You may add buttermilk for
extra creaminess
Goat milk butter milk 2. Heat the milk mixture to a temperature of at least 85ºC, or to a medium heat. Stir
the milk frequently while you are heating it. Allow it to simmer and watch carefully
2tsp lemon or juice or vinegar that it does not boil over or burn
3. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Allow the milk mixture to cool to about
Ladle room temperature before proceeding.
4. Add lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and buttermilk mixture. This is to coagulate
Cheesecloth or good muslin cloth the cheese. Stir only enough for it to mix. Do not over stir.
5. Stir frequently until the curds separate from the whey. During this period the
Colander or sieve mixture curdles into clods.
6. Once the mixture has separated, ladle the mixture into several layers of
Bowl cheesecloth and hang over bowl that will catch the whey for a few hours.
Alternatively, line a sieve or colander with cheesecloth and ladle the mixture into
seasoning this.
Throw away the whey that goes through the sieve or use it in cooking or as a drink.
Squeeze out the rest of the whey from the cheesecloth.

7. Keep the curd in a refrigerator for about a day before testing

8. Put the curd into bowl and season to taste. You can also add some herbs or other
flavourings

The following table shows how to make goat milk yogurt

What you will need Method
A sauce pan and a pot for double 1. Pour milk into a sauce pan and place the saucepan in a larger pot containing water
boiling 2. Heat the pot until the milk starts to froth
3. Cool the milk down by placing in a pot containing cold water
8 cups (2litres) goats milk 4. Allow starter yoghurt to warm up to room temperature
5. Add the powdered milk to the goat milk
½ cup starter yogurt 6. Add starter yoghurt to this mixture and stir it until everything has been dissolved
7. If you would like sweetened yoghurt, add syrup or honey to taste
⅓ cup powdered milk 8. Pour the mixture into some clean container and cover tightly
9. Keep the container in an oven at about 38ºC for about seven hours.
10. After seven hours, take out the yoghurt and keep it in a refrigerator for a few hours
before serving
PROCESSING MOHAIR
1. Shearing -: The first step is shearing the Angora goats. They are usually sheared twice a year, in early spring and early autumn.
Kids and wethers (castrated males) produce the best fleece.

2. Scouring -: The shorn fleece must be washed gently in a hot water. If the wool is going to be used for knitting or weaving, it is
dyed.

3. Carding -: During carding, the fleece fibres are untangled and aligned to be straight and parallel to one another. This makes it
easy to spin.

4. Spinning-: The fleece is spun according to what the end product is going to be. In other words, the more durable the end
product need to be, and the tighter the mohair must be twisted. Looser twists tend to be more lustrous but are not as durable
and strong. After spinning the yarn, it is washed again and prepares it for commercial use.

NOTE TO REMEMBER -: Mohair is highly versatile and durable fibre with many uses. Depending on the grade of mohair, it can be used
for making baby and adult clothes. It can be made into crafts such as knitting, crocheting and weaving. Other uses are; attractive winter
clothing, saddle blankets for horses, bedding blankets, upholstery, carpets and rugs.

MARKETING OF GOAT PRODUCTS AND BY- PRODUCTS

1. Meat
Goat meat can be sold live or they can first be slaughtered and the meat sold.
Live goats can be sold to;
• BMC
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 • Local butcheries
• Individuals
• Cooperative societies
• Individual people

2. Skins
• It can be used in the leather book binding, sporting goods and luxury items e.g gloves and boots
• Leather tanneries and leather goods factories

3. Milk
• Goat milk can be sold to other households
• It can also be sold to dairies that will process it into products such as cheese or to the cosmetics industry for making creamy
soaps and skin – care products

Products
Goats can provide the following products:
1. Meat 2. Milk 3. Mohair

Factors considered before starting a goat production enterprise

1. Method of production to adopt
2. Climate
3. Incidence of diseases and parasites
4. Demand of goat meat and other products
5. Distance to markets, slaughter and processing centres
6. Availability of ;
• Land for browsing
• Permanent water source
• Drugs and supplementary feeds
• Labour
• Credit
• Suitable goat breeds

Supply and demand situation

Demand is greater than the supply, especially in cities, towns and big villages. There are still not enough goats and goat meat readily
available on the market for individuals to purchase. Not enough goats are available for slaughter at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC).

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE GOAT PRODUCTION

1. Provides financial assistance through grant schemes such as;
CEDA – Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency
NDB – National Development Bank
LIMID

2. Extension services-: The ministry of Agriculture deploys technical staff country wide such as agricultural demonstrators and veterinary
assistants to provide technical advice and support to small stock producers.

3. Farmers are also educated through seminars, workshops, radio programmes and agricultural shows or fairs.

4. Animal Production Research Unit (APRU)-: This unit of the Ministry of Agriculture continually conducts experiments (researching) to
find better ways of raising small stock.

5. Agriculture curriculum taught in schools covers small stock. The aim is to equip pupils with adequate knowledge on all aspects of stock
farming.

PROBLEMS LIMITING GOAT PRODUCTION IN BOTSWANA AND THEIR SOLUTIONS

Problems Solutions to problems

Diseases and parasites-: Goats are easily attacked by internal and The animals should be dewormed with anthelmentics drugs to
external parasites. A lot of farmer’s small stock can die from control internal parasites. They should be treated with chemicals
parasites and diseases. in a dip and greased to control external parasites. Goats should
be vaccinated against contagious abortion and pulpy kidney.

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 Predators-: Predators such as jackals, hyenas, wild. Serious predators must be reported to the wild life department
and be eradicated
Lack of drugs and vaccines-: Drugs and vaccines are not readily Drugs and vaccines should be made available through agricultural
available. Livestock Advisory Centres, which are the main extension offices in villages through out the country.
distributors of drugs and vaccines, are located only in towns and
big villages and are not accessible to most farmers in small
villages.
Harsh climate-; Temperatures in Botswana can reach extremes. Shelter should be provided for young stock so that they keep
The winters are very cold, with temperatures sometimes below warm. Boreholes should be dug to provide enough water all year
0˚c. Summers can be very hot, with temperatures above 36˚c. round; supplementary feeds should be given to the stock when
Very low temperatures can kill kids and low rainfall leads to poor pastures are poor.
pasture which means lower rate of production.
Lack of management skills-: Most farmers in rural areas do not Extension officers employed by the government can go out to
have knowledge on good breeds and management systems to rural areas and teach farmers better management systems
increase the productivity of their stock.
Distance to abattoirs-: Most abattoirs (BMC) are far from where Government can assist by building abattoirs in rural areas for
goats are kept (rural areas). So this makes it difficult to take goats community
to the abattoir by tracking.
Poor breed Farmers should buy good breeds to cross breed them with the
Tswana e.g. Boer and Saanen goats.

METHODS OF GOAT PRODUCTION

• Extensive
• Intensive
• Semi-intensive

1. Extensive system (free range)-: Goats are allowed to graze and browse natural pastures without fencing. The goats are housed or
kraaled in the evening and let out of their kraals in the morning.

2. Intensive system (zero grazing)-: It involves continuous housing and zero grazing. The goats are permanently restricted to pens; food
and water are brought to them. They are fed on cut forage, supplemented by kitchen waste and other crop residues.

3. Semi- intensive system (Rotational)-: It combines grazing and feeding in pen with adequate housing.
Concentrates may be given as supplements and grazing can be controlled by fencing and tethering.

Preparations made before acquiring goats for an enterprise

• Prepare a project plan and a budget
• Acquiring knowledge and skills in goat production.
• Acquire the needed labour and train them.
• Fencing and paddocking of rangeland.
• Construction of goat house, dipping or spraying facilities
• Securing enough funds for buying goats
• Surveying the market and marketing structure
• Purchasing enough drugs and vaccines
• Purchasing of feeds

Preparing a budget for a goat enterprise

✓ The budget is a plan that shows the estimated expenses, income and profit
✓ Estimated Expenses items will include purchase of breeding stock, cost of construction of kraal or house, and dip tank, cost of
drugs and vaccines, labour, supplementary feeds and miscellaneous expenses.
✓ Estimated Income items will include sale of goats, sale of culls and manure.

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