Goat Farming: The Best Feeding Practices For Livestock

Goat rearing has been an important part of rural farming since time immemorial. Goat nutrition is the most important factor that affects their performance. Poor nutrition results in lower rates of productivity, often defined by growth, lactation and reproducing abilities.

Therefore, if you are planning to start goat farming, you need to understand that merely choosing the right goat breed is not enough, you need to have proper knowledge about the right feeding practices to raise them in healthy way. Feeding has a direct impact on the animal's growth rate, reproducing capacity, and health. It is essential for lucrative and long-term farming.

Feeding costs have long been recognized as the most significant cost and monetary outlay in Goat rearing. It has a direct impact on the animal's development rate, health, as well as the quality of its produce such as milk, meat etc. It may also have various environmental impacts.

How to Feed Goats Properly?

As a result, understanding animal nutrition is critical for lucrative and long-term farming. The following is a list of the best ways to feed livestock:

• Livestock feed must always be kept in a safe place. Ensure that any stored feed is free of pests, moisture, and contaminants.

• The food provided must be hygienic, and it must be offered in a hygienic manner so that all goats can share it. To ensure that your troughs are large enough for all of the animals to eat at the same time, and that the troughs are clean, there should be enough space for all of them to eat at the same time.

• Good hay/roughage is the most important portion of the diet. It's all about finding the right balance!

• Ascertain that a significant portion of the diet consists of high-quality forage.

• A balanced diet, which is vital to cattle breeding performance, requires adequate green feed, vitamins, concentrates, minerals, and freshwater.

• Any change of feed habit must occur gradually. Do not be stingy on quality feed, as “good nutrition is half your breeding”.

• Make sure the kids, calves and lambs consume colostrum without delay after being born. Feed them a good quality creep feed from early on to aid their development.  

• Availability of pure clean drinking water is a must for livestock always!

• To ensure feed for all livestock, instill a routine (with farmworkers) so that no animal abstains from taking feed or gets fed inconsistently. Be time conscious!

• A farmer must keep contaminated or soiled feed and water away from livestock and ensure it is disposed of properly.