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MEAT GOAT PRODUCTION FOR SMALL-SCALE FARMERS
By Claude McGowan and Godfrey Nurse

Introduction
As ruminants, goats share the advantage of efficiently utilizing fibrous feeds. It is their special characteristics, which have established their important role in supplying highly desired food and fiber. Let us examine some of the characteristics of goats and their advantages in agricultural development efforts.

A. SMALL SIZE
Goats are small, ranging in mature weight from 30 to 170 lbs. Their small size is directly associated with other important traits such as nutrient requirements for maintenance and low capital cost per head. Because they are small, they can efficiently utilize marginal and small plots of land. The risk of investment is reduced by smaller individual size, allowing more production units per unit of investment.

B. REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY
Most goats found in this country are seasonal breeders. The normal breeding season is August to March. The shorter gestation intervals (average 150 days) and lactation periods (60 days when sucking alone) combined with the presence of the male, have a strong influence in terminating lactational and seasonal anestrus does. As a result, native wood or brush goats, as they are often referred to, are capable of having three kidding every two years.

C. FEEDING BEHAVIOR
The goat tends to flourish under a wide variety of conditions, feeding on a wide variety of browse plants and shrubs when the availability of grass is low. Goats are selective feeders tending to select the better quality portions of plants. Thus, the goat’s resourcefulness and its preferred browsing strategy makes it conducive to extensive production systems especially when tree leaves, shrubs, browse plants and grasses are readily available. With extensive production, the animals obtain their substance by grazing or browsing at will with light supplementation, and minimum capital and managerial input.

D. HEALTH
Goats are susceptible to all diseases and parasites as other ruminants. When heavily stocked on grass or managed under confinement conditions, goats seem more prone to heavy infestation compared to cattle. Coccidia may cause severe problems under these conditions. Intensively managed flocks may benefit form vaccinations for enterotoxemia, especially when large quantities of concentrate feeds (corn) are utilized.

E. BREEDS

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