ANALYSIS OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ECONOMICS OF GOAT REARING UNDER HOMESTEAD FARMING SYSTEM
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Date
1996
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COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES Mannuthy - Thrissur
Abstract
The existing practises of management of goats in the
homesteads of Palakkad and Malappuram and the economict; of
rearing have been studied.
Majority of the goat farmers in both the regions belonged
to the age group 41-60, and were literate. They belonged to the
class of daily wage labourers or service personnels. Hindus
were predominant in Palakkad, whereas in Malappuram, Muslims
were predominant. The land holding of the goat farmers studied
in Palakkad ranged from 3 cents to 8 acres and in Malappuram, 7
cents to 2 acres. They were having more than one livestock
component in their homesteads. The farmers possessing less than
10 years of experience were more in both the regions.
There has been an increase in the flock/band strength from
the start of farming in all the homesteads. The animals were
procured mostly from other farmers. Does were purchased based
on appearance, cost and age and were replaced taking into
consideration their size and appearance, age, twinning and also
colour. Bucks were generally replaced taking into consideration
their appearance and age.
The type of housing provided to goats was either
lean-to-type or a separate shed. The type of floor included
either mud or raised wooden floor, the type of roof included
either tiled or thatched. The hygiene status of majority of the
goat pens was graded as satisfactory in both the regions. The
drainage facilities provided were only satisfactory in Palakkad,
whereas, in Malappuram, it was adequate.
Natural service was the only means of breeding goats in
both the regions. Only 41 per cent of the farmers (in
general) reared breeding bucks and the rest of the farmers
depended on the bucks maintained by other farmers. The age at
first kidding in majority of the cases in Palakkad was reported
to be 18 months and in Malappuram, 15 months. Majority of the
farmers in both the regions reported the kidding interval of
goats to be 8 months.
The goats were either let loose outside or tethered around
the homestead for roughage feeding. Concentrate mixture was fed
only during very dry/summer season and consisted of groundnut
cake and coconut cake. The duration of browsing varied from 3-8
hours. Kids were kept along with the dam. The daily body
weight gain of kids was 38.3 g in Palakkad and 41.8 g in
Malappuram.
Major disease problems encountered by goats in the two
regions were digestive problems, respiratory problems, skin
lesions, dog bite wounds etc. Farmers, in general did not
practise any preventive health care measures for goats.
The proportion of farmers who milked their goats was high
in Malappuram than Palakkad. Goats were disposed of to other
farmers, butchers, and/or middlemen. Goat manure was sold out
by majority of farmers in Palakkad (70%) and 5 psr cent in
Malappuram.
Involvement of women in indoor activities were more than
men. Children were involved more in the disposal of milk. The
hired labour utilisation was negligible.
In general, fixed cost and variable cost were lower in
Palakkad than Malappuram but the gross income was more In
Malappuram than Palakkad. The net margin over Cost A cind Cost
B was positive whereas net margin was negative over Cost C. The
major constraints faced by farmers were feeding, availability
of labour and disposal of manure.
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