Feeding
Per goat per day in typical stall setting:
- Hedge lucerne (green, mimosoid, legume) - 1.5kg
- COFS (green fodder - super napier) grass - 1.5kg
- Hay from Horse grams/ground nuts/maize (dry, important in rainy season) - 0.75kg
- Mix of grains like corn, rice, sajje, etc. - 0.25kg. They can eat .5kg as well, can include pulses (like hurLi kALu) - but more expensive.
Only one of the greens oft results in loose motion. Alternate: silage.
Daily feed (dry matter): 10% of live body weight.
Typical feeding times: 8 am 12 pm 4 pm 7 pm
Natural feeding
Sheep eat grass by bending down. Goats prefer upright or high food.
Poisons
- Rhododendron
- Ragwort in UK
- Kale in excess . Red urine, anaemea.
- Oak leaf in excess
- Prunus fruit tree leaf when dry.
Breeding
- Breeders usually find 5% males sufficient.
- Females go on heat once each month. Indicated by vaginal discharge. Should be tracked for optimality.
Health
- Can get lonely and die off. Temperamental (unlike sheep).
Shed
- Elevated (5ft) grilled metal floor design - TN. No walls.
Wild rearing
Fixed plot
12 acres wild growth gives 360 goats / year or 1 per day. At 10kg per goat, and 1 kg per person, suffices for ~10 people. (Source - manju)
Nomadic herding
Tougher during summers - grass is harder to find.
2024: Goatherds camp out with goats for month at a stretch; women stay back at base-camp and supply ration weekly by motorbike etc..