Basic Principles of Economics in Goat Farming

7/30/2019 Basic Principles of Economics in Goat Farming

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Depends on the total number of animals available for slaughter.

2. Quality largely depends on the quality and distribution of fat.

Excess fat is undesirable.

The meat should be odourless or with as little odour as possible although this is difficult ingoats.

Milk

In case of milk, the 2 important factors are:

1. Quantity is the lactation milk yield per head for lactation cycle.

2. Quality depends on the average butterfat and non-fat solids present.

9.2.1 Productive efficiency

1. Varies according to size of the animals and the level of food intake.

2. On a flock basis, the calculations must consider the following:

Nutritional costs of breeding females

Litter size

Age

Mature size

Mortality rates.

3. On a flock basis efficiency of meat production is reduced by inclusion of: -

Immature animals,

Castrated males

Unproductive animals including the infertile and diseased

Any animals that are due for culling.

4. Faster growing goats are more efficient in energy and protein storage ascompared to slower growing goats.

5. Efficiency of milk production in goats is affected by:-

Lactation period

Feed utilization

Feed conversion efficiency.

9.2.2 Reproductive Efficiency of Goats

Reproductive efficiency in goats depends on the reproductive performance of the does andbucks. Extension workers must remember the following: -

1. Reproduction is the engine of the flock to ensure that the flock adequately expands togenerate enough replacements and an excessive supply for sale.

2. The reproductive rate of both individual goats and the flock is the importantdeterminant of the overall success of this objective. The factors that affect the increasein the number of breeding females include:

Age of females at first mating


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Number of years in the breeding flock

Animal death rate in the breeding flock

Number of female young reared to breeding age each year per 100 breeding females

3. The above factors are influenced by: -

Number of conceptions

Multiple births

Frequency of parturition

Duration of gestation

Time taken to re-establish estrus.

4. Good reproductive efficiency may also mean using an optimum ratio ofbucksto does. A suitable ratio under our conditions is 1 buck to 40 does. Undermore controlled and intensive conditions, the number can increase to 1:50.

9.2.3 Individual reproductive performance

Farmers keep goats so that they reproduce. Kids are sold, generating revenue to the farmershousehold. The farmer must monitor the does reproductive performance, over a given periodusually one year, how many kids did the doe produce. Reproductive information is important in

identifying reproductive problems, the male may be infertile, the doe may have a fertilityproblem. Or the doe is old and has come to the end of her productive life and therefore must beculled. Individual reproductive performance can be assessed using some measurement like:

i) Kidding (parturition) interval,

ii) Litter size

iii) Pre-weaning mortality rate

9.2.4 Flock reproductive performance

Section 9.2.3 looks at individual reproductive performance; there is a need to look at the overallherd reproductive performance. Access to feed, different rations and access to water as well asoverall herd health problems will determine flock reproductive performance. The Buck will bemajor determinant in flock reproductive performance. An infertile buck will have a major impact.Keeping such records is essential to the early identification to poorly performing buck. Flockreproductive performance can be measuredaccording to: -

i) Kidding rate, which means numbers of kids born per numberof breeding females per year.

9.3 Case study- Mpigi District

A simple on farm study on the viability of goat farming was done. The study lasted 13 months.Ten indigenous (local) does were selected by smallholder farmer and reared with a Boer buck

(see Table 13). The study was carried out at a farm where capital inputs were already met andtherefore the findings only cater for sustainability of the project.

The following gross margin of goat farming was undertaken:


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Table 1. Gross margin of three does and one buck in Mpigi District

Inputs:Cost of supplementary feeds 100,000/=20 kg salt 4,000/=1 Ltr De-wormer 13,500250 ml s Tsetse tick 12,000

Housing 100,000Ropes 20,000Service 10,000Family Labour 120,000Total 397,500

Three does gave twins, and seven gave single kids. The total kids available for sale were 13 at100,000 each giving a total revenue of the Ushs 1,300,000 and a net profit of nearly 902,500.

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Basic Principles of Economics in Goat Farming