Housing

   Low cost housing should be constructed  in such a way in a  raised platform (about 1 meter height from ground level) by using bamboo/wooden poles or ‘pakka’ building by establishing  concrete pillars. Floor and side walls may be made of wooden material. Roof may be  thatched with  coconut leaves, grass or asbestos sheets. . Average floor space per kid is 0.75 to 1 sq. metre. Floor should have atleast 1 cm space between bamboos/wooden planks to allow passage of dung and urine down to the ground.

Selection of kids
       The goat kids about 15 days to 1 month  old  i.e before starting to  eat green leaves and are having higher birth weight and not used for  further breeding can be selected for broiler goat rearing.The selected kids will not be allowed to feed on  green fodder/grazing green grasses in open spaces.

         He selected kids  are  reared intensively  by providing concentrate feed (goat feed) @ 5 g mixed with equal quantity of rice  gruel ( broken boiled rice) initially  i.e. at start (15-30 days). Then gradually increase the amount  day by day as per feed intake (eg. 7g, 10 g, 15 g like that). Apart from these you can add, coconut cake, rice bran or ground cake with minimum level (1-2 g/day/kid to maximum of 150-200/day)  Pure water  also should be available at all times (24 hours).
         Liver tonic (Tefroli/Livol etc.) and Fish oil should be  given  twice in a week @ 2.5 ml/animal per day initially  and increase upto  5-10ml/kid/day. The young  kids should be allowed for mother’s  milk twice or thrice in a day.

Goat feed: Available in the market or you can also  prepare own feed mix by using following feed ingredients.
Ingredients                                   Parts

Deoiled ground nut cake                12
Horse gram                                   30
Wheat/maize/jowar (grain)            30
Rice polish/wheat  bran                  15
Dried unsalted fish                          10
Mineral mixture                            1.5
Common salt                               1.5
VitAB2D3                                    25 gms/100 kg of feed mixture

Marketing
          In India goat meat  is preferred by all. So marketing of broiler goat is not a major problem. Direct marketing is highly profitable. Involvement of middleman can reduce the price of animals. Broiler goat meat is soft and minimize goaty odour. Marketing should be done at the attainment of 25-30 kg or at the age of 3-4 months whichever  is earlier.

Breeding of parent stock
            Parent stock should be allowed for mating by using good quality male (superior breed)  or by using frozen semen at about 45 days postpartum (after delivery). Thereby  the farmers can get continuous supply of goat kids for broiler goat production. Furthermore, the female goats produce more number of kids in their life time. Repeated mating by using same male should be avoided.

Synchronization of estrus
            In a large herd, synchronization of estrus by using PGF2 alpha injection and timely breeding by using good quality frozen semen or natural service by superior male will enhance not only conception  rate but also the farmer can bring all the animals to deliver (kidding) at a specified period.

Advantages

1.    No need to observe oestrus signs.
2.    Fixed time breeding at 72 hrs and 96 hrs following PGF2 alpha injection.
3.    Delivery of all mated or inseminated animals at a particular time.
4.    Highly useful for broiler goat rearing
5.    Management is easy.
6.    Reduced inter-kidding interval (in between the deliveries)

Conclusion
          A farm woman can manage about 10-20  kids at a time without any extra labour. It is highly profitable to the farmers who is already involved in goat rearing. The kids should be  sold off at about 3-4 months or at the attainment of 25-30 kgs whichever is earlier. A farm woman/farmer can produce more number of broiler kids in short period of time. Apart from these the reproductive  efficiency  of female goats can also be highly exploited by proper planning of breeding.
Those who want more information please contact:

Dr. S. Shanmughavel,
Subject Matter Specialist (Vet.),
Krishi Vigyan Kendra,
Peruvannamuzhi (P.O.)
Calicut-673 528, Kerala