Goat farming is a common practice in most Indian villages, often carried out with minimal investment. Typically, goats are left to graze freely on whatever vegetation they can find, and are rarely given proper grains or green fodder. This neglect results in poor milk yield and undernourished animals. However, there is good news—goats respond remarkably well to good care and proper feeding. Naturally hardy, intelligent, and sensitive, goats have the potential to thrive and become highly productive. Just like cows and buffaloes, milch goats need balanced nutrition and attentive care to stay healthy and produce quality milk.
Understanding the Feeding Habits of Goats
Goats are known to be choosy eaters. They are extremely clean and won't eat dirty, wet, stale or trampled food. If the fodder is stale or has a bad smell, they'll just leave it. That's why feeding them from a hay-rack or by tying little bundles of fodder on a peg or branch of a tree is advisable. Double-sided portable hay-racks are convenient, particularly for stall-fed goats. It's safer to give them little bits often than to dump big amounts all at once—otherwise, they'll waste it by trampling.
As ruminants, goats enjoy chewing cud and green, leguminous fodders more than coarse dry substances. They don't like maize, sorghum, silage, or dry straw much. They enjoy leafy greens and fodders such as lucerne (alfalfa), berseem, cowpea, green arhar, and soybean leaves. Cabbage and cauliflower leaves are also favourite vegetables. They enjoy leaves of babul, neem, ber, tamarind, and pipal trees from the wild.
When it comes to dry fodder, they prefer the straws of urad, moong, gram, and hays of lucerne and berseem. These not only provide nutrition but also help them stay full and content.
What Nutrients Do Goats Need
Goats need nutrients for three essential reasons:
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Maintenance – to survive and remain healthy
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Production – to produce milk, meat, or hair
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Pregnancy – to enable the growth of kids
Goats have a greater metabolic rate than cattle, so they require more energy and protein for their weight. Interestingly, they can consume as much as 11% of their body weight in dry matter, whereas cows can only consume 2.5% to 3%. This implies that a healthy goat can survive and even lactate on good-quality forage alone.
To yield 1 litre of milk containing 4.5% fat, a goat requires approximately 60 grams of digestible crude protein (DCP) and 285 grams of starch equivalent. For example, a 50 kg goat producing 2 litres of milk can be maintained healthy and productive by feeding it 400 grams of concentrate mixture plus 5 kg of green Berseem or Lucerne daily. The feed must ideally contain 12–15% protein, depending on the quality of hay.
Don’t Forget Minerals and Salt!
Similar to human beings, goats also require minerals to develop appropriately and remain in good health. The two vital minerals for developing bones and manufacturing milk are phosphorus and calcium. For a 50 kg goat, both 6.5 grams of calcium and 3.5 grams of phosphorus should be provided daily. You can conveniently mix a mineral blend into the feed at a rate of 0.2% of the concentrate ration.
Goats also love common salt and it plays a very significant part in their food. It brings about good digestion, tones the system, and even serves to reduce worms. You may hang big lumps of rock salt where goats may lick it as and when they please, or add 2% salt into their grain ration.
Vitamins and the Role of Supplements
Goats require vitamins A, D, and E. While many vitamins are made inside their rumen, vitamin A must come from their diet. Feeding them green leafy fodder and yellow maize can meet this need. For growing kids, you can also add synthetic vitamins A and D in small amounts.
Some farmers use antibiotics like aureomycin or terramycin in kid diets. These help the young goats grow faster, reduce the chances of diarrhea, and keep them looking healthy and active. However, these should be used with care and ideally under a veterinarian’s guidance.
Proper goat feeding is simple with consistent care and a good understanding of their nutritional needs. Providing your goats with clean, fresh, and nutrient-rich feed, along with the appropriate minerals and salt, will improve their health, increase milk production, and boost your income. Remember, a happy goat produces more milk, and a well-fed goat is a happy goat. So, treat them as valuable partners in your farming efforts rather than just animals.
