Homesteading: Goat and Sheep Farming, a start to Success - #1
Maybe I should go into animal farming like sheep and goats as a side hustle….?
Animal farming is one of the lucrative businesses I have noticed and have a strong interest in recently, however, this doesn’t sound so impressive to most Nigerians due to the way most folks look down on it.
Unfortunately, one point that is always missed out by these ones is that some business that is looked down upon is sometimes the most successful ones....
I love such challenges and I will give it a try this time around....
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Animal farming is done by a few people apart from the normal household rearing of one or two animals.
Most internal shoe companies produce leather from these animal skin, and the textile industry here also gives attention to this. Milking the sheep is not out of the picture.
Maybe it’s time I start this business…or maybe it’s time you start as well.
Due to my high interest in starting this, I took some time to conduct some thorough research on a goat as the price of goats is increasing every single week.
I need to have much background about goats because it looks like I will just go into the goat and sheep rearing business very soon. Hopefully, I will gather information about sheep too in another article. But for now, let me share about goat…
The goat is a domestic animal whose Scientific name is Capra aegagrus hircus.
The goat was among the earliest domesticated animals. The earliest domestic from the wild goat of southwest Asia and eastern Europe. Historically, the domestication of goats is dated 6000 and 7000Bc.., that’s a long time ago. Bezoar has been a major contributor to modern goats.
Goat breeds have been defined by breed standards and description of color differences, ear-sized type, horn-sized type, face type, hair coat length, beard, wattles, body weight, and height for adults, males, and females.
In Nigeria, goats have special characteristics that make it possible for them to survive in any environment and can be divided into local and exotic breeds.
LOCAL BREEDS OF GOAT
Sahelian goats
This breed has a short fine coat that could be either red, white, black, or spotted. They are of different body sizes..either medium or big.
The goats have short horizontal ears, and the horns drop down. They are well adapted for long-distance trekking and can survive in desert areas.
They have more advantages of having long legs because it plays a significant role in nomadic life.
They weigh 25- 30kg. Its gestation period ranges from 112- 150 days. This breed of goat is mostly used for meat. They are also called ogufe, especially in the southwest of the country. Its red skin coat can be used for leather production.
RED Sokoto of maradi:
This breed is spread mostly in the Sokoto area and which is one of the states in the northern part of Nigeria. In Africa, this type is unique. There are also sub-breeds of such goats called Kano brown and bornu. They weigh 20-30kg. Its gestation period is a total of 153 days. They are usually white. The goats have horns and are horizontally positioned with short ears.
Wonderful pets:
They are precocious (exhibiting most doelings and mature enough to breed at 7-8 bucklings of their age. Though it's fertile it's better 3- 6 months of age.
Pygmy goats:
This is another small-sized type of goat. They are short and slightly Chubby. They weigh about 27-39kg and have a gestation period of five months.
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Their lifespan is 10 years on average. And they are characterized as very smart animals and can be great pets they can easily adapt to different climate conditions. They can be used as meat, milk, and companion animals.
EXOTIC BREEDS OF GOAT
Nubian(native of Sudan):
Nubians are large with long wide pendulous ears, and a Roman nose. Its bodies are covered with short silky hair, usually brown, but can be almost any color, its udders are well developed, and the butterfat content in their milk is high.
The gestation period ranges from 144-155 days and an average of 150 days. The adult type of Nubians weighs 60- 70kg and they are milk type of goats.
Alpine
Originated in Switzerland and is an exotic breed. It is a medium to large-sized goat that has a variety of colors and color combinations usually black and white, brown and white, but can have various other color patterns, has a curved nose, straight face, short and medium-length hair, and short and pointed ears.
Bucks often have long hair along the spine and pronounced bread, hardy, agile prolific, and can adapt to a variety of climates, it also has good milk output and friendly disposition. Its adult type weighs 60-65kg. Its gestation period ranges from 145-155days. It is a meat and milk animal.
Boer (Native of South Africa)
It is a long heavy-boned, large framed goat with massive meaty muscling, and large pendulous ears. Mostly Boers are sparkling white with different color markings on the head and neck which may be dark red, tan, dark brown, black, or solid red. Bucks weigh 113-158kgpounds and their gestation period is a total of 150days.
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Both sexes have sturdy, wide-set horns that sweep gracefully back from their skull, easy-going does and prolific mothers that give rich high butterfat milk. It is a meat animal.
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Feeding?
These goats eat almost the same food and so their feeding system is not expensive here in Nigeria, because one can easily get their food in the bush. And they will be okay with that. The same applies to sheep.
| Animal | Naira | Steem |
|---|---|---|
| Sheep | N50,000 - N90,000 | 350 - 555 |
| Goat | N60,000 - N250,000 | 370 - 1106 |
Note Price Information is depending on the size, but for breeding you can get as low as 246 to 270 steems respectively.
Other Nessecarry things Needed
A free land where they can be rated, house to give them shelter especially during this rainy season.
Are there other points I have missed ? please let me know your thoughts on this and maybe some suggestions...
You haven't mentioned one point: goats love to climb. And they are damn good at it! Whether it's car roofs, bungalows or fences, trees or rocks: they can move on almost vertical surfaces. That makes their stance a wee bit ... adventurous. They flee faster than you can say "ladder" ;-)) And they break things in the process (basically they can eat anything! ;-))
Du hast einen Punkt noch nicht erwähnt: Ziegen lieben es zu klettern. Und sie sind verdammt gut darin! Ob es Autodächer, Bungalows oder Zäune, Bäume oder Felsen sind: sie können sich an nahezu senkrechten Flächen bewegen. Das macht ihre Haltung ein klein wenig ... abenteuerlich. Sie fliehen schneller, als Du "Leiter" sagen kannst ;-)) Und dabei machen sie Sachen kaputt (grundsätzlich kann man alles fressen! ;-))
Oopss.., ...thats an interesting point really...
I love this documentary...!!.
They eat everything..., but i know as the goat is licking walls.., it's not gonna do any good for thier health i guess...?
In the video they are licking the wall because of mineral salt. That's really important for health - you will give them a lick stone for it.
May be you like this snippet too:
Wow.., this is more insight to discover this..., thank you for the video..this is very useful.