Index

This is the main part of their diet.Animals obtain grass either by grazing or having it cut and fed to them.Grass provides the animal with energy and some protein and some minerals.

If there is land nearby with grass it is best to let goats graze.

• Animals should graze for as long as possible. Unless a sheep or goat grazes from early morning to late afternoon (8 or more hours) additional forage must be cut and fed to them.
• The grazing area should have plenty of grass for the animals to eat.
• Rotate or change the grazing area every 8-12 weeks. That area should then be left alone and not grazed or cut. This allows the worms and worm eggs that are in the manure to die. It also allows the grass to regrow. After 8-12 weeks, the animals can return to the area as few worm larvae and eggs are left alive, reducing the contamination rate. However, if the grazing area is used by other farmers' animals it will become contaminated with worm larvae and eggs from those animals. If, possible, try to coordinate grazing among farmers in your area.
• Within the larger areas to be rotated each 8-12 weeks, do not allow animals to graze small areas so long that the forage is damaged and will not regrow. To do this the area, inspect the area before grazing and remove animals when it is estimated that over one half the forage in any small area has been eaten.
• The grazing area can be of native grasses and legumes or can be planted with “introduced” species that usually produce more grass.

Legumes are added to the diet to provide the animal with protein and minerals for growth and production of lambs/kids or milk.A legume is generally a plant that produces a pod with seeds like a bean or pea.Peanuts are also legumes.

• cut legumes when young and feed along with grasses
• legumes can be planted mixed with grasses in strips
• many tropical legumes are not as well liked as grass by sheep and goats
• the amount to feed depends on the animal and type of production.Pregnant females and nursing females need more legume than adult males.That is because the femaless are producing offspring and milk.Young animals also need more legumes as they are growing.

As with grasses there are introduced species of legumes that are higher producing than native species.

Leaves of some trees can provide protein to the animal.These are easy to grow and can provide a long term source of good feed. Some trees are also legumes and feeding their leaves provide sheep and goats with a good source of protein.Some examples of these are gliricidia (kakawati), leucaena (ipil-ipil), calliandra and sesbania (katuray).

• Leaves and small stems are eaten by animals. Goats (and sheeps) will strip and eat the bark from small gliricidia stems.
• Cocoa plantations can be good sources of leucaena and gliricidia as they are used for shade for the cocoa crop.Check with plantation management before taking any tree leaves.
• Tree leaves can take the place of other harvested legumes.Feed tree leaves at no more than 30% of the forage fed to an animal or no more than 1 part leaves to 3 or 4 parts grass.
• Cut branches at 1 meter height and put small branches in the feed troughs or tie them together and hang in the barns.Goats like their feed above the ground and will select the parts to eat.
• Like other legumes, animals that are pregnant, have kids or that are growing need more tree leaves than other adult animals.
• Plant tree legumes in fence rows around the house or in small areas protected from grazing near the barn and fertilize with manure compost.
• Plant introduced grasses between rows of trees for cut and carry forage.

* More than one type of tree should be planted and fed, for example gliricidia and calliandra or leucaena.Then if one tree species dies or suffers insect attack leaves of the other species can be fed. * Harvests can be made approximately every 10 weeks if there is adequate rainfall. * Choose which tree species to plant depending on your soil, climate and types of crops produced. * Local agricultural experts will be able to assist in selecting the most appropriate tree for you.

These are such things as rice bran, cassava meal, soybean meal, tofu by-product and many others and can provide energy and protein to the animal.These are generally inexpensive and very useful when a farmer wants his animals to grow faster. By-products are waste materials of crop or food processing.Some of the main by-products fed to goats are: rice bran, cassava meal, tofu waste, palm oil mill effluent, palm kernel cake, and others.These provide energy and protein to the animals.They can be fed singly but can also be mixed to form better feeds.

Rice bran can be fed as an energy source to females along with limestone and salt.Feeding limestone and salt will help prevent a mineral imbalance.Is inexpensive.Can be mixed with other ingredients to make a concentrate feedstuff.

Tofu waste is both a source of energy and protein.Can be fed up to 1 kg per animal per day.Is an excellent feed fed alone or mixed with rice bran, limestone and salt to make a more complete supplement.

Cassava meal is an energy source.Is dusty and should be mixed with other feeds.

Palm oil mill effluents are difficult to feed if your farm is not near a factory because the effluent is mostly water.Two kinds that hold the most promise for animal feeds are palm oil sludge and ex decanter solid waste.Ex decanter solid waste forms molds very quickly and is most practical fed fresh.It can be stored in a barrel covered with a thin layer of molasses.Ex decanter solid waste can be mixed with rice bran, cassava meal, palm kernel cake, molasses to form a concentrate suitable for feeding.

Soybean meal, cottonseed meal, coconut meal are protein sources fed in small quantities and are generally more expensive.Should be mixed with rice bran or with rice bran and cassava meal.Use these if you want to start a business fattening goats for market.

Palm kernel cake - can supply both energy and some protein.Is high in the mineral copper and cannot be fed alone but must be mixed with rice bran or rice bran and cassava meal.

Rubber seed meal - is a protein source.Rubber seed meal cannot be fed without processing to remove a dangerous compound.

Molasses - is not a by-product but is an energy feed.It can be difficult to obtain and store.Can be fed alone or mixed with other ingredients to make a more complete feed.Is generally not practical for small flocks.

Urea - Urea is also not a by-product but can be fed to sheep and goats to help them make protein.It is dangerous to feed too much urea.Urea is never fed alone and must be mixed with other ingredients to form a concentrate.

These are things such as sweet potato leaves and peels, dried cassava leaves and others that can also be fed and are useful to the animals.

Goats can also be fed grains such as sorghum and corn.Animals fed these feeds will grow well.However, these are expensive and often are not affordable nor economic to use as animal feeds.

Animals also need salt and minerals in their feed so they grow well.Ordinary salt, limestone and purchased mineral mixes can be fed in small amounts. These could come as supplements added to the feeds or as salt/minteral licks. Providing ordinary salt or a purchased mineral mixture can fulfill this requirement.

In this way the salt will not be wasted and the animal can lick the bamboo as it needs the salt.

Method to make a bamboo salt lick:

• use a large mature bamboo tube (6-9 cm diameter)cut into a 1” segment length
• peel off the outside layer of the bamboo pen the top and keep the bottom closed
• attach a string or piece of wire to the top of the bamboo in order to hang it in the barn
• pour the salt + mineral mixture and very little water into the bamboo
• hang the bamboo in a corner, 75-100 cm above the floor
• place the salt in a small bucket and tie it to the inside wall of the pen.

Water is essential for animals just as it is in people.Some animals need more water than others, such as does giving milk. If the animal loses 20% of its body water it will cause death.Water is necessary for all life functions including digestion of food.

It is important to have water at all times.

The amount of water an animal needs varies depending upon:

• Physiological state of the animal,young animals comparatively require more water than adults, lactating ewes require more water than nonlactating ones
• Animals fed on old or mature forages require more water than those fed on young forages.

Water requirement for sheep and goats is about 1.5-2.5 liters per day. Drinking water has to be clean and the water container has to be cleaned every two days.

Adapted from: www.worminfo.org