₦airaland Forum

Choosing the right feed for your goat is very crucial to their body formation and development. And it is an aspect of goat rearing that should be considered important especially if the goat is being raised for fattenting. Goats are able to consume a wide variety of feed and vegetation than either sheep or cattle, research has shown that goats are equipped with a well formed palate that can distinguish between sweet, bitter, salty and sour taste. It is important to know the right feed for your goats and serve to them in clean environment.

Goats can be selective when it comes to feed, what would be consumed by one goat would not be not be eaten by another, and a goat would regularly refuse any feed that has been soiled. Goats might consume a certain kind of feed at some stage of maturity but reject them at other times. It is important that the goat farmers take not of what feeds his goats eat and how to improve on them.

Goats can be feed with any type of crop, corn leaves or other wide variety of leguminous fodders. Hydroponic feed and compound feed are other specially formulated feeds that farmers can use in making their goats grow faster within a short period. They contain most of the nutrients required by goats in high quantity resulting in fast body development.
Although compound feed may be expensive to buy, farmers can formulate the feed in their farm based on formulas used in their locality. Cassava peels (dried), elephant grass and banana leaves also represents a good source of nutrients for goats. Cassava peels should be tied in a sack and soaked in water for 3 days allowing it to ferment and properly kill off cyanide, cyanide is a chemical present in fresh cassava peels and can be dangerous to goats, goats would not eat cassava peels with moulds on them.
Cassava peels can also be given to goats in their dry form, Cassava peels should be very dry and can also be crushed. Most farmers make a compound feed by mixing dry cassava peels with brewery waste and other sources of protein. Prices of dry cassava peels vary according to weather condition, but it is still a cheap and affordable feed. A bag of cassava feed currently goes for #500 at 50 kg.

There other numerous ways a goat farmer can source for feed for goats, he should ensure they are being fed with the right amount of nutrients prescribed by the veterinarian.

Probity Farms is a software that allows you to manage feed and track its usage, with its powerful data storing capabilities, farmers can get reports about progress and productivity in farm and if there is a need to change feed or improve on it. Visit ProbityFarms for more information

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Goats are of a number of different breeds, these different type of breeds produce different quantity / quality of meat, hides, skin, fiber and milk. Nigeria has 3 main breeds

1) West African Dwarf: This type of goat is commonly found in south western part of Nigeria, their meat has a special taste and they are commonly reared for beef. This breed of goat has a high resistibility to trypanosome, a common disease of goats.

2) Sokoto Maradi Red: This breed is commonly found in north western Nigeria, it is darkly red in colour and weighs between 20 - 30 kg at maturity.

3) Borno Sahel: They are commonly found in the Sahel region of the country, they are well adapted to trekking long distances for grazing, and mature goat weighs between 25-30 kg.

Although these are predominately the main breeds in Nigeria, farmers have begun to import foreign breeds for rearing purposes. Breeds such as Boer, Sirohi and Kalahari are frequently being purchased from South Africa and India by Nigerian farmers. These breeds are popular for their good body formation and skin quality, helping to provide immense profitability for the farmer.



With good maintenance and feed an average Boer can grow up to 80 kg in weight, which is much more than an average west African dwarf. The advantages of rearing foreign breeds of goat are numerous, that is if a farmer can overcome the challenges involved.


Foreign goat breeds can be costly, Importing a 30kg Sirohi breed can go up to #72, 00 naira, while a 80-100 kg goat of the same breed goes for almost #200, 000. There are lots of third party companies (Escrow) that act as middle men in purchase of goats from foreign farms. Beware of scammers and ensure you use a credible Escrow company.

Full costs of importing these goats breed vary, a farmer would also have to consider vaccination, customs duty and air freight costs.



If a farmer can surmount these challenges, foreign breeds are very profitable, they can be also cross breed with the local breed or raised breed pure. Kid goats of a foreign breed can be sold for nice sums to other livestock farmers in Nigeria.

To properly benefit from raising a foreign breed of goat, it would be advisable to buy one or two male goats and three or more female goats for starters based on the finances of the farmer.

Although foreign breeds are very profitable, with the right amount of care, feed and management, farmers can make good profit from raising local breeds of goats. I would post subsequent posts on stating up a goat farm and taking care of goats.

ProbityFarms is an affordable software solution that allows for improved productivity where farmers can keep track of livestock development, farmers can monitor development of their flock change feed and feeding contents to suit different breeds of their animals.

Goat farming is one of the most profitable farming businesses that livestock farmers can practice in Nigeria. Apart from cow meat, goat meat is highly consumed in many parts of Nigeria; it is greatly consumed for its unique taste, aroma and deliciousness.

Butchers in Nigeria regularly take deliveries of goats stock from farms, preparing the meat for sale in markets daily. Goat meat frequently referred to as (Bokoto) in south western Nigeria is a favorite among locals. With the right amount of information, anyone can venture into goat farming with minimal capital, compared to the costs of rearing other livestock. With consistent increase in profit farmers can reinvest and put in more goats.

Goat products such as hides and skin have a huge market demand are used in producing leather items, breeds such as black Bengal goats or Khalari red goats produce the best hides for leather production.

Other products such as manure can serve as a rich source of organic fertilizers for crop farmers especially for farmers involved in mixed farming or can be sold in bags to other farmers at tangible prices.
The advantages of goat farming cannot be over emphasized; i would be publishing subsequent posts with tips for farmers intending to go into goat farming.

Check out ProbityFarms software, an affordable farm management solution which helps farmers monitor and keep track farm input, activities and output. With ProbityFarms, Livestock management is being made easy and farmers can improve productivity be employing the use of an efficient farm an management solution.
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