Housing and Shelter management for Goats

Goats are friendly animals. They adapt very well to human presence. You can even get them as pets. If you get Goats as Pets, make sure to have at least two, as they always look for a company. Don’t go for Buck-Male Goat. They smell bad.

Whether you get Goat as pets or starting a farm, housing and shelter is a must for Goats.

Read:-

• Wikihow – How to start goat farm
• Goat Farming a Business Opportunity for Marginal Farmers and Entrepreneurs

Let’s talk about Housing and Shelter management for goats.

Goat rearing is done in India for ages. People keep 2 to 5 number of goats in villages.  In Villages, they stay with humans. No separate housing. Those are tied outside the house or a small mud house is built. This is not good for Goat as well as Human Health.

Typical Mud Goathouse in the rural area.

Why Housing and Shelter for Goats

Below are some of the reasons to have separate housing for Goats and Sheeps.

1. Small Mud houses or keeping them outside the home is not suitable for intensive Goat farming. Heard size is big on farms.
2. It protects them from rain, cold and hot weather.
3. Protection from Predators
4. Controls mortality rate
5. Proper herd management

You know what stress-free goat shows good growth and good quality of meat, milk. That is what we should care, as it increases profits.

Scientific Housing recommended by CIRG

CIRG is Central Institute in goat farming which does research on goat and goat farming.

Read: Central Institute of Goat Farming, CIRG Mathura

Below are the common principle followed by Goat Shed Design.

Note:- Always start with small and provide scope for future expansion.

Orientation

Orientation plays a major role sheds design as it impacts ventilation. The shed should be designed in such way that air is circulating and goats are protected from direct sunlight. Hence East to west orientation is preferred. Cool and warm during winter days. They get good sun during in the morning and get protection from the sun during daytime. Air is freely moving which void damping and generation of parasites and worms in the shed.

This keeps goats healthy. That does not mean that you should not follow proper vaccination routine for goats. You should follow this Goat Vaccination Calendar.

Flooring

Flowering should be hard enough and should provide comfort to goats. Mud — is preferred and comparatively cheap. Cement is also used nowadays as it is easy to clean and avoid most of the parasite founds in a mud bed.

Elevated flooring is good, but it is very much costly. It helps to save labor cost. You should go with this type of flooring if you have a good budget and taking help from experienced goat farmer to set up your goat farm.