Record keeping(Goat)

Record keeping in goat production is important because it gives a history of what has happened on the farm for a given period of time. In addition, it serves to improve farm management since it  helps to trace animal origin and select breeding animals. Besides, record keeping provides figures for farm planning and budgeting.

Below is a list of records that may need to be kept The value and

relevance of the different types of records will vary with differing goat production

systems:

• Health records: including morbidity, mortality, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and vaccinations, etc.
• Feed consumption: this is difficult to estimate on farms where animals graze, but for capital intensive farm businesses, such as finishing or fattening operations, the amount of concentrate fed should be recorded to calculate profitability.
• Mating records: Sire, dam and progeny identification is important in breeding, sale, and culling decisions.
• Lambing /kidding records, which include identity, dam ID, birth  weight, date of birth, type of birth and sex.
• Milk production records: recording once weekly may suffice as this gives an indication of total milk production. Therefore, in dual-purpose sheep and goats, or even in meat types, a random sample of lactating females may be selected for recording their once a-week milk production.
• Growth/ weight records: kept periodically (possibly on a monthly basis) by  recording the body weight of animals.
• Inventory: inventory of available animals on the farm and other assets.
• Carcass yield or dressing percentage: is a factor that has tremendous economic value, particularly in a community-based breeding program. This information could be obtained from slaughterhouses/abattoirs if the animals are slaughtered in slaughter houses.

7. Breeds

In Rwanda, we have various types of goat:

• Local goat
• Gala goat
• Boer goat
• Saneen goat
• Toggenburg
• Anglo-nubian
• Crosses: local x exotic breeds