Dairy Goat Farming in Kenya

Goats were among the earliest domesticated animals in human history. Dairy goat keeping is lucrative for farmers moving away from traditional dairy cow rearing. Goat milk not only fetches a higher price than cow milk, it is also more nutritious. Currently, Kenya’s dairy sub-sector contributes about eight per cent of the Gross Domestic Product with an annual milk production of 3.43 billion liters of which 297 million is from goats.

Free Range Dairy Goat Farming

Dairy Goat Breeds

Dairy breeds include species such as Alpines, Saneens, Toggenburgs, and Anglonubians.

Saneens have a black spot on the nose, are bigger than the Toggenburgs and can produce up to six liters of milk a day. Anglonubians is a British breed that is brown, and big-bodied.

Toggenburgs are white and can be easily identified by their white legs and the Alpine is medium to large sized, and can be white. A farmer is advised to have ear tags for the goats as this helps in the identification and tracking of their lineage. Different colors of ear tags are used to trace the father records; this makes it easier to identify males and females.

Over the years, farmers have tried a crossbreed of Saneens and Toggenburg to increase their milk production as a normal goat produces at least two to three liters of milk a day. However, farmers should seek expert advice before doing any crossbreeding.

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Care for Goats

• Never subject your goats to wind. Windy conditions encourage pneumonia-causing bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida to breed causing disease.
• Build structures using materials that maintain warmth such as off-cuts.  Line the walls with plywood and place carpet papyrus reeds beneath the iron sheet roof to keep the house warm at night. Make sure the roof doesn’t leak. Ensure the goat house is parallel to the direction in which the wind blows but ensure that there is proper ventilation.
• Raise the goat pen above the ground a little less than knee height. Build the floor of the pen with wooden slats and leave half-inch spaces between the slats so that the droppings can fall between and onto the ground. Doing this ensures that your goat does not sleep on wet ground or on its droppings or urine and helps prevent pneumonia and worms.
• Separate male and female goats to avoid milk having a bad smell. The smell comes from the male goats, more so during the mating season. Goat milk picks odors easily and should therefore be stored in a clean, covered container in cold temperatures.
• Allocate enough sleeping space to each goat. When goats are too squeezed, they produce methane gas during digestion at night and ammonia which can cause self-poisoning leading to death. Also separate young goats from adults to avoid the adult goats trampling on the young ones.
• Keep your goats in a shaded area when it’s hot and don’t take them out when it’s too cold or rainy.
• Keep feeding troughs dry to ensure that mould does not develop on the feeds..
• Deworm all animals before mating, and pregnant does before they give birth. Young ones should be dewormed at three months of age when they stop suckling and start weaning. It is also important to deworm before the start of the rainy seasons.

Free-range goats will often have a variety of feeds to browse. However, care should be taken when zero grazing your goats. Goats love variety in feeds. Cows will eat Napier grass for years but goats need to be subjected to different feeds to enable them to eat more, for better health and milk production. Give them different things in the course of the day; it makes them eat better.

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A goat’s diet should contain protein, dry matter, minerals, vitamins, salt and water. Ensure that goats get between 16 per cent and 18 per cent crude protein from feeding.

Dry Matter

Provide your goats with dry matter such as dry Boma Rhodes or Lucerne hay, which should be harvested immediately it flowers, as that is when it has the highest nutritional value. Other feeds such as sweet-potato vines and green maize stova are great for creating variety.

Source your forages from reputable suppliers. Some forage, for example, those from areas frequented by pastoralists, can introduce diseases into your farm. Feed your goats on silage in a controlled manner. Too much molasses in silage can result in acidosis. Do not feed your goats with overgrown and hairy Napier grass. It makes your goats cough and they will eat poorly.

Dairy Goat Farming

Grains and concentrates

Concentrates such as dairy meal provide vitamins and minerals, which increase milk production, while grains such as maize give the much-needed energy. Where possible, feed each goat on half-a-kilo of dairy meal for the first liter of milk it produces and 250gm for every additional liter. Dairy meal concentrate and grains should, however, be controlled because too much will result in lactic acidosis and diarrhea, which can cause death.

To determine the ideal amount of dairy meal required for each goat, the farmer should “challenge” it. This is best done after kidding as follows: Start by giving the customary 500g of concentrate and keep adding 250gm per week as you monitor the corresponding increase in milk. Keep adding until the point at which additional concentrate does not result in increase in milk production and maintain that amount of concentrate.

Salt

Always provide a salt block for the goats even when you have powdered salt in the diet for those using a total mixed ration.

Water

Goats don’t like wet feeds but they do drink a lot of water. However, about 85 per cent of milk is water, therefore provide clean drinking water at all times.

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Choice of Dairy Goat Breed

Many local farmers keep local goats which produce little milk but can survive in the hot climate, with low quality forages and fodder and to some extent they resist some common diseases.

The imported dairy breeds are favored by farmers because they have superior qualities that make them attractive. They produce a lot of milk and some are larger than local one. However care should be taken as they sometimes do not adapt very well to our harsh weather conditions. These dairy goats are normally mated to local goats to get a goat that is a better milk producer than the local goat but which is easier to unlike the pure dairy types.

Common Breeds Reared in Kenya

These include; Toggenburg, Saanen, Alpine and Anglo-Nubian.

• Anglonubians have a thin coat and the large ears. They thrive in warm areas and do not tolerate cold.
• The Alpine goat is hardy and adapts easily to most climates. In Kenya,  the German Alphine has been bred to produce the Kenyan Alphine which thrives in Central, Eastern and Western Kenya.
• Saanens do not like hot climates. They require good housing and good quality pasture. Only keep this breed when you can provide it with the right conditions. For smaller farmers and, particularly in zero grazing situations, cross bred Toggenburgs are a better option.
• The Toggenburg breed is vigorous, and is a very good forager. This breed is meant for cooler areas, but with good care it does well in Kenya. It eats a lot and cannot produce milk if it is not fed properly.  Keep them disease-free, and avoid exposing them to direct sunlight for too long. Also when compared to indigenous goats, Toggenburgs are very susceptible to pneumonia.

Common Diseases

1. Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia, (CCPP)

This disease can be prevented through vaccination. Ensure that wind does not blow through goat house. One sign of a goat’s wellbeing is that they keep their tail upright. If it is hanging it means that your goat could be feeling unwell or be uncomfortable for one reason or the other.

2. Bacterial Pneumonia

The bacteria Pasteurella multocida or Mannheimia haemolytica (previously Pasteurella haemolytica) are often found in the upper respiratory tract of healthy goats and sheep. These bacteria are the leading cause of respiratory infections and death in both goats and sheep on farms.

Management:  Treatment consists of vet-prescribed antibiotics, and instructions to keep any infected animals in a dry, well-ventilated area away from the healthy herd members. Some of the common methods for preventing bacterial pneumonia include vaccinations and herd management.

3. Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL)

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis bacteria can be found throughout the world. Goats and sheep can develop Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL) after coming into contact with pus from an ill animal, or by ingesting contaminated food or water.

The main symptom of CL is the development of internal and external abscesses containing thick, yellow-green pus with a foul odor. CL is another disease affecting goats and sheep with no cure. This disease can be diagnosed using diagnostic tests and a physical examination by your farm vet.

4. Coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a parasite that is host-specific; different animals are infected by different species of Coccidia. While grazing, or by ingesting contaminated water, goats and sheep can ingest oocytes, developing eggs. When the oocytes enter the animal's body, they invade the cells of the intestinal lining, causing inflammation. Stressed kids or lambs who are weaned are predisposed to the condition, and outbreaks can erupt during stressful events like farm relocation. 

Economic Benefits

• Goat milk retails at between Ksh100 and Kshs200 per liter compared to cow milk which retails at between Ksh30 and Ksh70 per liter.
• Goats require less feed, labor and space is needed when compared to a cow.
• They eat many different plants making it easier and cheaper to source for their feeds
• Their droppings provide good manure for organic farming.
• They require less water than a cow and local breeds can go for quite a long time without water when conditions are dry.
• Apart from milk they provide meat which retails at a higher price when compared to beef.

Dairy Goat Farming

Advantages of goat milk

• 100% goat milk is a good source of Riboflavin, a B vitamin important for energy production and protection of energy producing cells.
• Goat milk has fewer allergenic proteins, making it easier to digest.
• The fat globulins in goat milk are easier to digest because they contain a higher proportion of short and medium-chain fatty acids.
• It is suitable for lactose-intolerant people because it contains lower amounts of sugar lactose.
• It’s a good source of calcium and widely known for its role in maintaining the strength and density of bones.
• It is a good source of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart functions.
• Goat milk has long been used as an aid in the treatment of ulcers as it soothes the digestive tract. It has also been used as an aid in the treatment and management of eczema.
• It compares very well with human milk and is closest to a mother’s milk making it a good alternative.

Well-fed dairy goats mature quickly and will give birth twice a year with higher chances of producing twins.

Why Keep Goats?

Dairy goats are relatively easy to keep, they have a short gestation period and have high chances of twinning and requires less space and feed compared to dairy cows.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which is the best goat for milk production in Kenya?
• What are the challenges of dairy goat farming?
• How many liters of milk does a goat produce per day in Kenya?
• How profitable is dairy goat farming in Kenya?
• What are the common diseases affecting dairy goat farming?
• What are the advantages of goat milk?
• What are the best ways to feed dairy goats?