Goat Farming Business Plan and Goat Farm Design
Today, let us get into details of Goat Farming Business Plan and Goat Farm Design Information.
Goat farming these days is considered to be a business which is very profitable. In order to make a goat farming business successful, you need good knowledge on how to raise the goats, how to manage them efficiently. Moreover, you need a perfect business plan. This business is providing profits in terms of income for many people. But before starting a goat farm, you need to keep few things in mind. The size of the project of goat farming is very important. The size of the farm is nothing but the number of goats you are going to rear. Even the location of the business also matters.
If you do not have a good amount of capital to invest, then you can start it in a small way and grow with time. For this, you need to research the current market effectively. It would be better to go with a business plan.
Land for Goat Farming Project:
- The first thing you need to do is to assess the plot for goat farming. You need to check if the plot is suitable to conduct the farming.
- It is always better to choose a plot which is nearer to local roads so that it would reduce transportation costs. If the farm is built near to roads, then the farmer will have easy access to the nearby markets too.
- There should be good sources of water on the farm or near the farm. There should be an availability of borewells, rivers or dams nearby. If there is no adequate water to conduct goat farming, then it is advised to construct a reservoir
- Goats are more likely to be escaped from the farm. So the farmer needs to make sure that there are strong fences around the farm to restrict the goats which tend to escape frequently. The fence should also be very strong to keep all the harmful animals outside the goat farm.
- Goats generally graze on pastures. So for this, the farmer should make the pasture into two parts so that the rotation of pastures would help to avoid overfeeding of goats. The pasture which is present in the goat farm should have different types of pasture plants and grasses. This will help in the intake of different nutrients in goats which are growing in the farm which makes them have a healthy growth.
- In the business plan, you prepare for goat farming, you need to also take into consideration the costs for rent or own the plot.
Read: Sheep Farming In Telangana.
Housing And Equipment:
Housing in goat farming is very important as it plays a major role in the success of your goat farming business.
- There is no need to have a costly space to raise your goats because goats are considered to be the animals which are adaptable to any kind of environment.
- The things you need to consider while providing the house to your goats is the ventilation and the floor which needs to be dry. There should be a shed so that your goats can be protected from severe sun or rain.
- If there is less ventilation, then with time, your goats get prone to severe health diseases. IT should also be easy to clean the house of goats.
- Extreme ventilation into the goat farm will also have bad effects on goats like less productivity, whereas less ventilation will cause problems in respiration to the goats due to the release of harmful gases.
- If the ventilation is good, then there would be an easy passage of fresh air, which makes it possible to maintain temperature and humidity in a correct percentage.
- The goat pens which are required for your project of goat farming can be built by using bricks of clay and concrete or wood blocks.
- The material you use to build your goat farm is not at all, the one which needs to be considered. All you need to consider is the space for goats and proper ventilation.
- Feeders and drinkers are the most important equipment required to run a goat farm. These help in providing feed and water to the goats in your farm.
Goat farm design:
To have good production and also to maintain the health of your goats, it is very much important to have a good design for your goat farm. If a goat farm is designed with all the required facilities, then it will help in increasing the overall production of the goats which in turn increases the profit of the farmers. Most of the percentage of capital in the goat farming project will have to be spent on the design of goat farm. If you are starting a goat farm for the first time, then it is advisable to research on all the goat farms available in your locality so that you would be able to gain some practical knowledge.
If your goat farm design has to be good, then you need to take care of the pasture, shelter, grazing place which should be sufficient, mobile shelter in large number to help the goats to take rest, fencing, fresh and clean water and at last you need to make sure that the place is free of noise and other disturbances.
Read: Frequently Asked Questions About Goat Farming.
So, it is better to consider the following factors before making a final goat farm design
- If you are a beginner, it is always advisable to go with a simple or basic goat farm design in the starting. Once you gain knowledge on how this goat farming works, then you can go with the design which will involve high-end infrastructure. Compared to other animals, the design of goat farm cheaper
- Previously, farmers used to build goat farms with reeds, bamboo poles, asbestos sheets, etc. But these days, farmers are going to a house which has a high – roof shed covered with fire-proof materials. The latter system is considered best for the goats rather than the conventional one.
- The shed should be built in the direction of east to west. With this direction, there would be a good flow of fresh air. Even there would be a very good light source along with a cool environment inside the farm. This also works very well when the temperature is too hot.
- If your goat farm is located in hot areas, then it is advisable to build the shed which is an open type. But this type of farms has more cons and moreover, it is not suitable for the areas which are rain-fed.
- Depending on the breeds and sizes of the goats you are growing on your farm, you can choose the size and width of the shelter of the goat farm. The normal average of the goat farm generally is six meters. But when coming to the length, then it completely depends on the strength of the herd.
- For a goat which is an adult, an area of 50 square feet is required for running passage and an area of about 18 square feet under the shed is required.
- When coming to the height if the goat farm, it completely depends on the conditions of weather in your locality. If the weather conditions in your locality are hot, then the height if the shelter should be between 4-5 meters. If a goat farm is constructed in less than the above-mentioned height in hot areas, then it will have very bad ventilation. The height of the goat house or shed depends on the climatic condition of your farm location. The height of the shelter should be between 3 to 5 meters in hotter regions. And a house less than this height result in poor ventilation. If the shelter is built in proper height, it helps in controlling the temperature inside the house.
- The roof can be either flat or in the shape of A. The shelter which is in the shape of the alphabet A is considered to be the most suitable and also the one which has more advantages than the shelter which is flat in shape. The A-shaped shelters are suitable in any kind of areas. These shelters will restrict the solar radiation, which comes directly into the farm through its shadow. Moreover, this prevents the increase of heat from the roof of the house.
- The roofing materials which are fine and tar-coated are the ones which are most effective in goat farming.
- It is very important to maintain the surroundings of the goat farm clean and green to prevent the shed from getting heated. By this, you can also help the animals in getting rid of hot winds.
- The east side and the west side of the sheds should be covered with a height of one meter.
- The roof and walls of the goat farm should be painted in white externally and internally. This is done in order to decrease the temperature of the surface by 10 to 20 degrees centigrade. When the roof and walls are left unpainted, then the temperature will be above 38 degrees centigrade causing severe hotness in the goat farm. This helps in maintaining a cool environment in the goat farms.
- If you want to start a goat farm commercially, then you will be needing 1 acre of land to raise the goats. You need to have a very good irrigation system in this land. Moreover, go with the grass which will grow fast so that the feed would be produced sufficiently.
Read: Meat Goat Farming.
Different Types of Goat sheds:
On the Ground: This is the most common sheds used in the Indian Goat farming. This shed is made on the ground. The floor of the shed can be built with either soil, cement or bricks. It is very much important to maintain the floor of the shed dry and also clean. If would be helpful if you spread straw material which is dry on the floor.
Poles: The goat sheds which are built on poles will usually have their height one or two meters above the ground level. The main advantage of this type of sheds is that they would protect the goats in conditions when the weather is moist, wet and humid. These kind of shelters are very much suitable for the areas where there would be constant floods. The sheds which are prepared over poles are made of materials like bamboo or wood. As the floor is built above 2 meters from the ground level, the goats will be less prone to diseases. This kind of shed can prevent animals from entering the shed.
Using Concrete: The goat sheds which are built by using concrete are very easy to clean and maintain. But the disadvantage is that these are more expensive than the other goat sheds.
The requirement of Space in Goat farms as per the ages of goats:
- If the age of the goat is below three months, then it needs a covered space of 0.5 metres and an open space of 1.5 metres.
- If the age of the goat is between three months to six months, then it needs a covered space of 0.9 metres and an open space of 2 metres.
- If the age of the goat is between six months to nine months, then it needs a covered space of 1.5 metres and an open space of 2.5 metres.
- When coming to the goats which are adults, then they need a covered space of 2 metres and an open space of 4 metres.
Read: Artichoke Farming.
The information in this document has been very helpful to me.
thank you. However, I wish you had samples of cheap but strong well-ventilated structures for goats.