STO - According to many farmers, raising goats is easy to care for and requires less feed than other livestock. Goat food is diverse and readily available in nature. The market for meat and goat breeding is quite good; the selling price ensures that farmers have a profit after selling. With the above characteristics, many farmers in Soc Trang province have developed a model of raising goats at home.
As a goat farmer for many years, Mr. Tran Van Chia, My Phuoc commune, My Tu district (Soc Trang) shared: "Up to now, I have raised Australian Boer goats for 8 years, with a total of 40 goats, of which 10 are breeding goats, the rest are for sale for breeding and meat. Before raising goats, my family raised pigs for meat but stopped due to risks. After researching, I found that goats are a type of livestock with low investment costs and easy to adapt to the natural conditions here, so I decided to maintain the herd until now."
According to Mr. Chia, with 10 breeding goats, giving birth to 3 litters every 2 years, he can earn 180 - 190 kid goats. On average, each year, Mr. Chia sells over 30 goats to the market, including 6 - 7 meat goats. The breeding goats are raised for 5 - 6 months from breeding to sale, with a price of 3 - 4 million VND/goat. Meat goats are raised for 7 - 12 months to reach the weight to sell to restaurants (from 28 - 70kg/goat). On average, with 30 goats sold, after deducting all expenses, the profit is about 70 million VND/year. In the near future, Mr. Chia plans to increase the breeding goat herd to 20, in order to provide more breeding goats and meat goats to the market.
“To ensure a fresh source of food every day for the goats, I have converted 2 hectares of rice fields to grass for the goats to eat. In addition to grass, I also add natural leaves or vegetables if available. As for breeding goats, I feed them with animal feed to increase the nutrition of the goats. The goat farm is built to be airy. Breeding goats are kept separately to facilitate observation and care of the goat kids. When the goats are pregnant, they need to be injected with nutritional supplements for the mother goat and the kids in the womb. The kids should be injected with iron 3 days after birth. As for breeding goats and mature meat goats, they should be vaccinated against diseases such as septicemia, parasites…”, Mr. Tran Van Chia added.
Mr. Tran Van Chia, My Phuoc commune, My Tu district (Soc Trang) with his family's breeding goats. Photo: THUY LIEU
Like Mr. Chia, Mr. Tran Hue Tri, Phu Huu commune, Long Phu district (Soc Trang) has been raising breeding and meat goats for nearly 8 years. Mr. Tri confided: "At first, I only bought 2 female goats, crossbred Boer goats to raise. After 1 year of raising, the goats started to reproduce and from the above 2 goats, the number of goats increased gradually every year. At times, my family raised over 60 - 70 goats, including breeding goats and meat goats. Currently, my family's herd is 20 goats, of which 12 are breeding goats, the rest are young goats. Since the beginning of 2023, I have sold 30 breeding and meat goats, deducting expenses, the profit is more than 60 million VND. I plan to increase the number of breeding goats to 20 in the near future".
Mr. Tri's secret to having a good herd of goats is to ensure that the barn is always clean and airy, and to feed the goats with enough green food such as vegetables and grass of all kinds. In addition, he adds 100 - 150 grams of food per adult goat per day; regularly observe the herd to detect diseases early and treat them promptly.
According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture of Soc Trang province, the total livestock herd in the province is more than 249,000, of which the goat herd alone is more than 10,550. According to the recommendations of the professional sector, to raise goats effectively, households need to pay attention to the selection of breeding animals, need to buy breeding animals with clear origin; newly purchased goats need to be quarantined for 30 - 40 days before being put in the barn. Keep the barn clean and airy; periodically disinfect the barn with lime or phenolic acid (according to the recommended dosage on the packaging). Regularly check the health of the goat herd to promptly detect weak or sick goats for isolation. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly follow the vaccination schedule for the goat herd as directed by veterinary agencies.
THUY LIEU
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