Improved Technology for Cattle, Calf and Goat Production

Improved Technology for Cattle, Calf and Goat Production

2. Cattle, Calf and Goat

2.1 Cattle Fattening

Cattle fattening package is a four steps

rearing programme of male and/or infertile

female emaciated cattle for harvesting

their compensatory growth within a period

of 60 to 120 days. The four steps

programme include (1) Collection of

animals considering their body

characteristics, (2) Deworming, (3) Costeffective

feeding upto a profitable rate of

life weight rain (LWG) and marketing. It is an easy and profitable system of cattle

rearing to alleviate poverty, unemployment and generate income both for the rural

women and youth. The cattle fattening system has been developed matching with the

smallholder livestock production system in the country.

Selection and Rearing

Selection of animals is very important to harvest better benefit from the technology.

Animals with correct skeletal structure, short and squarely placed legs, short necks,

broad heads, wide back and breast, loose skin and rectangular or square in shape

should be collected. After collection of animals from the market it should be kept

separated from the other to observe the health of the animals and later on it should be

dewormed after examination of feces. Market demands on the size and live weight of

animals, fatty health, age and colour are the few factors for consideration to achieve a

good market.

Making shed

The object of housing is to provide shelter to the calves

against sun, rain, and other inclement weather. The type of

housing depends on number of cattle to be fattened. For

fattening one or two cattle farmers can rear with the existing

cattle house but incase of 5-10 cattle complete stall feeding

system is necessary. Depending on the arrangement of

animals in the house, the housing systems can be classified

into two types. i) Face out and ii) Face in systems.

i) Face out system: In this system, animals are standing

in two rows and face of the animal in each row should be outward. The

arrangement of the stall; a) Manger (M), b) Stall (S), c) Gutter/Drain (D) d)

Central alley (C), the similar arrangement could be in other row. The formula for

this arrangement: M 2’-8”, S5’-0”, D1’-4” C5’-0” D1’-4” S5’-0” M-2’-8”. For one

cattle the width of the stall is 4’-6” and length of the stall is 5’-0”, then the floor

space of single animal is about 22.6 sq.ft. Therefore, the length of house depends

on number cattle.

ii) Face in system: In face to face system, the face of the animals in the rows are

inward direction inside the house. The formula of arrangement in this system is:

D1-4” S5-0” M2-8” C5-0” M2-8” S5-0” D1-4”.

General Management

After collection of the animal from market, animals should be kept separated from

other animals of the herd to observe the disease status or animal carrying any disease

in his body. The duration of quarantine period should be maintained at least 14 days.

Then, the animals should be dewormed through identification of parasites. Depending

on the season of rearing and duration of fattening period vaccination should be done

against FMD, H.S, BQ and Anthrax. Fattening animals should be washed every day

and the house should be kept clean and dry throughout the fattening period.

Feeding Management

Collection and preservation of feeds during production seasons, using locally

available feed ingredients for formulation of diets and feeding a higher quality diet

initially and minimization of feed cost at the later stage of rearing are the factors for

formulation of cost effective diets. Any of the following feeding practices may be

followed as feeding management;

(i) Ad lib Urea-molasses-straw (UMS) + a concentrate mixture (a kilo dry matter of

which contains 10.0 to 11.0 MJ ME and 150 to 170g CP) @ 0.8 to 1.0% of LW

(ii) Ad lib green grass impregnantwith 5.0 to 10.0% molasses + concentrate mixture

@ 0.8 to 1.0% of LW.

(iii) Ad lib UMS+ supplementary green grass + concentrate mixture @ 0.8 to 1.0% LW

(iv) Ad lib straw (preserved in fresh and wet condition) with 2% urea impregnant

with 5.0 to 10% molasses + concentrate mixture @ 0.8 to 1.0% LW.

Vaccination and disease control

No risk but helps quality beef production for human consumption. Care should be

taken about metabolic diseases such as acidosis, bloat etc. Fattening animals should

not be fed excess grain in their ration.

Income

Depending on feed price, marketing facilities, and types of animals net benefit per

animal in a period of 90 days may vary from TK. 6000 to TK. 8000 and sometimes

even more than 10,000/ animal.

2.2 Calf rearing

Description

• Proper care immediately after birth and feeding of colostrum.

• Hygienic environment in and around the house.

• Prevention and control measures against infectious and parasitic diseases.

Rearing

Pregnant cow should be kept in a dry and hygienic place during parturition. Any

abnormal situation should be informed to a veterinarian.

• Newborn calf should be kept on dry and clean place.

• Colostrum should be fed as early as possible. Colostrum is recommended to feed

within 12 hours after birth.

• After parturition face and nose of a calf should be cleaned which would help start

breathing. Help mother to lick away the ammonic sac and tissues. Use tin, Iodine

on navel cord.

• Calf should be reared separately to avoid food sharing.

• Feed should be balanced depending on their age, sex and breed.

• Disease affected calf should be treated as early as possible and separated from the

healthy calves

• Routine vaccination and deworming should be done.

Making shed

The object of housing is to provide shelter to the calves against sun, rain, and other

inclement weather. In rearing young calves, it is desirable that an open exercise

paddock directly communicating with their shelter and feeding house should be

provided. Calf pens should be located close to the cow sheds, and clean drinking

water should always be accessible to them. One calf should be provided 4 to 6 sq.ft

floor space for better management and care.

General Management

The raising of a dairy calf begins even before it is born. Cows are not fed properly

will give birth to under-nourished calves. Since the unborn calf makes most of its

growth during the last 3 or 5 months before birth, special care must be taken to feed

the cows liberally at that time. After giving birth, calf should be allowed to lick so as

to make dry and for calf’s comfortable breathing. The sooner the calf is dry the less

chance there is of its being chilled specially in winter months. The calf should be

reared carefully and in a hygienic management to avoid any illness and calves should

be ear tagged for proper identification. If possible dehorning of calves may be carried

out for better management in future.

Feeding Management

The feeding rations of calves can be divided into three types.

The Colostrum Feeding

It will vary with the system followed, but whatever system may be practiced, the calf

must receive the first milk which the cow gives after calving and is called colostrums.

Be sure to feed the calf enough of colostrums between 2 to 2.5 litres daily for the first

3 days following its birth. Any excess colostrum may be fed to other calves in the

herd in amounts equal to the amount of whole milk normally fed. If possible where a

cow is milked before calving, freeze some of the colostrums for later feeding to the

calf. None of it should be wasted. The digestibility of colostrums increases when it is

given at a temperature between 99oF and 102oF.

Whole milk feeding

In feeding whole milk, calves may be fed as per feeding schedule given below upto 3

months of age. After 3 months calves should be fed calf starter and good quality

legumes or green grass available (Table 1).

Table 1. Feeding schedule for calves up to 6 months

Age of calf Approx. body Quantity of Quantity of calf Green grass

weight (kg) milk (kg) starter (g) (kg)

4 days to 4 weeks 25 2.5 Small quantity Small quantity

4-6 weeks 30 3.0 50-100 Small qty.

6-8 weeks 35 2.5 100-250 Small qty.

8-10 weeks 40 2.0 250-350 Small qty.

10-12 weeks 45 1.5 350-500 1-0

12-16 weeks 55 - 500-750 1-2

16-20 weeks 65 - 750-1000 2-3

20-24 weeks 75 - 1000-1500 3-5

Feeding, instead of whole milk, BLRI developed shoti based milk replacer may be

fed to the calf as per schedule (Table 2).

Table 2. Feed ingredients and cost for the preparation of milk replacer (MR)

Ingredients Ingredients Cost involved for MR

used (%) preparation (Tk./kg)

Shoti powder (cost included collection, 25 35.00

processing and grinding etc.)

Soybean meal 64 26.88

Soybean oil 9 9.90

Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) 1 0.65

Vit-min-premix 0.5 1.00

Common salt 0.5 0.10

Total cost/kg 73.53

MR = Milk Replacer,

Feeding calf starter

After 3 months or 12 weeks calf should be given calf starter and good green grass or

hay. The following formula may be used for the preparation of calf starter (Table 3).

An ideal calf starter should contain 16-18% crude protein, 7-10% CF, 0.6-0.7% Ca, 0

.4-0.5% P, 0.15-.20% Mg and 0.07-0.08% Na.

Table 3. Ingredients of Calf Starter

SL. No. Name of ingredients Per cent in total mix (%)

1. Wheat crushed 25

2. Wheat bran 25

3. Khesari bran 25

4. Soybean meal 20

5. DCP 3

6. Vitamins minerals Premix 0.5

7. Common salt 1.5

Total 100

In addition to calf starter, 1-2 kg good quality green grass should be supplied to the

calves. After 6 six months, the growing calves should be fed concentrate mixture @

1% of the body weight and good quality green grass ad lib. basis. A concentrate

mixture may be produced by using the following ingredients (Table 4).

Table 4. Ingredients of 1.0 kg concentrate mixture

SL. No. Name of ingredients Per cent in total mix (g)

1. Wheat crushed -

2. Wheat bran 540

3. Keshari bran 300

4. Soybean meal 150

5. DCP 05

6. Vitamins minerals Premix -

7. Common salt 05

Total 1.0 kg

Vaccination and disease control

Health management: “prevention is better than cure” this should the health

management strategy. Most deadly diseases of calf are calfscour, pneumonia,

diarrhoea and FMD. External and internal parasites are also important. The

application of anthelmintic should be done at regular basis. Anthelmintic should be

given twice a year; once at the start of rainy season (April-May) and again at the end

of rainy season (October-November). Broad-spectrum anthelmintic should be used

for deworming. For liver fluke; Facinex; Dovine etc. could be used. If calves are

affected with skin diseases; it should be separated from the farm. Nuguvan, Gamaxin

may be used for external parasites and liver fluke, Tapeworm and Round worms Amectin,,

Bennazol, Levavet may be used. Preventive measures against anthrax, calf

diphtheria, and Black quarter and other contagious diseases should be taken. In

addition, the following measures should be taken to keep the calf free from diseases.

• Feeding colostrums immediately after birth of calves.

• House should be kept clean and dry.

• Calf should be kept separated from dam.

• Keep the body of the calf clean from dirty materials.

• Supply sufficient amount of milk and other materials

• Feeder and water should be kept everyday.

• Sick calf should be separated from healthy calf.

• Regular vaccination and deworming should be carried out when necessary.

Income

The package would improve calf health and reduce calf mortality. As a result healthy

calf would be produced with increased meat and milk production.

2.3 Goat Rearing

Description

A large number of people in the country are landless and lie below the poverty line.

Among them a large proportion is destitute women and unemployed youth. They have

no financial capacity to invest. This model provides an opportunity for their poverty

alleviation. This model describes small-scale goat production through ensuring

appropriate housing, feeding, breeding, health management and marketing of goat.

Although commercial production of

poultry and fishes in Bangladesh has

increased rapidly but the progress in

the production of ruminant especially

goat is not visible yet. Of the 15

million of goats in Bangladesh, small

and medium farmers rear 93%. Black

Bengal (BB) goat is famous for its

high birth rate, delicious low fat meat and super quality

skin. Black Bengal is a dwarf meat type breed having

average body weight of 15-20 kg and has an average

growth rate of 30-50 g daily, which, are far lower than the

other recognized meat type breeds of the world (Boer,

Sudanese Desert, Barbari etc.). However, when we

consider meat production from a doe in a year, BB

probably yields greater amount of meat than the mentioned

breeds as the former produces more kids in a year than the

later. The milk production of BB is not sufficient that required for kid as milk producing

breed. But, health and breeding management along with sufficient nutrients supply to

pregnant doe may solve this problem. The model is prepared how a landless or small

farmer can earn money by goat rearing.

Rearing

Necessary concentrate feed and medicine/vaccine have to be supplied to the farmer.

Three BB bucks should be supplied to the area having 10-15 model farmers with 20-

30 goats, where a farmer could be responsible for day to day management of the goat.

The flock size with doe keeper would be between 10-12 goats. Under proper

management, castrated male could be marketed within 12 months and the growing

does within 6 months. Given the high birth rate of Black Bengal goat, a farmer can

market 4 castrated goats and 3 does per year. However, this model is not possible to

implement without institutional support. Management of the model could be easier if

area-wise implementation is done.

Selection of the farmers and training

Ten to 15 beneficiary farmers may be selected according to following criteria:

• Farmer should be poor/landless/marginal.

• Destitute women/unemployed youth (should have priority)

• The beneficiary must have the willingness and eagerness for goat rearing and it is

always better to have past experience in goat rearing.

• The farmers must be ready to provide necessary information.

• An initial three days training will be given to the selected farmers on housing,

feeds and fodder nutrition, health, production of grasses, reproduction and

marketing management. Once the beneficiaries start rearing goat, refresher training

has to be arranged on specific issues.

Production management

Making shed

Goats usually prefer place where it is clean, dry, odorless, warm, sufficient light and good

ventilation. Poor housing with dirty, wet, closed, dark and bad odorous, leads to origin and

transmission of diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, ecthma, skin disease, etc. Besides,

productivity in terms of weight gain, milk production and reproduction efficiency

decreases. Average floor space requirement for a doe and growing goat is 7-10 and 3-7 sq.

ft. respectively. As the flock size should be between 10-12 goats for a farm started with 2

goats, a farmer could built a raised floor (or macha) of 3 ft height and about (6x10) 60 sq.ft

floor space. Macha could be made of bamboo or wood and can be built within farmer’s

house or can be built separately. For easier passage of faeces and urine from macha, slits of

bamboo or wood should be set at 1.24 cm inch apart. From the middle of the house it

should be sloped to both sides for easy removal of faeces and urine. Sufficient sand/ash

should be given on the floor underneath macha to absorb urine and hold droppings. During

the winter straw bedding of about 10-12 cm thick should be placed on macha and the goats

should be covered with jute sacks at night to protect the kids from cold.

General Management

Breeding management of doe

A growing doe becomes sexually matured at 4-5 months of age, but it should not be

used for breeding before reaching at least 12 kg live weight. A doe should be bred

after 12-24 hours of signs of heat, i.e, if a goat showing heat in the morning it should

be bred at afternoon and if the signs of heat are apparent in the afternoon, it should be

bred in next morning. It is better to breed a breeding doe twice, once at 12 and 24

hour interval. A disease free, good quality and healthy Black Bengal buck should

always be selected for the breeding purpose. To avoid inbreeding, buck should never

be met with its full sister, mother, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter.

Pregnancy period of Black Bengal goats ranges between 142-150 days.

Breeding management of Buck

A growing buckling shows signs of libido within 3-4 months, but they should not be

used for breeding before 8-9 months of their age. A buck should not be used for

breeding for more than 7-10 times in a week. In an area having 30-50 does, it requires

about 3-5 bucks for breeding.

Feeding Management

• Feeding management according to age and production of goats.

• Feeding young goats: Milk obtained first 3 days after kidding is called colostrums,

generally rich in energy and protein which act as an antibody for the newborn (Table1).

Table 1: Ingredients (%) present in normal milk and colostrums

Fat Protein Lactose Minerals Total dry matter

Normal milk 5.09 3.33 6.01 1.60 10.03

Colostrum 5.6 8.10 4.80 0.85 20.30

Immediately after birth kid should be cleaned, dried and should have colostrums

within half an hour. Birth weight of BB kids is usually 0.8-1.5 kg (average 1.00 kg).

They should receive 150-200 g of colostrums for each kg body weight. These

amounts of milk should be fed for 8-10 times in a day. Colostrum may not digest

properly if it is fed to the kid after 12 hours of birth. Kid from 0-3 months of age

should receive following amounts of milk and other solid feeds (Table 2). Usually BB

kids weaned within 2-3 months of age

Table 2. Age-wise feed supply to the kids

N.B Goats should be supplied sufficient amount of clean drinking water all the time.

Kid should have access to tree leaves and green grass from 1st week of their life,

which helps them develop functional rumen within 4-5 weeks. If properly accustomed,

a kid could start taking considerable amount (50-150 g) of green grass/tree leaves

within one month. Good quality succulent grass like Rousi, Plicatulum, Centrosoma,

Endropogon along with Durba, Sechi, Araila, Mashkalai, Khesari etc. Besides, leaves

from Ipil-ipil, Jakfruit, Dhaincha etc. should also be offered.

Feeding adult goats

For a growing castrated male or non-pregnant female it requires about 2 to 3 kg of green

grass and 200-250 g of concentrate mixture daily. A pregnant doe of 25 kg body weight

may be given 2.5 to 3.5 kg of green grass and 350-450 g of concentrate mixture.

Similarly, an adult buck may be given 2.5 to 3.5 kg of green grass and 200-300 g of

concentrate. Feed management of breeding buck is same as that of growing goats. But 10

Age (week) Milk (g/kg

body wt)

Rice gruel (g) (if

necessary)

Green grass

0-2 200 Little amount Small amount

3-4 150 Little amount Small amount

5-6 150 150 Small amount

7-8 130 250 Sufficient amount

9-10 110 300 Sufficient amount

11-12 100 350 Sufficient amount

grams of germinated gram should be given to breeding buck to ensure proper breeding.

Vaccination and disease control

Health management:”prevention is better than cure” this should be the health

management strategy. Timely vaccination and application of anthelmintic should be

done at regular basis. Most deadly diseases of goat are PPR and Goat pox’ vaccines

against these should be given at 4th and 5th month of age respectively. Anthelmintic

should be given twice a year; once at the start of rainy season (April-May) and again

at the end of rainy season (October-November).Broad-spectrum anthelmintic should

be used for deworming. For liver fluke; Facinex; Dovine etc. could be used. If goats

affected with skin diseases; it should be separated from the farm. Dipping of all the

goats in 0.5% Melathion solution at 15-30 days interval could be a good control

strategy for skin diseases. Preventive measures against mastitis and other contagious

diseases should be taken.

Income

The Cost-benefits in a farm are given in Table 3. Estimated net profit for a goat flock

started with 2 does ranges Tk. 2050 (2nd year), Tk. 4000 (3rd year), Tk. 6200 (4th year)

and Tk. 6200 (5th year) (Table 3).

Categories Year

1 2 3 4 5

At the start of year

Doe 2 2 2 4 4

Growing - 1 3 2 1

Kid - 4 4 6 6

Total 2 7 11 12 11

Death:Doe

Growing

Kid 1 2 3 3 3

At the end of year

Doe 2 4 4 5

Growing 3 7 9 8 8

Kid 4 4 6 6 8

Total 9 15 19 18 21

Sell

Castrated goat - 2 3 4 4

Growing doe 2 2 4 3 4

Earn from goat

selling

2x800= 1600 2x800=1600

2x2200=4400

4x1000=4000

3x2200=6600

3x1000=3000

4x2200=8800

4x1000=4000

4x2200=8800

Total 1,600 6,000 10,600 11,800 12,800

Expenditu re (yearly) 4000

Feed 2500 3500 5000 5000 5000

Medicine 300 300 400 400 400

Others 100 150 200 200 200

Total 6900 3950 5600 5600 5600

Net profit/ Loss 2050 4000 6200 6200