A STUDY ON BREEDING AND HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY GOAT KEEPERS IN SOUTH GUJARAT REGION

Goat husbandry is most popular enterprise among artisan class people living in semi urban
areas and scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and other backward class communities living in
villages as the goats can thrive well with zero or minimum inputs under least management and
care. A field survey was conducted on 1243 goat keepers scattered in 45 villages of Surat, Navsari
and Bharuch districts of south Gujarat region to study the prevailing goat management practices.
Majority of goat keepers detected the estrus on the basis of symptoms viz. mounting on each
other, bleating, tail vibration and frequent urination. However, mounting on each other was the
most reliable symptom for detection of estrus in the goats. The breeding of females was strictly
done through natural service and majority of goat keepers (65.89%) used bucks from their
relatives. However, they were keen to change the buck after first kidding (51.41%) or second
kidding (48.59%). Majority of goat keepers (73.21%) preferred the castration of male kids to
fetch more prices. Vaccination of goats against different diseases prior to monsoon was done by
69.19% goat keepers. However, deworming practice and measures to control ecto-parasitic
infestation were adopted by only 22.04% and 9.49% goat keepers respectively. Majority of goat
keepers (73.45%) called the livestock inspector for treatment of sick animals.