Goat: Multipurpose Management

Only 12.5% of this planet is land, most of which consists of swamp, hot and cold deserts, fallows, marginal land and mountains. Consequently, there is competition between humans, animals and plants for the land resources available, which is gradually shrinking. The goat, because it is able to utilize less favorable marginal environments and to thrive under difficult conditions, is found almost everywhere. This is attributable to its efficient utilization of food material, disease tolerance, reproductive capacity and its adaptability. Apart from the dog, the goat was the first species to be domesticated. The husbandry of any animal species is dependent on its relationship with humans and to the land. Goat farming, because of its low capital investment and quick economic returns, has been integrated into flexible and vulnerable animal agriculture production systems. As a source of milk, meat, fiber, skin, hair, horns, manure and other valuable by-products, goat husbandry calls for multifunctional management systems. These management systems range from the extensive (e.g., free-grazing on common land, ranching) to the intensive (e.g., zero grazing, tethering or stall-feeding and tethering). Many combinations of these systems exist. Flock size varies with the management system adopted and ranges from singles (tethering) or tens (stall-feeding) to hundreds (group grazing or semi-intensive) or thousands (extensive management systems).