Saturday, May 05, 2007 Good forage: Key to successful goat raising By Janoz Xn Yesu S. Laquihon and Henrylito D. Tacio
"THERE are grasses around my area. I can get them from the roadsides, under coconut trees, and even in our backyard," replied Manong Doming, a recipient of goat dispersal program of a government project.
Manong Doming was given five upgraded does. But after six months, he sold his breeding stock due to shortage of forage.
"There was a drought," he explained, adding that other recipients like him also got their forage from the same area where he used to harvest. "I don't want trouble," he said on why he sold his goats.
When asked how much he received for the goats, he answered, "I sold them half the original price. My goats were thin and no one would like to buy it if I sell them at the original price."
Most backyard goat raisers often overlook the importance of nutrition as one of the leading factors in goat production.
"Good nutrition gives good production and consequently higher income," points out a livestock specialist. "This can be only achieved if you have good quality forage for your animals."
Although forage is main source of nutrients that most goats need, forage isn't enough to meet the nutrient requirement for production. Concentrates are also needed.
Complete grazing and tethering feeding systems are common to backyard farmers who raise 3-5 native does. Most of the large scale farmers, on the other hand, use semi-confinement system and most of them raise upgraded goats and crosses. But whatever system a farmer adopts, he needs to have a good pasture area. Before buying the breeding stock, a farmer must prepare the forage area, which should be large enough to meet the dry matter (DM) requirement per animal per year.
But even before that, a farmer must know kinds of plants are growing in the farm. Are these plants non-beneficial or not? Most plants with broad-leaves are considered poisonous to animals so they must be eliminated from the pasture area. Among these plants are "talong-talungan," "lantana," "barak," "hagonoy," "mangkit," and "kudzu" (which causes diarrhea among animals).
Among the beneficial plants that could be used for goats are grasses like "kulape," "balbas kalabaw," "baning usa," "tinitigro," "Digitaria species," and "Cyperus species." The following legumes are also palatable to goats: "makahiya," "centrosema," "paying pyang," "balatong aso," "maning aso," "tagum-tagum," and "Desmodium pulcellum."
Some goats also like to eat such broad-leafy plants like "sapin-sapin," "luya-luyahan," "tuhod manok," and "dilang aso" and shrub-type trees like "ipil-ipil," "kakawate" and "bayabas."
In Mindanao, most farmers plant native grasses and improved grasses for their goats. Few farmers use legumes as forage.
One of the authors, Janoz Laquihon, recommends legumes. In an exclusive interview, he shares this information: "I prefer legumes as main feed since I started raising goats in 1978. When I was still in high school, I used to wake up at five in the morning to help my father established our forage area. We planted rows of ipil-ipil seeds in the foothills of Mount Carmel, just adjacent to Mount Apo.
I wondered why we planted ipil-ipil. I didn't know the answer until I was in college. I learned that legumes have higher nutritive value and digestibility compared to improved pasture grasses. In addition, legumes are nitrogen fixers compared to grasses which are 'parasite of soil' since they sap nutrient from soil thus competing with other plants in the farm. When growing grasses, an addition cost is added in terms of fertilizer. Not with legumes as they fix nitrogen from the air."
