Why would anyone keep dairy goats in Kenya??

Yes there has been a lot of interest in the dairy goat in this country especially the past year. Personally,I have been asked several times about dairy goats, how much land it takes to raise them, what to feed them, and how to manage them. I hope this article is going to answer all your questions.

You should try keeping goats because of the following reasons:

Nutrition wise.

Goat’s milk is good and tasty! Goats’ milk is more nutritious, easy to drink and is a richer food because it has more calcium, phosphorous and chlorine than cow’s milk.

You are likely to use goat milk at home so that the family gets the best milk – if there is a cow many farmers will sell the cows milk for cash and make sure the family gets the goat milk to drink!

you have all heard someone say it. Goat’s meat is very tasty and it is juicy and eaten often by many people. More and more people are learning about how good goat’s milk, cheese and yoghut are so there is growing market

Goats’s milk is better for the family as it has a “high Nutritional Content” This means it is very high quality food and very good for young and old. Some people cannot drink cow’s milk. They have an allergy to it. Nobody is allergic to goats’s milk

Economically.

Goats also have a much lower feed cost in comparison to a cow. One cow will eat as much as 3 to 6 goats, depending on the breed and needs of the individual goat. Goats will happily eat  shrubs, tree backs ant bushes cows will not,    Goats win every time with a lower cost of upkeep. Three goats are much cheaper to raise and keep than even one cow. Goats are also more gentle and less messy than cows.

In Kenya as a dairy goat farmer you don’t have to worry about processing because the market for raw milk is there. and the demand is huge. Currently goat milk sells for between Ksh 100 and Ksh 150 per liter, more than double the cost of Cows milk.

In quantity of milk you get daily, goats are not much far behind cows. A good breed would give you up to 7 liters a day and in a country where local breeds produce 2 litres a day, this is a much better alternative.

Do not need to work so hard!

Goats require less labor and time per head compared to cattle

HOUSING THE GOAT

Goat house is simple and cheaper to build than a cows house. With a good design such as one shown you have less labor requirement, and better health.

Dairy Goat breeds Kept in Kenya.

Toggenburg

• Brown in colour with white line on face, legs and tail
• Mature male weighs between 70-110 kg while mature female weighs 60-70 kg Produces
• about 5 Iitres of milk per day under good management
• High twinning rate

Saanen

• White in colour with pink skin pigmentation
• Mature male weighs 80-100 kg while mature female weighs 60-70 kg
• High twining rate
• Do not dwell in hot climate
• Shorter than Toggenburg and Sannen
• Produces upto 7 litres of milk per day under good management.

Anglo-Nubian

• Dual purpose and adapts well in hot climates like coast and western
• Developed from crossing Nubian goat (from Sudan) and English goats.
• Whitish /brown with long dropping ears.
• Mature male weighs 70-110 kg, while female weigh 60-70 kg.
• Produces 3-5 litres of milk per day under good management
• Its milk has high butter fat content (good for cheese making)

Courtesy of cellfam