Goats (Capra hircus) were probably one of the first of the ruminants and second longest domestic animal to be domesticated; they are valued for milk, meat and mohair. Goat is believed to have the widest ecological range of domestic livestock, ranging from extremes of tropical rain forests to dry deserts. They are called poor man’s cow because, they give same benefit of cows at cheaper cost. They can sustain themselves in arid, semi-arid, hilly, heavy rainfall and tribal areas. They survive on sparse extreme climatic conditions more comfortably than the other species. Goat milk being rich in immunoglobulin has high medicinal value. Goat milk is easy to digest than cow milk because of small fat globules and is naturally homogenized. They are multi-functional animal and play a significant role in the economy and nutrition of landless, small and marginal farmers in these Islands as it is in the country.
Goats (65324) constitute about 42.21% of the total livestock population (154733) in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (19th livestock census) and is a major share holder among all livestock and are mostly owned by settlers and distributed in different island. There are four distinct population of goats are available in these islands, viz. Andaman local goat, Teressa goat, Malabari and its crosses and Barren Islands goats. All the goats available are of meat type and there is high demand for chevon in these islands. However, the productivity of the goat is very low.
Under the island climatic conditions the Andaman local goats and Teressa goats are thriving well and are adapted to its humid tropical climate. However, the impact of climate change is visible this year, since last four months not a single drop of rain has been received by this island and the mercury is also shooting up causing more and more THI ( temperature humidity index) thereby make it more difficult for the livestock to graze in open fields and fill their stomach. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown impact the rearing of goats and other animals are extremely difficult. To combat the impact of heat stress the following advisory are suggested for the productive goatary in this islands.
• Provide fresh drinking water ad-libitum throughout the day. Special care should be taken for the pregnant does.
• Keep water troughs/utensils clean. Dirty water leads to illness, and clean water will encourage water consumption. Goats will not drink water contaminated with urine or manure.
• The chances of production of ammonia due to dirty shed and bedding is common in summer. Regular cleaning of the shed must be done to avoid the production of ammonia due to urine and manure. Use bleaching powder/disinfectant to clean the floor and side walls of the shed, in this way the virus, bacteria, parasites can be killed.
• Provide raised platform to rest, goats generally prefer dry and raised platform to rest.
• Shed should be provided to avoid direct sunlight and it should have cross ventilation. Diarrhea especially in young kids is very common, care should be taken during the summer month, if not treated the kid may die.
• Provide electrolyte or vitamin C.
• Regular deworming of the goats with Albendazole (Generally albendazole is being given as broad spectrum). Four times in a year.
• Generally the load of ticks are more during the summer season (During dry period of the year; mainly December to March). Use acaricide spray (butox), dose : 2ml/litre of water depending on the load of infestation. Advice to do spraying in the goat shed and floor also. Usually advised to repeat after 2 month is the infestation is still persisting.
• The cases of abortion should be reported to the local veterinarians.
• Based on the past record, the cases of contagious ecthyma( Orf) is usually reported during the dry season. The affected goats should be segregated and treated with potassium permanganate wash and apply any antibiotic/antiseptic ointment with systemic antibiotic injection.
• Cases of bloat are also very common in the goats. Mix baking soda of 1 tsp with castor oil and should be given as first aids during bloat. Avoid eating more grains, concentrate feed at a time. Daily requirement for adult goat is approximately 250-300 g.
• New borne kids should be fed with colostrum for at least 3-4 days to boost the immunity to fight against the diseases.
• Feed mineral mixtures daily to the animals.
